42. Caring for Body, Speech and Mind.

[Tony]

Taking care of the body, speech and mind.

Until our last breath we have to be mindful of body, speech and mind. This is of tremendous benefit to ones own development and those around one. How we conduct our lives, will have an effect on that final moment, that final thought.

Care of one body, care of ones speech and care of ones mind will produce a positive vibration, which will hopefully eases the atmosphere.

These three areas need perseverance in practice. Every corner has to be analysed and experienced.
Then maybe evolution can take place. We cannot assume our current responses are totally clear.

So there is still work to be done. Of course if you know it all now, then there is no need for further investigation or learning.

Many time when crossing a busy road, I know I can get swiftly across, but am mindful that if I dash, those around me who are not so aware, might just follow out of instinct and get hit.

We all have a responsibility when using body speech and mind. When consciousness is aware, it has tremendous power. When body speech and mind are just reactive the energy is dissipated.

There is so much work to be done in the understanding of self-realisation, it is more than wishful thinking. There is much hardship to go through to break down pride. It's a sort of boot camp period. It took me twenty years to complete the Ngondro. To enter tantric practice one has to undertake hundreds of thousands of specific practices.

To face whatever the future holds, we need to care for body, speech and mind. We need as much accurate information as we can find to be creative and caring, to break out of the normal way of thinking and reacting. We humans can equally be ingenious or stupid!

There may be a bigger picture than hoping for ones personal salvation.

Learning is painful, but we learn.


Tony

[sshenry]

“When we have our body and mind in order, everything else will exist in the right place, in the right way. But usually, without being aware of it, we try to change something other than ourselves, we try to order things outside us. But it is impossible to organize things if you yourself are not in order.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki

[Jayke]

citius, altius, fortius, socius, moneta

from the greek mystery schools or in english:

swifter, higher (in virtue/character), stronger, relationships and trust. The perfection of ones inner trust to be a virtuous and inspirational member of society to help enlighten the rest of the world.

I've always had more of an interest in what happens after enlightenment than the actual steps of how to get their, in Zen practice they call a person who has attained enlightenment yet just resides in the blissful nothingness of it as someone who is 'half baked'. They believe that once enlightenment has been attained it's your duty to return to the world in order to perfect the spiritual/physical vessel and cultivate merit by doing good deeds and teaching those ready to be taught, like a great gardener planting the karmic seeds of good fortune for the rest of your fellow men to feast on the fruits that resultingly arise.

I'd like to learn more about your vajrayana practice pie'n'eal, I have the book clear light of bliss by K. gyatso on my shelf, haven't had time to read past the first chapter yet, it'd be good to hear your insights.

[Tony]

Hello Jayke,
I've never met an enlightened being, and if I did I'm far too thick to recognise one!
But I have met some Boddhisattvas. When they teach they have an air of sharpness
and dignity about them. Outside of teaching they are quite ordinary.

I like that.

K.Gyatso is a different tradition his is Gelugpa. I am Nyingma/ Kagyu. We can definitely talk about it all, it is my favourite subject.

Tony

[Jayke]

I'm not really one for tradition, give me something non-sectarian any day, find the principles that are universal throughout and we'll discover the truth.
Does Nyingma or kagyu go into any detail regarding the 5 skandhas of awareness which is something I've been finding highly practical in my cultivation efforts, it'd be interesting to compare notes.

[Tony]

I totally agree about non-sectarian, in experiencing.
But when it comes to explaining one needs a system
or guide lines. In fact in Tibetan buddhism
there RIME, meaning no sides.

Because of synchronicity I found myself in Nyingnma.

All sects are universal, with subtle different views.
Good for debating! The end is the same.

Yes, they have the description of the skandhas = ego.

The good thing about tradition, it give good grounding.
I was never one for ritual, but i now find a real value in it.
It is symbolic of ones true nature. Also it is easier to scan
the mind when information is needed.

It's real value is at death and after!

