Taking Refuge

Hi Fellow Buddhists,

I've been meaning to write about this for a while. Apologies for only just getting around to it!  Taking refuge is one of the absolute cornerstones of Buddhism, though how many of us are really clear what we're taking refuge in and in what form we're doing it. Often it's just a mechanical thing we do at the beginning of any session.  Nevertheless, different Buddhist groups have completely different approaches to the subject. For example, the four-fold refuge of Tibetan Buddhism is quite distinct from, say, the Three Jewels of Theravada Buddhism.  As this is my blog, I can only really give my view on it.  However, I hope those who agree, disagree or would just like to make comments do so.

I personally either take refuge in the historical Buddha or if I'm up to it directly in the Mind of the Buddha, i.e. the Buddha Nature itself. For me, the life story of the historical Buddha has always been such an inspiration that I always visualise him there sitting under the Bodhi Tree in a fully enlightened state. I think feeling a strong sense of commitment every time you take refuge is very important, both to him and his teachings.  Ultimately, though, the truest place of refuge is the Buddha Nature or Dharmakaya, as the Buddha's person is just his outer form. It's the inner mind that we are really interested in.  However, I think this is more advanced approach, only really for those with considerable meditation experience.

The Dharma is relatively straightforward I think, i.e. simply the main body of the Buddha's teaching, including the Mahayana.  You may have in your mind, though, what you consider to be the most important aspects of his teaching, like karma, compassion, emptiness, etc.  But, whatever, taking refuge in the Dharma should remind you that you want to base your life on the Buddha's teachings.  Of course, there's some debate about whether certain aspects were actually taught by the Buddha, e.g. the Tantras, but more about that in another post.

The Sangha is another problem area.  Who do we include?   Of course, traditionally, it is the monastic community.  At the time of the Buddha they would have been extremely important because Buddhism was not yet an established religion and anyone interested would have needed the focus of the Sangha.  Of course, times have changed since then, and maybe no-one really sees the Sangha as perfect.  So I would say visualise only beings who are actually close to Enlightenment, whether that be great teachers living today or great Bodhisattvas from the past, like Avalokiteshvara, etc.  That way you can't go wrong.  Your own personal teacher, if you have one, could or should be included as an important part of the Sangha. In my opinion, you should definitely not include the regular lay sangha who we meet on a daily basis.  They are not a proper place of refuge, as they will have varying degrees of commitment and levels of practice.  In fact, my experience with Dharma communities is that there can be as much negativity there as anywhere else in the normal world.

Moving on to the four-fold refuge, I was seriously involved in Tibetan Buddhism for quite a while, and indeed still do many of their practices.  However, I had some serious doubts about whether there was maybe too much of an emphasis on the lama or guru. Of course, teachers are extremely important, and we should always have the utmost respect for them. Without them it would be extremely difficult to make progress on their path. Their guidance and wisdom is invaluable.  Nevertheless, they are still basically Sangha, as described in the paragraph above, rather than actual Buddhas. However, the Tibetans have elevated their role to one where you actually take refuge in the lama as the number one place of refuge, ahead of the Buddha himself,  In fact, on the Tibetan Refuge Tree, the Buddhas are out to the side.  This is known as the four-fold refuge.  I think that if you adopt this approach you need to be really sure what you are doing and why you are doing it.  It's a major decision, with several long term ramifications, so don't just do it because you've been told to.

I hope this has been helpful and has at least maybe got you thinking about Refuge.  Please do make comments and contributions.

Happy meditation!

Depression

Hi Fellow Meditators,

I was watching the news today and was really sad to learn of the death of Robin Williams, the famous Hollywood comedian.  Apparently he committed suicide as a result of depression.  As a Buddhist, it brings up several obvious issues, notably just how appropriate is suicide, how should one handle depression, and can wealth and fame alone bring true spiritual happiness.

Looking first at suicide, Robin Williams said it once in one of his own movies, "It's a permanent solution to temporary problems".  Depression and suicide often go hand in hand.  I know because I've suffered from it myself.  It's easy to dig oneself into a kind black hole out of which there seems no escape.  I think one solution is to have thoroughly programmed yourself beforehand so that when you enter one of those dark states, you remember that it is only temporary.  You've been there before and come out, and you will do this time too. 

