Mon, 25 Oct 2010
The Causes of Enlightenment
One of the books I get inspiration from in my practice is "Mahamudra: Eliminating the Causes of Ignorance". Today I found that Alexander Berzin has done a new translation of the text and placed it online. I thought I'd comment on a section of the text, the four conditions for success in mahamudra practice.
The first condition is cutting off attachment. Just as a hurricane draws its strength from warm ocean waters and rapidly loses strength when over land, the ego draws strength and is sustained by our afflictive emotions. The subtlest and most pervasive emotion is greed. Most people have a hard time even seeing greed as a problem, let alone relinquishing it. Greed is the feeling that we need to endlessly acquire more. It is the endless attempt to fill the cavernous hole which is our ego. When let go of our greed, even for a short while, the truth is much closer. The practice of lojong (mind training) is a very powerful method for overcoming this greed.
Trusting a spiritual teacher is the second condition. The truth cannot be taught, but it can be caught. And having a teacher is the best way to get infected. I meet many new Buddhists on the Internet who ask if they need a teacher. The answer is yes. If you are serious about your practice, you should find a teacher.
Eliminating all bias towards the different schools of BUddhism is the third condition. The truth is beyond conceptual thought. If you cling tightly to one philosophical view and disparage others, you are binding yourself to conceptualization ad it will be hard to see the truth.
Eliminating hope of success or fear of failure in your practice is the fourth condition. The truth is not something over there, it is right here. As long as we put seeing the truth in an imagined future, we will fail to see it here and now.
