I am not exactly sure when it happened, but it was most likely the summer of 2016 – a very hot day at Venerable Dhammananda’s monastery in Nakhon Pathom. All the nuns and laywomen had gathered near the front wall of the temple for the afternoon work session. There was a mound of soil that Venerable Dhammananda had asked us to remove and transfer to the back garden area.

I was sweltering under the Thai sun and not in the mood to be shovelling earth from one place to another. The task seemed senseless. Women lifted hoes and pickaxes, chipping away at the mound, inching their way forward bit by bit, leaving chunks of semi-dry earth and rock. Several of us followed with shovels and plastic buckets to haul their debris away. We stood side by side in an assembly line, passing the buckets from hand to hand until they reached the last person, who dumped the contents into a large wheelbarrow.

The sweat dripped from my face as my resentment grew. Why do I have to do this? Just then, Venerable Dhammananda stepped forward, hoe in hand. She lifted the tool above her head and with a mighty blow brought it down, smashing the earth to pieces. I was stunned. She was remarkably strong for a person in her early seventies. For me, that single blow symbolized the strength of her determination.

Venerable Dhammananda, previously known by her lay name, Dr Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, did not begin to think seriously about being ordained until her mid-fifties. At the time she had enjoyed a highly successful career as a professor of Buddhist studies for twenty-seven years at Thammasat University, was a well-known media personality who hosted a popular TV dharma show, and had been married for thirty years with three adult sons. She claimed the ‘DNA for ordained life’ was ‘in her blood’ and is proud of her ancestors. Her maternal grandmother, Somcheen, was illiterate but in her later years was ordained as a mae chi and became leader of the temple women at Wat Theravada nun in Thailand in 2003. She had to travel to Sri Lanka to do this because Thailand does not permit women to be ordained. At the time, Thailand had approximately 300,000 male monks and no ordained women, leading the Thai press to dub her the ‘Rebel Monk’. She said, ‘I never felt like a rebel. I simply did what the Buddha allowed me to do, which was to be ordained. I was waiting for others to ordain. In fact, I went to a few other women who I thought might be interested in joining me, but they were not, so I went ahead and did it alone.’

As mentioned previously, in the context of Thailand’s history as a nation, the lineage of female monastics – samaneris (female novices) and bhikkhunis (fully ordained nuns) – never took hold. Venerable Dhammananda saw it as her responsibility to introduce this missing heritage that the Buddha had granted women. She knew from her academic studies that the history of the bhikkhuni sangha in Thailand occurred in three waves. The first attempt to establish a bhikkhuni order began in 1928, when Narin Phasit (1874–1950) arranged for his daughters Sara and Chongdi to be ordained. Originally, they were ordained as samaneris, but eventually Sara, the eldest, became a bhikkhuni. Narin had been a successful provincial governor early in his career but became disillusioned with the system. He was an embattled public figure, known for his outspoken criticism of the government and the Thais. His calls for political and religious reform landed him in jail several times. He spoke about the importance of establishing a bhikkhuni order for many years before his daughters’ actual ordinations took place and wanted to restore the missing link in the Buddha’s fourfold community of laymen, laywomen, bhikkhu, and bhikkhuni.

The exact details of where or how Narin’s daughters were ordained – even which monks ordained them – were unclear because the event was done in secret. According to Narin’s later account the ceremony took place in April of 1928. Following this, the sisters lived in Nonthaburi province along the banks of the Chao Phraya River at Narin’s elaborate family compound. Part of the living arrangement was designated as a monastery for women, called Wat Nariwong. Venerable Dhammananda indicated there were ‘six other nuns living alongside the two sisters at the monastery’.8

Narin’s attempt to ordain his daughters was not successful. Two months after the ceremony was performed, the Supreme Patriarch (religious head of the Thai Buddhist sangha appointed by the King) issued a decree prohibiting monks from giving ordination to women. The decree, known as the 1928 Sangha Act, proclaimed that bhikkhunis must be present to ordain the women, otherwise ordination was not possible.

The nuns living in Narin’s compound apparently remained in robes for more than a year despite the decree, but at some point they were spotted on their morning alms round. In September of 1929 government officials intervened, and all eight women were put on trial. During the hearing the women were told that by claiming to be ordained and putting on robes similar to those of monks, they had engaged in an act that ‘disgraced the religion’.9 They were asked to disrobe. Four of them complied, but Chongdi was among the nuns who refused. The convicted women ‘fought off a group of prison guards and female inmates deployed to carry them off to prison’.10 Eventually they were imprisoned and forced to disrobe.

The 1928 Sangha Act, often referred to as ‘the bhikkhuni ban’, is still cited by the Thai government in upholding the country’s refusal to accept ordained women. In Thailand the Thai sangha is closely linked to the government. In The Bhikkhuni Lineage, a pamphlet Venerable Dhammananda wrote in 2004, she referred to the Sangha Act as the ‘first structural violence against women, in black and white’, because, essentially, it ‘defined Sangha as only (being) a community of monks’.11

Venerable Dhammananda gained valuable insights from Narin’s failed attempt. The fact that he conducted the ordination in secret was cited as a problem because no one knew if the required number of bhikkhus was present. There may have been only one bhikkhu present to give ordination, in which case it was not done properly in accordance with the Vinaya – the rules and procedures that govern the Theravada Buddhist sangha. By the time Venerable Dhammananda decided to receive full ordination, she knew it would have to be done in public, and with a minimum of five bhikkhus present.

Biographies at bottom of feature

Excerpted with permission from Integral Vipissana: Mindfulness through Psychology, Neuroscience, and the Satipatthana Sutta. Highpoint Life, 228 pages, US$19.99. Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and booksellers globally. Copyright © 2023 by Rodriguez and Molloy.

The Buddha faced the challenge of discovering how the human mind works without the knowledge we possess today in physiology or neuroscience. Therefore, the language he used was symbolic, ambiguous, and sometimes cryptic. For that reason it can be incredibly valuable to illuminate the Satipatthana Sutta – the Buddha’s discourse on the four foundations of mindfulness – in the context of contemporary neuroscience, psychology. The result is a powerful new path to mindfulness and happiness for Buddhist meditators at all levels.

The fourth foundation is an immersion in the flow of experiencing continually changing states of consciousness. Vipassana is all about witnessing the arising and ceasing of phenomena and discovering the causal link that joins them. When we meditate, we try to discover the order that is implicit in the bewildering flow of phenomena. Thus, we realize the need for a certain mental stability. Perspicacity leads to calm, and calm leads to perspicacity. Meditation leads to understanding and controlling all the obstacles to calm: agitation or disconnection, cognitive, affective, and somatic. This process gives us insight into the causal relationships between physical sensation and desire, perception and conditioning, or cognitive structures and consciousness.

The word dhamma is used in nearly all doctrines and religions of Indian origin to refer to the truth, the law, or universal order. In Buddhism, dhamma refers to the Buddha’s teachings, or the Buddha’s truth. By extension, dhamma is also used to refer to mental phenomena or events as being the only reality we have. We must remember that for the Buddha, as well as for other Eastern traditions, this experience is more real than the outside world. The only certainty is what is experienced in each moment.

Although we can direct attention towards specific aspects of experience such as somatic activities, those of feeling or of knowing, all of these are encountered in that flow of phenomena that we call “experience.”

Experience includes experiencing its own phenomena. In other words, we can develop knowledge about experience, as occurs with the three previous foundations, or we can live the experience. The fourth foundation of attention deals with phenomenological experience—the contemplation of experience just as it is.

It would seem that consciousness can know itself, but in doing so it generates a “blind spot,” a moment of separation that in turn produces the interplay of nama and rupa, what knows and what is known. From this perspective there is no dualism—instead, it is one thing that turns upon itself and objectifies and materializes it.

This process that collapses consciousness into matter begins with the development of reception and emission systems between the two aspects of consciousness, thereby producing the appearance of inside-outside. The generation of a limit gives rise to the experience of separation between one and the other. From now on, the maintenance of one is prioritized over the whole, and it becomes the individual.
The centrality and sovereignty of the individual converts the flow of consciousness into an individual experience, a management system based upon receiving and transmitting information. Through this, the individual is able to sustain the experience of existing as a separate entity.

Experience begins with sensation, which is the experience of connecting. Contact involves the object, the receiver, and consciousness. For instance, shape and color are the object that an eye can receive, but this contact would not produce anything were there to be no consciousness. What knows the contact between the eye and the visible object is visual awareness. To have visual knowledge or awareness does not mean objective knowledge, in the sense of true knowledge, given that the eye is only able to capture what it has been conditioned for, its materiality being a type of that same conditioning. To have awareness or to be aware does not imply that this is decided voluntarily, even though awareness implies intentionality (as this is materialized in the evolutionary process itself, generating behaviors that are not explicitly elaborated but rather implicitly executed). The remarkable thing about this process is that we can convert what realizes into the object of realization, giving rise to a process of self-knowledge, self-transformation, and self-transcendence.

It is not a case then that the object and the sensory base produce consciousness but that there must be consciousness for the object and the base to make contact. In this model, consciousness is a fundamental component of reality that is beyond space and time. As we saw in the contemplation of the mind, time is a concept that is the origin of the individual, while space is another concept that begins with proprioception and is then represented internally, thereby creating the mental space of representations. Consciousness is what maintains balance. It is needed for material objects and matter in the sensory base to produce sensation by their interaction, which is space-time located experience. The knowing operations performed on sensation generate a personalized perception of the world.

The Five Hindrances

To heed the fourth foundation is to heed the flow of experience and recognize in it the products of conditioning, stripping back experience until its disappearance.

A stable mind is only possible if it transcends a series of limitations that we nevertheless consider to be inherent to its own functioning. Firstly, one must transcend doubt in the form of critical thoughts, which prevent us from immersing ourselves in the natural flow of phenomena—what we have called “first-person experience.” Secondly, one must free oneself from preferences and expectations, which come in the shape of, for example, ill will or a desire for sensual pleasures. Thirdly, a stable mind needs to know how to manage skillfully moments of agitation or torpor that occur regularly, whether due to psychodynamic circumstances or organismic causes. These then are the obstacles that the Sutta refers to, and we intend to clarify them in this section.

When we practice meditation, we are using a technology that modifies the flow of phenomena. Although we are paying attention to the tactile sensations of breathing or we are listening to outside noise, it is our feelings or thoughts that take on a greater dimension. There is an abundance of incoming information from the mind itself, and not so much from the external senses. As we go deeper into meditation, attention focuses on experience and its most intimate nooks. There is a change of perspective that aims to witness mental phenomena more clearly and to limit the influence of physical phenomena on the process. To be precise, the “meditative set-up” is designed to experience more clearly exactly how the mind constructs experience. If the psychological system worked properly, we could direct attention towards the respiratory process without any interruption, and we could be present in the whole range of bodily movements and activities. It would not be doubted that the body is nothing more than a set of processes with a life cycle; rather, it would be accepted that the mind makes an experience pleasant or unpleasant, and that the mind constructs concepts and beliefs that pollute the experience and are not healthy for the body.

However, unfortunately, there is a whole series of activities that stops the system from simply paying attention to phenomena as they emerge and cease to be. Sati and samadhi, well balanced by vayama, could repose on the respiratory process (or on any other object or process) the limited unified attention skills capable of effortlessly observing the process moment by moment. However, when we want to turn our attention to the flow of experience, attention fluctuates, and our attention resources wane. To be able to attend consciously, we choose one single process, breathing, which helps us learn samadhi or the necessary psychological activity so as to be present in all the experience processes. Whichever process we choose, the mind has to learn to be attentive, focused, and stable. To this end, it has to overcome what the Sutta calls “hindrances” to samadhi. (See Figure 12.)

The hindrances to samadhi are the hindrances of the attention system. Sati attends to changes in samadhi and vayama. Samadhi is in charge of directing attentional focus, but it suffers from the hindrances of selective attention—that is to say, the conditioning of what to focus on and how to focus effectively. The amount of effort and activation depends on vayama, which suffers from the hindrances of alertness and vigilance—in other words, too much effort or laxness when exercising attention.

This may seem contradictory, but it is a polarity. We tend towards either over-exerting and making too many demands on ourselves, or on the contrary, self-condescension and self-indulgence. In one case, there is an excess of effort, and in the other, an excess of laxity.

Understanding the Hindrances

Although it is traditional to talk of five hindrances, what does this concept really mean? A pedagogical and descriptive way of looking at it is based on three forces employed by “that which realizes” to relate to the phenomenon: safe-insecure, attractive-repulsive, and active-inactive.

The five hindrances can be understood as the flow of experience subject to these three forces. Certainty controls distrust, satisfaction controls desire, and agency controls interest.

The first hindrance is traditionally labelled as “doubt,” and it is experienced as cognitive resistance to ceasing its activity. In other words, doubt is thought necessary for adequate cognitive activity. The “I narrator” we have referred to, for instance, tends to get involved continually.

This “I” is a construct with all the conscious and unconscious memories of what it considers “its history.” This history is woven from beliefs and expectations about itself, concepts and ideas about things, and judgments and perceptions elaborated to suit itself. It is continuously opining and making decisions based on all of this, believing that it is a sovereign and lasting entity, rational and correct. Every kind of image, memory, and thought emerge in the mind because of its inertia. Doubt is the manifestation in experience of a lower level of certainty, or confidence, held in the practice of conscious attention as a method for liberation.

Affective reactivity is usually described as the obstacles of “desire for sensual pleasures” and “ill will.” The conditioned mind tends to seek its usual “sensual palliatives” and to obsess over its preferred “enemies” instead of reposing in serenity. Individual and family survival are the origins of the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Attacks, avoidance, sexual desire, caring for oneself and for others, the desire to exist, submission, comparison, and depression are deeply and unconsciously entrenched in the human mind, and they have been modelled in everybody by the search for reinforcement and by the avoidance of frustration. The considerable force of attraction and repulsion has resulted in addictions and aversions that dominate our lives, even if we justify our actions with the very best reasoning and a longing for justice.

Activation-level conditioning ranges between “restlessness or agitation” and “sloth or lethargy.” Working together with the other obstacles, the organism gets agitated or depressed, preventing us from being attentive to the present. Regulating the activation level of the organism is a primary function, one that is very primitive and basic. Although it can be affected by abrupt changes in the environment, as well as by voluntary activation or relaxation activities, it has a characteristic tonic shape in each organism. To speak about the activation level is to speak about the vitality of the organism.

The alertness level is the energetic momentum of the organism. Activation is subservient to survival of the individual or species and is directed by the reflexes of orientation and selective attention. Whatever in the immediate environment that may be good or dangerous for the organism is selected. This selection and orientation system starts out as an unconscious orientation reflex, programmed by phylogenetic inheritance and preverbal experiences, which later becomes a conscious skill that helps guide us towards what interests us, or escape from anything that is threatening.

There is also subliminal guidance that works based on prejudice and an ability to inhibit any tendencies that depend on executive attention. Executive attention also needs a sufficient level of activation to be able to perform its functions. Too much activation starts up automatic processing, potentially resulting in more errors; too low an activation level does not allow us to clearly detect what the mind is doing, and consequently, we’re unable to execute actions which are appropriate to the situation. When both intention and selection cease, alertness always remains as passive surveillance. It will only kickstart the other two systems when there is a real danger to the survival of the organism.

Notwithstanding, the labels used to name obstacles can confuse us. Sati detects the changes in the quality and content of awareness, not concepts. It is not particularly useful to observe the obstacles’ content in itself, which is often times obvious and repetitive. What is useful is the change resulting from the interference by the other attentional networks that drag observation towards other phenomena. These interferences can be changes in the activation level of the organism and a resulting oscillation between agitation and lethargy. There can also be cognitive changes that oscillate between uncertainty and credulity, and above all, affective obstacles that oscillate between attraction and repulsion.

So, attention is subject to opposing forces that mutually cancel out at the point of equilibrium: calmness for the level of activation, confidence for the cognitive, and impartiality for the affective.

Maintaining Balance in the Face of Hindrances

The “meditative stage” modifies the usual state of consciousness. The body is used to responding to external and internal stimuli with physical or verbal behavior. However, in meditative practice behavior is restricted by immobility and silence, which in turn produces physical tension or mental agitation. This tension can grow because of the effort of focusing attention on the phenomenon (samadhi) and the agitation due to the high speed of the process, which stops us from being present in the changes (sati).

Vayama is in charge of maintaining balance or, to put it another way, of managing the tension and agitation. Too much effort on concentration leads to mental irritation and obsession, while too much attention to change produces disorientation and confusion.

To be present in the process, or sati, is to keep processing slowly, frame by frame. Reducing processing speed allows for an improved focus on each phenomenon (samadhi). Improved focus makes it more obvious when there is presence, which then allows us to realize there is change in the phenomenon. At first, sati often is lost due to the intrusion of a conditioned phenomenon—and when it reappears, many phenomena may have passed without us detecting them. However, with training we can be present when the new phenomenon arises, and in time we can be present at the beginning, middle, and end of the entire sequence without obsessing or becoming disorientated.

When we deliberately try to pay attention to the process of mental phenomena, we discover that most of the time, sati is not present. Instead, the experience process is being controlled by a series of automated associative chains, composed of cognitive prejudices, affective preferences, and alterations in the level of body alertness. If our only intention is to keep focusing on a single object, we will not realize that all this activity is going on, and we will continue voluntarily stretching the system without understanding precisely how it works. However, if the intention is to discover how dissatisfaction works, we will see that the process has its own dynamics, and the illusion that “I” controls the experience will begin to fade.

The change in the body’s activation level imposed by being both immobile and vertical may produce pleasure or displeasure. These in turn may be related to sensory images or memories that activate or deactivate the organism in a continuous chain of associations and modifications that the “I” in its usual state of consciousness may not even notice. Those are the manifestation of the “hindrances.” The mind, explicitly or implicitly, realizes that there are continual changes in the object of attention and begins to experience the strength of the interconnections, which stops it from breaking and stopping them. The development of sati will reveal these conditionings, bringing about effective regulation of the incoming information by the six senses, its affective evaluation, and its cognitive processing.

Fernando Rodriguez Bornaetxea, PhD, was a lecturer in The History of Psychology and Transpersonal Psychology at The University of The Basque Country for twenty-one years. He spent thirty years with his Master, Ajhan Dhiravamsa, who entrusted him with the task of transmitting the Dhamma. He has worked as a psychotherapist for over thirty years. He leads meditation retreats, teaches Buddhist Psychology courses and is a writer and lecturer.

Andrew A.H. Molloy, MA in TEFL, has spent over 40 years teaching English in firms, universities and at business schools throughout Italy, Catalonia and The Basque Country. He has studied Vipassana and meditated with Fernando for over 20 years

Excerpted with permission from Integral Vipissana: Mindfulness through Psychology, Neuroscience, and the Satipatthana Sutta. Highpoint Life, 228 pages, US$19.99. Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and booksellers globally. Copyright © 2023 by Rodriguez and Molloy.

“Silent Illumination is often called the method of no-method because it does not ask us to focus the mind on any particular object such as the breath. There is nothing to do, but you can’t do nothing, so you have to start with something. It is a way of clear and total open awareness, moment-to-moment experience that simultaneously reveals our intrinsic enlightenment. Silent Illumination is a relaxing into the present that allows us to shed our habits of self-centered attachment—and consequently our suffering—without force, like leaves falling from a tree in autumn.” — Excerpt from Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method

We present an illuminating excerpt (below) from Rebecca Li’s soon-to-be-released book Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method, with permission.

Although a “how-to” for a method described as “no method” may seem counter-intuitive, this provocative approach suggests we “Think about what you are doing right now. You are focusing on these words and perhaps trying to figure out what I am saying. This is a convergence of moments—our learning to read and write, everything and everyone involved in the publication and distribution of this book.” The author helpfully  steer us gently away from the obstacles of our own misconceptions.

She writes: “We tend not to understand our self and reality this way. We believe, “I made this happen. It is all me and me alone, fighting against the obstacles thrown at me by the world.” I would be mistaken to think that I wrote this book. The reality is we all wrote this book together. Your desire for spiritual growth is one of the causes and conditions that got publishers, editors, and booksellers interested in this endeavor. Without my teachers and the practitioners in my Dharma classes and Chan retreats, there would be nothing for me to share on these pages.”

In this excerpt she qualifies that “that language is limited in its power to accurately describe and articulate what is going on when we meditate, so we need to be very careful not to use our preconceived notions to interpret these terms.” For all the limitations of words, Rebecca Li’s concise Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method admirably guides us through the non-method of “serene clarity.”

• More about Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method
• Available October 31 2023 from the Shambala website>>

Excerpt

An Excerpt from Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method

by Rebecca Li

THE METHOD OF NO-METHOD

What Silent Illumination Is

Silent Illumination is often called the method of no-method because it does not ask us to focus the mind on any particular object such as the breath. There is nothing to do, but you can’t do nothing, so you have to start with something. It is a way of clear and total open awareness, moment-to-moment experience that simultaneously reveals our intrinsic enlightenment. Silent Illumination is a relaxing into the present that allows us to shed our habits of self-centered attachment—and consequently our suffering—without force, like leaves falling from a tree in autumn.

Beautiful words, right? However, you may be thinking, “So, you are telling me to sit here and cultivate clear awareness while seeing my intrinsic enlightenment. But if there is no method, what am I supposed to do?”

Good question.

First, it is helpful to understand a little bit about what these two words—silent and illumination—mean when it comes to Chan practice. For many people just hearing the words can cause some misunderstanding of what it is that we are doing. It is important to remember that language is limited in its power to accurately describe and articulate what is going on when we meditate, so we need to be very careful not to use our preconceived notions to interpret these terms.

Let’s start with the silent in Silent Illumination. The word might make you think, “Ah! I know exactly what it is: Blank mind. Silent mind. Nothing-going-on mind.” And you may believe you know what to do next: tell yourself to shut up as you try to silence the mind. By doing this, you can make it so that no thought arises, so that everything is completely quiet. You may create the illusion of silence by blocking thoughts from your awareness, but that is not an accurate understanding of “silence” in Silent Illumination.

Silence refers to nonreactivity to the activity of our minds—thoughts, feelings, memories, anticipation—rather than the absence of activity itself. To put it another way, silence is about not succumbing to habitual reactivity to what is going on. Of course, as many meditation teachers have said in myriad ways, this is simple but not easy. We each have a living, breathing body with a brain that works and neurons that fire, and as long as we are alive, we will experience sensations and thoughts. That is not a problem; it is not something bad that needs eliminating. It is part of being human. Entrenched within each of us is the habit of creating suffering by activating what Master Sheng Yen called vexations (kleshas in Sanskrit). The three most common vexations are as follows:

• Craving more of what we perceive to be pleasant
• Being averse to, hating, or resisting what we perceive to be unpleasant
• Harboring fundamental ignorance or lack of clarity about the true nature of existence—that every moment is the coming together of many causes and conditions, which is often referred to as emptiness (or shunyata)

Think about the times you have been in a space where everyone is supposed to be quiet—at a lecture or concert, perhaps in a library. You make a sound, and someone turns to you and says, “Shh! Be quiet.” They have not prevented the first sound and have instead made more noise. Imagine it is someone else making the noise, perhaps by dropping a cup. There is a sound and then it is gone. But if we react by saying, “What a terrible sound! Why can’t that person be more careful?” that is not silence. It is noise we added. Things happen. Thoughts arise. And then they go away. There is no need to react to them, perpetuate them, or judge them, agitating the mind unnecessarily.

