Meditation #7 Cruising onto the Path!

Rejoice!  Today's meditation will complete our experience with the Intermediary Scope.  Tomorrow, we will move on to the "Great" scope, where we indulge in topics of love, joy, bliss...!

For today, we will go deeper into the type of human form and mind we need to cultivate to make this path work fast...



The type of human form we need to be on the path of liberation is one which is moral.  We must become hyper-sensitive in observing ourselves, making sure we are not hurting others through our words, thoughts and actions.  Just because we don't kill and steal does not really mean that we are purely moral.  Even if we speak harshly to someone for a fraction of a moment or even look at someone with a bad thought in our minds...this is hurtful...people feel our energy.  We have great responsibility.  If we engage in helping others throughout our day and life, naturally, our immoral acts - stark and subtle- will become minimal.   The more we clean up our morality, the more these meditations will work, and the faster our attainment of liberation.

The type of path that we must practice to escape samsara is one in which we understand that everything we experience comes from us.  There is no person out there screaming at us.  There is no perfect job out there coming to us.  Everything we experience is a result of our past actions.  We yell at someone 5 years ago or 5 lifetimes ago, and we plant a seed.  Any moment seeds can ripen and there will come a person in your life who yells at you.  At some point in your past you helped someone get a perfect job and at that moment you planted a seed.  Seeds can take time to grow until they one day sprout.  When this particular seed sprouts - one never knows the exact time - the perfect job will come to you as if by magic.  It is not really magic, it is your own good actions coming back to you.

This is an idea that takes time to get used to.  The Buddhists call it "Emptiness."    When you know that everything is empty, you take responsibility for everything that happens to you. You never blame anyone.  At the same time, you are patient and forgiving with yourself and you are actually really happy because when you understand emptiness, you can create your perfect future by being ultra-conscious of your present actions.

There is nothing you can really do about the present moment.  So, you might as well accept it, make the most of it and label it as positive in your mind because that will enable you to experience it in a positive way.  The present moment has already been determined by your past actions.  BUT, your future is completely in your control. Right now, you can plant all the specific types of seeds that you want to sprout in the future.  You want to take painting classes in the future?  Maybe you can help someone get connected to a painting teacher now. It's ok if you don't have money to pay for their painting class - maybe you can just do a little research for them, make a connection for them...and then rejoice that not only did you make someone happy, you planted seeds so in the future you will have the perfect painting teacher.

In general, as the great teacher Geshe Michael Roach says, "everything you want in life, give it to others first."  You see how planting seeds works?  Understand this, contemplate on it, dream about what you want, and then start making other people's dreams come true...Do you doubt that this works?  Great. Doubt it with all your heart.  Let your doubt inspire you to give it a try.  Try...and just see what unfolds...remember seeds take time to ripen.  Start living this way and give it six months for some sprouting to begin...

We will get much deeper into Emptiness in later meditations.  For now, we just need to keep getting familiar with this idea that every object (including a person) is empty of any inherent nature.  The way we experience something or someone comes entirely from us; our past actions.

These teachings are preparing us for an upward spiral to Liberation.  The more ethical we are, the better we will be able to concentrate and meditate.  The better we meditate, the more we will be able to grasp wisdom such as the wisdom of Emptiness.

Today's Contemplation
To crusie on this path, let's clean up our morality right now.  In the Yoga Scriptures we have the Yamas and Niyamas as a great ethical guide.  For a list of the yamas and niyamas see pp   of Sacred Sanskrit Words.

In Buddhist scriptures, we have the 10 nonvirtues listed below.  Elaborations on these can be found on pp 244-255 of Liberation In Our Hands Part II:

10 non virtues:

3 done by body
4 done verbally
3 done by mind

Body - Killing, Stealing, Sexual Misconduct
Verbal - Lying, Slander, Harsh Speech, Idle/Meaningless speech
Mental - Coveting, Malice, Wrong views (such as those of karma and of reality)

Meditation:

Just look at the past 48 hours.  When may you have indulged in one of the nonvirtues listed above?  Think about how it hurt someone else.  Think about how it planted a negative seed.  Think of what you might have to experience when that seed sprouts.  Make a promise to yourself to not indulge in such an action for a certain amount of time (choose an amount of time that you know will allow you to keep your promise).  When your determination is firm, hold.  Single pointed concentration on your determination to not act in that way for the amount of time you chose.

Dedication: Same everyday.  See previous blog.

Subsequent practice:  As you observe yourself today and tomorrow, be especially conscious of what seeds you are planting.  Every time you act, say or think something, a seed is planted.  Go into your future and think about what kinds of seeds you need to plant now to have the future of your dreams...and then act on it.  Observe yourself planting beautiful seeds for a perfect future and rejoice!

***

Be happy -- tomorrow, after all this hard work - we will begin the "Great" scope.

Thank you for all your hard work.  When it gets tough, remember, you are doing this for others!  Remember the person in your life that you dedicated this two-week course to.  You are learning how to create bliss so that you can teach them and then so many others...Keep that motivation strong - all those people in your world who are having a hard time will benefit from your practice!

Have a beautiful day.

Love,
Reema