Karmapa's Teachings

Karmapa's Teachings

I was impressed about how informal and open the Karmapa was. For example he mentioned his experiences as a young Karmapa, spending much time alone and the rest with adult monks studying. Not really any time playing with children and doing normal child like things. He also expressed frustration that even though he was the Karmapa there were so many things which he could not do. While there were a couple of thousand people there, it seemed that he was informally speaking to each of us, not really the usual separation of speaker and audience.¹

I was most impressed by his absolute lack of pretension. He talked of the earthquakes which were common when he was child in Tibet and that the monks were worried by them, mostly for his own safety. He explained that he was told that as the Karmapa he could stop the earthquakes, but then his dilemma as he didn't know how to do that. He explained that in his meditations he imagined a giant turtle under the earth as the cause of the earthquakes (in accordance with some traditional explanations) and that he went to make a deal with the turtle, using both threats and bribes (giving the turtle a really bad time or instead bring nectar of bliss. That seemed to be sufficient as the regular earthquakes stopped until just before he escaped and he viewed that last earthquake as a good omen, a kind of farewell from his friend the turtle of the earth. That also corresponds with my own experience which is that when praying it is helpful to have some visualization to focus my desires and the 'correctness' of the visualization is of little bearing. The manner in which my prayers get translated into reality is often far too complex for me to visualize in any case and the important thing is the purity and strength of my desire for a good outcome.

I was also impressed by the openness and honesty with which he addressed such questions as to his right to grant blessings on us. That is always a tricky topic in most Eastern religions as it is well understood that anyone who claims to be enlightened is almost certainly not enlightened (if you need to convince others that you are enlightened then you aren't). Of course that is normally dealt with very smoothly in most cases by having followers (such as the M.C. of the program) laud the greatness and purety of the teacher or guru. However, the Karmapa directly addressed these issues describing the struggles he had faced in a most refreshing fashion. I could easily empathize with the struggles and dilemmas which he faced.... Rather than claiming the powers of the Karmapa for himself, instead he simply claimed that he had a strong connection to the Karmapas of the past (which is certainly true) and that it was their greatness which acted through him. That really resonated with me (and helped me feel a connection with the Karmapa which is always good).

I also remember the Karmapa commenting that in the old days the Hindu Brahmins and Buddhist teachers would compete to find fault with the teachings of the other camp. I myself have seen the result of that competition in that the teachings of both the Brahmins and the Buddhists from that time tend to be pretty esoteric with lot of fine hair splitting to prove their correctness, all of which seems to be pretty irrelevant and uninteresting to me. The Karmapa also mentioned that that competition was no longer appropriate and that Hindu Brahmins and Buddhists were instead seeking their commonality rather than focussing on their differences, which is wonderful. As the full truth can never really be expressed in words (their linear nature make them intrinsically unable to express the multiplicity of reality), it is too easy to find fault with any spiritual statement; the only value to be had comes from trying to find the truth in the statement.

Sat. AM, Choosing a Teacher

Of course the evaluation of behaviour and intentions is more easily said than done. After much soul searching and many practices, I have gotten much better at discriminating the difference between my expectations and personal delusions and the intentions others. It is not that others don't have their own intentions and, in most cases, delusions, but unless I can come to terms with my own delusions, I will interpret the behavior and intentions of others as reflections of my own delusions. For me, it really gets down to a series of layers, like those of an onion. I can only deal with my current delusions with the help of teachers who have mastered those particular delusions and can point out the errors of my thinking. Then with much practice (breaking the habits of faulty thinking) I can overcome those delusions. However, I then encounter more subtle forms of delusions which I need to deal with.

That reads awfully nebulous to me, so I will type about a particular example. One of the delusions that I suffer from is the mistake of treating money as a goal in and of itself rather than a means to other ends. Of course, it is easy to see past that error at a rational level, but the real delusion is the pursuit of money, wealth and status without any thought and, as a result, sacrificing friends and family (the original goal) for the sake of money. This delusion is very common is many societies. The delusion normally resides at the level of habitual choices which are made without any thought (if we thought about it, most people wouldn't sacrifice friends and family for the sake of money) and gut reactions.