Bring that kind of understanding to your meditation practice. If you are meditating and a thought arises and you tell yourself not to think, to keep quiet, or to shut up, you are making noise and agitating the mind. This is not silence. The thought is there (that is not a problem), but the noise we make in response to the thought is the opposite of the silence of Silent Illumination and comes from our habitual reactivity, no place else.

To look at it another way, you might hear the word silence and think, “Oh, silence means nothing. Nothing in the mind. How do I get rid of everything?” This is an extremely common response, this attachment to quietism. If you have that tendency, be conscious of it. Allow yourself to be clearly aware, fully experiencing whatever is going on, whatever is arising in your mind. Silence does not mean nothing is happening in the mind. Silence refers to knowing clearly what is arising there but not succumbing to the compulsion to push it away, crave more of it, block it, or deny its presence. Those are all types of mental agitation; they are not silence.

The Chinese words for Silent Illumination can also be translated as “serene clarity.” It is a helpful choice of words because serene does not immediately imply no sound, which tends to be the automatic association most of us make with the word silence. The word serene evokes tranquil, calm, unflustered, or unagitated. Letting be. For example, seeing thoughts and allowing them rather than pushing them away. Think of Silent Illumination as this practice of allowing. We can be serene about what is going on and clearly aware that there are thoughts. We needn’t fall into our compulsion to push them away or act on them; instead, we can allow the thought to be here—fully seen, heard, and experienced, and move on.

Silent Illumination is not about engaging in meditation with the hope that nothing challenging will happen in life. That is wishful thinking. Some people get stuck there as if believing they’ve found some secret deal we can make with the Buddha promising that nothing bad will happen if we meditate in just the right way. We won’t lose our jobs, our parents won’t die, our kids will get perfect grades in school— whatever we think is our perfect life. When difficult things happen, we feel that all our practice was for nothing. Check to see if you secretly harbor such beliefs. They can operate without our knowing it.

As John Crook showed me, silence does not mean that nothing happens in the mind. In fact, during meditation, whether it is sitting meditation or moving practice, powerful emotions can arise. You can be fully with whatever is in your mind, experiencing it all the way from the moment it emerges to the moment it fades to nothing, but usually that is not how we experience emotions. Maybe we feel sadness and think, “I do not want to feel that. I am strong. I am not supposed to feel sad.” Or we feel anger and think, “I am not supposed to feel angry. I’ve been taught that we are not supposed to feel angry.”

That is not silence.

When an emotion arises in response to something that happened, that is a mental sensation and through the practice of Silent Illumination you can learn to notice it and allow it to go away effortlessly. (Remember those leaves falling from the tree?) What happens is that our reaction or resistance, coming from our conditioning—very often cultural conditioning—leads us to automatically assume some inherently good or bad qualities about each sensation that compels us to react, adding judgmental thoughts—and that is not silence. This nonsilence—this agitation of the mind—blocks our ability to clearly see and realize the true nature of reality, the true nature of our self as it is. You might have read or heard podcasts, talks, and books describing this, but only you can access it in this moment.

Reality as it is. It is all here. That is illumination.

Illumination and silence are not separate. Silent Illumination is not a sequence. It is not “I’ll become silent first and then illumination will happen.” Silence and illumination are two sides of the same coin, illumination being the function of a mind that is not reactive. As we practice, we’ll come to experience illumination of everything as it is—connected, not separate. It is merely our idea that there is this and that, there is me and you, and even there is silence and there is illumination. This creates a distorted view and blocks us from seeing that everything is the manifestation of the coming together of many causes and conditions: we are all interconnected.

Think about what you are doing right now. You are focusing on these words and perhaps trying to figure out what I am saying. This is a convergence of moments—our learning to read and write, everything and everyone involved in the publication and distribution of this book, your choice of this book among all the others on the shelf, the circumstances in your life that allow you to have this moment to sit down to read. This moment is a miracle cocreated by all of this and all of us. You may stay with my words and decide to give this practice a try and allow it to transform your life, but you could as easily succumb to another thought like “I’ll just watch TV. That is what I usually do in the evening to relax.” You can follow that thought, put down the book, never return to it, and the practice of Silent Illumination will not become part of your life. Every moment, every thought and action in response to those thoughts, shapes future moments that together make up our lives. Yet we are seldom aware of the fact that we hold the key to reveal the true nature of our own lives right now in this moment.

We tend not to understand our self and reality this way. We believe, “I made this happen. It is all me and me alone, fighting against the obstacles thrown at me by the world.” I would be mistaken to think that I wrote this book. The reality is we all wrote this book together. Your desire for spiritual growth is one of the causes and conditions that got publishers, editors, and booksellers interested in this endeavor. Without my teachers and the practitioners in my Dharma classes and Chan retreats, there would be nothing for me to share on these pages. I did my part in initiating the project and carrying it through, but it would be a huge distortion of reality to think that “I” made this happen. Without the encouragement and support of everyone involved, directly or indirectly, and all the institutions in our society that make it possible for an ordinary person like me to write and publish a book, you would not be reading this. If I believe that I made this book happen through my own hard work and intellect it becomes all about me, and that is not the whole reality. Yet, subtly, one way or another, we all forget this, and when we do, we obstruct the Silent Illumination that reveals the true nature of our reality.

Excerpt from Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method. Copyright © 2023 by Rebecca Li. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

About the Book

More about Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method

Available October 31 2023 from the Shambala website>>

Synopsis

Silent illumination, a way of penetrating the mind through curious inquiry, is an especially potent, accessible, and portable meditation practice perfectly suited for a time when there is so much fear, upheaval, and sorrow in our world. It is a method of reconnecting with our true nature, which encompasses all that exists and where suffering cannot touch us.

The practice of silent illumination is simple, allowing each moment to be experienced as it is in order to manifest our innate wisdom and natural capacity for compassion. It can be integrated into all aspects of daily life and is meaningful for secular and Buddhist audiences, new and seasoned meditators alike.

After guiding readers through the history and practice of silent illumination, Rebecca Li shows us how we can recognize and unlearn our “modes of operation”—habits of mind that get in the way of being fully present and engaged with life. Cultivating clarity on the empty nature of these habits offers us a way to unlearn and free ourselves from unhelpful modes such as harshness to self, perfectionism, quietism, striving for spiritual attainment, and more.

Illumination offers stories and real-life examples, references to classic Buddhist texts, and insights from Chan Master Sheng Yen to guide readers as they practice silent illumination not just on their cushions, but throughout their lives.

About the Author

This is an excerpt from Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo’s amazing new book Threads of Awakening. In Threads of Awakening, Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo beautifully tells her story as a personal spiritual memoir,  seamlessly weaving (pun intended) elements of artistic tradition and method, personal memoir — and even beautiful descriptions of many popular Buddhas and Yidams. It makes the flow of the narrative very captivating.

• Read her interview with Buddha Weekly with some beautiful photos of her work>>
• Threads of Awakening website>>

His Holiness Will See You Now

DHARAMSALA, INDIA—1997

Voices wafted through the glass doors, muffled by heavy cream-colored curtains decorated with rust-hued flowers and gray-green leaves. We’d been told he was meeting a group of new arrivals on the veranda and would then come inside to talk with us. The Dalai Lama would be with us shortly. I urged my breath to calm and my hands to cease their nervous fidgeting.

From our seats in the reception room, we could hear urgent murmuring laced with soft whimpers and punctuated by an aching wail.

“Ya, ya.” The deep voice that responded was unmistakable and full of empathy. His Holiness welcomed the group of refugees into the warm embrace of his presence. The force of his listening filled the space like a balm as he comforted and reassured com- patriots of all ages who had made the long and perilous trek out of Tibet to Dharamsala, India, to see him at least once in this lifetime. They’d traveled over frozen mountains, spent all their money, risked capture by Chinese guards and shakedowns by Nepali officials for this opportunity to glimpse their exiled leader. They yearned to receive his blessing and, maybe, to give their children the possibility of a Tibetan education. Some would settle here. Others would leave their children here to study their native language and culture among the Tibetan exile community while they themselves made the long journey back to a home where such study is forbidden.

Inside, I sat erect on the firm edge of a beige tweed sofa, fiddling with the rolled white scarf I’d brought to offer my respect to His Holiness in the customary Tibetan way. Excitement coursed through my body, making it hard to keep my hands still. Every now and then I stretched out my fingers, willing my sweaty palms to dry.

An arm’s length to my left on the same couch sat my father, quietly thrilled to have been invited to share such an unexpected opportunity with his itinerant daughter. I don’t think I’d ever seen my dad nervous before. It made him look younger than his sixty-two years, and softer. He’d been growing more tender anyway as time passed. The high-strung young father who had expected perfection and made me feel like mistakes were dangerous had been replaced some years back by an easygoing guy I liked a lot better. To have Dad here as my companion and witness in this moment, awaiting the blessing of the kindest man on earth, well, that in itself felt like a blessing.

The room was large enough to hold fifty people or more and contained as many chairs—some capacious enough to draw one’s legs up and sit cross-legged within them, others straight and narrow. But the furnishings had been arranged with such attention that our seating area at one end of the room felt almost cozy, just right for intimate conversation. Mountain sunlight filtered through leaf-shaded windows softly illuminating the space.

In one window near our end of the room, curtains had been parted to reveal the Buddha, my Buddha, the silk thangka I’d spent the last two years stitching. It hung from the window latches, precisely framed by the curtains as if it had been made for just this spot, this moment. I delighted at the way the backlighting brought it to life. Was it just the light from the window making it glow in that way? Or was it the fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was about to lay eyes on my creation, to offer his assessment, his advice, and (dare I hope?) his approval?

A door swung open without warning. Dad and I scrambled to our feet, white scarves in hand, as a guard ushered the maroon-robed monk into the room. He paused before the thangka, offering a respectful greeting to the patchwork Buddha, then turned, fully present, to convene with us humans.

Book Details

Editorial Reviews

There can be no doubt of the vast contribution of the great female wisdom masters of Tibetan Buddhism, yet with the notable exception of Yeshe Togyal and Machig Labdron, there are precious few stories of their lives. Elisabeth Benard, Ph.D., set out to explore the secret world of the great meditation masters of the Sakya tradition — masters who happen to be among the greatest female lamas in Tibetan Buddhism. Their stories are inspirational and fascinating.

We were delighted that Elisabeth Benard agreed to a revealing interview into this world of the great Sakya Jetsunmas. She spent years researching their stories — speaking with His Holiness the Sakya Trichen and his sister Her Eminence Jetsun Kushok — and released a wonderful biography of these masters: The Sakya Jetsunmas: the Hidden World of Tibetan Female Lamas.

• Available from your favorite bookseller, or Amazon (details below.) 

While this highly readable book is certainly a valuable scholarly contribution, Elisabeth writes an engaging and fascinating account that goes beyond the riveting history —  an easy-to-enjoy book that should appeal to both Tibetan Buddhists and readers of biographies.

What does his Holiness the Sakya Trichen think of this exploration of the fascinating lineage of the Khon family? In his own words:

“This invaluable work on the Sakya Jetsunmas offers an intimate look into the lives of four exceptional yoginīs who were outstanding by virtue of both their birth and their spiritual accomplishments. Biographies of realized female spiritual adepts are few and far between, and until now this has also been true of the Jetsunmas of the Khon family. And so, it is a huge boon that the pages of this wonderful book are so abundantly filled with rich details of the Jetsunmas’ extraordinary lives. The book is filled with wonder and is bound to inspire and instruct not only female practitioners but anyone who is walking the spiritual path in earnest. I pray that it may lead uncountable beings to enlightenment.” —His Holiness the Forty-First Sakya Trichen

• Don’t miss an excerpt chapter from the amazing biography — chapter four in this amazing book — “Lama to All: Jetsunma Tamdrin Wangmo (1836-96) — found here>>

What motivated you to write this book?

Buddha Weekly:  What motivated you to write about the remarkable Jetsumas of the Sakya Lineage? What was the motivating “aha” moment that inspired the book?

Elisabeth Benard: Since I was in high school, biographies have entranced me. In the late 1970’s, I was working during the summer near Wall Street in New York City. During my lunch break, 

I would sit on a bench near the East River. This is where I read my first Tibetan biography, The Life of Milarepa (the cotton clad yogi). Suddenly I was transported from a major financial center of the world to the Himalayas. I read with fascination the trials and triumphs of the great yogi. Milarepa and Marpa, his teacher, are viewed as a paragon of the lama/disciple relationship.  But, also, I was intrigued by Marpa’s wife, Dagmema, who helped Milarepa in a more loving manner than her husband. Over the decades, being interested in Tibetan female practitioners I sought out the few biographies available, such Machik Labdron. 

I discovered the Sakya jetsunmas accidentally. I noticed that in the Sakya guru lineage of Vajrayogini, there was a woman, Chime Tenpai Nyima. His Holiness Sakya Kyabgon Gongma Trichen Rinpoche (the 41^st Sakya Trizin) thus told me that she was a Sakya Khon jetsunma.  This began my long research, perhaps for fifteen years, on and off whenever I had time.

During that time, I discovered that almost no one knew about the jetsunmas, not even scholars who were interested in writing about Tibetan female practitioners. I am very pleased that I can present to others a book filled with biographies of Tibetan female practitioners. As my friend, Alexander Gardner, director of the Treasury of Lives: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Tibet, Inner Asia, and the Himalayan Region (treasuryoflives.org) said, “We have so few biographies of women that we look at your book as a gold mine!” 

Your background?

Buddha Weekly: Can you tell us a little about your background?

Elisabeth Benard: I have been involved with Tibetan Buddhism since the late 1970s. My first teacher was the third Dezhung Rinpoche (1906-1987). At the time I was searching for a Buddhist teacher, not necessarily a Tibetan one.  One day a friend told me that there would be an initiation in the evening and suggested that I join him.

I worried about an “initiation”; it sounded cultish to me. Accompanying him to the initiation, I sat way in the back to observe and perhaps to exit quickly if needed.  An elderly man arrived, and the audience showed him great respect.  A ceremony occurred with chanting, incense wafting, bells tinkling and people repeating things.  I really had no idea what was happening.  When the ceremony finished, I decided to leave.  But suddenly, I felt compelled to go towards the lama. Completely bewildered and unable to resist, as I approached this elderly man, I began to cry uncontrollably. When I was directly in front of him, he was beaming and blessed me with a small Buddha statue on my head. From that moment, I knew that I found my teacher.  Later I learned that the initiation had been an empowerment of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokitesvara.

I consider Dezhung Rinpoche, one of my root gurus. Through him, I met Sakya Kyabgon Gongma Trichen Rinpoche and Her Eminence, Jetsun Kushok a few years later.  They are my three main root gurus, whom I cherish.

Jetsunma you especially admire?

Buddha Weekly: Was there one of the Jetsumas that you especially admire? What is it about her life that inspired you? 

Elisabeth Benard: I like each of the jetsunmas for different reasons. Chime Tenpai Nyima was remarkable because she is the only woman in two main teachings lineages.  Tamdrin Wangmo was a lama who loved to teach. She sought different teachings which were being lost and she was able to preserve the traditions. Pema Trinlei was originally a teacher but later in life, she decided to be a yogini living in a cave. Jetsun Kushok married due to the circumstances of becoming a refugee.  Being married and having four children did not prevent her from becoming a great lama.  Each of the jetsunmas had her distinct life and chose different paths.

Working with His Holiness Sakya Trichen

Buddha Weekly: Can you tell us about your experience interviewing His Holiness Sakya Kyabgon Gongma Trichen Rinpoche?

Elisabeth Benard: His Holiness is the epitome of wisdom and compassion.  He is a very kind and caring lama who tries to help in any way possible. I feel fortunate to have a refuge in His Holiness and Her Eminence. When I approached His Holiness with the idea to write about the Sakya jetsunmas, he was delighted and encouraging. It felt as if he had been waiting for someone to learn about the Sakya daughters and about how his elder sister, Her Eminence Jetsun Kushok was part of this illustrious lineage. I interviewed him numerous times, both in India and the United States. He told me stories from the oral tradition, occasionally gave me texts and related his own memories. In the beginning I thought that I would write some brief biographies, but as I collected the information, it became apparent that I could write an entire book. 

Jetsunmas who shaped numerous lives

Buddha Weekly: “Having this awareness, these jetsunmas are remembered as great lamas who shaped numerous lives in Tibet, just as Jetsun Kushok trains and guides Buddhist practitioners today throughout the world.” From your book. Can you discuss your experience interviewing Jetsun Kushok? 

Elisabeth Benard: Jetsun Kushok is a gracious person. As an aside, she has delicate hands which are beautiful to watch when she is making mudras. When you visit her, she gives you her full attention and seems to know what you want before you mention it.  At times, during numerous interviews, she told me the answer before I asked the question. 

Also, she was good at directing me with respect to what was more important. In the beginning I knew very little about the subject and she helped me understand the history and dynamics of the Sakya Khon family. She explained who are the jetsunmas, what are some major empowerments for them and what is a daily life routine for a jetsunma.  

It was, also, interesting to hear the same story from His Holiness and Her Eminence.  Sometimes, each would give me some extra information which helped to make the story more complete. I felt fortunate to have this unique opportunity to interview both of them many times over the years.

How long did it take to research?

Buddha Weekly: How many years did it take to research this incredible book? What was your process? 

Elisabeth Benard: It wasn’t a smooth process since I was working full time and didn’t have much time to devote to research and writing the book. Probably it took about 15 years. I relied very much on the genealogies of the Sakya families. Though these genealogies are extensive for the Sakya Trizins and the sons, the information about the daughters is very scant.  It required a lot of reading for a few morsels about the jetsunmas.  The other source which consists of two large volumes is Autobiographical Reminiscences of Sakya Trizin Dragshul Trinlei Rinchen, the grandfather of His Holiness and Her Eminence. My Tibetan husband, Nima Dorjee, helped me with this considerable work. Together, we perused over a thousand pages of the grandfather’s autobiography to find information.  

Much of the oral history is from both His Holiness and Her Eminence.  Sometimes, they were so busy that I had to wait a year or two for an interview. At other times, I would meet someone who knew the family well and suddenly I received additional information.  For example, in 2009 while I was visiting Sikkim, I decided to visit the Ngor Sakya Monastery in hopes of finding someone who knew the family.  The first time that I went, I didn’t meet anyone.  However, during the second time, I met the abbot, Khenpo Tenzin Dawa, who had many stories about the family, especially when they arrived in Sikkim and India.  If I hadn’t return for the second time, I would never have met the abbot.  These unexpected encounters occurred numerous times and I was able to gather much more information that made the stories more interesting and varied.

The unfailing loyalty of Jetsun Lochen

Buddha Weekly: You tell the wonderful stories of inspirational Jetsumas, but you also frankly discuss their difficulties and some of the inequities. I was especially moved by the loyalty Jetsun Lochen despite the challenges presented by her teacher. Perhaps you could tell this story? I like the way you emphasized Jetsun Lochen’s unfailing loyalty despite being ignored by her teacher. 

Elisabeth Benard: In Tibetan Buddhism, lamas stress that practice trumps gender.  If one practices diligently, eventually one becomes enlightened. Every being has Buddha nature.  However, as in many societies, people create differences and, in some cases, women have less opportunities to practice because of household and child raising responsibilities. In Tibet, the opportunities for women to be practitioners were limited.  Whereas young men could attend and learn in well-funded monasteries throughout Tibet.  Nunneries were small and rarely well-supported.  Thus, when I discovered that the Sakya Khon families were committed to nurture and develop spiritual acumen impartially in both their daughters and sons, I was joyous.  This family has kept this commitment that has extended for over a millennium.

Vajrayogini teachings from Dezhung Rinpoche

Buddha Weekly: What’s your favorite recollection from writing this book?

Elisabeth Benard: Since Dezhung Rinpoche was my first lama, I was delighted to be able to interview his younger sister, Ani Chime and his niece, Dagmo Kushok about Jetsunma Pema Trinlei. As they told me their encounter with Jetsunma Pema Trinlei in the cave and receiving the Vajrayogini teachings that Dezhung Rinpoche had requested, I felt transported to that extraordinary week. Later I was fortunate to receive the Vajrayogini teachings from Dezhung Rinpoche.  From Jetsunma Pema Trinlei to Dezhung Rinpoche to his foreign students scattered throughout the world, the lineage continues.  I find this astonishing.

The “take-away” of the book

Buddha Weekly: What is your overarching theme or purpose in writing this important book? What do you hope people will take away from reading it?

Elisabeth Benard: I like to be a trailblazer and reveal female lives which unknown. Though I had known His Holiness and Her Eminence for decades, I wasn’t aware that these jetsunmas even existed. I didn’t know that the title of Jetsun Kushok came from a lineage of over a millennium. I had discovered the jetsunmas without comsciously looking for them. 

Spiritual biographies from all traditions have inspired me that some people are willing to pursue a spiritual path regardless of the difficulties or uncertainties. I am thankful that people have been pursuing the spiritual path for aeons and throughout the world.  I think this makes a subtle but significant impact in our world.  Hopefully when you read about these great jetsunmas, they will inspire you to continue your own spiritual journey.

Author Bio: ELISABETH BENARD

Elisabeth Benard, Ph.D. Columbia University in Tibetan Buddhism, was a professor of religion and the director of the Pacific Rim/Asia Study-Travel Program at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma,
Washington. She is the author of Chinnamastā: The Aweful Buddhist and Hindu Tantric Goddess (Motilal Banarsidass, 1994) and numerous scholarly articles, and the co-editor, with Beverly Moon, of Goddesses Who Rule (Oxford University Press, 2000). Since her retirement, she has continued to pursue her interest in goddesses and spiritual women, compiling biographies of hidden yoginis in Tibetan Buddhism. Her spiritual practice has been under the guidance of the 3rd Dezhung Rinpoche, H.H. the 41st Sakya Trizin (now Trichen), and H.E. Jetsun Kushok.

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• Don’t miss an excerpt chapter from the amazing biography — chapter four in this amazing book — “Lama to All: Jetsunma Tamdrin Wangmo (1836-96) — found here>>

About the Book

• Title : The Sakya Jetsunmas: The Hidden World of Tibetan Female Lamas
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Snow Lion (March 1, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1645470911
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1645470915
• Available in paperback and kindle
• On Amazon>>  (this is an affiliate link), or at your favorite book seller.
• On Shambala’s site>>

A young woman named Maya Marinovich suffers a terrible personal tragedy that causes her to start down several false paths before finding redemption in meditation and “involved Buddhism.”

