doc benway

That brings back such memories! I played in a Balinese Gamelan throughout college. I played gangsa. You struck the keys while using the other hand to follow behind and damp the key you just struck. When the tempo picked up it was insane! Never played anything like your teacher's composition... WOW!!!

Welcome back! No sign of Cam in quite some time.

I appreciate the response. I'm not very familiar with the traditional Buddhist path I don't question or criticize the gradual, progressive path at all. My comment was more meant to point out the inseparability of the kayas which I believe is an important point, regardless of which path we take. I highly recommend the preliminaries to everyone, as do the Bön teachers I know. That said, I suspect that the preliminaries are less effective for Westerners due largely to cultural differences and due to the way most engage with them compared to the traditional approaches in the East. And a relatively small number of Westerners actually complete them, from what I understand. I think some of the Bön lamas are a bit more flexible now than in the "old days" for this reason. Many of us in the West are in desperate need of practices that can help with our challenges. Few have the patience, commitment, or access to work through the entirety of the sutric path, even fewer the tantric path. Dzogchen is an ideal practice for the Western lifestyle in many ways but, as you accurately point out, there are many pitfalls. I believe the decision to open up such teachings comes from a place of compassion and I also think it has been relatively successful when you look at the number of people engaged in the practices and the feedback they provide. These practitioners may never reach the level of accomplishment that might be possible had they moved through the formal and traditional process. At the end of the day, they will never be lineage holders or monastics, nor do they need or want to be. But if their lives benefit from access to the teachings, it's probably a good thing. In the Bön community there are differences of opinion on all of this.

Now we're Dharma shaming?

I'll differ a bit with this CT. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your comments. From the dzogchen perspective, at least from the teachings I've received, if one connects to the Nature of Mind one is connected to all 3 kayas. There is never any separation, no connecting with one but then needing somehow to develop others. We can approach them through different doors - body, speech, and mind, but once we rest into our fundamental essence there is no distinction or differentiation. There is no practice of perfecting paramitas as they are already spontaneously perfected in the Natural State. This is the major difference between tantra and dzogchen. In tantra, one continues to practice generating bodicitta. In dzogchen, one simply rests in the Nature with the certainty that bodhicitta is already perfected and will manifest when needed.

I wrote a long reply and deleted it... While this is a great topic for discussion, I get uneasy whenever addressing these things with words and concepts. It's so easy for the intellect to objectify, reify, and grasp. None of that helps us to connect and truly "understand" through direct, naked observation and manifestation. My teacher always emphasizes relating to the 3 kayas in a deeply personal and practical way rather than in a conceptual way. Got to get back to work for now...

I agree with one qualification - I propose that most Dao Bums would recognize Nisargadatta, Ramana, and Shakyamuni if they met. People who are deeply connected to the source radiate it, even through their anger. Our egos squawk at each other as best they can in words here. We would behave differently in the flesh. Now, if a Buddha was with us here, in words only... then I'm not so sure she would be recognized . Wisdom _/\_

Thank you for sharing. I haven't encountered this excerpt to my recollection but I see this principle play out in my own life in so many ways.

One relatively simple and accessible approach is derived from the Bön dzogchen teachings that virtue referenced. It is the practice of the 3 Doors as taught by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. I would recommend his book Awakening the Luminous Mind. The first half of the book teaches the 3 Doors practice and the second half focuses on the 5 Line Teaching of Dawa Gyaltsen, an 8th century dzogchen master. Once the True Mind is precisely identified and somewhat stable, the 5 line teaching is a formula to get there from any situation of distraction and disconnection. Sustaining is largely a matter of familiarity. We come back to this Mind over and over again. Best to start with short, high quality sessions then gradually increase the time spent in practice. The time in that state is far less important than the precision.

I studied Daoist practices for a long time and then found Tibetan Bön practices. There are a wide variety of practices that have been very effective for me.

I don’t know him well but a friend played some of his stuff at a party and it was sort of ambient electronic with a nice reggae beat.

If you like these genres, are you familiar with Richard Dorfmeister?

Tempting...

Good article, thanks

Made me laugh AND think of DaoBums

In fact, explicitly offering an opinion is better than stating an opinion as if it were fact... This tendency to mistake our opinions for some universal truth is the cause of so many conflicts.

I’m glad you’re here Nungali

Beginner’s mind... 🙏🏽 So many identities, so little time! 💀

If it feels right to you If that feels better If that feels right to you... There are many health benefits to a barefoot lifestyle, particularly related to the feet, ankles, knees, hips, and back. When you must Depends on where you are walking and the condition of your feet. Sandals are a good thing, I wear Lunas a lot - hiking, running, walking... It's OK, the very nature of energy is movement and flow. Don't get hung up on "storing" it or "building" it. Just maintain a healthy lifestyle - unprocessed foods, lots of clean water, vitamins as needed, adequate rest and exercise, and good breathing habits. Also, some meditation. Energy takes care of itself. It's all good... If you think wearing socks, shoes, or a mat make a difference when you are an eating, shitting, breathing, mobile appendage of our Mother Earth, knock yourself out! The objective of Daoism is a deeper and closer connection to the Dao, the source... Closer... not insulated from. Where people got the notion they need to insulate themselves from the Earth is beyond me. I think it's mind games.

Edit - I typed this while dwai posted. So take it as my answer... very synchronistic! 🤣 So I look at all of the phenomena and I find nothing in particular, no self out there. But at the same time, everything is there. Then I turn the light back on itself... I look at the source of my awareness directly, not analytically, that is critical. No images, stories, emotion. Simply observe the observer directly. The observer and the observer it is observing can’t be sustained for long. They dissolve and that is emptiness. But all is clear and vivid! Nothing is missing, nothing to be added, and in that instant is direct introduction. I stick with that for as long as possible. I maintain that clarity and presence. That is it... In our tradition they say when when you look back at the observer both dissolve in the base ... all that arises is dynamic play of energy, union of openness and awareness. That’s “self-knowing” or rigpa. That’s where we take refuge. That’s the lifetime practice. Simple... challenging

You’re right, it doesn’t vanish but it is so subtle that the slightest mental activity or identification obscures it until it becomes very familiar and stable. At that point we are less easily disturbed. It goes a bit deeper than focusing on phenomena or not. It’s also a matter of being identified with a self in all its gross and subtle forms. Maybe you include that when you refer to phenomena as that is sort of an internal phenomenon. Another aspect is that it’s not so much focusing on the presence or absence of the natural state, that already implies duality. Looking for it, it is gone. It is more of a deep resting or opening and allowing it to show itself when it is ready. It’s a settling into clarity very much like sediment settling in a pond until the water is crystal clear. “I” am the sediment. My nature is the clarity.

I think one needs historical perspective to understand his appeal. Trungpa was one of the first teachers to bring Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Whether he walked the walk or not, the teachings he gave were revolutionary and empowering to the people connected with him in the early days. We see lots of examples of people who can share a powerful message but don’t necessarily live it themselves. I’m not defending, he hurt a close friend of mine deeply. Abusers of spiritual authority need to be exposed and brought to justice. Nevertheless, he did turn a lot of Americans on to authentic dharma teachings.

It is interesting though. I once read a study that was able to demonstrate that our neuromuscular system has already “primed itself” for action before consciousness has even made the decision to act. Nevertheless, that decision maker feels very really most of the time and should not be discounted. It’s quite a powerful illusion.

For me, yes... most of the time.