The Dalai Lama in Chicago, May 6, 2007

Since His Holiness's entire address will be available by archive at lamrim.com, I won't type my notes in their entirety here. But here are a few things that stood out for me:

What is Buddhism?

"What is Buddhism? In order to know what Buddhism is I think it is important to know what the word Buddha means. In Pali, 'Buddha' means two things: 1) cleansing or purification, 2) perfection of enlightened qualities. Baiscally, the potential possibility--every sentient being has that same potential. We all possess the quality to be aware and know--the potential for enlightenment is already there. This eans that the facility to be aware and know is in all of us, the perfection of that is Buddhahood."

On knowledge, ignorance, and Tenzin Gyatso:

So knowledge and ignorance are contrdictory at some level like darkness and light. The training of the mind is a way to get a certain mental quality we want--make efforts to increase that. Then the opposite is reduced. For example, take compassion. I analyze, use reason, and develop conviction about compassion and familiarize myself with that. As compassion is increased, anger and hatred are reduced. Sometimes anger and hatred are together, but as you progress, it can become rare. That is basically the Buddhist system--the law of opposing forces. So our emotions, now, the negative emotions such as anger and hatred are actually much based on projection. When we develop anger, when we are angry, the negativeness is 90 percent our own mental projection. That is why in Buddhist texts much of our affliction results entirely from false projects of our mind. Some kind of ignorance: There are two kinds: 1) conventional, and from that ignorance comes 2) another kind of ignorance, which grasps things as though they have objective existence. The antidote is wisdom--the insight that such things do not possess inherent existence. Emptiness is the absence of independent existence. Emptiness is the absence of independent existence--everything, when we pinpoint it. For example, the human being named Tenzin Gyatso surely exists and is alive here on this seat. The Dalai Lama is speaking; it is true. Further, your minds see Tenzin Gyatso's body, hear his voice. Through is speech and gestures, you may see his mind. It is impossible to judge the whole complex mind through his speech. But according to words and his smile, you can tell his mind is OK. He is not angry. Tenzin Gyatso's body speech and mind--now where is Tenzin Gyatso? There is nothing where you can point your finger and say, Tenzin Gyatso."

This made the crowd laugh and everyone was really engaged at this point.

HHDL on Je Tsongkhapa's Spiritual Autobiography

The Dalai Lama's teachings in Madison were on Tsongkhapa's spiritual autobiography. This was a detailed explanation of all he learned and all the texts he studied, by Nagarjuna, Atisha, Chandrakirti, and many many others. One thing that struck me was the idea of a "spiritual autobiography." In this era of tell-all autobiographies and memoirs, where people like George Tenet can make money talking about all the things they didn't do on the job when they had the chance, the notion of someone describing his or her spiritual growth is really notable. That's the kind of biography I would buy.

The Dalai Lama on diversity of religion

Some of H.H.'s opening remarks in Madison:

"I always believe different people with different cultural heritages are now here in America, which like Europe, basically has a Judeo-Christian background. I want to make clear, it is important to keep one's traditional faith. So remain with your own tradition. Changing religions is not easy. Sometimes it may create confusion. Therefore, it is important to stay with one's own faith. Learning new traditions is also useful, but the reality is that the whole planet of six billion beings is one family, multiethnic, multiracial. Not only in the past but even today, many things happen that are very confusing. For that, closer relationships among traditions, or at least some knowledge of what they practice, is very helpful to develop mutual respect."

Following the Dalai Lama

Like the subculture of people who Grateful Dead, there are certain individuals who follow His Holiness the Dalai Lama around the country when he comes to the states. Wherever he goes, as many Tibetans as possible congregate. Tibetan people are quite possibly the best dressed people in the world when they are in their formal attire. The men wear these elaborately tied robes called chubas. The women wear dresses in rich brocades. I know these thoughts aren't very spiritual, but this is only my first impression of His Holiness's teachings in Madison, Wisconsin May 2-4, 2007.

Tracking the Sapsucker

I keep a journal of the birds I see in my backyard deep in the city of Chicago. Even though the backyards and alley are webbed by power and phone lines, and even though the el tracks are barely 50 feet from my house, I have seen more than 100 bird species in the last 20 years. On April 17, I spotted the proverbial yellow-bellied sapsucker in my cherry tree. Looking back, I see the following days when the sapsucker first appeared in the spring:

2006: 4/29
2003: 4/4
2002: 4/11
2001: 4/11
1995: 4/14
1994: 4/10
1993: 4/17
1992: 4/19

There is a pattern to the motion of the birds across the continent each year. It is far bigger than me and my back yard. Yet, it leads certain birds to my cherry tree and my pond at the same time every year. It is something I can neither understand nor control. I find it comforting and reassuring. It is a little epiphany, a little bit of magic each year. All you have to do is open to it and watch.