And even more clear from this sentence from the final chapter we’ve excerpted with permission here:

“Oh, Pilgrim. I am everywhere and nowhere. Mostly nowhere. You don’t need me. You are me.”

What’s this all about, you ask?

We won’t say “nothing.” We won’t’ say “everything” either.

A young woman, Maya Marinovich, suffers a terrible personal tragedy that causes her to start down several false paths before finding redemption in meditation and “involved Buddhism.” At the beginning of the story, Maya is a lost soul, depressed, anxious, and suicidal over the deaths of her husband and infant daughter. She has a strong spirit but no direction.

She then goes on a quest for meaning in the tragedy and in her life, finding her way from a religious cult to the dancing and artists scene in Oakland, to wild parties — and ends up in despair in San Francisco. Karmic forces lead her to a small Buddhist group, a Zen Center, where she finally finds her new beginning, her way .

We explain this much, since we’re excerpting the final chapter. Why the final chapter? Because, in Zen-like form, it’s “not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” Or is it? You decide as your read this thought-provoking novel by Bela Breslau and Stephen Billias. [Author bios after the chapter.]

Information about this new release

Title: Pilgrim Maya

Authors: Bela Breslau and Stephen Billias

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1733575041
• Available as Paperback or Kindle on Amazon* and other retailers. On Amazon>>
• Publisher Odeon Press>>

Excerpt: Chapter 22 I Meet the Buddha

It’s May. I’m walking in a part of the park way out on the avenues, where one wouldn’t expect buskers; but here is one, a thin brown man of indeterminant ancestry—Mexican, or East Indian, or Native American. He’s wearing a straw hat, a colorful yellow and orange shirt with mirrors sewn into it along with delicate embroidery of paisley-like swirls in blue thread. He has a smallish accordion slung over his body and hanging down loosely in front of him. He isn’t playing as I walk by, paying him absolutely no mind, until he addresses me when I’m past him:

“Hello there, pretty Pilgrim.”

I turn but don’t backtrack, wanting to keep distance between me and this stranger who accosts me on a secluded path in the park.

“I bet you call all the girls that,” I say.

“No. Only you.”

“Who are you?”

“Zandro Pandi at your service.”

“How do you—” I start to ask, but he puts a finger to his lips to silence me.

“Pilgrim, you have journeyed far. You may ask me questions about yourself, your quest, but not about me. You are close. I am here to help you over the finish line, so to speak.”

My rational mind is saying to start running again. Get away. I stand still. I can’t move. The line between heaven and the earth is coursing through me.

“Why did Dan and Ella have to die?” I blurt out. It’s at the root of everything else that has followed, and despite all my experience and all my study, I still don’t know the answer. He responds immediately while I stand there open-mouthed. No one else comes along on the path.

“Life is suffering. Losing one’s spouse and child suddenly is a terrible suffering. Your suffering comes from wanting things to be as they were, which they can never be. Quench the desire, stop the cravings. Don’t seek anything. Give it all up, let it go, relinquish it. Live right. Dwell in Oneness. That’s enough.”

“Sandro—”

“Zandro. Zandro Pandi.”

“Zandro Pandi. Who are you?”

“Pilgrim,” he says. “Do not ask about me, ask about yourself.”

I ignore this warning and keep at it: “You sound like the Buddha. Are you the Buddha?”

“I might be. How would you know?” I don’t know. I am unknowing. Zandro Pandi smiles at me, and everything is falling away, everything is passing. I have no thoughts, no words, for the sensations. No me. All One. I am vanishing, my Self a mere echo receding into silence. After a long time, I don’t know how long, I ask:

“What should I do next?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“What does it say in your favorite book— ‘It is such blank scrolls as these—”

“You’re freaking me out.”

“At least that wasn’t a question. Good. Okay, if you need me to say something more, it’s this: Stay on the path you have made for yourself. Keep meditating.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s all there is. Your shikantaza, ‘just sitting,’ is good. That’s why I’m here. You called me.”

“Can I come visit you again? Will I find you here?”

“Oh, Pilgrim. I am everywhere and nowhere. Mostly nowhere. You don’t need me. You are me.”

“Can I meet Kuan-yin also?” I ask. Zandro Pandi only gives me that forever smile again, and a second satori—a second wave of utter Oneness that washes over me, cleansing and emptying my mind. All that remains is—nothing. Just Zandro Pandi’s smile, as vast as the Universe. After I don’t know how long, maybe an instant, maybe forever, I hear him noodling on the accordion keyboard, getting ready to strike up a song.

“Oh dear, I think your shoelace is untied,” he says.

Reflexively I look down at my shoes, almost simultaneously remembering that I am wearing slip-ons, and when I look up again, I am alone. My ordinary mind begins to seek its level again. Have I been hallucinating? I thought I was getting it together. Have I instead lost it completely? 

I walk slowly over and sit on a large boulder next to the path. I close my eyes. Life is radiating inside me. The sun is warming me. Zandro Pandi is not a park weirdo, and I’m not losing it. I’ve had a satori. Can it be that I’ve met the Buddha?

Suddenly, I’m once again outside my body looking down on myself. This time, I’m not seeing a creature racked with grief and pain. I’m seeing a calm being who knows who Zandro Pandi is. He’s the Buddha. So am I. I start to walk again. I can walk almost without looking. I could walk with my eyes closed. I stop by Stow Lake. Then I have another satori—it doesn’t matter if my meeting with Zandro Pandi was real or not. I’m not afraid. I look back and see my suffering and tragedy. I look forward and see death. Without fear. Everything is One. Dan and Ella are still with me, will always be with me.

I wander around the park in a daze for the next several hours. I wonder: Is my therapist Sarah Kuan-yin? Is my one-time friend Jane? Sajiro’s mother Kumiko? My own mother? The women at the SoMa Zen Center? I look at every woman who passes by, examining each one for signs of holiness. I see it in all of them. Every single one.

I’m so excited I start running, and almost knock over a Chinese lady on the path, who scowls at me. I stop and kiss her on the cheek so fast she can’t stop me.

When I show up at the zendo that evening, Eli takes one look at me and quickly asks a senior student to lead the sit. He and Reva disappear, and when they return, they’ve changed into full Zen robes, rich brocade fabrics with flying birds sewn into them in silver filigree. Eli is even wearing an elaborate headdress that covers his ears and looks like a football helmet. I’ve never seen them in anything except street clothes. It’s a revelation, and a marker of their standing in the greater Zen community, of which I’m only dimly aware. They take me back to the dokusan room, and, highly unusual, both sit with me. Nothing is said for long minutes, as we gaze into each other’s faces. I don’t have to tell them what happened. Many minutes pass. The sit ends in the zendo hall and we can hear people dispersing, but we have not left the places we took when we entered the dokusan room. Finally, Eli clears his throat and, in a voice choked with emotion, says: “At this moment, I would normally confer oral transmission of the dharma on you, but clearly, that has happened already.”

“Yes,” I say. Then I say: “I’m on the path you and Reva have shown me. I’m going to follow Kuan-yin. I want to live a life of service. In what way, I can’t say yet.”

At this, Eli and Reva rise as one and approach me and give me great hugs. “I predict one day you’ll have a zendo of your own,” Reva says, holding my hands in her hands and smiling through tears. Everything has changed, and yet nothing has changed. I go home that night, make myself a cup of chamomile tea, go to sleep, wake up, myself, Maya Marinovich.

There’s one person I must see right away. On that Saturday morning Kumiko picks me up and we drive over the Golden Gate Bridge through a fog so thick we creep along at twenty miles an hour until we burst through on the other side of the bridge into blazingly clear sunlight. We’re following the path I took that dark December evening when I wrecked my car, out of Mill Valley up the Panoramic Highway, and then onto Shoreline Drive, Route 1. When we start the downhill on the other side of the coastal range, I squirm in my passenger seat, but Kumiko is going much slower and much more carefully than I was on my wild ride. How did I ever even get as far as I got that night without crashing sooner? The view opens, and we catch glimpses of the Pacific Ocean at the end of the valley below, shining blue and inviting. Near the bottom we pass the spot where I ended up, saved by my rooftop slide and the sign along the edge of the road. We pull into the entrance to the Green Gulch Zen Center. I notice the sign has been repaired with a new post. I haven’t made an appointment or inquired about which monk had come out to rescue me. We find the welcome center and a bookstore-gift shop and ask some questions of the young woman at the reception desk. She disappears into a back office, where we can hear her making phone calls. When she returns, she asks us to walk around on the grounds and then wait in the Wheelright Center just opposite the bookstore. She hands us a map, and we do as she asks, touring the grounds, which are elaborate. There’s a long narrow zendo, a tea house, a yurt, dorms and residences, many other outbuildings, and cultivated farmland, as it is a working farm. After a while, we enter the Wheelright Center, a comfortable conference room with picture windows to take advantage of the views. There’s no one here. We wait. In the past, I might have been anxious or nervous, but now I sit equitably, while Kumiko walks around looking at the books and pamphlets on the conference room tables. When the monk enters the room, I wouldn’t have recognized him, partly because the last and only time I saw him I was hanging upside down in my overturned car, and partly because he looks like all the other monks we’ve seen since we arrived: shaven head, brown robe, straw sandals. He recognizes me, and I’m pleased to see a look of mild shock flit across his face. What happens next catches me off-guard. He bows. Deeply. I bow back, as does Kumiko, who is slightly amused at the idea that this monk is treating me with such deference. He speaks first:

“Welcome to the Green Gulch Zen Center. My name is Tezuka. We’ve met once before, under different circumstances.” He stops, and then as if he can’t help himself, he comments: “My, how you’ve changed.”

I smile. “Yes. I’m right-side up now.”

“Indeed. May I ask how you came to undergo such a rapid transformation?” I understand his question. I see the understanding in his observant eyes. It’s been barely six months since I was a would-be suicide on the roadside outside the center.

“I have good teachers.” The monk glances at Kumiko wonderingly, so I explain my connection to the SoMa Zen Center and Eli and Reva and give the monk a brief summary of my recent personal history. The monk nods approvingly as I describe my shikantaza “just sitting” practice and touch on breakthroughs I have achieved.

“I met the Buddha,” I say casually, an inexplicable statement that doesn’t surprise the Green Gulch monk. He doesn’t react at all to this outlandish claim. Total equanimity.

“Why have you come to see me?” Tezuka asks.

“To thank you. I might have died if you hadn’t come out.”

“Perhaps. You have made good use of your ‘second life,’” he says. “Would you come here to teach one day?”

“Oh, no, I would come only as a student. I still have much to learn. Or unlearn.”

Tezuka looks at me calmly, just as he did that night on the road. “Very well,” he says. “Though it appears to me that you—” he leaves the rest of his thought unspoken. “Would you like some tea? We’re just about to start chado.”

Author Bios:  Stephen Billias and Bela Breslau

Stephen Billias is the published author of seven fantasy novels and one literary collection of short stories, and is a MacDowell Fellow also.

In addition to Pilgrim Maya, Bela Breslau is working on a second book currently, a family history/ memoir/ biography of her father. Pilgrim Maya is their first novel together, published by Odeon Press on August 1^st, 2022.

• Stephen Billias Amazon Author page, and  IMDB page.

Information about this new release

Title: Pilgrim Maya

Authors: Bela Breslau and Stephen Billias

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1733575041
• Available as Paperback or Kindle on Amazon* and other retailers. On Amazon>>
• Publisher Odeon Press>>

As thorough as these two texts are, we are thrilled to review his newest book, Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Life — which takes practitioners deeper into the true subtleties of Buddha Tantra, and has especially helpful insights on practices such as self-generation, sadhanas and, my favorite concept from the book, “the deity as a window.”

Although it would be an exaggeration to claim his new book “simplifies” the vastly complex practices of Vajrayana — that might be an impossible task for any author  — there is no doubt that most readers will be inspired by Preece’s presentation, and come away both wiser and more empowered, regardless of their practice base. His concepts should certainly bring clarity and motivation to anyone’s practice.

Our rating

“Highly Recommended” for practicing Western Vajrayana Buddhists — 5 out of 5 — a clear, concise yet complete guide for busy lay practitioners of Tantric Buddhism.

“Strongly Recommended” for the “curious” about Vajrayana Buddhism — 4.5 out of 5 — although Preece makes everything “clear” the topics do dive deep into the ocean of practice.

Details

Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist meditation for contemporary Western life

Published in the UK by Mudra Publications

ISBN: 978-1-5272-1498-9

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

Direct from Mudra at>>

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mudra Publications (December 9, 2018)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 261 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1527214982

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1527214989

Western Psychology and Buddhism?

How well do psychotherapy and Buddhism mesh? Regardless of tradition, it’s fair to say that all Buddha’s teachings — from Sutra to Tantra — have solid psychological foundations. The “poisons” of Buddhism, and especially hate/anger, greed, and ignorance are also concerns in modern psychology, at least it would seem so from this particularly inciteful book by working psychotherapist Rob Preece — who was also a student of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Rob Preece makes it clear that there is a solid psychological ground to Buddhism when he enhances the “ordinary” definition of renunciation with a more tantric concept of “definite emergence”[1]:

“Renunciation in one sense is seeing that these things are not ultimately satisfactory and cannot bring true lasting happiness. It is not the things of our life that are the problem, however, but our relationship to them and the attachment that arises.”

The foundation of Tantra: Definitive Emergence

This is where the elegant logic of Preece’s book weaves a tapestry of logic that embraces tantric principles: “Definite emergence is the willingness to wake up, face our habit patterns and live our lives consciously and courageously, taking responsibility for our journey. Renunciation tends to suggest giving up or avoiding attachment to things that pull us into more confusion and unconsciousness. Definite emergence on the other hand is to engage fully with life, but with an awareness that faces what we are doing.

“The foundation of tantric practice is definite emergence, where we are willing to wake up to our habits and emotional motives.”

Bodhichitta threads

Preece’s elegant narrative then leads us to “the next level of intention, which is that we do not engage in this path with a view that is interested in just our own happiness or salvation. While the practice of tantra will undoubtedly bring a great sense of inner peace and happiness for oneself, we need to be broader in our intention than just our own personal interest. The second important quality of the tantric practitioner is therefore, the growing experience of what is called bodhichitta or the awakening mind. This could be described as the aspiration to awaken to our innate potential for the welfare of others.”

In modern terms, he points out how the two on entwined. He points out with clarity that with Bodhichitta we can embrace our inter-dependence [2]:

“To make this life meaningful we begin to see how we can use it for the welfare of others and of the planet that supports us. From a place of compassion and loving kindness towards all those around us we can then consider what would be of greatest benefit.”

This, of course, is a broader Mahayana understanding, but Preece continues to deftly weave the tapestry of tantra:

“In tantric practice we recognise that our innate nature is essentially pure, clear and spacious. When awakened, we see that the qualities this brings will be of great benefit in our relationship to others. If we can actualise some experience of this extraordinary inner potential then our lives and our ability to serve others will change radically. We can see this in the example of those who have awakened this innate potential like H.H. Dalai Lama. Bodhichitta, the awakening mind, is the willingness to dedicate our life to the service of others and to gradually awaken our innate buddha potential to do so.”

 These quick passages give a sense of the depth of this book. These are quotes from the first two pages of this eloquent and insightful book. From here, Preece dives deep into the pristine “clear and spacious” waters of Tantra.

Before we finish the first chapter, we’ve already had taste of why Bodhicitta has another layer of meaning in the context of meditational deities and its relationship to our own Buddha potential. He cites the Heruka tantra here, and concludes with:

“This sense of surrender to the Buddhas is an opening in the present moment to be a vessel or vehicle to manifest in the world. Bodhichitta is like stepping into the flow of a river that is taking us to the ocean of enlightenment whether we will it or not.”

This notion of the “fluid empty nature of appearances” is, of course, a key concept in Preece’s book. The idea of “surrendering” and especially surrendering ego is also a driving theme in the book — as it is in Vajrayana practices.

Deities as a Window

I especially relate to Preece’s analogy of “deities as window” — the topic of chapter 10. Why window? As Preece explains [4],

“When we visualise a deity, it is as though we are looking into that window beyond which is the vast sphere of clarity and emptiness. If we can open to this awareness we will begin to awaken that wisdom in our nature and receive the blessing that comes through.”

Deities are certainly the most “controversial” aspect of Vajrayana, especially from the point of view of Sutra teachings. He confronts that immediately in this chapter [3]:

“I recall many years ago in Bodhgaya, India, hearing H.H.Dalai Lama respond to a question from a group of Westerners. Someone asked, what is the point of visualizing a deity? His answer was interesting and, I am sure, was particularly in response to this group which contained many people from the Theravada tradition. He said that when our mind is aware of the relative appearances of our reality, it is not able to be aware of emptiness. Then when our mind is aware of emptiness in meditation it is not able to cognize relative appearances. When we visualize ourselves as a deity, however, we are able to be aware of the form of the deity and emptiness at the same time. The mind can hold or cognize these paradoxical natures simultaneously; emptiness and appearance. One way that we can understand the significance of this is to recognise that a deity inhabits a realm that is metaphorically on the threshold between two dimensions of reality. Sitting on this threshold it acts as a kind of portal or gateway to another view of reality.”

Of course, he dives into the popular topic of duality: relative truth and ultimate truth and so on, but his correlations, anecdotes and insights are priceless. He makes a correlation between deity practice and what Carl Jung called “numinosity.” There is so much to love in this chapter, you’ll go back time and again and reread it.

Subtle energies and Sadhanas

As a reviewer, I particularly enjoyed Preece’s discussions on working with subtle energies, the deity as a window, and the sadhana. If you read no other chapters, you’d have your money’s worth from this superb book. For those new to Vajrayana, they might quickly thumb through to the chapters on “initiation” or “front generation” or “self-generation” — since these are topics that can be highly confusing to some Buddhists. Useful even outside of the Vajrayana context is the discussion on “Death and Transformation” and “Personal Practice.” For people looking for a modern take on tantra, definitely look to the chapter “A Psychological Process.” I could go on. Every chapter is important, useful and well-presented.

Initiation — Inspiration

A clear example of depth — and a topic many writers try to avoid — is Initiation. He begins with the standard metaphors of “seed” but dives much deeper. He returns to his gateway theme, but here it’s the opening of a window[5]:

“When we receive an initiation or empowerment something extraordinary can happen. The energetic field created in this process by the initiating lama can open us to an experience of the deity that affects us deeply. What the process of initiation does is to open the window I have spoken of in the previous chapter. The feeling of inspiration and awe we may then feel in the presence of the deity can be very powerful. Lama Yeshe used to say that we can experience significant realisation at the time of initiation if we are well prepared and open to receive the experience.”

But — he continues his presentation by discussing the difficulties that can arise, for example [6]:

“Over the years I have seen that difficulties can arise when we embark upon the process of receiving empowerments, particularly in relation to higher tantra (Skt: maha anutara yoga tantra). I experienced some of these myself in my early years as a Tibetan Buddhist and think it may be useful to name them. There is often a feeling that an initiation is a rare and important event that should not be missed. This can lead to a subtle pressure to take something that we may or may not be prepared for. It is easy for many of us to naively receive empowerments and not actually know what we are doing. What especially concerns me is that often only cursory guidance is given beforehand as to the complexity of what is being entered into. As a consequence, we may have little understanding of what is going on during an empowerment, in part because much of it is in Tibetan.

Fortunately, he doesn’t leave this as an unresolved issue. He frankly discusses and provides helpful advice. Later, in his discussion on commitments and samaya he explains how it can seem overwhelming, but also how many teachers of Western students are guiding these commitments [6]:

“This problem becomes especially acute when we are expected to fulfil commitments to many deities that require the recitation of sadhanas. This can be very time consuming and easily become dry and mechanical… Many or most Western practitioners are lay and have relatively conventional working lives which can often make it difficult to create space to practise. At its most detrimental I have known people suffer a huge sense of guilt and anxiety because they are not fulfilling something they have been told to do. If we come to the point of realising we are involved in something we simply cannot fulfil it can bring great inner conflict…”

Many students are probably familiar with this — I know I have felt this myself. Preece goes on to offer some rather “soothing” solutions, starting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama[8]:

“Fortunately, there are lamas who hold a somewhat more compassionate and less rigid view. H.H. Dalai Lama is one such teacher. When a friend found she simply could not relate to or do a particular higher tantra practice she had received some years earlier his advice was very sensitive. He told her to respectfully take the text of the practice, wrap it in cloth and place it on a shelf with the wish or prayer that at some time she may be able to practise it… What felt so powerful about the Dalai Lama’s response was that he is giving the message that we should not turn these guidelines for practice into a rigid dogma based on fear.”

Depth of the ocean — and this book

These are only snippets of a very deep ocean of wisdom and insight. The depths in this relatable presentation of Buddha Tantra is apparent from a quick glance at the chapter topics. Any, and all of them certainly are enlightening and deep — yet with relatable clarity. Part 1 alone is a full practice manual.

1 – Preparations for Practice

2 – Levels of Practice

3 – The Essence of Tantra

4 – The Challenge of Our Time

5 – Bridge to the West

6 – Discovering the Body as the Vessel

7 – Working with Subtle Energy

8 – Meditation in the Nature of Mind

9 – A Psychological Process

10 – The Deity as a Window

11 – Initiation

12 – The Sadhana

13 – Front Generation

14 – Guru Yoga

15 – Self-Generation

16 – Embodiment.

In part two, Preece dives deep (pun intended) into the transformative aspects of practice. He appropriately labels this “A Journey of Depth.” Don’t miss the chapter “The Gods in our Diseases.”

17 – Levels of Consciousness

18 – Meeting the Unconscious

19 – The Gods in our Diseases

20 – The Journey of Descent

21 – Death and Transformation

22 – Re-emergence into Form

That seems fairly complete, but part three continues with the practical guidance:

23 – Personal Practice

24 – The Role of Mentors

25 – Devotion with Discernment

Epilogue: Going Forward.

This is the first in a 6-book series

Books one and two are now published. This one, I’ll call “book one.” The Second we will soon review, titled “The Mandala and Visions of Wholeness: Within Tibetan Buddhism and Jungian Psychology.

The remaining books all sound fascinating and helpful. We will certainly review them when they are available:

• Heart Essence: Enhancing Qualities of the Awakened Mind
• Manjushri: The Creative Expression of Wisdom
• Chenrezig: Embodying Compassionate Presence
• Vajrapani: Clarifying our Relationship to Power
• Green Tara: Embodying Dynamic Compassion.

