Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [67]
LOVING-KINDNESS IS
THE HEART OF THE DHARMA
The Buddha once described the spiritual path that leads to nirvana or perfect freedom as “the liberation of the heart and mind, which is love.” Learning to love life in all its forms, and to love unconditionally is the way of Dharma. Unconditional love and compassion, as embodied by Chenresig and as taught by many Buddhist masters, is something that I personally feel strongly about. In the presence of my spiritual friends and teachers I have often experienced both unconditional love and a total acceptance of myself, just as I am. This is a very rare and precious experience I think; this sense of belonging is probably one of the main reasons why I stayed in the monastic sangha in Asia as long as I did.
My teacher’s pure perception of me, just as I am, helped me to connect more completely to who I am. In the mirror of the awakened teacher’s clear seeing, I could better know my higher sense and my true inner nature. I had a distorted picture of myself, and perhaps you have one of yourself. These invaluable Dharma teachings encouraged me to know that it is possible for everyone—not just a guru or monk, and not just the Buddha—but me and you too—to connect to the Buddha within. The authentic Buddha is beyond time and place, beyond gender, beyond form or nationality. You carry a Buddha with you right now, in your heart.
A great Indian master once said, “Wisdom tells me I am nothing; love tells me I am everything. Between the two, my life flows.”
CHOOSING UNIVERSAL LOVE :
THE BODHISATTVA VOW
Traditional teachings about rebirth say that most of us are unwitting prisoners on the wheel of samsara; we keep returning because we have no choice. According to this way of thinking, there are also men and women walking among us who are here of their own conscious volition. These men and women are known as Bodhisattvas. Bodhi means awakening; sattva means being. This is a being who is ready for nirvana but whose compassion is so great that he or she remains on this earth solely in order to reduce suffering and help free others. A Bodhisattva is someone with pure, impeccable intentions—a gentle yet fearless spiritual warrior who strives unceasingly to help everyone reach nirvanic peace and enlightenment.
A transcendent Bodhisattva has seen beyond delusion and selfishness; he or she has felt and experienced the intolerable despair, alienation, misery, and suffering in the world. Because such a person is able to understand that we are all caught in the same existential plight, he or she seeks to alleviate the suffering of all.
In Mahayana Buddhism, one is encouraged to take what we call the Bodhisattva Vow. Taking this vow means you understand the world’s pain, and you commit to work for the enlightenment of all. That means all the people, all the creatures, including all the inhabitants of the air and sea—insects, birds, shellfish, dolphins, whales and sharks, all the shiny little eyes in the dark forests, as well as all the creepy crawly, buzzing things trying to get in and chew on your house or on you.
The first time I heard the Bodhisattva Vow was in 1971, and I was at Lama Thubten Yeshe’s monastery in Nepal. I felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all. And I’m still somewhat intimidated by it. Lama Yeshe explained the vow very simply. He said, “Think of what you want, and realize that all beings want and need the same things. They are just seeking it through different ways.”
If you were to take the Bodhisattva Vow, you would commit yourself in this way:
Sentient beings are numberless: I vow to liberate them.
Delusions are inexhaustible: I vow to transcend them.
Dharma teachings are boundless: I vow to master them.
The Buddha’s enlightened way is unsurpassable: I vow to embody it.
This is a four-line affirmation sangha members chant and avow