Conceptual Rehearsal II - Illusory Advice

 

Apprentice: When I read about these terrible things I start to wonder what is the point of meditating and reciting mantra. How can this help to solve the real problems in the world? It seems rather self-centred.

Teachers: Your practice of shi-nè and mantra is not going to miraculously manifest food in the mouths of the starving, or a roof over the heads of the homeless. However your practice makes you different, and this difference can have an influence on everybody and everything you touch. Your practice creates a little prism that facilitates the sparkling through of realisation. It can feel as though this is centred on yourself when you practise alone a lot of the time, but as your practice changes how you respond to people and situations, that prism can radiate to a surprising degree. Being—or attempting to be—a present, aware, and honourable human being affects all who come into contact with you. Having a kind and friendly approach to life influences your circumstances. If every human being was kind and honourable, many of the problems in the world would mysteriously dissolve – but there would still be the chaotic dance of events being exactly as they are.

page 167, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Conceptual Rehearsal I - Illusory Advice

 

“Terrible things do happen in the world and there is the possibility of losing loved ones. It does not change the situation however, to dwell on this, and it does not help anyone to become miserable with worry. Imagining terrible things does not prepare you for when bad things do happen or prevent them from actually happening. It is common to daydream about the horrors-that-might-be. This can be a way of attempting to keep them at bay. You think that if you are able to conjure an image of the worst thing that could happen to you, then it probably won’t happen. You feel that if you have lived through it in your mind, it probably will not happen and if—heaven forbid—it does happen, at least you are prepared. It is a coping strategy.”

page 166, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Does Samsara really exist? - Illusory Advice

 

“Samsara exists because of duality. It can easily cease to exist in the moment through changing your view. Dwelling in the natural state would not mean that you lack the ability to act – your actions would be totally appropriate and compassionate. It is possible to be wrathful without being angry. It is possible to be destructive where the situation requires it without this being out-of-control energy. It is possible to make a stand without justification and self-protective posturing. To dwell in the natural state would be to be a Dharma warrior.”

page 165, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Being a practitioner is damned inconvenient - Illusory Advice

 

Apprentice: It’s easier to get hurt and angry and distant than to sit with and stare into my pain. 

Teachers: Of course it is. This is what you have always done in the past. You are used to being reactive and it takes time to be able to simply sit with the sensation you are experiencing. Being a practitioner is not easy. Being a practitioner is damned inconvenient – because you can no longer indulge the patterns that have become transparent through practice.”

page 157, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

For tantrikas life is practice - Illusory Advice

 

“When practitioner experience doubt they sit anyway and see what happens. When things feel meaningless, they sit anyway and sit with the pointlessness. Practice is life, life is practice. That is all there is. Practice can be formal or informal, organised or chaotic, intense or relaxed. For tantrikas life is practice”

page 155, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Being a practitioner - Illusory Advice

 

“Apprentice: It has been a difficult period of doubt, but yes, I now know that I cannot actually stop being a practitioner any more... fortunately! 

Teachers: It is wonderful to hear you say this. This makes everything possible. It also makes everything simple. Once you know at a fundamental level of your being that you are a practitioner, and nothing will ever change that … eventual success in practice is guaranteed. You’re on the path – which is indistinguishable from the goal.”

page 153, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

 

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Flirting - Illusory Advice

“Apprentice: I’ve just started to realise that I’m a dreadful flirt! 

 Teachers: It’s important to understand that these things you notice about yourself have always been there – you just start to see it because of practice. You are not suddenly becoming a more neurotic person or developing new bad habits. Playfulness in relationship with others is fine as long as it does not undermine or conflict with your relationship with your partner, or the flirting becomes inappropriately sexual in its nature. If the flirting overflows into fantasising about another person or wishing for a romantic relationship with someone other than your partner, then there is the danger of this becoming adulterous. If it becomes behaviour that suggests inappropriate intent, then this is not conducive to whole-hearted conduct. Playfulness is enjoyable for everyone, but must include awareness, and honourable behaviour and intent.”

page 150, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Storm Mind - Illusory Advice

 

Apprentice: I have knowledge enough to know that relaxing is the way out of the hell-realm, but the storm in my mind seems to be running on autopilot.