You can learn more about these books, Rob Preece, articles, retreats and mentoring at www.mudra.co.uk

Past bibliography of Rob Preece

Feeling Wisdom

Working with emotions using Buddhist teachings and Western psychology

Published in the US by Shambala Publications

ISBN ‏: ‎ 978-1611801682

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

Preparing for Tantra

Creating the Psychological Ground for Practice

Published in the US by Shambala Publications

ISBN 9781559393775

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

The Courage to feel

Buddhist practices for opening to others 

Published in the US by Shambala Publications

ISBN-10: 1-55939-333-5

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

The Wisdom of Imperfection

The challenge of individuation in Buddhist life

Published in the US by Shambala Publications

ISBN 1-55939-252-5

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra 

Published in the US by Shambala Publications

ISBN -10 1-55939-263-0

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

Tasting the Essence of Tantra 

Buddhist meditation for contemporary Western life

Published in the UK by Mudra Publications

ISBN: 978-1-5272-1498-9

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

Direct from Mudra website>>

The Mandala and Visions of Wholeness:

Within Tibetan Buddhism and Jungian Psychology

Published in the UK by Mudra Publications

ISBN: 978-1739940201

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

Heart Essence

Enhancing Qualities of the Awakening Mind

Published in the UK by Mudra Publications

ASIN ‏: ‎ B0B54VYBWW

From Amazon.com (affiliate link)>>

Rob Preece’s Bio (from the website)

ROB PREECE (BSc. Adv. Dip. Transpersonal Psychology UKCP reg.)

Following a 4 year apprenticeship in electronics engineering Rob went to university to study psychology. It was at this time he met both the work of C.G. Jung and Buddhism. In 1973 after a period of travel he met met Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Nepal. Since that time he has been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist.

After working as a social worker Rob was part of a small group that founded a Buddhist centre in the UK for his Tibetan teachers. For the next four years he studied the foundations of Tibetan practice in that Buddhist community. In 1980 he returned to India and was in retreat for much of the next five years. This gave him a chance to explore the practices of the Tantric tradition in some depth meditating under the guidance of Lama Yeshe, Zopa Rinpoche and Gen Jhampa Wangdu in particular. While in India he was fortunate enough to receive teachings on many of the important aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, in particular Tantric teachings, from Lamas such as H.H. Dalai Lama, Song Rinpoche and many others. It also gave him the opportunity to learn Tangkha (Tantric Icons) painting.

Returning to the west he at first lived as a Tangkha painter and then in 1985 he trained as a psychotherapist principally with the Center for Transpersonal Psychology. This began the process of bringing together the two worlds of Buddhism and Western psychology. He has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1988 gradually developing a style that is a synthesis of Buddhist and Jungian understanding.

Since 1985 he has been leading meditation retreats following the instruction and guidance of his teachers. Lama Yeshe was particularly influential is this, supporting his integration of a more Western approach. This has meant gradually guiding people through a kind of apprenticeship in the practice of Tantra. Rob’s one-to-one work is now principally spiritual mentoring bringing together his experience of both Eastern and Western approaches.

He is the author of many books bridging the Tibetan tradition with Western psychology intended to support Buddhist practice in contemporary life. These include The psychology of Buddhist Tantra; The Wisdom of Imperfection; The courage to Feel; Preparing for Tantra; Feeling Wisdom and Tasting the Essence of Tantra.

Rob leads many meditation retreats in the UK some of which incorporate a movement practice facilitated by Anna. He also teaches in Europe and the US. As a father of two sons, an experienced Tangkha painter and a keen gardener he tries to ground Buddhist practice in a creative practical lifestyle.

NOTES

[1] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (p. 20-21). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

[2] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (p. 21). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

[3] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (pp. 89-90). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

One of the aspects

[4] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (p. 92). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

[5] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (p. 96). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

[6] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (p. 97). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

[7] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (pp. 98-99). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

[8] Preece, Rob. Tasting the Essence of Tantra: Buddhist Meditation for Contemporary Western Life (Essence of Tantra Series) (p. 99). Mudra. Kindle Edition.

• Read a book excerpt from Allow Joy Into Our Hearts,  “Practicing with the Unfolding “New Normal” here>>

Interview

BW: What lead you to the Dharma and meditation?

RL: I became interested in the Dharma and meditation when I was in graduate school. I came across Eric Fromm’s Escape from Freedom in which he mentioned that some people loved to read a lot in order to escape from freedom and suggested that one should do some meditation instead. I was intrigued by what he said.

When I met a fellow graduate student who told me that he was practicing meditation, I asked him to recommend a book and to teach me how to meditate. He recommended Mindfulness in Plain English which was a very good first book for me. He taught me how to use the breath method to meditate and I started meditating an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening at that time and found it very helpful.

I also started reading Master Sheng Yen’s Chinese Dharma books. I was able to resonate with his teachings and took refuge with him when he visited Los Angeles a few months after I started meditating and reading his books. I started traveling to New York from California to attend his seven-day intensive retreats in the following year. When I started looking for an academic position, I looked for one near New York so that I could practice with Master Sheng Yen more often and I ended up in New Jersey.

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BW: You recently released ALLOW JOY INTO OUR HEARTS. Please share a bit about the book. What inspired you to write it? What teaching is your favorite or most helpful to you personally?

RL: The book is a compilation of Dharma talks given in the weekly Dharma practice sessions I started when the pandemic began in March 2020. Each week, we would meditate together on Zoom, shared the week’s experience in our practice and I would give a Dharma talk at the end addressing what practitioners have been struggling with. When things began to open up in May, we brought the weekly session to an end. One of my students, Lee Harrison, found the talks quite helpful and would like to transcribe the talks in the summer as his practice while our Dharma class was on summer break. We then floated the idea of turning the transcripts into a book, and we did with the help of another student, Beth Adelman, who is a professional editor. The two of them worked with the transcripts to turn them into a book and I asked them to co-author the introduction. It was very much a co-created book.

The teaching most helpful to me personally is the teaching of dependent origination. Remembering that each moment is the coming together of many causes and conditions allow us to appreciate how every moment is brand-new and unique and reminds us to be fully present to experience each emerging present moment fully. This helps us unlearn the unhelpful habit of taking the present moment for granted which causes us unnecessary suffering.

 

BW: What do you want readers to take away with them after reading ALLOW JOY INTO OUR HEARTS? 

RL: I would like readers to appreciate the importance of opening our heart fully to the present moment, especially when we are consumed by the fear of uncertainty and the desperate attempt to control that which is out of our control. When we remember to be clearly aware of each emerging present moment, we give ourselves the opportunity to touch the quiet joy of being here, regardless how challenging the situation may be.

BW: What advice would you give to someone who is curious about Buddhism, but does not know where to begin?

RL: If you are curious about Buddhism, I suggest reading a couple of Dharma books on how the practice of Dharma teachings is related to our daily life to acquaint yourself with the Buddhist teachings and joining a Dharma practice group with a teacher who can guide you in cultivating Right View and learning to put the teachings into practice in your life circumstances.

As an Amazon Associate, Buddha Weekly may earn from qualifying purchases.

Also available on Indiebound, Kobo and Barnes & Noble now.

• • • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Winterhead Publishing (March 1, 2021)
    • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 2021
    • Language ‏ : ‎ English
    • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 142 pages
    • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1954564007
    • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1954564008

About the Book and Author

More About Allow Joy into Our Hearts by Rebecca Li

When faced with an event that disrupts every aspect of our lives, how do we avoid succumbing to hopelessness, bitterness, and other destructive habits of the mind, and instead find ways to allow joy, kindness, and generosity to fill our hearts in the midst of suffering? Rebecca Li explains how we can, through the cultivation of clear awareness, transform challenging circumstances into fertile soil for wisdom and compassion to grow by facing each moment with tenderness, clarity, and courage.

Critical Praise for Allow Joy into Our Hearts

“You hold in your hands a rare, beautiful, and powerful gift of insight. Allow Joy into Our Hearts is a treasure right from the heart of one of the great teachers of our time. In bringing forth these powerful teachings at this challenging moment in time, Rebecca Li reminds us that each and every moment of our life is unprecedented. If we are willing and able to hold each moment skillfully, carefully, and lovingly; to, as Rebecca says so beautifully, “not have a problem with anything that is arising”,  then each moment becomes a moment in which healing, insight, and transformation is available.

Allow Joy into Our Hearts feels like a series of warmhearted conversations with a kind and skillful friend who speaks right to the heart. You will want to return to it over and over again for its rich, deep and profound insights. I know I certainly will.”
—Brother Phap Hai, senior Dharma teacher in the lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and author of The Eight Realizations of GreatBeings: Essential Buddhist Wisdom for Realizing Your Full Potential and Nothing To It: Ten Ways to Be at Home with Yourself

“Rebecca Li shares kind, grounded wisdom for our challenges in Allow Joy into Our Hearts. Her compassionate, clear voice is a balm for our anguished moment. It is a gift to have access to her teachings, and her integrity shines through.”
—Anushka Fernandopulle, Insight Meditation Teacher & member of Teacher’s Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center

“Rebecca Li’s humane and down-to-earth teaching style is a balm for the heart. Allow Joy into Our Hearts provides an entirely realistic, easeful approach to practicing the Buddhist path with a smile.”
—Sumi Loundon Kim, Yale Buddhist Chaplain and author of Sitting Together, a Buddhist curriculum for families

About Rebecca Li, PhD

Rebecca Li, Ph.D., is a teacher of Chan Buddhism in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen. She is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community, a Chan Buddhist practice and study community made up of individuals committed to cultivating wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all beings.

She has two decades of Dharma and meditation teaching experience and has been invited to lead retreats or teach at Buddhist centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. Rebecca is one of the founding board members of The GenX Buddhist Teachers Sangha where she continues to serve as a board member. Rebecca has published and been featured in several Buddhist publications, including Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, and Buddhadharma.

Rebecca is a sociology professor and lives with her husband in New Jersey. Her talks, guided meditation, and calendar of events can be found at www.rebeccali.org.

More About the book>>

IF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE NEWS THIS WEEK, the theme is: When are we going back to normal? When are we opening things up? As some places return to normal, there’s a lot of anxiety about when we will be able to do that.

By Rebecca Li Ph.D.

Adapted Excerpt from

Allow Joy into Our Hearts

Don’t miss our interview with author Rebecca Li Ph.D. here>>

In the course of your practice, you may notice that you are holding on to this idea; that the way we lived a few weeks ago (early March feels like lifetimes ago now!)—at least here in North America, but actually all over the world—where we were able to do things and hang out with people and go to the theater and things like that, is the way things are supposed to be. So now we are just temporarily living outside of what’s normal, and we are waiting to go back to that life.

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Thinking this way is going to cause a lot of suffering. Some of you might remember that suffering—dukkha in Pali—can be explained as unsatisfactoriness. Dukkha is caused by our habit of reacting with vexations to what is going on. What are vexations? One of them is craving—craving for more of what we like. That was normal, I want that back. I want that old life back. Hanging out, shopping, socializing, whatever it is, I want it back. I’m craving that. Or aversion, the other side of it; aversion to what is going on, aversion to reality as it is now—a very different reality from the way it was a few weeks ago.

Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times  available at Amazon.

NOTE: As an Amazon affiliate, Buddha Weekly may earn from qualifying purchases, without impacting the price you pay.

Another vexation, and the one I would like to talk about today, is fundamental ignorance. Fundamental ignorance does not mean that we are stupid. It’s referring to the habit of not having clarity about the true nature of reality. What’s the true nature of reality? That every moment we experience is the coming together of many, many causes and conditions, and these causes and conditions—every single one of them—are changing because they are themselves also conditioned by layers and layers of things we don’t even think about.

That’s why the world is constantly changing, even though we don’t see it. I get up, I drive my car, I go to work, and I’ll be able to do that again tomorrow, and again next week. In the summer I have my vacation. That’s my life, that’s the world we live in. Before this pandemic hit, we were able to hang out with our friends and our family, go to restaurants, have big parties, whatever we do to have fun. We had this whole world that we took for granted, and we believe that is how it’s supposed to be, that’s how we are supposed to be able to live.

We expect to just be able to go to ball games, concerts, the theater, all kinds of large gatherings. People buy tickets and just go; that’s what’s supposed to happen. That’s our world. That’s our life. We don’t think about having to worry about getting a virus.

So we take our world for granted, without thinking about all of the causes and conditions that make that kind of life possible. For example, that we live in a peaceful time—we are not at war. Ask the people who live in a war zone. They don’t expect to be able to hang out with their friends and family and not worry about anything.

We take for granted all the causes and conditions that come together moment after moment that make these activities, make our world, make our life possible. But now we see that one thing—only one thing, a microscopic coronavirus— shows up and it changes all the causes and conditions.

We can make use of our practice to cultivate more clear awareness of the causes and conditions that make the present moment possible. For example, I can tell you I love going to the ballet in New York City, and every time I go there I think, Wow, these people have to work so hard for years and years so they can become such wonderful dancers and put on this performance. The performance is not happening just because I bought the ticket and showed up. All those people who work backstage, all the people who buy tickets and go, and many other things, including that we have a decent public health situation, make it possible for me to enjoy the ballet. It’s not just our life— what we are doing—but the world we live in, which is part of our life. Everything, every moment, is the coming together of many, many causes and conditions.

Just the simple activity of being able to get together with our family and friends and being able to hug each other— who knows when we’ll be able to do that? I know someone who called his family to say, I won’t see you for eighteen months. I’m not going to go anywhere until there is a vaccine. Of course, he is optimistic, thinking we are going to have a vaccine in eighteen months, but what he’s pointing out is that one of the conditions for being able to visit our families is that it’s safe for everyone involved to gather.

So the fact that we are able to get together with one another is also due to the fact that we have immunity in our bodies to protect us from a potentially deadly virus. For the past 100 years, we haven’t thought about this often because we’ve had vaccines, but 100 years ago people had to think about that all the time. Even today, people who just came out of cancer surgery, who are undergoing chemotherapy, whose immunity is compromised, they have to be careful with whom they meet. They can’t get too close to other people because their immunity is compromised. That is their normal.

And safety is not just about public health. Earlier I mentioned that we are not living in a war zone. Ask people who have lived through a war. One of my practitioners told me, My ninety-year-old mother tells me, “Don’t freak out, it was way worse in World War II.” So for us here, at least there are no bombs. We take political stability for granted. Of course, being able to gather with everyone in someone’s home, that assumes there is a home and everyone has the financial conditions to travel. All of those may not be so easy to come by—especially with the economic conditions caused by the pandemic. Again, causes and conditions. So if we sit here and think that this new normal is so horrible, I hate it, I just want to go back to my old life … suffering. We create suffering by giving rise to aversion to what is going on. This is the present moment, this is the reality. Resisting it, giving rise to aversion to it, wanting back the moment that’s gone because we fixed it in our mind and think that’s how the world is supposed to be—that is suffering. And fundamental ignorance—not seeing that every moment is the coming together of many, many causes and conditions—creates more suffering.

How do we use this Dharma teaching to move forward? Well, some of you talked about the “new normal.” What that means, I don’t know. We’ve been living it for four months here in the United States; my family in Hong Kong has been living it since January, and they haven’t been sheltering at home. So what do you do? Well, every time you encounter someone, your family, maybe strangers, you have a clear awareness of where you are, who you’re with. I’m not talking about being paranoid, but more a sense of Where am I? I am in an elevator, I am with this person. Having this clear awareness is, Am I in a situation where I might be exposed to the virus? What can I do to minimize the risk for everyone? 

Don’t miss our interview with author Rebecca Li Ph.D. here>>

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Also on Indiebound, Kobo and Barnes & Noble now.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Winterhead Publishing (March 1, 2021)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 2021
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 142 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1954564007
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1954564008

Excerpt adapted from Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times. Copyright © 2021 by Rebecca Li. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Rebecca L, Ph.D., is a teacher of Chan Buddhism in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen. She is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community, a Chan Buddhist practice and study community made up of individuals committed to cultivating wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all beings. She has two decades of Dharma and meditation teaching experience and has been invited to lead retreats or teach at Buddhist centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. Rebecca is one of the founding board members of The GenX Buddhist Teachers Sangha where she continues to serve as a board member. Rebecca has published and been featured in several Buddhist publications, including Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, and Buddhadharma. Rebecca is a sociology professor and lives with her husband in New Jersey. Her talks, guided meditation, and calendar of events can be found at www.rebeccali.org.

• More about the book>>

Don’t miss our interview with author Rebecca Li Ph.D. here>>

Rinpoche explains: “Mahamudra meditation is awareness and understanding of the true nature of mind; it is spacious, without beginning or end. It is like observing the sky without the trace of birds, or the criss-cross of jet planes. You can merge your consciousness in the state of Mahamudra, beyond words and thoughts. The true nature of the mind is raw or naked awareness. It is an uncovered, untamed and unaltered state, without fabrication.”

Gelug Mahamudra: Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, is a beautiful book, by Venerable Zasep Rinpoche, lavishly illustrated in color by well-known Tangkha artist Ben Christian. [1000 word excerpt from Chapter 1 below.]

Teaching and Meditation Retreat Event with the Author on Zoom

Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, the author of Gelug Mahamudra, Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, will teach a weekly weekend retreat on Mahamudra, with accompanying guided meditation sessions — available on Zoom.

• For details or to register, visit Eventbrite>>

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 Gelug Mahamudra, Eloquent Speech of Manjushri

With permission of the author, H.E. Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, here is an excerpt from the introductory chapter of Gelug Mahamudra: Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, framing the importance of the tradition, why it is so compelling, and the lineage and source of the teaching.  Also included here is the table of contents to give an idea of the scope of this important commentary on both Sutra and Tantra Mahamudra, according to the Gelug tradition.

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Book Details

• ISBN 978 0 646 99507 6
• Author H.E. Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche
• Editor Amanda Buckley
• Artwork Ben Christian [For a previous feature story on Ben Christian and his amazing art, see>>]
• Design: Green Scribble
• Wind Horse Press
• 300 pages
• 12 pages of colour illustrations and photos

Book Availability

• Paperback now available on Amazon>>
• Paperback now available in Canada>>
• Paperback now available in the United Kingdom>>
• English Paperback now available in Germany>>
• English Paperback now available in Japan>>
• English Paperback now available in Italy>>

Excerpt from chapter 1

(Not the full chapter.)

Mahamudra meditation is awareness and understanding of the true nature of mind; it is spacious, without beginning or end. It is like observing the sky without the trace of birds, or the criss-cross of jet planes. You can merge your consciousness in the state of Mahamudra, beyond words and thoughts. The true nature of the mind is raw or naked awareness. It is an uncovered, untamed and unaltered state, without fabrication. As the great teacher Gampopa put it, “It cannot be explained intellectually, but follow the instructions of the Guru and practise according to the lineage”.

Mahamudra is a practice that leads us to experience the true nature of our own mind, unmediated. The sources of the Mahamudra teaching go all the way back to the Buddha’s Prajnaparamita, or the Heart Sutra , and also to the Samadhi Raja, or the King of Concentration Sutra. In Tibetan it is known as Teng Nye Zin Gyalpoe Do. These Sutras state that the nature of all phenomena is Mahamudra. The Heart Sutra states:

“Mind is emptiness and emptiness is also mind. There is no mind other than emptiness, no emptiness other than the mind”.

Mahamudra is the method of realising the clear light wisdom of Shunyata and accomplishing directly and vividly what we call the ‘meaning clear light’. In its Tantric aspect, the clear light nature of the mind is called ‘ultimate short AH’. It means the uncultivated mind, the unspoiled and pure mind. As the Buddha himself said:

“Mind does not exist within the mind, but the true nature of the mind is clear light”.

Buddha’s disciple Subhuti (in Tibetan the name is Rabjor) told one of his disciples, Koshika, that if you wish to cultivate Prajnaparamita , the perfection of wisdom, you need to cultivate the yoga of space and ‘without-roof obscuration’. The yoga of spaciousness he refers to is Mahamudra, and the ultimate Mahamudra is the Dharmakaya.

‘Spaciousness’ is a useful term, particularly in places like Australia and Canada where we have big and spacious regions. But our minds are crowded with too much thinking, too much obsession with mobile phones and texting, and other instant communications.

Arya Subhuti was referring to the experience of Mahamudra as ‘the yoga of no obscuration’. In Tibetan we say Lagab Medpa. This means no roof, no wall, no floor, nothing to obscure the open space. When you are out there, you see the big sky, the stars at night — unobscured spaciousness. Likewise, when you look at the true nature of the mind, Mahamudra, there is nothing to find other than the observer mind — mind without obscuration.

Both Sutra Mahamudra and Tantric Mahamudra were taught by the Buddha. Great teachers like Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, Buddhapalita, and others, propagated Sutra Mahamudra. Great Mahasiddhas Saraha, Tilopa, Naropa, and Maitripa propagated Tantric Mahamudra. These are among the most prominent of Mahasiddhas. Saraha wrote the songs of Mahamudra called the Doha; they are now translated into English.

One of the most important Gelug texts on Mahamudra is called, The Main Path of the Victors: A Root Text for the Precious Gelug-Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra, by the First Panchen Lama, Losang Chokyi  Gyaltsen (1570 to 1662)…

… The Gelug lineage Sutra and Tantra Mahamudra method is unique; it originated and descended from Manjushri directly to Lama Je Tsongkhapa…

… The Mahamudra traditions of both Gelug and Kagyu are very precious. I have great admiration and warm feelings towards the Kagyu Mahamudra lineage, since several of my previous incarnations were Kagyu masters. However, we have our own traditions in the Gelug teaching methods. I must say that the actual Gelug technique of Mahamudra is deeply profound, and in particular, the Tantric Mahamudra is supreme…

… In our tradition, we believe it is a great experience of Mahamudra to watch your mind react to everyday stresses, especially when you run into the objects of desire or aversion. True practitioners are not afraid to take this direct awareness of mind into the outer world.

I would like to end this introduction with a note about Tantric Mahamudra. The First Panchen Lama states that in order to practise Tantric Mahamudra one must first receive one of the highest Tantric empowerments, such as the four empowerments (vase empowerment, secret empowerment, wisdom empowerment, name empowerment) of Yamantaka, Heruka or Guhyasamaja from a qualified Guru. The student must then honour and keep properly the vows of Guru Yoga: the Bodhisattva vows, Tantric vows and commitments.

You need to become familiar with the practice of the generation stage, bringing the three kayas into the path of enlightenment. You also need to become familiar with the profound path of the completion stage practice. This includes knowledge of prana meditation practice, stage by stage: bringing prana into our channels and Chakras through the central channel, with the prana entering, remaining and dissolving there; cultivating mystic Tummo  yoga, the clear light and bliss realisation of Tantric Mahamudra.

Tantric Mahamudra is a very advanced practice. Therefore in order to do the completion stage practices, such as vase breathing, mystic Tummo  yoga practice and so forth, you must consult with a qualified Vajra Master or Guru, and you need the Guru’s permission to do the practice. It would be risky for anyone to try to practise completion stage yoga, such as Tummo  mystic fire or Agni yoga, without proper preliminaries and without qualifications.

Please ensure you get advice and instructions from the proper master on how to practice step-by-step; when the Guru gives you permission to do these practices then your practice can go smoothly, without obstacles.

