Lam Shenphen Zangpo, 3 April, 2009, kuenselonline.com

It is impossible to explain each verse in a short article like this, but at least I’ll try to offer some examples of how to approach the practices.

Let’s explore a couple of verses at random: “Regardless of how long spent living together, good friends and relations must some day depart. Our wealth and possessions collected with effort are left fare behind at the end of our life. Our mind, but a guest in our body`s great guest house, must vacate one day and travel beyond. Cast away thoughts that concern only this lifetime - the Sons of the Buddhas all practice this way.”

37 Practices of the Bodhisattva (c) CortoMaltese_1999 http://www.flickr.com/photos/drepung

Superficially, the verse appears to implore us to abandon worldly life. This is not the case. If enlightenment depended on leaving friends and kin, then all we have to do is spend some time on a desert island to achieve it. It is not that simple. Whenever we consider the teachings of the Buddha, it is important to bear in mind that the focus in on transforming the mind and alleviating suffering. Physical action only supports this role.

Of course, undergoing intense mind training in a retreat environment can offer enormous benefits, but the best time and place to practice is right here and now - not at some future location that may never materialize.

Happiness is the motivation for our lives. From having a biscuit to getting married, everything we do is done with this intention. Most of the time, however, we don’t consider whether our action actually leads to this goal. We just follow habits and impulses. Even a gangster kills with the intention of being happy. Yet, I have never met a happy gangster.

Often, we are like a person in Wangdue who wants to go to Jakar, but drives South. Even after he does not reach his destination after a day of driving, he does not check his direction. Instead he drives faster.

In this respect, Gyalsé Ngulchu Tokmé is inviting us to examine our direction. It is not that friends and relatives are bad, but that our connection with them is often one of dependency. We feel lonely, and immediately reach for the phone. In this way, friends and relatives actually hinder our goal - to achieve freedom from suffering.

I’ll explain further. Emotions such as loneliness arise in the mind through a combination of many factors, such as past fears, mood and educational and social influences. In this way, they are a compounded phenomena, no different from a rainbow or mirage. They appear, but lack true existence. If this is difficult to accept, then try to locate the feeling of loneliness. Is it in the brain, in the heart or perhaps somewhere else? Like a mirage or rainbow we will not find it. In this way, we should understand that the emotion cannot harm us. It is only a sensation, and the way to realize this is to just watch it in a non-judgmental way.

When we do this, fears dissolve like storm clouds in the clear Autumn sky. On the other hand, constantly calling a friend at the merest twitch of loneliness perpetuates the illusion. It is like taking an aspirin to cure a chronic disease. The symptoms may temporarily disappear, but the overall condition deteriorates.

Therefore, the verse is not recommending that we abandon friends and family, but instead abandon the misconception that they are a solution to our emotional problems. If we can do this, then we can develop a healthy relationship with our associates that truly benefits all.

Here is another verse: “If in the midst of a large crowd of people someone should single us out for abuse, exposing our faults and flaws, we should not get angry or become defensive but instead just listen in silence and, heeding his words, bow in respect to this man as our teacher. The sons of the Buddhas all practice this way.”

Outwardly, this passage may appear to advocate passive acceptance, but this is not the case. Like the previous verse, it offers an effective way to work with the mind. For example, most people would feel embarrassed if their faults were exposed in front of a thousand people. Resentment and perhaps revenge would follow. However, we do not have to respond in this way. Instead of following our habitual responses, we could instead use the experience to examine our mind. We question what causes us to feel embarrassed. And, if we are honest, we will acknowledge that we have developed a pretty solid and overrated impression of ourselves. This is why the words hurt.

The verse invites us to free ourselves from these habitual responses. Rather than protecting ourselves from the outer world, we use the light of wisdom to examine the target. We ask what is it that hurts. Under this kind of scrutiny, the target dissolves like ice under the midday sun. We regain our flexible and spacious mind. When this occurs, there is nothing for the words to hit. This is no small liberation.

The thirty-seven practices are an invitation to explore our mind. They are not indictments to abandon our responsibilities, but instead offer advise on how to deal with our world in a healthy and beneficial way.

© Leo Golan for Tibetan Incense Blog, 2009. |
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Post tags: Practice, Tibetan Buddhism

Tags: buddhism, Practice, Texts, tibetan buddhism

Early Tibetan Buddhist art was used to depict the life of Gautama Buddha in the Indian subcontinent in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. Throughout Asia, Buddhism spread widely and with it its influence over Tibetan art and culture in Asia. The first traditions of Tibetan Buddhist art followed the practices of aniconic artwork, meaning that the use of Buddhist symbols and emblems to represent the Buddha and his travels and teachings without actually using a human form to represent the Buddha himself. This was the typical way that Tibetan Buddhist art was made until the first century CE, when the Buddha was finally represented in human appearance, which is still followed to this day. In every new country or region in Asia, where Buddhism went, Buddhist art followed its worshipers and artists as the faith developed in many different ways.

Tibetan Buddhist art is considered sacred and religious in nature, or was always thought of as religious in Asiatic cultures throughout the continent and in ancient Himalayan kingdoms such as Ladakh, Bhutan, and Nepal.

The Tibetan Buddhist art that was created previous to the middle of the twentieth century was steeped in traditional techniques and devoted to the vision of sacred iconography. Not only are the works of these early Tibetan Buddhist artists festooned with the central topics of philosophy and spirituality, they were also dedicated in showing the energy of the aesthetics that Tibetan Buddhist art was known for as it came into eminence during the growth of the various schools of Buddhism all over Asia and the regions it influenced with its presence over the years.

The main influence of Buddhism in the fourth century was the Mahayana influence, which was known for its emphasis on the denial of Nirvana in order to better help others in need. Chenrezig is the chief deity depicted in the Tibetan Buddhist art of this time period of Mahayana influence. He is most often as a god with a thousand arms and in each hand is an eye.

Another great influence in Tibetan Buddhist art is the Tantric influence, its main symbol being the diamond thunderbolt. Tantric influence art is most often depicted as having many gods with angry faces that actually represent guardians of those who are dedicated to the practice and teaching of Tantric Buddhism and the purging of negative thoughts.

In the Himalayas, a shamanistic tradition known as Bon is considered another great influence of Buddhism and Buddhist art. In this shamanistic practice, many local deities are depicted in Buddhist temples as being with the Buddha as their conqueror and are considered to serve him by keeping mischief and evil away from the people.

A great variety of techniques are used in Buddhist meditation in order to achieve mindfulness, concentration and the promotion of well being. Ancient texts were set down by priests and other practitioners of Buddhism to preserve the core techniques that are passed between teachers and pupils.

Tibetan Buddhist art also greatly influenced Hindu art, but in the tenth century, Buddhism was all but gone from the Indian subcontinent by the rise of popularity in Islam along with Hinduism.

© Leo Golan for Tibetan Incense Blog, 2009. |
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Post tags: Buddhism, Buddhist Art, Buddhist_Symbols, History, Tibetan Buddhism

Tags: buddhism, buddhist art, Buddhist_Symbols, History, Texts, tibetan buddhism