Do you think that we will only be interested in the nature of mind once we have mastered our daily life?
As a way with a goal, yes. Then we will really be able to treasure mind and work deeply with it. How our Diamond Way handles human potential is masterly. We bring the fine qualities out of people, protect sanity by ridiculing political correctness, sidestep even bloated egos and avoid fuzzy or exotic mental states—all without breaking our friendships and connection to life. And we manage all this without getting either unpleasant or extreme. When some levels of realization feel too fast or too much to accomplish, there are always slower but more appropriate ways to continue. Easy is the way: what is relevant to our life then feels ever more exciting and joyful and thus reinforces keeping the highest possible view. Actually this trusting disposition is the most important of all. Holding it, one can walk through the worst of hospitals and not lose this state—while without it, no stay in a cave can keep away tedious and ordinary distractions.
Actually, we have a huge responsibility because the free world desperately needs capable, well-rounded, functioning people. Only they can uphold our values and stop religious fanatics and other robots. Anybody who is forced into doing or thinking only one thing will at best be unproductive and will probably become an agent for harming others. Trying to avoid personal challenges by closing our eyes never works—and failing to learn what our societies are up against is shown by history to be a fatal disease. Just traveling with a teacher without learning also brings little benefit. Therefore, whenever just handling one’s everyday life becomes unsatisfactory, a meaningful frame should be sought to move forward, broadly and on a wide track of human potential. Whoever wants to experience only the material aspects of life will leave feeling truly poor.
We have to activate all potential in order to fully develop. Everything has to function: social life, work, relationships, travels and meditation. Getting all of these factors together means really functioning—whereas missing out on some of them wastes our precious lives and makes us vulnerable and maybe even useless. Although one may vastly develop one or more of these aspects, without a wide understanding and a healthy sense of humor we will get bogged down in the long run. Our only goal is to become highly developed people who can enjoy and handle a maximum of life’s richness. That means being grounded, roundly informed, and thus secure for others to rely on. Standing for one’s insights, while always checking and learning, makes us reliable. If motivated by our Bodhisattva Promise and given enough time for information to sink in, even sensitive ears will understand the need to listen. Acting or speaking for the long-term freedom and benefit of all, one can never go wrong.
When we work together, the effects of good intentions manifest. What is needed will then appear as most fulfilling. Bits of information will become a full picture and with the help of today’s means of communication many can be reached with little wasted time.
Shouldn’t we include meditation retreats on our way?
The Tibetans’ practice of doing year-long retreats is most impressive, but for those meditating alone there was no delivery service to the caves, and much time was probably spent on survival. Also, they lacked as their basis the all-encompassing and scientific education system that we enjoy. It is, therefore, their resolve to go beyond any comfort to develop essential qualities for benefiting others that should impress us most. Being blessed through meeting buddha forms, as I know from my own experience, or from having many great lamas—and one evidently perfect one, the 16th Karmapa—opens up such rich inner capacity that it transforms one’s life. After that, countless repetition of their mantras feels like an honor and a gift. Though much time was spent simply learning texts by heart—especially in the monasteries—on many levels their situation offered fewer outer distractions than ours today and thereby provided an escape from constant stimulation.
We must be able to function under all conditions, and that is best done by avoiding a maximum of heavy baggage on our way. To quote Cassius Clay: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” We should be free to function on any level needed and consider space and choice our friends. Never, even in the strongest phases of motivation, should we forget that the world is a collective dream to be improved for the enlightenment of all.
Once, in 1969, shortly after my wife Hannah and I became his students in Kathmandu, the great 16th Karmapa pointed to the monks doing their chores and surprised us by saying: “These people do a lot of good but that alone is not enough for enlightenment.” We picked up the rest later: that identifying with one’s teacher or meditation aspect in one’s motivation and skillful activity will bring the full result. If one is only physically near to the teacher, even amazing and inspiring events may become habitual if not clearly perceived and well integrated in one’s mind-stream.
Our realization of emptiness—the conditioned and changing nature of everything outer or inner—is the main thing. It is essential in Buddhism. As already mentioned, seeing the world as a vast collective dream, while staying aware of the conditioned factors which influence and color it, is both liberating and enlightening. It is therefore a joy when good people do shorter retreats, but it must not be an escape, and with some types I ask, “Does your boyfriend or girlfriend stop by at night?” If they say “Yes” or just look fulfilled in themselves, everything is fine. Successfully balancing the possibilities of life brings maturity. It contains both way and goal.