However, while that is easy to say when in a "normal" state, it is, of course, extremely difficult to apply when you are actually in the depressed state.  That's why I think a real Buddhist solution is required.  This is to recognise the emptiness of your emotional state.  It is a fundamental teaching of the Buddha that all phenomena are void or empty of anything single or permanent.  This includes our emotional states.  While obviously things exist on the relative level, they are simply passing phenomena on the ultimate level.  Depression is no different.  So it's a case of remembering one's practice at all times.

The reason this is difficult is because we tend to meditate when we feel good.  It's very easy to be positive about life when everything is going well.  For example, a young person in the full bloom of youth enjoying perfect health.  Of course, it's easy to radiate happiness. To able to do this when you're ageing or suffering from both physical and mental ailments is more challenging.  However, if you can do it, it really shows your true spiritual strength.  And this feeling of joy and happiness comes naturally out of seeing that everything is empty, because in seeing that, one naturally moves closer to one's own true Buddha nature.

When might suicide be appropriate?  That's a difficult one.  My natural tendency is to agree with euthanasia, i.e. when one has entered the last phase of a terminal illness.  However, even here it might be better to try and see it through.  In traditional Buddhism, euthanasia would still be considered wrong.  I'd really like to hear some of your views as readers.  Can it ever be acceptable for a good Buddhist to commit suicide?  For example, some of those self immolation cases are definitely unacceptable in my opinion.

The final point that Robin Williams death shows us is that wealth and fame have no ultimate power to bring happiness.  Wealth simply provides us with a comfortable environment to pursue happiness, as well as giving us more possibilities.  Nevertheless, for anyone, rich or poor, true happiness can only come from the level of one's spiritual practice.  The more you work on putting others before oneself and on recognizing emptiness, the happier you yourself will be, even if you are poor.

Meditate well !!
 

Akong Rinpoche - Obituary

I only recently learnt of the sad death of Akong Rinpoche, one of the co-founders of Samye Ling Tibetan Centre in Scotland.  What was really surprising was the manner of his death.  Apparently he was murdered, stabbed to death no less, by some fellow Tibetans while in Chengdu in China.  From what I can gather it was over money.

Of course, Akong was always a very tough kind of guy and always had a reputation for being very hard nosed business wise.  And he always made sure anyone who stayed at Samye Ling paid up fully.  Yet, it's surprising to learn that he would take an argument about money to such an extreme.  Surely, most Buddhists would hand over the money if someone was actually threatening you.  After all it is only money, which as Buddhists we know ultimately fails to bring any true happiness.  It just makes life a little smoother, and, of course, opens up new possibilities.  But ultimately happiness can only ensue from the strength of your practice, both in terms of formal meditation and compassionate behaviour.

I have to say, I was never a disciple of Akong Rinpoche and often found him difficult to be with.  In fact, truth be told, he was one of the main reasons I started having doubts about the whole Lama devotion system prevalent in Tibetan Buddhism.  Nevertheless, there is no denying his huge contribution to the Dharma.  Firstly, the development of Samye Ling as a meditation centre, which has provided generations with the opportunity to develop themselves and receive teachings from the highest lamas.  The building of the main temple was, of course, monumental.  Secondly, his commitment to propagating the Dharma and trying to aid its spread throughout the world.  His style was very orthodox and conservative.  This was largely because he felt a need to counter the behaviour of his co-founder, Chogyam Trungpa, who was famed for his unconventional behaviour and crazy wisdom. 

Whatever, your views on Akong Rinpoche, there can be no doubt that he was an extremely important figure in Tibetan Buddhism, and there can be little doubt that he will be in a better place now.  His devotion to the Karmapa was really incredible. I'm sure he will be missed by all his disciples.  However, to many he will always remain somewhat of an unclear, ambiguous character.

Losing Parents

I had the misfortune to lose both my parents recently, and as a result I've been doing a lot of thinking about their roles in one's life, and I don't mean in just bringing one up as a child but also their continuing effect on one as an adult. I think one of the main things I've noticed is that subconsciously a lot of one's goals and achievements are directly related to trying to please one's parents. Deep down inside we all have a psychological need to please our parents and to be approved of by them. Also, we want to please them as a kind of payback for all they did in bringing us up. This could be anything from being successful in one's career to having a family. Either way, one can stand up and say, "Look, mum and dad, I've done you proud!"