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CONTENTS of book

PRELIMINARIES

CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Mahamudra

CHAPTER 2 Praises and Supplication to the Lineage Gurus of Gelug Mahamudra

CHAPTER 3 Brief Stories of Prominent Lineage Gurus

CHAPTER 4 Taking Refuge and Generating Bodhicitta

CHAPTER 5 Mandala Offerings

CHAPTER 6 Vajrasattva Practice

CHAPTER 7 Guru Yoga

THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OF MAHAMUDRA

CHAPTER 8 Seven Limb Practice

CHAPTER 9 Sutra Mahamudra – Actual Samatha Mahamudra

CHAPTER 10 Vipassana – Superior Insight (Lhag Tong in Tibetan)

CHAPTER 11 Emptiness of Personality and Phenomena

CHAPTER 12 Mahamudra by Four Great Gelug Masters

CHAPTER 13 Tantric Empowerment

CHAPTER 14 Tantric Mahamudra

DEDICATION

INDEX

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By Carrie Duncan

[Bio below.]

Scene from the movie Little Buddha, starring Keanu Reeves as the Buddha:

Little Buddha, 1993

One storyline tells the story of the historical Buddha, played by the handsome Keanu Reeves. The other, a fable of modern Tibet.

Synopsis: After the death of Lama Dorje of Tibet, Buddhist monks begin searching all over the world for children in whom the reborn mindstream of the deceased has been incarnated. They find an American boy, Jesse, and two Hindus, Raju, and Gita, who together became the object of reincarnation. In parallel, the legend of Prince Siddharth, who once began his ascent to the heights of Spirit, is told.

Clip from the movie Angulimala, where the serial killer meets the compassionate Buddha:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsYAR7u6Ink

Angulimala, 2003, Thailand

The movie is about a historical character who lived 2,000 years ago – a warrior from a Brahman family who was a serial killer and then met the Buddha. Buddha’s compassionate resolve transforms Angulimala’s hate.

Full movie Kundun on YouTube:

Kundun, 1998, USA

(Martin Scorsese, by the way)

The childhood and youth of the current Dalai Lama. In my opinion, pretty informative.

Synopsis: A narrative of the life and tragic fate of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, one of the greatest religious figures of our era and the spiritual leader of Buddhists around the world. Chronicle of his childhood and youth, filled with anxiety for the future of the ancient nation, resolute attempts to defend the right of Tibet to political and religious independence.

Asoka trailer:

Emperor Ashoka, 2001, India

About the great ruler of India (the Mauryan Empire), the patron of Buddhism. He was the main popularizer of the Buddhist religion in ancient times. The movie is Indian, with all its implications, although they don’t dance or sing there, thank God.

Synopsis: Prince Ashoka, as a child, was given a sword that was said to be not a sword but a devil that could not distinguish between friends and enemies. The heir to the throne grew up surprisingly peaceful and compliant, so much so that at his mother’s request he went on a journey in the guise of a commoner.

Milarepa movie trailer:

Milarepa. Bhutan, 2006

The film was directed by Nyoten Chokling, a lama from Bhutan. About the most revered teacher in Tibet, Milarepa, who brought Buddhism here. Pretty interesting, was waiting for the second part, but it hasn’t come out yet, as far as I know.

Synopsis: The film is about the Tibetan Buddhist teacher, famous yoga practitioner, poet, author of many songs and ballads, still popular in Tibet, one of the founders of the Kagyu school Jetsune Milarepa, who first (after twelve years of meditation) reached the Vajrahara state in one lifetime, having no merit in previous births.

Award-winning Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring:

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Spring  2003, Korea, Germany

No one can disrupt the changing seasons, when first everything is born, then grows, and then dies out. Neither can the two monks living in a floating hut on a mountain lake.

As the season progresses, their reborn midstream are filled with energy, leading to both a sense of spirituality and tragedy. They cannot break free from the circle of life, desires, suffering, and passions to which all of us are subject.

What about you? What are your favorite Buddhist or Buddhist-themed movies or dramas? Let us know in the comments below.

Another Little Buddha clip:

Editor: Many are familiar with David Michie’s international bestsellers, including his wonderful The Dalai Lama’s Cat series and numerous books on mindfulness, meditation and Buddhism (now in over 25 languages). One of my personal favorites is the thriller The Magician of Lhasa, an epic thriller spanning decades, and seamlessly blending the adventures of novice monk Tenzin Dorje in 1959, with modern-day scientist Matt Lester. So, I was delighted when David offered Buddha Weekly a chance to exclusively preview two of his chapters for our readers. (Please see both chapters below. We thought about a two-parter, but that would be too cruel.) You can read it all in one go. For the rest, you’ll have to wait for the official release on October 23 — although you can pre-order here>>

Synopsis of The Secret Mantra

In a remote, Himalayan monastery, Matt Lester has devoted five years of spiritual preparation for this moment: it is his destiny to open an ancient, sealed scroll containing prophetic wisdom the world urgently needs. But when his time comes, violent assailants steal the scroll. Matt is caught up in a dangerous, high-stakes hunt to recover it, turning him from the pursuer to the pursued.

On the other side of the world, the results of scientist Alice Weisenstein’s mind-body healing research are about to be revealed. Things take a sinister turn when her supervisor goes missing — and she realizes she is being followed. Guided by the lamas, Matt’s search for the scroll takes him to Alice. The pair become caught between powerful influences and escalating threats. Together they must decide who they can really trust.

The Secret Mantra weaves breakthrough science and spiritual insights into a heart-stopping storyline. It won’t just have you turning the pages. It will shake up your whole idea of who you are, and the transformation of which you are capable.

The Secret Mantra is book two of the Matt Lester Spiritual Thrillers, although you don’t have to read book one to enjoy it. To read about book one, The Magician of Lhasa, see this book page on Amazon>> or check out the synopsis below.

Biography David Michie

David Michie is the internationally best-selling author of The Magician of Lhasa, The Dalai Lama’s Cat series as well as the non-fiction titles Buddhism for Busy People, Buddhism for Pet Lovers, Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate and Hurry Up and Meditate.

In 2015 he established Mindful Safaris to Africa, combining wildlife viewing and meditation sessions in journeys to unexplored places, outer and inner.

• For more about his work go to DavidMichie.com>>
• David Michie Facebook page>>
• David Michie Youtube>>

Please enjoy these two chapters from David Michie’s new book.

Chapter One

Approach to Tiger’s Nest Monastery

Bhutan, The Himalayas

Dusk was already falling—and the last part of our journey was still to come.  I knew about the dangers of nightfall on the mountains.  How it was better to stop and wait out the darkness than risk a single, false step on sheer cliff tracks.  But I didn’t want to stop—I’d been working towards this moment for too long.

‘Return on the full moon in May,’ Lama Tsering had told me, his expression bright with significance.  ‘Then it will be time.’

When we’d set out from the valley floor earlier, our objective had looked like nothing more than a white speck on a distant rock face.  Following the goat track that picked its way through the foothills, jack-knifing around increasingly precipitous crevices, many hours later we approached a place where the mountain curved sharply away revealing an altogether different view of our destination.

A few steps ahead, my guide Sangay reached the bend.  And despite his familiarity with the scene, even he felt compelled to stop, gazing directly ahead as I scrambled up beside him.  For there, only a hundred yards away, was Tiger’s Nest Monastery, magnificent and other-worldly, built on an impossibly narrow ledge jutting from a sheer rock face that plunged three miles to the valley floor.  A series of high-towered buildings with elaborate wooden shutters, the monastery’s gold pagoda roofs glowed in the long, slanting rays of the sun, like a vision from some other realm of consciousness.

Between the buildings and where we stood was a chasm, giving the monastery an even more illusory appearance, like a mirage that might, at any moment, evaporate into mist.  All that connected us were ribbons of multi-colored prayer flags crossing the gulf to the most remote monastery in the Himalayas.

Despite my aching legs, I felt an involuntary welling up of emotion—the powerful tug of homecoming.  I had first come here five years ago in my early thirties, a Londoner and research scientist who knew little about the mysteries of the Himalayas.  Five years later I was in no doubt that the most transformative experiences of my life had occurred in this special place.  It was also the home of one of the most revered masters in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition—my kind and much-loved teacher, Lama Tsering.

After the briefest pause, Sangay gestured that we should continue.  Lengthening fingers of darkness were already stretching towards the final approach to Tiger’s Nest, a narrow ledge cut into the dramatic zigzag cliff.  Sangay was vigilant, directing me along the rock-strewn path.  There was no margin for error.  Legs shaking, I battled to place one foot in front of the other as the pathway tapered sharply and footholds were swallowed up in the deepening shadows.

Sangay pulled out a torch from his tunic and used it to point the way to safety.  Concentrating so completely, step by step, when we reached the solid, stone walls of the fortified gatehouse it was almost by surprise.  Suddenly the path widened to a much broader ledge, lush with grass.

I sank to the ground, stretching gratefully on the softness of the lawn.  Sangay tugged on a brass chain hanging outside the massive, locked gates.  Inside, a duty monk would alert Lama Tsering to our arrival.

‘Just in time,’ said Sangay, looking up at where the clear, May sky rapidly darkened.

I remembered my first visit, how I’d arrived bright with expectation and busyness.  Excited about my purpose, I had expected Lama Tsering to be equally eager for me to fulfill my mission.  Even though we had never met, I felt I had come to know him through Geshe-la, who was his student.  I was in no doubt that my visit was significant.  In his mid-nineties, I believed that Lama Tsering had been biding his time for much of the second half of his life to meet me.

Which only showed how much I had to learn!  To begin with, it had been a full day before I was admitted to his presence.  We might be in the most isolated monastery in the Himalayas but there were protocols.  Finally ushered into his room at sunset on the day after I’d arrived, that first encounter had been unlike anything I had expected.  I had already played out this scene in anticipation many, many times—Lama Tsering as the wizened, rheumy-eyed old monk greatly relieved at the appearance of me, the youthful Westerner, the Chosen One, to whom he could pass on the torch of some very specific wisdom.

Instead, the door opened onto a small room in which the monk, sitting in meditation, didn’t seem to be of any particular age.    Greeting me with a smile, he gestured I should sit in front of him, before lowering his gaze.  Several minutes had passed before he spoke, leaving me plenty of time to observe him.  He had a longer face than the traditional rounded features of Tibetans, with prominent cheekbones and a high forehead.  His hair, shaven close to the head, was dark, with only traces of grey.  There was a gentle suppleness about his features and his arms, which were folded in meditative posture in front of him.  His face and neck barely lined, there was an astonishing agelessness about him.

This being the first time I’d ever been in his presence, after scrutinizing his appearance, I took in the low table in front of him on which were placed several books, the small window behind him to the left, and the incense burner from which a steady blue-grey ribbon of smoke curled elegantly upwards.  It was only then that I became aware of my own mental agitation.  Here I was, in the presence of one of the tradition’s most revered masters, and where was my mind?  Not settled in a state of ease—expansive, relaxed, and open to the wisdom of a guru.  But instead looking around at his room, his books, the incense.

It was as if, without saying a word, Lama Tsering invited me into a different state of being.  Lowering my gaze, I tried to meditate the way I had been shown by Geshe-la in recent months, focusing on being simply here and now, in the present moment.  I felt my mind settle, to an extent that had eluded me in the past.  Instead of constant thoughts and distracting chatter I felt myself slip into an awareness that was peaceful and benevolent.  I had experienced some enjoyable meditation sessions in the past, but the sense of profound wellbeing I felt even that first time in Lama Tsering’s presence was so absorbing, so oceanic that I didn’t want it to end.

Eventually I sensed a movement and, looking up, I met his eyes.

‘I am very happy to see you,’ he folded his hands together at his heart and bowed towards me.

Unsure what to do, I reciprocated.  Then feeling awkward in the unfamiliar stillness, I felt compelled to tell him how I’d met Geshe-la, and the sequence of events which had led to my coming here, as well as my eagerness to undertake the specific purpose for which I was visiting.

After I finished speaking, the silence that followed seemed to underline how unnecessary it had been.  ‘Before starting on our important work,’ his expression was warm with compassion.  ‘It is necessary to cultivate some meditative concentration.’

‘Yes, Lama.’

‘Knowledge is very good.  But experience is better.  A little practice and then we will be ready.’

I had guessed, from the way he said it, that his definition of ‘a little’ practice went beyond a couple of sessions.

I found myself engaged in an intensive study and meditation program that had started out at weeks, then stretched into months.  More and more as I understood the magnitude of the truths I was being trained to reveal, my sense of purpose only grew stronger.  Months had turned to years.

Lama Tsering had personally supervised my preparation, the culmination being the three-month solitary retreat which I had just completed.

“Return on the full moon in May.  Then it will be time.”  Time to pass on the very special knowledge of which he’d been custodian for the previous half-century but which, he had once told me, was much older than that.  It had been kept secret for over a millennium, in exactly what form I could only guess, but secured in a hidden repository in the Himalayas for the time of its revelation—a time when it would be of maximum benefit to the world.

And I was the person chosen to reveal it.

Quite how it turned out to be me was something that still left me humbled.  And tonight, in particular, filled with a sense of greater awe and anticipation than I had ever experienced.  I could hardly believe that the time had finally come.  The moment of transmission.  The event, I realized now, to which my whole life had been leading me.  And in accordance with the Buddhist view of rebirth, not only this lifetime, but many lives before it.

The monastery gates finally opened to reveal Kelsang, assistant to Abbot Lhamo.  His usual cheerful features were drawn.  ‘Welcome back, Matt,’ he inclined his head politely.  Before saying, ‘The abbot will see you now.’

‘The abbot?’ I raised my eyebrows.

‘He has something to tell you,’ he frowned.

Sangay followed us into the monastery and returned to his quarters as Kelsang set an unusually brisk pace through the maze of corridors.  Why wasn’t I being taken directly to Lama Tsering?  Where was Dorje, Lama Tsering’s attendant, who I had expected to greet us?  Was the abbot also to be present for the revelation?

Abbot Lhamo was standing alone on the worn, embroidered carpet in the middle of his office, his gaze calm and unwavering when I was ushered in.  Tall, ascetic, highly regarded for his scholarship, he was considered remote by some, but this evening his expression was full of compassion.

‘Lama Tsering has been looking forward to your return today,’ he told me after Kelsang left the room, closing the door behind him.  ‘Several times in the past few weeks he has spoken to me about it.  A few minutes ago, when you arrived, Dorje went looking for him.’  He stepped closer towards me.  ‘He found him in the main temple.’

The abbot took my left hand and held it between his.  As he made that simple gesture, I felt my heart thundering.  I suddenly knew exactly what he was going to tell me before he said it.

‘Matt, I am very sorry to have to tell you this sad news.  Lama Tsering is dead.’

Chapter Two

It seemed impossible to believe:  my kind guru dead?  As I stood facing the abbot, an eternity passed.  What he’d said made no sense at all.  I felt so numb, for a while I could do nothing except stand in shock.

Lama Tsering had been the center of my world for the past five years.  Everything in both our lives, it seemed, had been propelled by a special purpose, leading to this particular time and place, here and now.  How could this be happening?

A short while later I was following Kelsang and the abbot.  We passed through dimly lit corridors and up flights of stairs.  What if Dorje had been mistaken?  What if Lama wasn’t dead at all, but in a state of deep, meditative Samadhi?  It wouldn’t be the first time such an error had been made.

The main temple at Tiger’s Nest was surprisingly small—not much larger than the dining room of an average home and far less regularly proportioned, being built around a cliff face.  Its walls bulged around protruding boulders, the ceiling curved in a dramatic warp.

As we arrived, Jangbu, the monastery First Aid attendant, was on his knees. Dorje was standing next to him, holding a hissing gas lamp.  On the floor, Lama Tsering looked small and frail, a bundle of bones in red robes.

I knelt down immediately, studying those familiar features, wanting so much to find a sign that this wasn’t what I’d been told.  But the moment my knees touched the stone floor, I knew.  Eyes closed and features expressionless, Lama’s face was a pale reminder of what had once been.  The consciousness that had defined him with such immense benevolence in life was no more.

Jangbu gently rolled the body so he was lying on his back.  The left side of his head was dark, the skin of his cheek grazed.  The movement of his body caused Lama’s wooden mala beads to rattle from his robes onto the stone.  The abbot quickly swooped to collect them, handing them to me in a fluid gesture.  ‘I am sure Lama Tsering would have wanted you to have this.’

Wordlessly I accepted the rosary with both hands, pressing them in prayer mudra to my heart.  Even in my numbed state, the significance of the abbot’s gesture wasn’t lost on me.

As Jangbu studied the left side of Lama’s head, concentrating on the graze to his face, Dorje murmured something.  Placing Lama’s head back on the floor with infinite care, Jangbu quickly rose, seizing the gas lamp and holding it to where Dorje was gesturing towards the wall.  The abbot and I both stepped forward, staring at the same spot.

It was evident that Lama’s head had struck the wall with some force.  This was not the mark of an elderly man falling to his side in the throes of a seizure.

The abbot stepped away, his eyes meetings Dorje’s with an expression I had never seen before.  A look of such darkness, such deep foreboding, I felt a chill pass through my body.

‘Were there visitors today?’ he asked.

‘Only two this afternoon, Abbot.  They were Khampas.’

The Khampas!  Massive, fearless men from the Kham province of Tibet, it was said that Khampas had been the fiercest warriors in Genghis Khan’s Mongol army.  Sangay and I had passed by two of them, less than an hour from the monastery, dark shadows moving with unusual haste.  I explained how we’d seen them, clambering across a precipitous ledge.  We had thought they were descending quickly on account of the failing light.  Now I realized the true reason for their furtive maneuvers.

Looking down at my lama’s diminished form, I wondered about his last moments of consciousness.  Was it possible that he’d been alone and defenseless against two such formidable assailants?  But why would they treat a frail, old monk like this?

In the spluttering sepia light, I looked towards the altar.  On arriving at Tiger’s Nest, over sixty years before, Lama Tsering had presented the abbot a statue of a Buddha called Sangye Menla, which he had brought all the way through the Himalayas on his back.  The statue, which had once occupied pride of place on the altar of his own monastery, was no more than eighteen inches tall, but was both ancient and exquisite, dating back to the ninth century.  Before the Chinese invasion, despite the many temples and countless beautiful images of Sangye Menla throughout Tibet, this particular statue, belonging to the temple of Zheng-po monastery, was revered as the most auspicious.  Sacred and beautiful in ways which went beyond words, the mere sight of him would bring tears to the eyes of some devout Buddhists encountering Sangye Menla for the first time.

Even more fascinating were the stories told of those who had meditated in his presence.  It was said that people who sat with strong concentration in front of Zheng-po’s Sangye Menla would be sure to receive visions of him in their sleep and rapidly develop in their practice, acquiring special powers, especially the gift of healing.  For Sangye Menla, translated from Tibetan means Supreme Healer, or Medicine Buddha, sometimes also King of the Lapis Lazuli Light.

Sangye Menla had been among the greatest treasures to leave Tibet.  Which is why the abbot of Tiger’s Nest, receiving this peerless statue, had decided that it should occupy the main temple, for the benefit of resident monks as well as visitors who made the difficult pilgrimage up the mountain.  There he had remained, the jewel in the crown of the world’s most famous Buddhist monastery.

Until now.

Because as I stared at the place he usually occupied, to the left of the altar, there was only an empty space.  The reason for Lama Tsering’s death became instantly clear.  And as the others followed my gaze, they understood too.

At the abbot’s request, I followed him.  Leaving Jangbu and Dorje to deal with Lama’s body, we returned to the abbot’s office where he dispatched monks with urgent messages.  A vigil for Lama Tsering was to be held, with mantras chanted through the night.  At dawn, the whole monastery was to attend a fire puja, or purification ceremony.

The abbot arranged for Sangay to set out at first light with a letter for the police station in Thimphu, reporting the crimes of murder and theft.

As the last messenger left his office, Abbot Lhamo got up from his desk and, pushing aside a curtain, stepped into a concealed room that led off his office.  I heard him move around for some time, the opening of drawers and rustle of papers, before he reappeared with an envelope in his hands.  It was fashioned from a thick, fibrous paper I’d never seen before, and both longer and wider than standard.

‘This is a duty I’d hoped never to have to carry out,’ the abbot said.  ‘Lama Tsering lodged this with me the day he arrived at Tiger’s Nest.  He left the instruction that if he died before revealing certain information, this was to be passed onto the chosen recipient.’

I glanced at the ancient envelope before our eyes met, and he responded to my unspoken thoughts, ‘What’s happened to Lama Tsering is a personal tragedy.  Now, of all times, when he was about to fulfill the responsibility he had been waiting all these years to accomplish.’

‘The May full moon,’ I murmured.

‘He told me about the significance of your return.  Try not to grieve for Lama Tsering.  He was one of our most realized practitioners.  Rest assured he is no longer limited by the constraints of an old, human body.  He abides in the boundless radiance of the dharmakaya.

‘What is of the utmost importance now is to achieve the purpose for which Lama Tsering was preparing you—not just for your own sake, but for the sake of countless living beings.  This is now your responsibility, your special privilege.  The lamp is handed on.’

For some moments the abbot stood, eyes closed, softly reciting a mantra.  Then with all due solemnity, and with both hands, he handed the envelope to me.

With my head bowed, I accepted it with both hands, and as he looked on,  I turned it over.  The aging sealed flap on the reverse side was desiccated and peeled away easily.  Inside was a single page, also a thick parchment of a kind I’d never seen, folded twice.  A letter from a different age.  I immediately recognized Lama Tsering’s handwriting.  Written in English and printed carefully, while the ink had faded, the short note was still clearly legible.

            In 1959 a sealed scroll was brought from Tibet to safety.  The scroll was one of the most precious texts, not only of our lineage, but of the entire Tibetan Buddhist tradition.  Discovered in a Tibetan cave in which the glorious Padmasambhava was known to meditate in the 8^th century, it is believed to be a terma, composed by Guru Rinpoche himself.

As I read Lama’s words, I felt overwhelmed.  While I had an inkling of the origins of the secret I was to reveal, it was quite another thing to have written confirmation.  Padmasambhava.  He was one of the central historical figures in Tibetan Buddhism!  Nearly every temple in Bhutan had him as their central Buddha statue.  He was more famous in these parts than any other yogi for the prophecies, many of which he had stored in termas, or hidden scrolls.  The most famous of all Tibetan Buddhist prophecies had been composed by him:

In the time that the iron bird flies,

            And horses run on wheels,

            The Tibetan people will be scattered across the face of the earth

            like ants,

            And the Dharma will come to the land of the red-faced people.

Written almost a thousand years before cars or airplanes were invented, Padmasambhava had foreseen both tragedy for Tibet and the benefit to Westerners—the red-faced people.

