Another way this perspective on training can be described is by examining the difference between subjective and objective views. Enlightened vision sees reality, the truth of everything. This is the objective view, where no pre-judgement is in play. We human beings with our desires and aversions almost always have a subjective view of the world – we see it in terms of how it relates (or doesn’t) to our preferences and expectations. Employing the wish for enlightenment, simply by returning to the mind of zazen, gives us the ability to drop the subjective, and just see what is there.

Seeing our selves as we really are has some potential pitfalls however. Allowing our lives to be guided by bodhicitta means we will become aware of things about ourselves which will be disturbing. Regrets about things we did in the past can be a heavy burden. And having a driven goal of becoming an exemplary trainee will mean we disappoint ourselves regularly when we fall short in preceptual practice. This is another layer of ‘what we have to train with’. Being a perfectionist can easily result in suffering because we never seem to meet the standards we aim for. And we are less open to compromise which can result in our dealings with others being unharmonious, fractious. The answer of course is in remembering letting go – and compassion. And keeping going.

Note: I was personally touched by this talk and saw the benefits others are likely to derive from visiting his words, published here on Jade over several days. Thanks to the Reverend for permission to do this. Listen to the talk.

Learning how to respond to conditions in this way is more important than getting right whatever practicalities we are being taught, like how to strike the gong. Can we listen and follow without the ego-self asserting itself? If we feel our ego rise up ready to strike, right there is the gateway to enlightenment. The person we think is giving us a hard time is suddenly giving us a precious opportunity. Can we give up everything in that moment?

We can learn to welcome criticism – to be grateful for it. How so? If someone criticizes us, they either have a valid point or they don’t. If they do, we can be grateful that they’re pointing something out which it would be useful for us to know. They’re helping us, in other words. If there is no justification for their criticism, if they are mistaken, we have nothing to worry about. We can be content, realizing that we’re not after all at fault.

In either case, all it takes is that we consider, with as much honesty as we can muster, what’s being said, and decide ‘what this is’. What we should not do, but usually do, is to decide they are mistaken without first considering the facts dispassionately. We have a chance to see what the truth really is. If we always react aggressively to criticism, people who may have something valid to draw to our attention will think “I know what’ll happen, they won’t listen, and I don’t think I can be bothered with that today.” and we could miss out on some useful information.

This reminds me of Rev. Master Daishin’s teaching of ‘I am involved, but it is not about me.’ ‘Me’ being the ego self. We are usually so caught up in the ‘me’ being the most important thing that we can’t see the full picture – the involvement of many other factors. Like others’ needs and wishes. We include our own needs in that, but give ourselves no more importance than that of others.

Note: I was personally touched by this talk and saw the benefits others are likely to derive from visiting his words, published here on Jade over several days. Thanks to the Reverend for permission to do this. Listen to the talk.

You might imagine that we can reach a level of understanding or serenity where we are excused the unpleasant feelings which may have been the aim of our undertaking a meditation practice. It can be a disappointment, but also a relief, to know that we can forget about that wish. And we don’t have to sugar-coat our lives to give an impression to others that Buddhism provides constant bliss. The saying that the road to enlightenment is long and hard is quite right. So why do we undertake it? Because the truth is that any other road is ultimately longer and harder.

The enlightened activity which bodhicitta promotes is characterized by selflessness. True selflessness is easier to understand and to describe than it is to practise. Mind you, even understanding it is trickier than you might expect. The roots of selfishness go very deep, and it takes a lifetime of study to penetrate them fully. And that’s where the small steps, that are our daily practice, really bear fruit as they are the means we have of clarifying and resolving the problems selfishness create.

An example of how we can apply this has become evident to me in recent years, it being a key measure of our wish for enlightenment, and that is in the way we react to criticism or correction. When we are challenged or even disagreed with, what most of us want to do is to defend our position, deny the charge, retaliate even. This is often an automatic, unconsidered, habitual response and is usually fuelled by anger. I have come to characterize this phenomenon when I observe it (in myself of course!) as indignant self-justification. When put in those terms it is rather stark but even when it is not expressed as vigorously as that description would imply, it lays bare what we’re dealing with.

Why is there such a strong feeling – what these days is called a ‘pushback’?

Criticism hurts us because we have an ego-self. Where there is no, or less, ego-self there, any such hurt is either absent or much reduced.