This was certainly true of me, as, without knowing it, so much of what I did was to try to impress them, everything from my career and religion through my travel experience to my current marital situation. So how has this affected me now that I've lost both my parents. I must admit I do rather feel I'm in a kind of vacuum. Of course, in my case the timing was particularly awkward in that my wife to be was already pregnant when my mother died. I had hoped to be able to present my mother with her new grandchild. Sadly this is not to be now. I think what the overall situation does is to force you to take full responsibility for your aims and actions. From this point onward you can only motivated by your own conscience and what you consider to right and relevant. There are no longer any other players involved other than your peers.

What does this mean in a Buddhist context? I think for me it means that from here on becomes a true adult and must therefore practice the spiritual path in as an exemplary way as one can. The path is no longer about happy meditation experiences for oneself, which can be quite selfish actually, but properly gearing one's life to the benefit of others. In my case, having a child is a start, but I see taking increasing responsibility in the community as another important way forward. Of course, I should have been doing this already, but it's something like the death off one's parents that really galvanises one. Surely this is the best way to honour their memory.

The picture is the last one I had together with my mother, only a month before she passed away.

Parents

Hi Fellow Buddhists,

Sad to say, recently my father passed away. He was 89 and had contracted pneumonia, which unfortunately is often fatal at that age. Although we had a pretty difficult relationship at times, particularly when I was a teenager and in my early 20s, by the time he reached old age I had gained a lot of respect for him, and can honestly say that I genuinely loved and appreciated him.

Basically, my father had fought in the war and was always very much the military man, which meant that discipline and authority were very important to him. Very much a top down approach. As a youngster growing up in the liberal 60's and 70's perhaps it is no wonder that I clashed with him, as indeed did so many other young people of that generation, for the whole value system of the pre-war generation was being challenged, particularly attitudes towards authority, work, money, sex, religion, war and democracy. The hippy movement of the late 60's was probably the most extreme standpoint and their ideas were well formulated by the leading musicians of the time, such as Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, etc.

Also, particularly noticeable at that time was the emergence of a new strain of psychological thinking that actually put the blame for your hang-ups on your parents, such that they became objects of contempt or even targets of outright aggression, rather than being seen for what they really were, imperfect human beings trying to do their best by giving their children the best upbringing they could within the framework of their own experience and value system.

Looking back, I can now see just how unaware and how ungrateful I really was. Growing up in an upper-middle class neighbourhood, going to the best schools, having the best of everything and not wanting for anything were all things I simply took for granted, not apparently requiring any gratitude. In fact, my brother still believes that it is simply one's birthright and nothing more than a parent's duty to do those things. However, life's experience has certainly taught me and I'm sure most others of my generation just how erroneous those views and attitudes are. For example, having now travelled extensively around the world and having seen real poverty I can now see just how lucky I was. In parts of India or Africa, people would literally give arm and a leg to have those kind of opportunities!

So what should we be thankful to our parents for? I think what I'm going to say is obvious and has universal value, but is particularly true in a Buddhist context. In fact, in Buddhism it is said that you can never repay the kindness of your parents. Firstly, there is the simple fact of our biological or physical existence. Our own bodies come directly from the combined genes of our parents. This alone is a factor of a thousand above anything else. A gift you can never repay. But, more importantly, it is all the sacrifice, hard work, dedication and care that goes into bringing up a child that counts highest. It's not just the providing on the physical level but also the transmission of ideas, knowledge and experience, etc. that prepare the child so well for life. Add to this the fact that they unconditionally love you and genuinely care about you, always providing a reference point in an uncaring world.

Of course, there are bad parents, such as those who abuse or neglect their children, but I think they are the minority. There is also, of course, the common practice in many developing countries of having lots of children as an insurance policy for old age, in societies with no social security system. Nevertheless, even in these scenarios, the basics of having given you a body and got you through childhood in a way that you are capable of functioning independently in the world are still there.

I point these things out because so many of us do not really appreciate our parents, particularly if they have had relationship problems with them in youth. So returning to my own father, I can now see how important he was in my whole character development. For example, he always provided a basic model of how to deal with situations and people, and demonstrated clearly his integrity and own values of duty and responsibility. In fact, I think that is what a parent does - provides a model you can start with and then later refine or even replace as you develop and gain experience in life.

Happy Meditation

Robert

Soto Zen

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Hi Fellow Buddhists!

