Levels of Commitment - Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin

 

In this video from February 2010, Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin explain the levels of commitment that are possible within the Aro Lineage.

Transcript

Ngakma Nor’dzin: From an external viewpoint it could appear that the process of becoming involved in apprenticeship is a little bit like a conveyor belt. You start off being interested, coming to open retreats. You get more interested, so you become an apprentice. Then you get more interested, and you become ordained, and so on. But it doesn’t actually have to be like that.

We’re very happy for people to simply come to open retreats and to have a connection with us and with the lineage in that way. We’re also very happy for people who decide to become an apprentice, if they never want to be ordained, if they never want to enter into taking that level of commitment – that is absolutely fine. So there is no sense of, once you start having a relationship with us it’s assumed that you’re on some sort of roller-coaster that will take you through to the ultimate experience of becoming an ordained disciple.

Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin: I think it’s very important to know that it’s perfectly fine for someone’s relationship with Buddhism to be similar to that of going to church on Sunday. It doesn’t have to be any more than that. If that is useful and meaningful to somebody in their lives then that is a good place to practise. We’ve seen people who become interested in Buddhism who thought ‘If I can’t commit absolutely everything there’s no point in me even starting’. Then they leave, whereas perhaps a little bit of involvement might be worthwhile. So it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There are various levels of engagement, all of which we’re entirely happy with. 

If people just want to come to the group and sit with us, that would be fine. If people want to become an apprentice, that’s also fine. So there isn’t a sense in which people are pushed on in their practice unless they come to us and ask to be pushed. The relationship between us in the rôle of teachers, and our students who are apprentices, is a mutual relationship where people will ask us questions. People will decide for themselves perhaps that they want a bit more prodding, prompting and direction, but that doesn’t come from us. So if people ask us, “What do I do next, which practice should I be doing?” then we will give them an indication of that.

Ngakma Nor’dzin: The process of becoming ordained is quite a long term event in itself. It could take up to five years from first saying ‘I would like to become ordained’, to actually entering the ceremony and making that formal commitment. So that gives the student and ourselves the time to really look at whether this is going to work with them, whether they really understand it, whether it is going to be right for them in their lives, whether we can develop that relationship with them and them with us.

I can be whatever I wish to be - Spacious Passion

 

Once I get a feeling for living in the present moment I can be whatever I wish to be. I can dissolve the mind that constrains the present with concepts of the past. I can let go of the churning over of remembered moments that feign permanence through arrogated reliving. I can dissolve the mind that wishes to influence the future through projection of expectation, to feign permanence through arrogated fantasy. I do not have to be defined by who I was in the last moment, or who I think I might be in the next. If I wake up in a bad mood, I can simply allow that mood to die and allow a good mood moment to be born. I can shout the yogic syllable ‘Ha’ to explode the bad-mood-mind moment and be reborn in good-mood-mind-moment. I am liberated! I am free to be kind-mind-moment-person, ecstatic-mind-moment person, and brave-mind-moment-person.

Spacious Passion,Ngakma Nor´dzin, Aro Books worldwide,2006,ISBN 978-0-9653948-4-0, chapter 5 Infinite Impermanence, p127 

 

 

Regarding all phenomena as illusory - Battlecry of Freedom

Phenomena appear to the mind like clouds, and then change, and move, and dissipate. There is no fixed identity of cloud, or permanent abiding form, shape, colour, or texture. Any attempt to apply identity, or permanence of form, shape, colour, or texture is an illusion.

Until awakening is embraced it is not possible to accurately and directly determine the nature of phenomena. Regarding all phenomena as illusory allows the mind to be open and receptive. It prevents grasping and concretising. It is awakening view.

Battlecry of Freedom by Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2019, ISBN 978-1-898185-46-8, Part II - the slogans, pp55-56

Types of Ordination in the Aro Lineage - Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin

 

 

In this video from February 2010, Ngakma Nor’dzin explains the different types of ordination in the Aro gTér Lineage

Transcript

Ngakma Nor’dzin: There are two types of ordination that are offered within the Aro Lineage. The Ngakmas and Ngakpas, and the Naljormas and Naljorpas. There’s not a huge difference between them. They express a slight difference in capacity or temperament perhaps.

Ngakpas and Ngakmas – the name means ‘Mantra person’ so they’re probably more Tantric practitioners working more with Tantric practices and mantra accumulation and more ritual practice. The Naljor stream is more connected with Dzogchen and the Yogic practices.

But in fact all Aro Lineage practitioners practise all the practices. A practice doesn’t become unavailable because you’ve taken one type of ordination and not the other.

Animals can display human-realm mentality and humans can display animal-realm mentality - Illusory Advice

 

Confusion sometimes arises through thinking that teachings on the animal-realm of the six realms refer specifically to the animals we see in the world, and because of the assumption that all human-looking beings live in the human-realm. There can also be a tendency to romanticise animals, as somehow innately spiritual. Animals can display human-realm characteristics of discrimination and humour, whilst humans can display animal-realm mentality of being humourless, trapped in a particular view, lacking awareness of others. Teachings on the realms of being are helpful in enabling you to become aware of your mind-set in any moment. Through the practice of meditation, capacity to be aware of that moment—and the realm of that moment—increases, so that ‘lower realm’ or ‘higher realm’ states of mind can be immediately exploded.

Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6, p14

 

Listening - Relaxing into Meditation

 

In the relaxation technique of Listening, that is all we do – we listen. We do not listen and read a book. We do not listen and become fascinated with the contents of the room. We do not listen and analyse the structure of the music. We simply listen.

Relaxing into Meditation, Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-898185-17-8, p17

 

 

A Good Sangha are a Group of Irritating People - Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin

In this video from February 2010, Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin discuss the benefits of being part of a Sangha (community of practitioners).   

Transcript

Ngakma Nor’dzin: Sangha is an important aspect of being involved in a lineage because the Sangha are supportive to your practice. It’s always inspiring to practise with other people and to see people changing through that practice. That’s inspiring – because it makes you realise that practice really does function.

In the Aro Tradition the Sangha has a particular quality to it: of people having a good sense of humour, people taking responsibility for themselves. One of the ideas of Sangha is that your fellow practitioners won’t support your neurosis. So if you’re gossiping about somebody or saying negative things about a situation, then they won’t just say, “Yeah that’s true” and join in and gossip with you. They’ll present a different point of view or say, “Well actually my experience of that person has been that they’re very kind” – or whatever. Then they can be frustrating if you want to be a gossip and have somebody support your point of view. But from the point of view of realisation, they’re your best friend because they stop you falling into those habit patterns of assuming that your view of a situation is the correct one.


Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin: So a good Sangha are quite an irritating group of people from the point of view of neurotic functioning, because as Ngakma-la says they’re not going to support you in that. They’re actually more supportive of your realised nature than perhaps you are yourself. So within that environment, which is something we set ourselves up for - nobody’s made to join the Sangha - we set ourselves up for that and we say we are committed to this path of practice and so we’re committed to the Sangha and within that environment you have a group of people who are supportive to your practice and helpful in overcoming and transforming the neuroses that we have.