Teachers: Storms can be frightening – but they can also be exciting and exhilarating if you can have the confidence to ride them. There is a lot of energy in a storm. The mind cannot be controlled and forced to behave. The mind will do what it does based on your individual patterning. The more you try to force a pattern out of the mind, the more prominence it will have in your life. Similarly, you will not succeed in forcing a pattern into the mind even if it would seem preferable to your existing mind-state.

page 145, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Arising emotion - Illusory Advice

 

Teachers: It is generally not worth intellectualising too much about ‘why’ something is. Such ‘why’ questions do not generally go anywhere. It is as it is. Just observe how you are and let it go. This emotion has always been there but you have not been aware of it. When you start to allow the mind to settle through practice, all sorts of things may manifest….. 

….If you are experiencing a great deal of powerful emotion you may also find it helpful to engage in yogic song. This can allow the energy to transform. Also, you could try to observe where you feel the emotion in your body and focus on the sensation. The important thing is to not get involved in the intellectual concept around the energetic emotion.

page 152, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

The Hell Of Being A Practitioner - Illusory Advice

 

Relationship with the teacher will turn the heat up. Because the teacher sees us as we really are and recognises the enlightened potential of our neurotic tendencies, they act as a mirror for the student. The teacher allows the student to catch glimpses of their realised qualities, but also puts a magnifying glass on the neurotic tendencies.

This can be a hellish experience as we struggle to present those aspects of ourselves we believe to be worthy, and try to hide what we believe is less presentable. The teacher will play with this till we begin to realise that what we see as our neurotic side is actually also our realised nature.

page 143, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

When we practise silent sitting we get acquainted with ourselves. - Illusory Advice

“When we practise silent sitting—shi-nè—we get acquainted with ourselves. We begin to face our own minds and progressively discover our psychological make-up. Once the mental chatter that distracts us from the directness of practice starts to subside, we are left with the uncomfortable discovery of our neurotic patterning.”

page 143, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Being shy - Illusory Advice

“One of the purposes of the sangha— the vajra family—is that it provides an arena in which trust can be developed. The vajra family are a group of people who are actively attempting to develop and hold pure view. On retreat the vajra family especially attempts to maintain pure view of their vajra brothers and sisters. They assume that their vajra brothers and sisters are also engaging with this practice. This means that you can trust that your fellow retreatants welcome interaction with you, and that they are interested in what you have to say and will respond kindly. If you say something clumsy or inappropriate you trust that they will not ridicule you but will wish to help you to communicate more effectively. If you hear a vajra sibling speaking in a way that seems hurtful or unkind, you entertain the possibility that they didn’t mean it like that and respond in a kind and open manner.”

page 138, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Pure view - Illusory Advice

To belong to a sangha and to be able to immerse oneself in the pure view of a practising Vajrayana community is an extraordinary opportunity. You can let go of self-image and posturing; you can let go of needing to impress others or wishing to appear in a good light; you can let go of needing to be liked and appreciated, because being liked and appreciated is the ground of vajra sangha; you can let go of the fear of others’ limited views and misconceptions about you, because trust is the ground of the vajra sangha; you can let go of needing company and fearing isolation. You can free-flow in awareness-presence and discover the liberation of that experience.

page 128, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Won`t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz - Illusory Advice

Apprentice: The people I work with only seem to want to be able to afford an exotic holiday or to live like pop stars. I wouldn’t mind those things as well but feel as a practitioner I should be doing more to help others. 

Teachers: Indeed. As practitioners it would be inappropriate to indulge in regretting having insufficient money to fulfil fantasies, such as going on exotic holidays or owning expensive cars as one might if one was a pop star. Practitioners understand that such things are irrelevant to the cause of satisfaction. They practice rather than feeling sorry for themselves. They regard the unhappiness of others as real and to be taken seriously – whatever form that unhappiness takes, but are realistic about their capacity to help people, about their opportunities to help, and about what might be the most valuable focus of their lives. The most valuable focus in a practitioner’s life may be helping the person who sits at the desk next to them in the office of a multinational company.

Through being a Dharma warrior, you can help ordinary people in everyday situations. If you can work for an organisation whose purpose is to help with the suffering in the world, that is all well and good, but still your most valuable contribution may be your influence—as a practitioner—on your co-workers rather than on the nameless thousands your organisation sets sets out to assist.

page 128, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6

Dying with dignity - Illusory Advice

 

The state of mind is the most important aspect of dying. It is important to die with an alert and happy mind so that it is an alert and happy mind that enters the bardo state between rebirths. The length of life in that sense is irrelevant as the mind-stream simply continues. It is the capacity of the mind to be present and aware in the moment that either moves your consciousness in the direction of greater openness or greater confusion.

page 127, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6