I've been wanting to share this way of meditation for quite a while now. Sorry I only just got round to it! I learnt it through one of the masters of the Soto Zen tradition, but actually it could come from any tradition, in that in many ways it represents the essence of Buddhist meditation. It's basically just sitting being the Buddha. What could be easier!

I have always grappled with mindfulness of the breath, counting one to ten. It always seemed much too technique orientated for my liking, and somehow I always managed to end up all knotted up. In fact, it was too much like hard work. And in my opinion true meditation is not hard work, but is in fact the most relaxed, natural and fulfilling experience imaginable. So what was I doing wrong?

Well, I think a lot of the problem is techniques. They are almost by definition not the real thing. They just help prepare you for true meditation, which must involve direct experience of the Dharmakaya or Buddha Nature. That's why for me sitting being the Buddha will always be high on my list of "techniques", precisely because it isn't a technique.

One simply sits and imagines oneself as the Buddha, sitting here and now. There may be just a loose awareness of the breathing, but certainly not a mechanical counting one to ten. One let's thoughts and images rise, fall, come and go, and simply sits through them all as a fully aware Buddha. One's mind should be relaxed and naturally open embracing everything, not narrowly focused on the tip of your nose or navel or somewhere. And the more you do it the easier it becomes. In fact, it's your natural state!

I hope you find time to try this, because I can guarantee you that it will help progress your meditation.

Happy Meditation,
Robert

Buddhism in Hospital

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Hi Fellow Buddhists,
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I had a very unfortunate experience earlier this month. I was hit by a car while jogging. Luckily, I wasn't too badly hurt, just a broken toe and badly twisted knees. Nevertheless, I still had to go into hospital for an operation on one my knees (meniscus). And when you're in hospital, you certainly get to doing some serious thinking about life's deeper issues and also one's own meditation practice.

Firstly, and most obviously, the accident was a timely teaching on impermance, a reminder of just how precarious life is, how it can be suddenly taken from you at the blink of an eyelid, not necessarily through any fault of your own. Hence the importance of maintaining a regular and consistent pattern of practice regardless of circumstances.

However, for this blog I want to focus more on meditation practice in a hospitalised situation. I hope I die surrounded by nature, but, in fact, most of us will probably die in a hospital, so it's well worth thinking about how one might handle that situation. The first thing I noticed on being admitted was how quickly my ability to meditate disintegrated, largely due to being forced to be in a supine position. We normally meditate sitting crossed legged with the spine straight. Now, in hospital you probably won't have this luxury, particularly if you're attached to a drip. This, plus the fact that you're probably not going to be feeling too good either!

For me, spiritual practice has two main aspects, the cerebral or meditational side and the heart or devotional side, and to make serious progress I would consider that both need to be present. Either approach could lead to full Enlightenment, and if you look at all the major religions of the world, usually both are catered to. Buddhism, though, leans strongly towards the cerebral approach (in strong contrast to a religion like Christianity, in which prayer plays the leading role). However, the mind is usually unable to maintain the cerebral kind of focus for long periods of time. And, in my opinion, this is why the devotional aspect is so important, since it keeps us fully connected with the forces of Enlightenment, when not being able to engage properly from a meditational point of view. And hospital is just such a situation when this might be useful.

So what heart or devotional practices to do when lying prostrate? Of course, there are standard Buddhist practices like visualising the Buddha or reciting mantras, but they tend to all be rather "technique" orientated and it's not really about technique at this stage. It's about actually feeling and experiencing directly the live presence of the Dharmakaya. Christians would probably repeat something like "Praise the Lord", as this would bring them into direct communion with God. Actually, I see no reason why Buddhists can't do something similar, just substituting a word like Dharmakaya for God. In fact, someone with an eclectic view of religion might argue that they are one and the same thing. It's all a matter of how you interpret a word like "God". But the important thing is to completely and unconditionally lay oneself open to the ultimate reality, to really experience it as present and thereby merge with it. What words you use are a personal choice, whatever works for you.

I've tried experimenting with this type of practice, and I find it really establishes a strong field of devotion, into which you can just let yourself go. This, in my opinion, may well be the most useful approach when in hospital or on the operating table or even when death itself approaches. A man needs to be able to worship and pray as well as meditate! Otherwise meditation risks becoming just mental gymnastics.

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Has anybody else got any useful tips for the hospital scenario?

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E Ma Ho!

Robert