During the years I was at Zheng-po I had heard the story that Lama Tsering had found a sacred scroll in a hidden cave in the mountains—a highly auspicious discovery.  I’d asked him about it only once.  With typical modesty he’d just shrugged his shoulders and said “yapping dogs”—his short-hand way of dismissing all forms of speculation.

The Office of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has chosen you to open the scroll and reveal the text within, for the benefit of all living beings without exception.

There, in a single sentence, was my purpose defined.  It was an astonishing statement—almost unbelievable.  Of all the people in the world, of all the many more knowledgeable and wise practitioners within Tibetan Buddhism, how was it that I, an unenlightened Westerner, had found myself in a position of such immense trust?

But exactly where was the scroll?  Lama’s letter had only one short paragraph left:

            Please show this letter to the abbot of Tiger’s Nest Monastery.  By these words I grant you the authority to receive the scroll.  For safekeeping, I lodged it in the main temple, inside the statue of Sangye Menla.

May all beings have health, happiness, and long life!

Signed: Lama Tsering Gyatso at Tiger’s Nest Monastery

October 1959.

I brought my face to my hands and groaned.  I had no words.  I couldn’t even think.  As the abbot stepped towards me, I handed him the letter.

My purpose as the one to reveal Padmasambhava’s terma had seemed wildly improbable.  But the theft of the Sangye Menla statue made it impossible.  The Khampas would already be on the lower slopes of the mountain.  With no way of making contact with the outside world from Tiger’s Nest, by the time Sangay got word to the local Police, both thieves and the statue would be long gone.  I sat, hugging myself in the chair.

After a pause I heard the abbot say, ‘You’ll have to get moving.’

Having returned to his desk, he was opening a drawer and taking out a small box of cards.

‘Moving?’ I blinked.

Flicking briskly through the cards, he found the one he was looking for, took it from the box and was copying details onto a slip of paper using an ancient fountain pen.

‘I don’t hold out much hope from a police investigation,’ he spoke evenly as he continued writing.  ‘So we’ll have to do this on our own.’

‘Do we even have a hope—’

‘Self-reliance!’ he shot me a glance, expression severe.  ‘It’s your job, your purpose, on behalf of many living beings.  This is no time to go soft!  Tiger’s Nest is where the statue belongs.  The hermitage is where the terma must be revealed—nowhere else on earth!’

In the past, Lama Tsering had hinted that the terma – treasure – may be revealed in the hermitage, an extraordinary place kept secret throughout the whole of Tiger’s Nest’s existence.  This was the first time I’d been told of the plan directly.

‘I wouldn’t know where to start,’’ I shrugged.  Having just emerged from a three-month retreat, the idea of chasing after the two Khampas was overwhelming.

‘Kathmandu,’ Abbot Lhamo was firm.  ‘The regional hub.  Everything goes through there, especially—’ he held my eyes.  ‘Stolen antiquities.  You’ll have to use your initiative.  I also have one lead from a while back.  A well-connected gentleman.’

He gestured me to approach.

‘Go down the mountain with Sangay tomorrow at first light.  There’s an afternoon flight from Paro to Kathmandu.’

With a firm flourish he applied a rolling ink blotter to the paper on which he’d just been writing.  He passed it to me.

Looking down, I read the name next to a phone number.  ‘Grayson Dalberg?!’  I was incredulous.

‘Mr. Dalberg is, how can I say … a little eccentric?  Controversial.  But he knows much more about the trade in Buddhist statues than anyone else in the world.’  Abbot Lhamo pushed back from his desk.

‘You are referring me to him, even though …?’  I could hardly believe what he was suggesting.

The abbot pushed the chair back from his desk, slowly stood, and drew himself up, meeting my eyes forcefully.  ‘If anyone can help us find and return the statue of Sangye Menla to its rightful place—’ the abbot spoke with the authority of his office, ‘—it is he.’

• The Secret Mantra: Order on Amazon or from your local bookstore!

Synopsis of book one in the series

When novice monk Tenzin Dorje is told by his lama that the Red Army is invading Tibet, his country’s darkest moment paradoxically gives him a sense of purpose like no other. He accepts a mission to carry two ancient, secret texts across the Himalayas to safety.

Half a century later, in a paradox of similarly troubling circumstances, Matt Lester is called upon to convey his own particular wisdom as a scientist, when Matt’s nanotech project is mysteriously moved from London to a research incubator in Los Angeles.

Tenzin and Matt embark on parallel adventures which have spine-chilling connections. Tenzin’s perilous journey through the Himalayas, amid increasing physical hardship and the ever-present horror of Red Army capture, is mirrored by Matt’s contemporary, but no less traumatic challenges, as his passionate relationship with his fiancée, Isabella, and his high flying career undergo escalating crises.

It is at the moment when both Tenzin and Matt face catastrophe that their stories converge, spectacularly transforming our understanding of all that has gone before.

• For book one in the series, visit Amazon or your local bookseller.

Other books by David Michie

Visit David Michie’s author page on Amazon for some of the many wonderful books by this prolific author>>

“Tara is without a doubt the most beloved female deity in Tibetan Buddhism, revered for her swiftness in helping those who rely on her… Of all the Buddhas, Tara is the most accessible.” — from Tara in the palm of your hand, Venerable Zasep Rinpoche

For Tibetan Buddhists, Tara is among the most of popular meditational deities, and there are certainly many books on Tara: the savior, the mother, the compassionate activity of all the Buddhas. Is there need for a new one? In the case of Tara in the palm of your hand, the answer is yes, for three compelling reasons:

1. In Tara in the palm of your hand, the 21 Taras commentary and guided meditational sadhanas are from the precious lineage of the great sage Surya Gupta (including the mantras and visualizations with original illustrations) — where each of the 21 Taras has her own unique appearance, sadhana, mantra, symbols and special influence on our lives.
2. This commentary is concise yet very thorough, and written in the style of an in-depth retreat teaching, from a great master teacher. The authority and lineage of the teacher is impeccable. [See biography at foot of this article.] Zasep Tulku Rinpoche is a highly accomplished teacher, spiritual head of all of the Gaden for the West meditation centres in Canada, U.S. and Australia.
3. For some of us, we can’t get enough of Tara. Tara is the activity of the Buddhas, alive and energetic in today’s modern world: the rescuer, the remover of fears, the activity of the compassion of all the Buddhas. For those with Tara as the Yidam, this book may be indispensable.

Rinpoche explains fully the differences between the more in-depth visualizations of Surya Gupta 21 Taras versus Atisha’s simplified 21 Taras. In brief:

“The Mahasiddha Surya Gupta lineage of the twenty-one Taras is quite different from the Atisha lineage in that each of the twenty-one Taras is very distinctive in appearance and attributes and each Tara has her own sadhana. Although technically the practice of the twenty-one Taras is Kriya Tantra, it feels more advanced, with the sadhanas reading more like sadhanas from a higher level Tantra.”

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Unique teaching and practice from an ancient lineage

Without question, this tight, yet wonderfully detailed book stands apart, not only because it covers a unique Buddhist teaching — an ancient teaching that should be preserved — but because the author, Most Venerable Acharya Zasep Rinpoche, engages the reader as if they were his students.

This is meant to be a hands-on practice guide, where the book becomes the teacher, and all questions are answered. The book itself contains the main sadhana, and practice sadhanas (with mantras and illustrations) for each of the 21 Taras.

It may be only 176 pages, but it is densely packed with every nugget of important information — presented clearly from a “Western” cultural perspective. Concise advice and explanations pepper the book such as “the reason” we do Tara practice:

“As Tara did, we develop the potential of our minds to attain full Enlightenment through meditation. Meditation is a process of focusing our mind on a virtuous object.”

Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche’s purpose was to preserve the teachings in a specific lineage, the Surya Gupta teachings and practice of the 21 Taras. It should be a complicated subject, particularly with all the very rich visualizations — much more detailed than other 21 Tara practices where mainly the symbolic body colour changes — but somehow Rinpoche manages to make everything clear, concise and complete in 176 pages. At the same time, he delivered a collection of wonderful insights that can help anyone in their practice:

“As soon as we begin to accept that all sentient beings have Buddha Nature, we go about our lives differently; we are less quick to do harm, and more inspired to be kind. Through avoiding nonvirtuous actions and cultivating positive states of mind, we will make progress on the spiritual path.”

Stories of Tara

My favorite section, as a reader/reviewer, are the stories of Tara. There are thousands of stories of Tara’s rescues and influence in people’s lives, but it’s very special and helpful to read these stories. Sixteen stories of Tara’s activity are used to illustrate the 16 great dangers.

Rinpoche explains: “The essence of the stories is that Tara protects from the problems and sufferings that ordinary people have in their lives. Tara moves swiftly to help those who rely on her, no matter what the problem.”

Rinpoche also included an entire section on “What is Buddhism?” for the new practitioner — which shouldn’t discourage the advanced student, since the wealth of detail that follows is sufficient for a lifetime of study and practice.

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Teaching from a Western perspective

Venerable Zasep Rinpoche is well known in Canada, the United States, and Australia where he regularly teaches from a “westerN’ point of view. He has taught in the west for over 40 years, and began as a translator for other teachers. The section on Buddhist principles, including lofty concepts such as Shunyata (Emptiness) and Dependent Arising, and Buddha Nature are worth the price of the book. Rinpoche makes these difficult topics approachable from a North American point of view (with all our built-in biases and doubts).

For instance, he hits us straight on with the concept of “Tara, imaginary or real?” — a difficult topic for Westerners who tend to try to rationalize deity practices as “meditations of the ideal.” Rinpoche writes, powerfully:

“Many Westerners have a difficult time believing that Buddhas like Tara are real. They say, “Granted, the historical Buddha may have existed, but there is no scientific proof that these other Buddhas exist.  They are mere figments of the imagination.” At most, they will allow that Buddhas are projections of the mind. They may even think that Tibetan Buddhists are ignorant or backward to believe Buddhas are real. However, Buddhas exist in the same way that all phenomena exist, not inherently, but as dependent-related phenomena, arising from causes and conditions, name, parts, and imputation by mind. For Tibetan Buddhists and those who truly understand Shunyata and dependent arising, reality has room for Buddhas and other manifestations of spiritual energy. For them, Buddhas are always present; no  place exists where there is no Buddha.”

Original line drawings carefully and accurately rendered

Original line drawings of each of the very richly detailed Taras make it easier, but it is the teachings that make this book a must buy for any Tibetan Buddhist who is devoted to Tara practice. Even the hand mudras are helpfully illustrated, along with “how to set up an altar and offerings to Tara.”

It’s clear that Rinpoche wrote this as a commentary with illustrations for his own students, which makes it all the more focused, tight and useful. Since Tara does not require “special permissions” the practices can be practiced by anyone (provided, in the Tibetan tradition, Tara is visualized in front of you, rather than visualizing your self as Tara).

Rinpoche’s skill in simplifying, without “talking down” to students is legendary, cultivated through decades of teaching in Australia, US, and Canada.

Full commentary, praises, visualizations and sadhanas

Not one, but 21 Sadhanas, one for each of the Taras. If a practitioner is in a hurry, of course, he or she can just practice the main, concise sadhana and mantra. If someone had a special focus, such as helping support someone who is sick, in need, or suffering, the practitioner might practice the Sadhana and mantra of a particular Tara. All the information needed is here.

The contents include sections on:

•  Buddhism generally, Buddha-nature, Dependent Arising, Shunyata and many other important topics
• Stories of Tara: protecting from the 16 dangers and rescuing from the 8 great fears
• Visualizing Tara, a how-to
• The Twenty-one Praises to Tara in English and Tibetan with full commentary
• The Tara Benefits Prayer and commentary
• Setting up an altar and torma offerings
• A full commentary on all of the praises and mantras (21) of the twenty-one Taras, including Principal Tara, Arya Tara
• The actual sadhana of the Principal Green Tara
• The actual 21 Taras, one by one, with “purpose of her rite”, illustrations, seed syllables, praise and mantras
• A chapter on the two great masters of Tara: Atisha and Surya Gupta
• An extensive glossary
• A biography of the author

Recommendation

Tara in the palm of your hand is highly recommended for anyone practicing Green Tara or the 21 Taras. It is a must read for someone interested in the unique, in depth Surya Gupta lineage of 21 Taras. It is a “should” read for someone seriously interested in Tara. It is a “good read” for any Tibetan Buddhist.

Biography of Author Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche

The Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche was born in Kham province of Eastern Tibet in 1948. As a very young child, he was recognized as an incarnation of Lama Karma Konchog Tenzin by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and Kyabje Yongzin Trijang Rinpoche. At the age of five, Zasep Rinpoche was enthroned at Zuru monastery; at the age of seven he was installed as Zasep Tulku Rinpoche at Sera monastery near Lhasa, Tibet. At that time, Sera was home to 5,000 monks. When the Chinese communists invaded Tibet in 1959, Zasep Rinpoche escaped from Sera monastery, at first walking by night and then travelling by horse across the great grass plains of western Tibet and Himalayan mountain range to the border of Nepal.

[A full biography of his life’s adventure as a teacher, from his time as a boy, to his experiences with his teachers in Tibet, India, Nepal, Thailand and Mongolia, to his eventual migration to Canada is told in his rich autobiography, A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada. We previously reviewed the hardcover edition here. Soon to be available in paperback and Kilndle on Amazon.]

Once in Nepal, Zasep Rinpoche continued his studies, remaining there until Trijang Rinpoche suggested he go to Dalhousie, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas, to study under the great Geshe Thupten Wangyal. For 10 years, both summer and winter, Zasep Rinpoche did intense Dharma study and retreats under Geshe Wangyal’s guidance. Then in 1971, acting on Geshe Wangyal’s advice, Zasep Rinpoche attended the Sanskrit University at Varanasi, where he completed his Acharya (Master’s) Degree in Buddhist philosophy. Thereafter, Zasep Rinpoche spent 18 months in Thailand, where he practised Vipassana mindfulness meditation in forest monastery with the Theravadin  Buddhist monastic tradition under the direction of the famous master, Achaan Buddhadasa.

In 1976 the Venerable Lamas Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche invited Zasep Rinpoche to Australia to translate for the Venerable Geshe Thubten Loden. Zasep Rinpoche and Geshe Thubten Loden were among the very first Tibetan Buddhist teachers in Australia. In 1980 Zasep Rinpoche came to Canada, first residing in Nelson B.C., where he taught Buddhist studies at David Thompson University. He also taught Buddhist debate and logic and Madiyamaka Avara at the Naropa Institute, Boulder, Colorado for two summers.

In 1980, Zasep Rinpoche and some of his students founded Gaden Choling Mahayana Buddhist Meditation Centre in Toronto. Zasep Rinpoche subsequently opened five other centres in Canada; he is also the spiritual head of four centres in Australia. In 1999, Zasep Rinpoche and his students created Gaden for the West, an international umbrella organization of all the centres, headquartered in Nelson, B. C. Gaden for the West has been developing the Gaden Tashi Choling Retreat Centre just outside Nelson, with a Tibetan-style temple being consecrated in October, 2012.

Zasep Rinpoche also founded the Gaden Relief Project, a charitable foundation that has built the Jamseng Health Clinic in Zadoh Tibet, organized cataract surgeries in Tibet, and raised funds for hundreds of monks, nuns and lay students in India. Gaden Relief has also improved living conditions in monasteries and nunneries in Tibet, Zangskar-Ladakh and Mongolia by drilling for water, installing water wheels and setting up solar energy panels. In addition, Gaden Relief has raised funds to provide yurts for single mothers and a mobile health clinic in Mongolia.

Zasep Rinpoche has been teaching Dharma in the West for over 33 years; he regularly visits his centres to teach, lead retreats, and guide his students.

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Book Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wind Horse Press (January 3, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0992055407
• ISBN-13: 978-0992055400

Buddha Weekly is also pleased to publish an excerpt chapter “Not Harming is Helping” from her popular book Steady, Calm, and Brave: 25 Practices of Resilience and Wisdom in a Crisis.

[Book details below. Steady, Calm and Brave is available wherever books are sold. Reference link on Amazon.com>>]

Interview — author Kimberly Brown

BW: Thank you for joining us today. For readers who may be new to you and your work as a meditation teacher, please briefly introduce yourself.

Kimberly Brown: I’m a longtime Buddhist student, who began teaching meditation in 2011. My work emphasizes the power of compassion, by helping students develop lovingkindness for self and others through Metta meditation and mindfulness of body techniques.

BW: What sparked your interest in Buddhism and meditation?

Kimberly Brown: I came to Buddhism for the reason so many others do—personal suffering. I’d been experiencing panic attacks and didn’t know how to manage them. Through psychotherapy, I understood the causes and conditions that created them, but I didn’t have tools to help manage or work with the overwhelming fear and anxiety that accompanied them. Buddhist teachings enabled me to recognize that the dread and worry that preceded the panic attacks was making them much worse than they needed to be. By practicing mindfulness and Metta, I was able to transform the way I related to them, and although they didn’t—and still haven’t—disappeared, they’re much less frightening. Over time I’ve learned to meet them with patience and kindness and they’re much less unsettling and painful.

BW: You study in both the Tibetan and Insight traditions. What drew you to each of these paths?

Kimberly Brown: In the Tibetan tradition, the emphasis on the great aspiration of the bodhisattva, and the understanding that each of us has the nature of a Buddha, really attracted me. I grew up believing that humans, including myself, are limited in our ability to grow and develop, so when I started learning from Tibetan teachers, it challenged my view of myself. Thanks to their encouragement and confidence, I began to develop my capacity to cultivate clear-seeing and compassion for myself and others. This led me to also study Metta meditation in the Insight tradition with Sharon Salzberg.

BW: You recently released STEADY, CALM, AND BRAVE. Please share a bit about the book, and your inspiration for writing it.

Kimberly Brown: In March, I was in the middle of finishing a proposal for a meditation book I’d been working on for nearly two years. When the pandemic hit, it didn’t feel like a priority anymore, and I set it aside. About a month later, I mentioned to my editor that I’d like to write something that could support people during this difficult moment. She encouraged me to share the challenges I was experiencing and the practices and meditations I used to work with them, and this became my book, Steady, Calm, and Brave: 25 Practices for Resilience and Wisdom in a Crisis, which was published in July.

BW: Is there a specific practice in the book that stands apart as a personal favorite? If so, why is that practice a favorite?

Kimberly Brown: My personal favorite from the book is the practice, “Letting Your Heart Break,” which is simply taking a moment to reconnect with yourself and your struggles, and then recognizing that many others share the same struggles as you do. Sometimes I get so angry at the greed and hatred manifesting in the world, that I overlook how upset and sad I feel about it, and the “Letting Your Heart Break” practice allows me to remember the deep and poignant interdependence I have with all humans through our shared stress and suffering.

BW: With everything going on in the world, from COVID-19, to the economic unease, to the racial distress, what do you want readers to take away with them after finishing STEADY, CALM, AND BRAVE?

Kimberly Brown: My aspiration for the book is that it will encourage and remind everyone—Buddhists and non-Buddhists—that it is possible to develop our qualities of love, wisdom, and compassion for ourselves and each other. Like any other skill, it just takes a little effort and time.

BW: What advice would you give to someone who is cautiously interested in exploring meditation? What about advice for practitioners who may find themselves struggling to stay focused on their practice during this pandemic?

Kimberly Brown: For the cautiously interested, I suggest you simply shut off your phone and computer, find a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed, and just sit down, close your eyes, and pay attention to your breath for ten minutes. You don’t have to “meditate,” just allow yourself rest in the present moment, doing nothing but letting yourself breathe. For experienced meditators during this troubled time, I want you know that no matter how often or how briefly you’re practicing—you’re doing just fine. Don’t make your practice another task on your “To Do List” that you use to make yourself feel badly about yourself if you don’t get it done. Be gentle and easy on yourself, and let your practice be a place of refuge and rest.

An Excerpt from Steady, Calm, and Brave by Kimberly Brown

Not Harming Is Helping

In the Buddhist tradition, it’s said that there are basically two types of actions: those that don’t cause harm and those that help. If you follow the pandemic rules and stay home as much as possible, wear a mask in public, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and keep yourself and your family healthy by not mingling with others, you’re practicing not harming. Even though it may feel like you’re not doing anything or that you’re not helping anyone, mindfully taking precautions to not get sick means you’re taking care of yourself and you won’t endanger anyone else. In fact, you’re making it less likely that those in high-risk groups and essential workers and healthcare professionals will catch the virus, and by staying well you won’t put more stress on the medical system. The more of us who remain healthy, the quicker we’ll be able to control the spread of the disease and prevent even more suffering from occurring.

Experts know that not harming is helping because in places where social distancing and mask-wearing has been strictly enforced, the cases of illness and number of deaths by Covid-19 has declined, but you might still feel powerless and impotent. Your naturally compassionate heart feels the pain and grief of so many others who are struggling. You might yearn to attend a protest, visit an elderly relative, invite a lonely friend to visit, or volunteer your time at a local food pantry. If the weather is nice and you can visit, help, or protest outdoors, you can attend, but if you’ll be inside with others, why take unnecessary risks? The wisest action for you may be to continue to practice not-harming, for yourself and others until the current situation changes. There will undoubtably continue to be a great need for able-bodied healthy people who have the means and time to provide whatever assistance is necessary for those struggling economically, physically, and mentally.

The next time you catch yourself feeling helpless, or chastising yourself for not doing more, try this Safety Practice.

Safety Practice

• Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.
• Give yourself a moment to get still and take a few deep breaths.
• Put your hand on your heart.
• Close your eyes and silently repeat, “By my actions may we all be safe from inner and outer dangers.”
• Continue to offer this phrase, breathing fully and consciously for ten minutes.

Excerpted from Steady, Calm, and Brave: 25 Practices of Resilience and Wisdom in a Crisis Copyright © 2020 by Kimberly Brown. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Book Details

• Steady, Calm, and Brave: 25 Practices of Resilience and Wisdom in a Crisis

• Paperback: 132 pages

• ISBN-10: 1735254819
• ISBN-13: 978-173525481
• Publisher: Publishing with Heart (July 15, 2020)
• Language: English

About Kimberly Brown

For over a decade, Kimberly Brown has offered classes and retreats that emphasize the power of compassion and kindness meditation to reconnect us to ourselves and others. Her teachings provide an approachable pathway to personal and collective well-being through effective and modern techniques based on traditional practices. She studies in both the Tibetan and Insight schools of Buddhism and is a certified mindfulness instructor. Visit her on the web at MeditationWithHeart.com.

From title to concept to content, Jason Espada’s book A Belief in the Miraculous – Buddhism, Magic, and a Sense of the Sacred is a must read for any devotional Buddhist, regardless of tradition. The prolific author challenges us to go beyond method and philosophy, and to embrace the “miraculous” and the “sacred.”

In his book, A Belief in the Miraculous — one of our Buddha Weekly “must reads” [Found here on Amazon>>] — he wrote of the benefits of the sacred view:

“…Our lives can change just like that… The world can become luminous again, larger by an untold measure, as new possibilities dawn.”