Is there any alternative to acting angrily when we are challenged? Yes. In the monastery we are regularly advised that we are doing things the wrong way, especially when we’re new to the practice. One would hope that this corrective advice would be given gently and compassionately but of course we cannot insist on how the teaching comes. There can be a strong urge to protest, to put our side of the story, to make excuses for or justify our actions. Blame others even, especially if we are already under pressure. Most of us realize that this reaction is not helpful. The better response is – right there – to practice acceptance, and selflessness. To let go of the urge to react angrily, and just make our self sit still. Going through this experience is a vital event in our training. It is a breakthrough, an introduction to a different, more enlightened way of facing life’s challenges.

And then what? Conflict is obviated. Any argument is postponed, possibly indefinitely. The way forward can be found with the anger taken out of the situation. We can actually listen to the substance of the criticism – or shall we call it ‘teaching’ – rather than responding from the feeling that we’re under attack, or being slighted. We just sit still and listen.

Note: I was personally touched by this talk and saw the benefits others are likely to derive from visiting his words, published here on Jade over several days. Thanks to the Reverend for permission to do this. Listen to the talk.

There are descriptions in the Scriptures, like those in our ceremonies, of heavenly realms, the seemingly magical attributes of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the rarefied states of mind one can find when one meditates deeply – these are not to be grasped after. That will only push the goal further away. Instead we are assured that simple acts of generosity and compassion in our daily interactions with others are the expression of Bodhicitta. We learn to not even measure or quantify the progress we make, or even think of it as progress. We just do what seems best in the here and now, patiently and without expectation. That is enough.

When we think of bodhicitta the classic image of the Buddha under the Bodhi tree on the occasion of his so-called enlightenment often comes to mind. The picture is one of serenity and peace, his face showing a contented smile. It’s easy to imagine that for us, modelling ourselves on the Buddha means we will display that same smile and air of contentment at all times. That is an understandable but mistaken view. Of course, it is appropriate that the Buddha be depicted that way – it’s inspiring, but the appearance is idealized, the product of artistic license if you like. Not quite in keeping with the day-to-day reality of our lives, especially for those of us, and we are many in number, who are living with difficulties of personal, practical or medical kinds.

The enlightened mind is the mind of acceptance. Accepting reality as it is means that, as well as finding the joy that comes from liberation, we are also exposed to the full range of possible experiences a human being can know. And let’s not kid ourselves about human existence, it is frequently hard going. And most of us haven’t even yet experienced the poor health that accompanies extreme old age.

Note: I was personally touched by this talk and saw the benefits others are likely to derive from visiting his words, published here on Jade over several days. Thanks to the Reverend for permission to do this. Listen to the talk.

It takes as long as it takes before we realize that reality doesn’t work like that. ‘The universe is not answerable to my personal will’ as the saying goes – the first law of the universe in fact. So what chance have we got for finding true happiness in life? Buddhist training has the answers.

We learn how to live, not just in terms of Buddhist practice, but in all aspects of life, mostly by observing and imitating others. This is intuitive, instinctive, and it is – I’m going to say it again – not wrong, but it can go awry, for instance when the people we choose to follow don’t give us a good example. We usually model ourselves on people we like, but unfortunately people’s likeability is not always an indication of good morals. And our desire to be accepted, loved and approved of sometimes makes us turn a blind eye to the faults of those we seek to be friends with. We collude with non-preceptual speech and action by going along with it, failing to question or challenge it, and the law of karmic consequence is activated. Suffering catches up with us, inevitably. So our innocent and natural wish to feel good ends up having the opposite effect.

The lucky ones like us find that adopting the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha as that which we choose to follow, to emulate, is the way to avoid, or minimize, the mistakes we can make in this regard.

The wisdom we cultivate when bringing meditation into everything we do enables us to discern this crucial difference. We can differentiate between behaviour we find endearing, and actions which are exemplary.

I’ve always liked comedy, especially on the radio, but these days I regularly notice that there are things I hear which are smart and funny, but I wouldn’t repeat them, because they have an edge which is unpreceptual, like cynicism. We sometimes have to let clever ideas fall away rather than preserve them. This is one way I’ve found of learning to look more deeply into cause and effect and its relation to happiness. It illustrates how it is good to be aware of our every action in daily life – know in detail – learn from what we find, and act on those lessons. This is a big part of studying the truth, aiming to know reality.

Note: I was personally touched by this talk and saw the benefits others are likely to derive from visiting his words, published here on Jade over several days. Thanks to the Reverend for permission to do this. Listen to the talk.