Tony

[amedeejp]

Hi Tony,
Congrats on completing Ngondro. Twenty years is quite a commitment. I have been introduced to the Kagyu (Drikong) tradition.
I am sold out on the importance of mindfulness regarding body, speech and mind. Thanks for the reminder.
JP

[Tony]

Hi Tony,
Congrats on completing Ngondro. Twenty years is quite a commitment. I have been introduced to the Kagyu (Drikong) tradition.
I am sold out on the importance of mindfulness regarding body, speech and mind. Thanks for the reminder.
JP



Hello amedeejp,

I started in Kagyu, but switched to Nyingma so I had to do a few more Ngongro...oh goody!!!!
Experiencing the Mara first hand!

I used to think that the Mara were a Tibetan thing, until hearing about the Reptilians.
( This is for others. Maras are beings that hate compassion, and feed off negative energy.)
This has enhanced practise no end.

All the best
Tony

[shijo]

The Boddisatva may choose to delay until every blade of grass becomes enlightened, what a trip! What a mission.No wonder we have to look after our mouth mind and body.

[Jayke]

I'm all for rituals, I'm just not a fan of how most traditions tend to dress up wisdom, distort it or mystify it in order to make it appear as though their tradition is the superior tradition, not that i'm referring to Nyingnma when I say that, but as a general theme it tends to be what happens as religions evolve or devolve depending on the perspective, everything tends to get watered down or over complicated depending on the intentions or skill level of the people in charge at the time. I always looked at buddhism as more of a science than a tradition though, the science of mind, the science of spirit, the science of reality...tested over time by countless buddhas and Boddhisattvas, everything outlined and identified in the minutest of detail, the skandhas, the 8 consciousnesses, the various sensations, all the distortions from the path, quite a remarkable achievement really and a great legacy for seekers to stumble upon.

Death has never been a concern i've had the trouble of being burdened with, does it really matter if we come back as an animal, a tree, a deity, a rain drop, a slug...in past lives i'm sure i've been mutilated, tortured, raped, burned alive, buried, drowned, blown up...in hindsight it's all good fun, all apart of the experience of divinity unfolding, the soul is just happy to experience, doesn't adhere to what's good or bad, just experience and wisdom...grow and expand, relax and contract, nothing to do, nothing to be, just bathe in the love of it all.

The skandhas though is something i've found particularly useful and as a result is something I've developed a lot of passion for, it goes beyond skandhas = ego, if that's what they've been teaching you for the past 20 years then they need a good slap on the wrist, from my experience the ego mainly operates on the first 3 skandhas of form, sensation and thought(conception) once we've broken through those 3 layers is when the ego becomes our greatest gift from the divine and ties into the original theme of this thread, in understanding the reality of self realisation.
We can use the ego to witness the impulses that trigger behaviour, those tiny little sparks of emotion that give birth to thoughts in our minds and words in our speech...as we work on purifying the skandha of volition we begin to rewrite our karma, rewrite our destinies, becoming forces for greatest good in the world, the skandha of volition is where the rubber meets the road for the serious cultivator looking for achieving enlightenment or even just planting the karmic seeds of good fortune in order to ease any future lives we may choose to experience. This is the layer of awareness people need to be if they're ever to truly break their bad habits and create the life of their dreams or death of their dreams depending on their inclination.

[Tony]

As you say there are views about the way the teachings are expressed in the west.
The Karmapa is for change. My teacher is quite vocal about how buddhism has to
be taught differently in the west. Different energy, more emotions.

I see this as a science, I think of myself as a spiritual engineer. Meaning if this
is not working try that. In Dzogchen one has to recognise the different states.

The moment of death is of great importance, as ones practise is heightened.
There is no body to hinder.

As you say, the skandhas are a useful practice. They lead to the peeling away
of the consciousnesses, until one reaches the 9th. Rigpa/Mahamudra.

It's nice to share,

Tony

[amedeejp]

i am trying to keep it simple---realizing the actions of my body speech and mind affect everything---i want to be aware

[Tony]

i am trying to keep it simple---realizing the actions of my body speech and mind affect everything---i want to be aware

Sorry, that was an answer to Jayke.

You amedeejp are aware...now! The mindfulness of body speech and mind is conduct. Conduct meaning the continuation of meditation in daily life.
You are so right....keep it simple! Actually my teacher always says, simple inside,complex outside, not the other way round.

All the best

Tony