It is the intentions which make all the difference, but if I am in the depths of money delusions I will see all reasonable actions as self-serving money grubbing because that is my unthought value system. Of course there are extreme cases such as robbery and fraud which dharma (selfless intentions) normally precludes, but then karma (self-serving intentions) often precludes those same actions, though the rational is different (dharma would preclude harming others while karma would be based on a fear of retribution).

So, the advice of the Karmapa leaves me in a conundrum. At this point I have dealt with my delusions to the point where I can often see people as they truly are. I can see people who are acting selflessly and I can see people who are acting selfishly (though in these cases I try to develop compassion for them and the misery they are creating for themselves rather than judging them), though this is not say that I don't have my own struggles with my delusions and selfish reactions.

However, this is of little use to people who are still in the depths of their delusions. In that case I can only advise to seek out the teachings which help you progress in the direction you want to progress, being more the sort of person that you want to be. You will doubtlessly encounter numerous challenges (as we all do) and may even feel betrayed. However, it has been my experience that seeking out those who bring up the virtues that I am trying to develop can not really go wrong.

Another option is to rely on the opinions of those you trust. In Eastern spiritual traditions there is normally a careful selection process which is intended to protect against 'false gurus', a pretty problem common in the West (though they also have 'false gurus' as well). I personally have little regard for the opinions of groups of very enthusiastic devotees as a charismatic leader can inspire great enthusiasm whether they have mastered their delusions and developed refined intentions or not. However, I rely heavily on the conclusions of people who represent the virtues I aspire to. In that regard, I can say that I was quite impressed with the Karmapa. Both his behavior and intentions seemed quite refined, responsible and selfless to me.

The Karmapa was dressed in mostly orange robes and sat on a large chair in the center of the stage. He also tried on some clip on shades over his glasses and the combination of them all reminded me a lot of the pictures I had seen of a Hindu yogi, Baba Muktananda, who also wore similar orange robes, shaved his head, and wore sun glasses many times when speaking (though I never actually saw him, only his pictures). In the morning the Karmapa never really wore the shades (they didn't clip on quite right), but in the afternoon he wore them for a bit and the similarity was quite striking to me.

Sat. PM, Accepting a Teacher

Of course I have talked about projecting faults on others above, but another thing I try to do is see fine qualities in others. While we all have our challenges and delusions that we need to deal with, it is my belief that at our core we are all loving and compassionate and seeking the love and accpetance of others. In essence, restablishing the connection to those around us, which arguably had always been present. The faults of others, if they exist at all, are merely temporary blemishes which mar their fundamental beauty.

So, in all people I try to focus on their qualities and look past their defects. Of course, when I have to make a decision or choice, I try to be more realistic in where people are at this time (rather than where they could be), but that is a rational process and, hopefully, devoid of feelings and judgements. Once I have made my choice, I then go back to seeing them in their best light. This has a double benefit. It makes my environment more sweet as I am surrounded by caring and loving people (which is the truth, just hard to see) and I am strengthening my connection to them.

The other effect I have observed is that when you see the best in the people around you, you also make it easier for them to bring out the best in themselves. The act of being annoyed by another person's defects seems to bring up a resistance to change at some level (they feel that you are judging them and resist change as a automatic reaction, seldom thought about or considered). Further, if the people around me become a little more like their beautiful, magnificent inner self, then that certainly improves my environment as well as theirs.

This certainly applies to spiritual teachers as much as anyone else. In order to identify my most entrenched delusions, I really need the views of others and they really don't need to have overcome all of their delusions in order to see my delusions. I only need teachers who can help me see my delusions and just having their own unique perspective is enough. In that sense, I like to see everyone around me as God's messenger, delivering to me the messages that I need to hear. Of course in cases where the messenger has their own set of delusions, I often have to look harder and listen more closely to get the message I need to hear. In that sense a teacher with less delusions is probably better than one with more, but it is hardly necessary that my teacher be blemish free.

Sunday AM, Blessings

Sunday PM, Happiness

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This page was last updated on September 27, 2009