With Jason’s kind permission, we are excerpting a chapter on Tara — a must read for the many devotees of Mother Tara. [Don’t miss some of Jason Espada’s beautiful Tara praises and poems. He has very generously published on an open Google Drive link>>]

An Introduction to the Bodhisattva-Divinity Tara

From A Belief in the Miraculous – Buddhism, Magic, and a Sense of the Sacred

by Jason Espada

In order for us as Westerners to engage in practices that have come from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, without misunderstanding their nature or purpose, there are a few ideas that need to be spelled out. As Americans, we have certain common ideas, and so the same questions naturally arise, and these can be addressed at any point, but probably the earlier on in our study the better.

I would like to introduce Tara as an example of a practice that can be beneficial, and, when I think of doing this, I can see right away the kinds of questions I would propose we consider so the communication can have a better chance of success.

First, as with any divine being – or bodhisattva, we have the question, ‘Who is Tara?’ Of course we can see that there are different ways to answer this kind of a question. There are different levels to it. When we speak about the ultimate nature of anything, be it God, or Buddha, then this is a really deep question, maybe taking a lifetime to ask or to answer. If we are asking this type of deep question, this holds up a mirror to our own self. We can ask, ‘Who am I?’, and ‘Who do I conceive myself to be?’

Then again, especially if we are beginners, we really need more of an answer in terms of what we can all easily recognize and understand and work with. Maybe this approach will be helpful: using the simplest, least esoteric language to describe something that is both accessible and also profound.

 

 

Historically, and now in Western culture too, Tara is regarded as a protectress, a savior, a benefactor. The practice of calling on Tara in times of need has been successful for many people. She is called on to help liberate us from problems, and especially from fears. She has a reputation for quick action, for responding very quickly, with loving kindness and compassion.

Her practice can be done in different ways – with prayer, or through visualization and mantra recitation. Tara’s mantra is Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha (pronounced Om Tah-ray Too-tah-ray Too-ray So-ha). A person can also simply think of her and feel her presence with faith and devotion.

 

 

Meditators will tell us that we all have Tara within us; that all these qualities and wonders are contained within our fundamental nature. They tell us that if we do the practice these qualities awaken and are expressed in the world, and that in a sense we become Tara, and this I don’t doubt. For the time being though, let’s just stay with the outer, common belief and function, that calling on Tara works, that increasing what we can call the Tara energy in our lives works, even if we don’t know all of why or how it does. If we have some karmic affinity, and some receptivity or openness, and we give these methods a fair try, we can see the result for ourselves.

 

 

‘If I could only give you the moon…’

Another question that often comes up when talking about any of the bodhisattva-deity practices, calling on Tara for example, and praying for a husband or a wife, or for health, or wealth is, ‘How is this Buddhist?’, and I think I’m just now able to say what I’ve been thinking and feeling for a while now that Tara is of a certain class I call ‘the Bodhisattva Sangha’. The word bodhisattva means someone who is dedicated to helping others in the fullest possible ways, and sangha means a spiritual community.

As a member of the Bodhisattva Sangha, Tara responds as we would, with kindness, to someone asking for something… If they ask for water, we give them water; if they ask for a coat, we give them a coat…

There’s a Zen story about a monk who was told that a thief was coming, and so he threw his bowl and his robes out the window as the thief approached. The thief scooped them up, somewhat startled, I’d imagine, and the monk called after him, saying, ‘If I could only give you the moon!…’

Such is the wish of Bodhisattva Sangha – their deep wish is for our true happiness, our freedom, peace and health, and so if we ask for food or shelter or medicine, they give us these without holding anything back, as a mother or father would give to their child, or a friend to a friend. They give out of their great means. They will give to us according to our needs, and they will give to us as much as we can receive. Their wish for us includes both the relative, provisional, day to day needs, and also those things that are of ultimate benefit, such as teachings and encouragement, and good conditions for spiritual growth. Their love and their kind wish for us is of one nature.

I heard someone give the definition of blessing, in the Buddhist sense, as that which removes obstacles to spiritual practice, which I think is a good definition because it includes both relative and ultimate things.

 

 

Making a distinction – the word ‘deity’

If I had to choose one term that isn’t translated well from Eastern culture to Western culture, it is the word ‘deity’. More often than not, translators are not communicating the intended meaning. The reason is this: whether or not we identify with the Western religious traditions, as Westerners we have ideas about God as part of our culture. We have all these associations, automatically, for the word God and its synonyms that, in this case does not apply. When trying to understand what words are referring to that come from non-theistic cultures, some effort is needed to get at a clear sense of their meaning.

We can say for certain that Buddhism does not make use of the idea of a creator God, all powerful, and all knowing. It does however have teachings, and it does make use of practices that call upon and access what can be called ‘help from the other side’. There is calling upon beings that help.

When Tibetan teachers speak in English, sometimes they don’t translate the word ‘yi-dam’, and they explain it as keeping the bodhisattva – divinity ‘held tightly in the mind’, as a method of meditation, as a path, and as a means of benefit.

A first level bodhisattva, in some teachings, is described as having at least the experience of insight into the cause of the end of suffering, that freedom and joy. And Buddhist teachings on what is called refuge tell us that if someone or some being is still subject to suffering or change, then that is not a reliable source of protection in the long term. We should seek true refuge, true and lasting protection and support. This, in Buddhist teachings, is what distinguishes Buddhas, or enlightened beings as true refuge.

Perhaps, rather than use the word ‘deity’, sticky, or perhaps misleading as it is, I would propose the term ‘divinity’ – since we do have the idea that the sacred can be here in this world; that it is here for us, available, and to be received with deep respect. The sense of divinity can be cultivated and awakened throughout our lives.

One more thought: regarding a question such as ‘Where is Tara?’We usually divide the world up in our thinking in ways it is not actually divided. We say there is an inside and an outside to our life. Looked at energetically though, the so-called inside and outside are one.

If we think of Tara as an archetype, an aspect of the universal soul we all share, this can have connotations of being purely something inside. My sense is that it’s truer to say that Tara, and the other Buddhas, Saints, or Bodhisattva Sangha exist in the realm of one-ness, where the inside and outside are both included, where they are one. I think this accounts, at least in part, for the effectiveness of these methods.

In Praise of Tara

Jason has also published many beautiful praises and poems honoring Mother Tara, not to be missed. Here are some of the links. In the spirit of sharing and giving, he has published these openly for all.

• In Praise of Tara poem, with audio recitation track by Jason Espada>>
• Listen to Jason Espada recite his peom In Praise of Tara>>
• Nine beautiful Tara Poems as downloadable files on Google Drive>>
• Jason Espada’s well known “A Buddhist Library” where he shares precious Dharma teachings>>
• Jason Espada’s web home page>>

Beautiful chanting of Tara’s Mantra by Ani Choying Drolma

It is a frequently asked question, and this article contains 9 books that explain the basics of Buddhism — from the point of view of different traditions — as well as some of the more in-depth topics. [ISBNs and Amazon links in NOTES at bottom of feature.] [Editors Note: Tibetan Buddhists should consider the various Lamrim teachings from Lama Tsongkhapa and other great teachres.]

By Paul Bonea

(of HastyReader.com)

Introductory and beginner books on Buddhism

While it may seem a bit backwards, the easier way to learn about Buddhism is to first start with modern introductory books on Buddhism and only then move on to the source texts of the Pali Canon and the Sutta Pitaka.

Introductory books break down the most important concepts of Buddhism, explain why they are relevant and will help you form a mental map of how all of the different Buddhist concepts fit together and their interactions. They also helps because the Pali Canon isn’t organized to be beginner friendly.

Once you have a basic grasp of the concepts, consider going through the Sutta Pitaka at your own pace, and with the topics you find most enjoyable or interesting.

What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula

This is probably the most widely read introductory book about Buddhism. It is very short and very clear, coming in at around 100 pages, depending on font size and formatting. It describes the most important Buddhist concepts, namely the Four Noble Truths, the Buddhist mind, the Noble Eightfold Path, meditation and more.

If you know nothing about Buddhism, this is the book to start with. It will help you make a mental map of Buddhism, which you can then use to navigate around and then figure out what you would like to read next. Alternatively, you can also use it to dip your fingers in the water and see whether or not Buddhism is for you.

Either way, you won’t be wrong with this one. [1]

With Each and Every Breath by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Meditation is an important practice for Buddhists because it strengthens and calms one’s mind, but also helps the Buddhist in their path towards enlightenment and Nirvana.

Summarized in a few words, With Each and Every Breath is a guide book to meditation. The foundation is built upon the teachings of the Buddha, as well as the work of a subsequent Buddhist that better developed some of the condensed teachings of the Buddha.

What makes this book stand apart from others is how easily accessible it is, and also its focus on breath meditation, called anapanasati.

Besides the end goal of enlightenment and nirvana, breath meditation helps the practitioner in their daily life by achieving a state of mindfulness. This alone makes it a useful practice to master, even for people who do not want to fully invest in knowing all the intricacies of Buddhism. [2] [May be out of print, but availabel in libraries or used.]

Mindfulness in Plain English by Henepola Gunaratana

Mindfulness in Plain English is another book that focuses on meditation. It’s among the most well-known introductory Buddhist books, and for good reason. It elegantly combines both the “why” you should meditate and the “how” to do it. With his engaging writing style, the author explains all the moving parts involved in meditation, theory and practice alike.

If With Each and Every Breath centers on breathing meditation and techniques behind it – anapanasati -, Mindfulness in Plain English takes it one step further in seeking vipassana.

In Buddhist thought, vipassana is the gift of seeing the true nature of reality and how everything interacts with one another.

Anapanasati itself is divided into 16 stages, and in each stage the meditator achieves a higher form of self-awareness and control. Vipassana are the final stages of the anapanasati meditation. Thus, vipassana and anapanasati are not separate, but one is the pinnacle of the other. [3]

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha’s Path by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

The title does sound very much like a random self-help article from the Huffington Post, so it’s understandable if you’re skeptical after reading it. Fortunately, the actual contents of the book are very serious, well structured, explained and thought out.

In Buddhism, each person is trapped in a painful life, death and rebirth cycle called samsara. The aim of Buddhism is for the individual to exit this painful cycle of suffering by achieving nirvana.

To end the cycle of samsara and achieve nirvana, one must follow a process called the Noble Eightfold Path, which is one of the most central concepts in all of Buddhism.

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness uses the Noble Eightfold Path as its intellectual foundation, and then builds upon each Path with real, practical advice to apply in day-to-day life.

One of the words that is very often found in this book is skillful and that is not by chance. After a certain point, living a good life requires extensive skill and this book explores how to be skillful in your judgement, your relationships with friends, anger management and more. [4]

 The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

As the name implies, this book is written in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, namely Vajrayana. It is heavily centered around the life, death and rebirth cycle, and explains the processes behind it at the level of a beginner reader.

At its core, it explains what the mind goes through after death and how the experiences can either lead to liberation or rebirth and how to correctly navigate through these experiences.

Many of the topics talked about in the book are central to Buddhism such as: impermanence, the mind and its true nature, meditation, karma and reincarnation, what happens at the moment of death and more.

For Western readers accustomed to the Platonist tradition of philosophy and it’s uncertain approach to what lies beyond life, The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying offers a different perspective with a weight of its own. [5]

The Eight Gates of Zen by John Daido Loori

Zen Buddhism is probably the most well-known branch of Buddhism in the Western world, and what many people associate with Buddhism in general.

Zen Buddhism is a subschool of Mahayana Buddhism that first appeared in China. It combines traditional Buddhist ideas with ones found in Chinese philosophy such as Taoism.

The word “Zen” has been heavily distorted since it was popularized in the West. The origin of the word can traced from the Indian word “dhyana”, which entered Chinese vocabulary as “chan”, pronounced as “zen” in Japanese. In all cases, the world is translated as “meditation”.

What makes Zen different from other forms of Buddhism is how it builds upon the process of meditation. Most notably, it introduces unsolvable riddles and thought exercises called koans.

The purpose of these koans is to refocus the mind on the koan, thus calming and relaxing it.

Koan meditation and other aspects of Zen are covered in The Eight Gates of Zen. It is an excellent introductory book for Zen Buddhism, and is friendly to Western preferences given how the author himself was from the west. [6]

Canon Buddhist texts and writings

As mentioned earlier, the actual teachings of the Buddha are contained in a collection called the Sutta Pitaka. The Sutta Pitaka itself is then divided into 5 volumes, or nikayas, which are organized based on the length of the discourses.

Out of the 5 nikayas, the long and medium length discourses are much more beginner friendly. The other three volumes are themselves important reading, but they tackle topics that are more technical in nature and are very repetitive.

The best time to approach them is when you feel you have a more solid understanding of the basics but still have some lingering questions.

In the Buddha’s Words curated and translated by Bhikku Bodhi

Everything contained in this book is directly selected then translated from the Pali Canon and aimed at beginner Buddhists who would like to read source texts, but don’t quite know where to start.

In other words, this book contains the translated version of Buddha’s Greatest Hits, as chosen by Bhikku Bhodi.

Besides the quality of the translation and writing, one major plus of this book is that Bhodi has neatly organized all of the selected writings into themes. Thus, when a user reads the books, all of the concepts fall in place and click together. This is especially useful since the suttas themselves don’t have a particular order. [7]

Digha Nikaya: The Long Discourses of the Buddha

This book contains the 34 long discourses / suttas of the Buddha, which cover varied and extensive topics such as morality, concentration, wisdom, the final days of the Buddha, dependent origination, the causes of wrong views and many more subjects.

Some of the more popular suttas are:

1. Digha Nikaya 22, which places emphasis on meditation, and why mindfulness is a critical component of eliminating suffering and as a path to enlightenment.
2. Digha Nikaya 15 develops the concept of dependent origination. [8]

Majjhima Nikaya: The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha

The Majjhimma is significantly longer than the Digha Nikaya (roughly twice the page count) and contains the middle length discourses of the Buddha.

When it comes to the actual contents however, it can be argued that the Majjhima is the most interesting of all the nikayas, at least when it comes to its literary value (if not also the philosophical value).

It contains 152 suttas and are much practical and down to earth than the longer discourses in the Digha Nikaya. In the Majjhima, the Buddha interacts with people from all walks of ancient Indian society: princes, kings, peasants, philosophers.

To top it all off, this version of the Majjhima is very readable thanks to an excellent translation by Bhikku Bodhi, a man fluent in English, the Pali language, Buddhism and writing talent. [9]

NOTES

[1] What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Paperback: 151 pages Publisher: Grove Press; Revised ed. edition (1974) Language: English ISBN-10: 0802130313 ISBN-13: 978-0802130310

[2] With Each and Every Breath Paperback Publisher: Thanissaro Bhikku (2012) ASIN: B017DM65TM

[3] Mindfulness in Plain English by Henepola Gunaratana Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Wisdom Publications; Anniversary edition (September 6, 2011 Language: English ISBN-10: 0861719069 ISBN-13: 978-0861719068

[4] Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha’s Path by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Wisdom Publications (June 15, 2001) Language: English ISBN-10: 0861711769 ISBN-13: 978-0861711765

[5] The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche Paperback: 444 pages Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco; 1st edition (June 26, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0062508342 ISBN-13: 978-0062508348

[6] The Eight Gates of Zen by John Daido Loori  Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (September 10, 2002) Language: English ISBN-10: 1570629528 ISBN-13: 978-1570629525

[7] In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha)  Series: The Teachings of the Buddha Paperback: 512 pages Publisher: Wisdom Publications; First Printing edition (July 28, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0861714911 ISBN-13: 978-0861714919

[8] The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya (The Teachings of the Buddha)  Series: The Teachings of the Buddha Hardcover: 648 pages Publisher: Wisdom Publications; 2nd edition (June 15, 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 0861711033 ISBN-13: 978-0861711031

[9] The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (The Teachings of the Buddha)  Series: The Teachings of the Buddha Hardcover: 1424 pages Publisher: Wisdom Publications; 59410th edition (November 9, 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 086171072X ISBN-13: 978-0861710720

“Buddha answers, “If a living being needs to be saved by someone in the body of a Buddha, Guanshiyin will appear in the body of a Buddha.…” Buddha then lists more than thirty different bodily manifestations of Guanshiyin according to what is needed: some are male, some are female, some young, some old; they vary by class status and station and occupation; some are divine, some are human, many are nonhuman. Guanshiyin will manifest in the form of a divine dragon if that’s what you need. Compassion manifests in all possible forms in order to reach all beings because we exist in form.” — short excerpt from Transcending

Transcending, Trans Buddhist Voices,  is a book anthology focusing on the experiences — and the words and voices — of “transgender, genderqueer and nonbinary Buddhists.” It is an emotional and compelling book, that comes to grips with diversity in Buddhism — not just LGBT community, but also with a focus also on “people of color, highlighting the intersectional nature of the oppressions often experienced in Western sanghas.” [1]

While this may sound critical of Buddhist Western Sanghas, this is anecdotal, and a matter of focus.

Excerpt by Finn Enke

Introduction by Josephine Nolan

The same oppression exists in society generally, and in all religious paths. The key difference here, is the honest and poignant stories from the perspective of LGBT sangha members. In various stories, the stories covered a wide-variety of lineages, from Theravada to Zen to Tibetan Buddhist.

“Transcending shines a light on a new generation of Buddhist role models, giving voice to those who have long been maginalized,” explains the publisher. Edited by Kevin Manders and Elizabeth Marston — with 30 essays and the voices of numerous contributing authors — Transcending tackles a difficult subject. These stories are in their own words, and presents “an open invitation for all Buddhists to bring the issue of gender identity into the sangha, into the discourse, and onto the cushion. Only by doing so can we develop insight into our circumstances and grasp our true, essential nature.” [1]

Transcending, Trans Buddhist Voices releases October 22, 2019, from North Atlantic Books. [Book details after excerpt.] This beautifully evocative book excerpt is by Finn Enke [Bio below], who practices the lineage of Thich Nhat Han.

Book Excerpt by Finn Enke

What Is a Body Anyway?

Form, Deep Listening, and Compassion on a Buddhist Trans Path

Finn Enke

(From Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices)

Everything is of the nature to change. It’s a fundamental Buddhist teaching, and it might be transgender-affirming as well. But that’s not the teaching that drew me to Buddhism as a trans-struggling teenager in the late 1970s. One day I cleverly asked the minis- ter of our hippie-inflected United Church of Christ, “How come we never learn about Buddhism here?” And he far more cleverly answered, “What would you like to know, and is there anything keeping you from learning about it?”

Had I been less afraid, I might have asked, “Is there any way I can make this arbitrary physical stuff of the body matter less?” I might have asked, “Why have people been telling me my whole life that I cannot be a monk?” I might have said, “You know this is all an illusion, right?”

I decided when I was six years old that I would become a monk, though I didn’t know there were different kinds of monks, and knew nothing of Buddhism. As a white child born in the midst of the civil rights movement and the US war against Vietnam, I was terrified of nuclear war and already grieving environmental destruction; my own family was challenged by my mother’s mental illness among other things; and I was a transgender kid who fared better in a world of mysticism and nature than the social world of forms and violently enforced norms.

Adults saw me as a nonconforming girl, and I knew myself to be a nonconforming boy. I was taught that everything started and ended with anatomy, but I thought anatomical definitions were superficial and untrue. By the time puberty had conclusively rejected my last bits of hope, I was desperate for ways to integrate my soul with a world that made no sense, and desperate for ways to make my body matter less.

I started learning about Buddhism on my own, and spent my college years pouring into the Pāli Canon, Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan forms of Buddhism. I practiced meditation with sanghas in the United States and Sri Lanka. I even sat in a cave on the side of a mountain.

I was drawn to Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion, and the uncertainty of Avalokiteśvara’s form: quite apart from Avalokiteśvara’s historical transition from apparently male to apparently female as Guanshiyin (Kuan Yin), there remained a question about whether this bodhisattva is articulated as male or female, both or neither.

In the Lotus Sūtra, one of the bodhisattvas asks the Buddha, “How does Guanshiyin Bodhisattva roam this world, speak the dharma, and carry out his work for all living beings?”

And the Buddha answers, “If a living being needs to be saved by someone in the body of a Buddha, Guanshiyin will appear in the body of a Buddha.…” Buddha then lists more than thirty different bodily manifestations of Guanshiyin according to what is needed: some are male, some are female, some young, some old; they vary by class status and station and occupation; some are divine, some are human, many are nonhuman. Guanshiyin will manifest in the form of a divine dragon if that’s what you need. Compassion manifests in all possible forms in order to reach all beings because we exist in form.

It’s not that Guanshiyin is “really” a man and puts on a dragon costume, nor is Guanshiyin “really” a woman and puts on a hum- mingbird costume. Rather, Avalokiteśvara/Guanshiyin manifests nonduality: the way that everything in the universe is present in every cell in every being, form and boundlessness together.

The lesson for me turned out to be not that form doesn’t matter, but that it does: for this moment I have this opportunity to experience existence in this form. It is through form that I apprehend interbeing, the awareness that everything in this moment is connected to everything else just as it is and has been and will be. It is form that makes consciousness possible.

My practice changed. If this stuff matters, how do I cultivate compassion for all that is, including fear and violence and suffering inside and outside me? After all, the first precept teaches reverence for all life.

For the next two decades, I dismissed my transgender experience on the grounds that, just as form matters, there is no hierarchy of forms. The bunny is as necessary and precious as the bee and the human and the sun; violence taking place outside me is also inside me; we are not separate. I convinced myself that my body is precious and sacred, and also that the specific form of form doesn’t matter. It made no Buddhist sense to say that I wasn’t a woman, and the feminist in me also rejected that articulation. Besides, my particular body was also a source of joy: I was healthy, strong, grateful for my physicality and the miracle that life is.

By the time I was in my forties, I barely noticed the chafing confusion I felt whenever people addressed me as “ma’am.” I was so used to seeing multiple images in the mirror that I literally could not see the physical form that most others interpreted as female. I was inured to the hum in my brain during social interactions as I tried to sort out how to act as though I was a woman while my energetic body and soul were busy running around the block. The work of passing as what people perceived me to be (female) was so much my version of normal, that when it all busted open one day on an ordinary walk, I literally fell down in my tracks. For decades, I thought I had a square deal with the universe: I’ll be in and honor this body, and you’ll give me life and love.

Suddenly, I needed to change things, a lot of things, but I didn’t even know what or how. Can I change a few things without losing everything? Suddenly, every metaphor of monsters and waking giants made sense. Everything might be of the nature to change, but what kind of power do we face when we launch ourselves into the unknown? I changed my name and for the first time in my life, I felt addressed when people called to me. Half a year later, I changed my pronouns and had to deal with the way that few people were comfortable using “they” or “he.”

