A Great Discription of Meditation.

Meditation, simply defined, is a way of being aware. It is the happy marriage of doing and being. It lifts the fog of our ordinary lives to reveal what is hidden; it loosens the knot of self-centeredness and opens the heart; it moves us beyond mere concepts to allow for a direct experience of reality. Meditation embodies the way of awakening: both the path and its fruition. From one point of view, it is the means to awakening; from another, it is awakening itself.

- Lama Surya Das, "The Heart-Essence of Buddhist Meditation" (Winter 2007)

James: This is one of the best and most complete yet concise descriptions of meditation that I have come across in my years of practicing Buddhism. The following analysis is one aspect to how I've come to understand meditation. I don't claim it to be the ultimate analysis, explanation or "answer."

I am not an ordained teacher, so please, don't just believe what I write here as truth--contemplate upon it for yourself and if you find it helps you in your life's quest then great. It not, then I hope you at least enjoyed the Lama Surya Das quote. Meditation isn't about relaxation despite it bringing that about at times while sitting. It isn't about some metaphysical experience though such experiences are possible. Those are both interesting things but are still distractions along the path from the true goal of awakening to the ultimate reality that we are not ourselves because we are bigger than ourselves.

We are not ourselves because we are interconnected with all things and are more than just the summation of our personal experiences. Buddhism does not require destroying all of the things that make up your personality--that is a partial truth. The full truth is that you are more than just, "you" and that realization allows us to let go of defending what we perceive to be "us" because that interconnected nature surpasses it. The "self" no longer seems like something to protect and hang onto but rather as a limiting box of suffering that isolates us from each other and the interdependent wonder of an awakened view of the world.

~Peace to all beings~

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Gaze Upon the Buddha Statue and See Your True Self.

A common misconception that people have about Buddhists is that we worship the Buddha because we bow before his statue. Buddha wasn't a god but a human being just like the rest of us who found a way to transcend the suffering of this world. Initially he resisted sharing his path to others because he didn't think anyone would want to face their inner suffering as he had. However, having developed into an infinitely compassionate being he shared it with those who came to him and 2,500 years later we people are still coming to him. We are his heirs.

To be an heir of the Buddha simply means that we have seen the futility of the greed, hatred and delusion of the world and seek to awaken ourselves from the cycle of suffering as he has. So, in this regard when we bow to a Buddha statue or one another we are acknowledging the Buddha nature of ourselves and others. Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen teacher Lama Surya Das explains it this way:

As a longtime meditator and student of Buddhism, when I myself see a Buddha statue, I intuitively sense that I'm looking in a mirror at my highest, deepest, truest, and most authentic best self. It is not merely something to imitate -- in dress, shape, or hairstyle -- but something to emulate in terms of seeking what the Buddha himself sought and found, in order to find it in myself along with recognizing that in others, and then acting accordingly. The Buddha is actually an archetype representing enlightenment, an icon symbolizing inner wisdom, a pointer towards the possibility of a level of spiritual awakening embodying the fullest actualized potential of human beings.

So, we are bowing to the Buddha within us, which emphasizes that yes, we too can awaken to the same freedom that Buddha experienced. It is an act of hope that strengthens intention--intention to free ourselves once and for all from the thrashings of the mind. It reminds us of who we really are and after some time, just gazing upon his image has helped me remember that this identity I cling to isn't my true nature. So, when I'm feeling depressed and self-hatred arises I gaze upon him and contemplate that, "If I have the same potential of Buddha then I must be a good person." It doesn't always help but sometimes it's a nice swift kick to the head that jars loose the grip of my mind.

We also bow to show respect for the path he laid out for us to follow. Buddha's path is like bread crumbs left in a deep, dark, frightening forest to help find our way out and into an open field of awareness that shows us where the stumbling blocks lie. In the dark fog of delusion our mind makes up all sorts of things and we can't see where we are going and before we know it we're deep down in a hole of immense and crippling suffering. Haven't you suffered enough? Wake up and embrace your Buddha nature.

PHOTO CREDIT: From the Public Broad Casting documentary, "The Buddha."

~Peace to all beings~

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Great Description of Dzogchen

From Lama Surya Das:

Dzogchen means the innate great completeness. It points to our own innate wholeness, our own true Buddha nature, our untramelled spirit, perfect and pure from the beginningless beginning. It is what we call the Buddha within -- not an oriental Buddha, not an historical Buddha, not one of stone, not male or female, but the Buddha nature within each of us, true and wise, loving and compassionate. We want to come back to that, awaken it, cultivate it -- that is what the path is about. We don't get it from outside, from someone or somewhere else, or even from our own ideas of what we are. The Havajra tantra says we are all Buddhas by nature but must, through our own spiritual work, awaken to ourselves.

Sometimes the spiritual or religious path seems like a jungle, a thicket of theories and practices and opinions. But there is at the center a sunlit clearing where all the teachings converge. The mystical teachings meet at this awakening to what is within us. It is also in everything around us, so our awakening isn't narcissistic. We see Buddha nature in the eyes and hearts of fellow humans and creatures in the natural world. It is there too. That is what we discover through these practices of meditation, self-inquiry, chanting, inner investigation, prayer, yoga, and so on.

I think our Dharma (spiritual) practice is an opportunity we should really treasure. It was a secret teaching in the East, almost unknown even to Tibetans. Many teachers have required ten or twenty years of preliminary study and monastic training before giving access to this teaching, but my teachers say this is the moment of Dzogchen. People have little time and the Dharma is fading in the East, but Dzogchen is something we can actually do here and now. With or without the Buddhist religious overlay, we can simply awaken with inquiry, awareness practice, and a loving heart. It is not obscure but simple. We can take great joy in that. This is the time of Dzogchen.

Emaho! (EE-MA-HO -- a Tibetan exclamation of cosmic delight)

Lama Surya Das

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO: Dzogchen teacher Lama Surya Das picture from Snow Lion Publications

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