33, not 32

Today there was another memorial for the victims at Virginia Tech. The bell tolled 32 times. As I understand it, 32 were killed by the shooter, who then killed himself. I saw, on TV, one student who had 33 written on his arm in memory of all the victims. What if the bell had actually tolled 33 times? Why is it that people can't get their minds around the fact that the shooter was a victim himself--a victim of his own mental torments? If we could think in terms of 33 rather than 32, our perspective would change dramatically.

Life of the Buddha

Yesterday I led a discussion about the life of the Buddha. This was an interesting challenge for me, because the Buddha has always seemed sort of a remote figure, and his life more abstract history than something living and relevant to me now. The good thing about teaching/facilitating is that it forces you to do some studying beforehand. I discovered several things of interest:

• Buddha's parents, King Shuddhodana and Queen Maya, had very well defined notions about how he should live his life and what he should do, like any parents. They did everything they could do protect him and steer him the way they wanted him to go (to be the new king).
• Of course, Siddhartha ended up doing exactly the opposite of what they had in mind, like most kids.
• I forgot that after taking three visits from his castle, during which he saw old people, sick people, and dead people, he took a fourth trip. On this journey he saw a spiritual practitioner. He was lucky to have people in India who had devoted themselves to a spiritual lifestyle and who seemed to be at peace compared to the other people he saw. So we are lucky too to have teachers in our midst, especially the Tibetans. It's awful that they had to leave their home and are still being persecuted now, but we are benefiting from it.
• He went through a period of seeking during which he tried out different approaches--including dieting to extremes. Moderation turned out to be the key.

Having raised my own children I can appreciate this story better now. It doesn't seem so abstract. We too try to distract ourselves with amusements and toys. But examples of another path to follow are all around us.

I can't understand how Buddha could leave his wife and child, however. I don't know if I would be able to do that myself.

Driving with Tara

Driving is one of the most practical and challenging ways to integrate spiritual practices into your life. Here in Chicago, driving is a continual challenge. My own neighborhood is a construction zone with some sort of redevelopment or renovation seemingly on every block. I try to say mantras as I am driving. Some might say this is distracting. But it calms me down so that when people cut me off, walk in front of me, pull their trucks in front of me, block the street, or any of a hundred other things, I imagine the goddess Tara showing compassion on them, telling them to slow down, calm down, and be more mindful. It's not easy. But after a few years of working on this it is beginning to pay off.

On Perpetual Retreat

What would it be to live your live in perpetual retreat? After a formal retreat in which I sat with a group and did 12,000 mantras in a single place, I decided to keep going. Every day I do a practice and say at least 1000. Many of my friends are doing the same thing, so this is hardly new. I find that unless I have to have a reason to take time for myself, to meditate on the good aspects of my life and the many things I am doing right, I won't do it. I will just go through my day in a state of unending "churn." Doing some mantras in the morning, some while I am walking or driving, and some at the end of the day gives a shape to my day and instills my activities with a motivation and purpose. Rather than checking stuff off a list of things to do, which is my default mode, I am working to better myself so I can be a better parent, better citizen, better friend, etc. It might sound pompous to read it like this but if you shift your thinking from the "things to do" mode to the "I'm going to help myself and help other people the best I can" mode your attitude begins to shift. You don't have so much anxiety and tension. And you tend to get more done when you are in this more focused, positive state. Try it!

A Weekend with Tara

I spent a beautiful Saturday in a windowless room in the back of a medical center on Belmont Avenue, doing a mantra retreat. We were praying to Tara. Tara is a female Buddha, a goddess who is committed to help other beings. Think about all the love and nurturing you have ever received in your life and multiply it, and that is what you get from Tara. It was quite a profound experience. I was quite depleted and weary from work, but I felt myself being put back together during the meditation. It's late and I am finding it hard to write, but will talk about this more later...

Blogging the Buddha

I heard a story on National Public Radio about a fellow who runs the Blogging the Bible Web site. I thought the same sort of examination could be done of the sayings of the Buddha and the teachers who came after him. I am a student of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism and I belong to Jewel Heart, a meditation and study group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Our guru, Gehlek Rimpoche, has written several books, including Good Life, Good Death, and The Tara Box. Buddhism is of central importance in my life and work and I thought there might be some value in conveying how it helps me in everyday life. I do plan to examine texts and stories from the Buddha's works and comment on them. But for me, Buddhism is not an academic or scholarly topic. It's real and practical and it helps me every day and I plan to share observations about its applications in my daily life.

I have written my own book, Karma Kids: Answering Everyday Parenting Questions with Buddhist Wisdom, which is published by Ulysses Press. The book explains how Buddhist principles have helped me as the single father of two daughters, who are now 14 and 12 years old respectively.

Whenever we attend a teaching or do practice, we (my fellow students and I) are urged to set our motivation. So my motivation for this blog is to help others and all sentient beings as well. Welcome!