More slowly, I discovered that I was clinging hard to the notion that I shouldn’t willfully mess with this perfectly good body. I confronted the possibility that for me, this belief was just as much a habituated story as the conventional stories that call some bodies male and some female. I wondered, can I engage this embodiment with compassion?

Avalokiteśvara is sometimes translated as “one who contemplates the sounds of the world.” It is said that deep listening transforms suffering because it returns us to our interconnectedness.

You know that parable about the six blind men and the elephant, where they’re all feeling a different part of the creature, and they all have a different perception of what this must be. The parable is meant to teach that only when we bring our multiple perceptions together can we realize that it’s an elephant.

Well, this was always a troubling parable for me. It implies that sighted people would automatically assign the name “elephant” to this being and that they would be correct. As a child, I was equally distressed that they have this whole committee of people to determine what it is and no one ever thinks to ask this magnificent creature itself. To my protestations, people usually responded with some version of “Elephants can’t talk” or “An elephant doesn’t know what it is.”

Humans have applied this arrogance to everything on the planet and beyond. We grow up learning “conventional designations”; we’re taught to call it an elephant and believe it is an elephant. Naming brings worlds into being; naming is artful, beautiful. But thinking we know it is an elephant that can’t talk might do great harm. How, then, can we listen to all beings?

The Sūtra on Invoking Avalokiteśvara is all about deep listening: “We invoke your name in order to practice listening with all our attention and openheartedness. We will sit and listen without any prejudice. We sit and listen without judging or reacting. We sit and listen in order to understand. We sit and listen so attentively that we will be able to hear what the other person is saying and also what is being left unsaid.”

In the first precept, we vow to “cultivate openness, nondiscrimination, nonattachment to views” in order to honor all beings, and to transform violence in ourselves and in the world. We learn to listen deeply.

What would it mean to listen to myself? Trying to make sense of my physical form, I was struggling as though I was the six blind men and I was the elephant, and I was the sighted people thinking I have superior perception, and I was the blind people arguing about what is real, and I was the thing all of me is arguing about.

How do I practice nonviolence within myself?

I decided to bring embodiment to the front and center of my meditation and qi gong practice. I decided to deeply listen to everything that arose, without judgment. Newly observing rather than dismissing questions of physical transition, I felt immediate peace. It suddenly became far more important to me to learn about myself than it was to resolve the question of physical transition. But it was an experiment: I didn’t know what I would discover, or how long I might find this practice illuminating, or what (if anything) would come of it.

Right away, the question changed from “Can I put testosterone into my body?” to “What does this right here feel like: to be as present as I can be in my body and my experience of my body in the world?”

In meditation practice as Thich Nhat Hanh teaches it, we don’t try to banish the difficult things that arise; we don’t try to run from them or kill them. We observe with openness, kindness, with compassion. It doesn’t mean we don’t suffer anymore, but it is a nonviolent way to respond to suffering; it makes it possible to handle grief and fear and anger in the most tender way. This gives us the best chance to transform suffering into insight and compassion.

Eight months of intensive, embodied meditation practice showed me that there was no objective judgment about whether taking testosterone would be a good thing or a bad thing for me. Just as being transgender or being anything else is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. Only experience could tell me if testosterone felt right, with the privilege to try it on my own terms and pay close attention. This realization brought another congruence so compelling to me that, even with prescription in hand, I wanted to just observe and enjoy this, too, in no hurry to be anywhere other than where I was. Many months later, I started a low dose of topical testosterone, allowing me to navigate and define transition on my own terms.

Most surprising in this life of transformation is that I now feel an unprecedented, unimaginable coherence and ease. For the first time in my life, I make sense to myself. All the shadows have integrated: there is just one of me, and it’s the one I’ve known my whole life. Others still misgender me most of the time, but I stay solid and present. No longer racing away, I listen deeply, to myself and others.

Testosterone has also made meditation challenging. My body and mind are more active, and it takes some discipline to sit down on my own. Once I’m seated, I’m home. But now I’m a typical person with typical distractions, and more dependent than ever on the sangha part of Buddha, dharma, sangha.

I’m not trying to get to some imagined other place. I’m just exactly where I need to be, changing and present in a nonbinary form. I’m not “in between” anything; I’m just here.

Excerpt essay author: Finn Enke

Finn Enke practices in the lineage of Thich Nhat Hanh and is grateful to innumerable beings who give guidance and support  along the path. Finn is author of Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space, and Feminist Activism (2007); is editor of Trans- feminist Perspectives in and beyond Transgender and Gender Studies (2012); and is currently working on a graphic novel, With Finn and Wing: Growing Up Amphibious in a Nuclear Age.

Book Editors

Kevin Manders is a trans Buddhist living in Vancouver, B.C., on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. He has been on the dharma path for the last 12 years in the Theravada tradition. He is a social worker who is passionate about the dharma, social justice issues, anti-racist work, intersectionality, veganism, cycling and music.

 

Elizabeth Marston is a trans writer, hacker, and anarcho-communist Buddhist activist. She holds a master’s degree in philosophy (with study concentrated on ethics and political philosophy), and knows her way around rules of logic. When she’s not coding or writing, she’s usually lounging around her Buddhist collective, nibbling vegetarian sweetmeats, and reading whatever N. K. Jemisin wrote last.

 

Book Details

TRANSCENDING TRANS BUDDHIST VOICES

• By KEVIN MANDERS and ELIZABETH MARSTON
• OCTOBER 22, 2019
• North Atlantic Books
• ISBN: 978-1-62317-415-6
• $16.95 USD / $22.95 CDN
• Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62317-416-3

NOTES

[1] From the “Transcending” press kit.

Drawing on many decades of teaching experience in the west, he distils volumes of knowledge on Mahamudra — the most advanced and significant teachings in Vajrayana — into a concise yet comprehensive 300 pages.

He writes in the same style as he teaches, with a focus on making this vast and deep method easy to digest and comprehend. With the aid of original illustrations from Ben Christian — which include channels and chakras diagrams, beautiful thangkas of Manjushri and other Buddhas, and yoga postures for sitting — Rinpoche compresses centuries of practice

commentary into fourteen short chapters. Covering everything from the preliminaries — Refuge, Bodhicitta, Mandala offerings, Vajrasattva, Guru Yoga — through to Samatha Mahamudra, Vipassana Mahamudra and finally on to Tantric Mahamudra, Rinpoche empowers the student to advance their practice with the “very heart of Buddha’s teachings.”

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There are extensive how-tos and commentaries in this ultimately very practical book, especially the chapters on Samataha and Vipassana meditation. Rinpoche is well-known for the clarity of his in-person teachings on these important methods, and he brings that practicality. Reading this book, has the “flavor” of receiving a personal teaching from a meditation master.

Also helpful are the four photos and fourteen illustrations meant to assist practice and visualization with deity thangkas, inner body maps (for Tantric Mahamudra) and yogic postures.

Note: This was an advance review — the book is now released in paperback and will soon release in Kindle e-book. Amazon>>

• Author: H.E. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche
• Editor: Amanda Buckley
• Illustrations: Ben Christian
• Design: Green Scribble
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wind Horse Press (February 15, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0646995073
• ISBN-13: 978-0646995076
• Price $39.00

Related

• To read chapter one book excerpt, please see our earlier feature>>
• Paperback now available on Amazon>>
• Paperback now available in Canada>>
• Paperback now available in the United Kingdom>>
• English Paperback now available in Germany>>
• English Paperback now available in Japan>>
• English Paperback now available in Italy>>

Who is this book for?

This is a must read for Buddhists of the Gelug tradition, and a should read for many other Buddhists seeking insight into Shunyata (emptiness), or practicing Vipassana or Samatha.

“The very heart of Buddha’s teachings”

Mahamudra meditation and practice is “at the very heart of Buddha’s teachings,” begins H.E. Zasep Rinpoche in a new book from Wind Horse Press. In his introductory chapter, he explains why Mahamudra is a “need” not a want practice for Buddhists:

“Mahamudra practice slows us down so we can see things as they really are. Mahamudra reveals the ultimate nature of the mind, intrinsically pure and empty of inherent nature: pure awareness, luminous and spacious
— clarity and cognisance.”

Although Rinpoche covers Mahamudra from the point of view of the Gelugpa tradition, many of the meditations are useful to any Buddhist, of any school. Mahamudra is both an ultimately simple practice, and the pinnacle of Vajrayana practices. Rinpoche explains in chapter 1: ” the actual Gelug technique of Mahamudra is deeply profound, and in particular, the Tantric Mahamudra is supreme.”

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One question Rinpoche answers (hint, in chapter 9) is an important one:

“Why bother taking initiations, doing Tantric practice, doing all these foundation practices, Vajrasattva mantras, Guru Yoga. Why bother doing prostrations, three-year retreats, counting millions and millions of mantras. Why bother? Why not just sit and do the Mahamudra?”

His answer will surprise many, and clarify for others what they already intuitively grasped.

NOTE: The Sutra Mahamudra content is open for any student. Some of the advanced Tantric practices in the last chapter require initiation.

Related

• To read chapter one book excerpt, please see our earlier feature>>
• Paperback now available on Amazon>>
• Paperback now available in Canada>>
• Paperback now available in the United Kingdom>>
• English Paperback now available in Germany>>
• English Paperback now available in Japan>>
• English Paperback now available in Italy>>

The Three Grounds of Mahamudra

The book is a helpful commentary, supplemented with illustrations, and a very useful guide for students. Although the reader may not be able to engage in some of the practices without teacher-guidance — such as the Tantric Mahamudra methods — the instructions are very thorough and clear. In the case of Tantric Mahamudra, he gives detailed information, but with the caution: “to obtain the empowerments necessary for Tantric practice.”

Rinpoche explains the three levels of Mahamudra in the book:

• Ground Mahamudra
• Path Mahamudra
• Result Mahamudra.

He explains in chapter 1: “When we meditate, we recognise the nature of emptiness is always there; the realisation of emptiness dispels defilements. With the realisation of emptiness one is able to perceive all mental defilements and their nature of emptiness.”

Later he eloquently summarizes: “Mahamudra meditation is awareness and understanding of the true nature of mind; it is spacious, without beginning or end. It is like observing the sky without the trace of birds, or the criss-cross of jet planes. You can merge your consciousness in the state of Mahamudra, beyond words and thoughts. The true nature of the mind is raw or naked awareness. It is an uncovered, untamed and unaltered state, without fabrication.”

Lama Tsongkhapa’s instructions in Samatha: “Calm abiding mind”

Rinpoche covers the two types of Sutra Mahamudra: Samatha and Vipassana. He explains:

“There are two types of Sutra Mahamudra: Samatha Mahamudra, and Vipassana Mahamudra. The wisdom of seeing the true nature of the mind with a calm abiding mind is Samatha Mahamudra. The wisdom of seeing the true nature of the mind through insight and an analytical mind is Vipassana Mahamudra.”

The instructions in chapter 9, on Sutra Samatha Mahamudra, are “based on the teachings of the holy Gelug Mahamudra masters: Lama Je Tsongkhapa; the First Panchen Lama Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen; and Gungthang Tenpe Dronme.”

“What is mind?”

Rinpoche explains how Lama Je Tsongkhapa and the First Panchen Lama taught the method of “seeking the correct view after having gained meditative samadhi.”

He adds, ” In Mahamudra practice it is always good to start with the question, what is mind? The ultimate nature of the mind is clear light, defilements are temporary. Mind is not within the mind, but it is clear light. Mind has no beginning and no end. All phenomena are manifested or produced from the mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha and all the great masters.”

Rinpoche compares the mind to the sky, “free of limitations” and also “like a diamond, its true nature is clear and precious.”

He explains the deep topic of “six primary minds.” Rinpoche also offers the famous verses of Phagmo Drupa, and offers a complete commentary on them:

Mahamudra is the state of non-dual awareness
There are three aspects
Essence, nature and characteristic.
The essence is emptiness (of arising, ceasing or conceiving).
Nature is unobstructed lucidity,
Characteristic is the diverse appearances on the levels of Samsara and Nirvana.

After commentary, Rinpoche gives concise and very clear how-to instructions for your Mahamudra meditation.

The entire chapter 9 is a profound and powerful stand-alone teaching on Mahamudra Samatha, invaluable to any student. He gives very clear insights into how-to practice, including the “six examples given by the Gaden Mahamudra masters”, such as:

“Resting the mind like an innocent child”
“Resting the mind like a bird in the sky”
“Resting the mind like soft and lightly-matted wool”

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Superior insight: guided meditation in Vipassana Mahamudra

There are many practical and insightful chapters in the book, including an amazing guided meditation on Vipassana Mahamudra.

Rinpoche explains why Vipassana is critical:

“Vipassana Mahamudra is essentially a meditation on emptiness and Shunyata. Without the realisation of Shunyata you cannot cut the root of Samsara. As I have mentioned before, Phagmo Drupa asked Gampopa what was the root of Samsara; the answer was ‘ordinary mind’.

“When you know the root of Samsara, you have to pull out that root completely, otherwise it will keep growing back. The best way to achieve this is to meditate on emptiness through Vipassana Mahamudra.”

An extensive commentary, including a complete teaching on Shunyata (Emptiness), together with a guided meditation, make this chapter worth the price of the book.

The Fascination with Tummo

Up until this point in the book, Rinpoche has taught based on Sutra Mahamudra. In chapter 13 he teaches based on Tantric Mahamura. Rinpoche defines it as:

“Tantra Mahamudra is the union of bliss and emptiness. Owing to Sutra, we are able to discover emptiness, and owing to Tantra we discover true bliss . The combination and union of these two becomes the highest Mahamudra, Tantra Mahamudra.”

Tummo practice is the best-known and a most-sought after teaching and practice from Tantric Mahamudra. It conjures images of yogis, dressed only in a light cloth, meditating on a snow-capped mountain, keeping warm with only their inner meditated tummo heat. Rinpoche explains the real significance of these practices and gives a complete explanation and commentary. He gives this commentary on Tantric Mahamudra with a caution:

“But I advise you to consult with your own Guru or a qualified master. There is no point trying to practise Tantric Mahamudra if you are not qualified. If you do the practice without careful guidance by the Guru it would do more harm than good. I have met many people in the West who would like to jump right into the highest and most advanced practices of Tantra, and the mystic and magical Tummo-Agni yoga practice, without a solid foundation.”

Rinpoche clarifies many points advanced students may have struggled with in their practices, particularly regarding visualization of the channels, meridians, chakras and winds.

In the beginning of the chapter on details of Tantric Mahamudra, Rinpoche explains:

Tantra is not for everyone, especially completion stage and Tantric Mahamudra. This practice required a lot of faith. One has to surrender to the Guru and Yidam. This is very hard to do in this day and age, particularly for Western Dharma students, mainly because of cultural conditioning. Lots of people are attracted to Tantric practice, especially the practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa . Many people in the West want an easy practice and a quick result. It is like a fast food mentality. If you practise without proper readiness, you are risking your mental and physical energy levels, and your meditation development. So please pay attention to this advice; as I have said in the last chapter, you need a Guru and to have made a decision on your lifelong Yidam.”

Recommended for serious students

Gelug Mahamuda, Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, by Zasep Rinpoche, is highly recommended for any serious student of Vajrayana Buddhism. It is a must read for students of the Gelugpa tradition. For all Buddhists, generally, it’s a good read, especially the chapters on Samatha and Vipassana.

As an Amazon Associate, Buddha Weekly may earn from qualifying purchases.

• To read chapter one book excerpt, please see our earlier feature>>
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wind Horse Press (February 15, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0646995073
• ISBN-13: 978-0646995076
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

About H.E. Zasep Rinoche

This is a rare opportunity to meet an eminent Tibetan Buddhist teacher. Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche is a meditation master, and spiritual head of meditation centres in Canada, Australia and the US. With many international students, Rinpoche is a regular visitor to Mongolia as it revives its ancient Buddhist heritage.

Born in Tibet, as a teenager, Rinpoche undertook extensive training under great masters of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. After graduating from Varanasi Sanskrit University with an Acharya degree, he spent 18 months in Thailand as a forest monk. Rinpoche first began teaching in the West in the 1970s and has touched many people’s lives with his wonderful humour and strong compassion. This is his third book, following his work on the beloved Tibetan Meditation deity, Tara, and his fascinating autobiography.

There are many great English translations of much of the Pali Canon — most of it freely available online — making the great teachings of the Buddha highly accessible. Although there have been many “narrative collections” — and even one or two “novelizations” — of Buddha’s life and teachings, only one really stood out for me over the years. I first read Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha years ago. I consider this a classic and I return to it often, probably annually, and I realized I’ve never reviewed this timeless book. If you haven’t added this to your library, or your ebook library, here’s why I think you should consider adding it. (It’s worth noting that this priceless book has a collective average 4.8 stars out of 5 rating on Good Reads with 2505 reviewers. That’s saying something.)

It’s difficult to characterize Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, by Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s an older book (1987) that didn’t get as much attention as some of his other books, but it’s worth a look for anyone who hasn’t read it, or someone starting out in Buddhism, or someone who want a modern-day approachable version of Sutta teachings.

Is it a novelization of Buddha’s life and teachings — as has been unsuccessfully attempted a few times (unsuccessfully, at least from the point of view of sutta authority of teachings) — or is it a non-fiction “biography” style narrative, or is it a collection of the Suttas, or is it something else? Mostly, it’s something else. It reads like a novel, certainly, but carries the full weight of credible teachings from the Suttas, wound together into a narrative from one of Buddha’s monks — who we first meet as a boy “untouchable” in India.

In Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, the great Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, makes the original Pali Suttas more engaging to modern students.

I suppose it takes a great teacher, who can speak with authority (as opposed to a scholar or a novelist), to carry this off. Across 600 pages, each time I read, I find myself nodding and smiling and learning and making notes.

Ratings

• MUST READ for new students or people considering Buddhism
• MUST READ for any student who has struggled with staying focused on translations of Sutta now available
• SHOULD READ for any Buddhist interested in the original Sutta teachings
• GOOD READ for anyone who enjoys uplifting stories with moral compass (regardless of spiritual path)
• AVOID the READ if you are hyper critical of any treatment of Sutta material (although bearing in mind Thich Nhat Hanh is a well-known teacher who took few liberties with the material for dramatic purposes, other than the narrative binding character).

Overall Summary

Written in a clear, simple, approachable style, Thich Nhat Hanh has achieved a blend of “engaged” and enjoyable read with purity and authority of teaching. Limiting his narrative to the Pali Suttas, even though he is a Zen (Mahayana) teacher makes the book unversally appealing. The choice of winding the sutta content into a narrative story-line is not new, but here, it is masterfully crafted.

Modern narrative engagement: enjoy the read

Perhaps the concepts of “enjoy” and Sutta are not meant to go together; after all, we speak in Sutta of the twelve links of Dependent Co-Origination and the downsides of emotional attachment. Still, a certain level of enjoyment is needed in a read of Sutta for the average student. This book is NOT fo scholars and probably not for teachers, but it’s wonderful for most students. Thich Nhat Hanh strikes that needed balance of “modern engagement” and “authority” of teachings.

In the extensive Appendix, Thich Nhat Hanh lists the many sutras he incorporates into the narrative. He writes,

“In researching and writing this book I have drawn almost exclusively from the texts of the so-called “Lesser Vehicle,” purposely using very little from Mahayana texts in order to demonstrate that the more expansive ideas and doctrines associated with Mahayana can be found in the earlier Pali Nikayas…”

No miracles, plenty of profound wisdom

Thich Nhat Hanh limited the narrative to the older Pali Sutta and avoided “miraculous” events that are layered into some stories.

A quick look at the contents (below) reveals that all the key teachings are contained in his wonderful narrative work. Although it is true that some liberties are taken in the connecting narrative — in terms of adding “dialogue” to the characters who interact with the Buddha — that is devised to make this a cohesive story — the actual Sutta content is sincerely and properly presented in modern, approachable language.

The Vast scope: but a fast read

I have copies of nearly all translated sutta in English. It would be a daunting task to work through them all, as I have been trying to do over the last few years. The Suttas are priceless, and perfect, and engaging, but they were written centuries ago. Which is why I frequently return to this book. Thich Nhat Hanh presents most of the most important teachings in a narrative style that pulls you through the entire body of teachings in days, not weeks. This will never replace sutta, but it’s a wonderful introduction.

A quick summary of the book reveals just how powerful the content is from a modern-practice point of view.

In the first chapter, the narrative character Svasti meets the Buddha in Uruvela village. It’s worth noting that Svasti becomes an important narrative glue to the overall narrative. For those who have studied Sutta, the titles of the chapters below will be enough to demonstrate how comprehensive this narrative is:

SaveSaveSaveSave

View the trailer:

Produced by West End Films, and filmed over three years on location at Plum Village in France, and other locations, Walk with me, the movie, promises to give glimpses into life with teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the most respected spiritual leaders in the world today. Once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Thay, as he is affectionally called by his followers and friends, is famous for clarity of thought. The Zen monk’s many books are popular in the west, among the best teachings in Mindfulness and spirituality. His descriptions and lessons in Emptiness and Oneness are widely quoted — considered among the best illustrations of the difficult concept.

The movie appears to also follow the lives of monks and nuns in Plum Village, with rare glimpses into teaching sessions and meditation sessions.

Transcript of Trailer

Narrator: I knew early on that finding truth is not the same as finding happiness. You aspire to see the truth, but once you have see it you cannot avoid [suffering], otherwise you have seen nothing at all.

Text: Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh: There is a song we like to sing. “I have arrived. I am home.”

Text: Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Thich Nhat Hanh: Mindfulness is to always arrive in the here and the now.You have been running a lot, but you have not arrived.

Text: Followed by millions

A monk: We have taken a vow to not have any personal possessions. So, we don’t have money. We don’t have personal possessions. We don’t have a bank account.

Another voice: We are all raised in chaos…

Text: “One of the most influential spiritual leaders of our times.” — Oprah Winfrey

Thich Nhat Hanh: So, the practice of mindfulness helps us to live our lives deeply. That way, we will not waste our life.

Text: “A moving and wonderful film — a great work full of love.” — Alejandro G. Inarritu

Voice: Is your life controlled by someone else?

Monk: You know Yoda in Star Wars? (Cuts to image of Thich Nhat Hanh contemplating, smiling.) A little bit like that.

Child’s voice: I have a doggie. The doggie died… I feel so sad. (We see the child standing by Thich Nhat Hanh, who answers her…)

Thich Nhat Hanh: You look into the sky and you see a beautiful cloud. The cloud has become the rain. And when you drink your tea, you can see your cloud in your tea.

(The girl smiles, understanding the metaphor of Oneness.)

Text: “Mindfulness has gone mainstream.” — New York Time

Thich Nhat Hanh: The past is no longer there. The future is not yet there. There’s only the present moment.

Text: Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch

Narrator: The mountains and rivers, earth and sun, all lie within the heart of consciousness.

Text: From the makers of Black Gold

Narrator: All that will remain is the deeply rooted peace.

Text: Find out more: Walkwithmefilm.com