Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [22]
No one can die fearlessly and in complete security until they have truly realized the nature of mind. For only this realization, deepened over years of sustained practice, can keep the mind stable during the molten chaos of the process of death. Of all the ways I know of helping people to realize the nature of mind, that of the practice of Dzogchen, the most ancient and direct stream of wisdom within the teachings of Buddhism, and the source of the bardo teachings themselves, is the clearest, most effective, and most relevant to the environment and needs of today.
Dzogchen, known as the Natural Great Perfection, cuts to the heart of the matter and provides a view from above—an overarching perspective that includes all the many ways of practice while climbing the spiritual mountain. This formless truth of the view can be adapted to fit anyone, anywhere, in any circumstance or situation; it can enhance, facilitate, and be integrated into any formal practice. That’s why it’s so well-suited for our pluralistic multicultural era.
My own life experience has many times shown me the necessity of keeping in mind the bigger picture and adapting to changing times and places. In my own life, I’ve had to resolve the conflict between the marvelous simplicity of classical monastic life and the delicious diversity of having to dance with life day to day. Men and women living today always seem to be passing modern versions of Scylla and Charybdis, caught between the dentist and the therapist, the mate and the boss, the taxman and the personal trainer. Open-mindedness and flexibility is extraordinarily helpful.
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Like it or not, every day we face the bustling world with its confusion and chaos along with its joys and possibilities. Few people are able to spend endless hours in meditation, and I doubt if there are many livable wilderness caves where one can withdraw for a solitary retreat. Even the Dalai Lama often says that he doesn’t have sufficient time for quiet meditation and reflection. Yet he has found peace amidst it all. How can we do the same? How can we transform ourselves; how can we awaken the Buddha within?
Today it seems to me that we have little choice but to assimilate all we experience into our spiritual lives; it is all grist for the mill, manure on fertile fields of spiritual flowers. The sacred and the mundane are inseparable. Your life is your path. Your disappointments are part of your path; your joys are your path; your dry cleaning, and your dry cleaner are on your path; ditto your credit card payments. It’s not helpful to wait until you have more time for meditation or contemplation, because it may never happen. Cultivating spirituality and awareness has to become a full-time vocation, and for most of us this has to take place within the context of a secular life here in the Western Hemisphere.
For you, the seeker, what matters is how you attend to the present moment. This includes motivation, intention, aspiration, desire, hope, and expectation. This is not just about what you do but how you do it. The present moment is where the rubber actually meets the road. Your traction on the path, spiritually speaking, depends on how you apply your heart and soul.
What then is most truly transformative? Is it merely a matter of changing one’s clothes or hairstyle, or joining up with some group that hopes its message will change the world? Could it be simply a matter of receiving the ultimate mantra or initiation; learning to perform the proper rite or ritual; finding out how to meditate; doing yoga, praying, breathing, chanting, having cosmic sex; going to the Himalayas, Jerusalem, Mecca, Machu Picchu, Mount Kailash, Mount Shasta; or meeting the right guru? I don’t think so.
Or is it not most transformative, most earthshaking, to pierce the veils of self-deception and illusion, and crack the eggshell of ignorance, to most intimately encounter oneself? Through honest