Generally, and especially as part of individual retreats, I advise reading some Buddhist books in the necessary pauses and sharing their methods, view and thankfulness. The teachers of our lineage and their life stories are priceless—and for today’s world, so are our books. Don’t sit tightly and judge the natural processes of your mind in the breaks, but get some fresh inspiration instead. Look for dimensions giving life meaning, such as what can be done for others.
As you may have made different promises during former lives, which now surface among purifications, memories and other impressions, they will often appear in unexpected ways and bring forth your special tendencies. You may discover the wish to share liberating values with others, or bring beauty into their lives; also producing money for idealistic purposes is always an important sign of surplus. All of these kind expressions are beneficial on different levels. They help people and prepare them for that radiant and indestructible awareness which is the ultimate goal.
When Jigmela and other Tibetan friends speak about Hannah and me, they always mention that we fulfilled Karmapa’s wishes and accordingly had vast success—that we pleased him. Today, this praise includes all of us on the Diamond Way as we work together and take part in one another’s lives. Sharing Buddha’s ultimate teaching in the rich environment of skillful traveling teachers, huge meditation courses, and two yearly journeys around the world is a great fulfillment. Until a half-dozen years ago, many would have hesitated to compare the richness of developing consciously with others in the world to the officially-propagated retreats for monks and nuns. Once or twice, when the 16th Karmapa praised our results and blessed us with further continents to be conquered, Hannah therefore dutifully asked, “How about the three-year retreat Kalu Rinpoche advises?” To my great relief, his answer was, “Then who would build our centers?” and he added, “I promise you the same development as in solitary retreat, and great fulfillment on top.” Also, today, our wise 17th Karmapa confirms this assignment, visits our centers, and blesses our Diamond Way work. Together we influence people worldwide and progress meaningfully. Apparently, there is no other possibility in our karmas and bonds to the lineage than learning through life, and it is blissful beyond words. Sharing with wise and inspiring women and powerful men, many of whom were certainly unshakeable companions during former lives, and in the process learning from one another and bringing our richness to countless beings—what could be more meaningful? With Hannah’s pervading blessing and wisdom making things grow worldwide, working together with Caty, Gergö and Tomek—today my closest family—and so many friends everywhere is an endless joy.
Wonderful events occur, protected by clouds of good luck, which astound one whenever one can stop long enough for them to catch up and be experienced. Beyond anything one could have imagined, they seem activated and enhanced by today’s conditions. Imagine the traditional teaching situation: an accomplished yogi with caves for a dozen students, trying to feed them, and a monastery for maybe a few hundred monks. Compared to that, our Western societies today give us vast freedom. We can reach far and pass on unfathomable meaning in our lives. This is amazing, unique and should be treasured.
How can today’s life become a practice?
It would be difficult to imagine a life of deeper and more wide-ranging potential than what we share today in the West. The openness of today’s society, the increasing inability of even the most established media to sell politically correct stories, and our critical and abstract education are the greatest guarantees for avoiding the human catastrophes still happening today. It enables us to cut to the essence of things and be truly responsible for our and others’ lives. Having the conditions for influencing democratic societies, we should use them, and above all we must safeguard our freedom from religion. Today, with enough funny sects and fundamentalist religions appearing around the world, the separation of state and religion gives essential freedom and must be preserved.
Human development is the all-encompassing principle for our work and should pervade any student-teacher relationship. Sometimes when you come up with detailed personal questions, you notice that I don’t answer very directly. First, especially in youth, you change frequently, and second it is not my job to limit your possibilities, the maturing of your inner wisdom, or the understanding of what would be your most fulfilling choice. I can promise you, however, that I work on other levels. If you keep your refuge and do your best in life, the blessing of our lineage will guide you to the finest of your potential. Don’t have too many expectations beforehand, however, and don’t have too many concepts afterwards. They box you in and destroy the magic of any “aha!” breakthrough.
As life unfolds, many will be pulled here and there, and go from this to that. But you are already on track. You are inside our energy-field and fully supported by the great 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, the amazing forefathers of our Karma Kagyu lineage, and the wishes of all buddhas. Everything we do is already charged with the best potential, and the key to passing it on is being effortless. Don’t be in the past, except for gathering relevant information, and don’t squeeze your future. Allow things to flow, and you will master it all by saying, “That’s exactly what I wanted.” Things will then come to you of their own accord, and if you manage to be that which is aware of the process—the unchanging mirror behind the images—then you may become a rainbow one day. Every one of us is pushed forward by the energy-field of our lineage and every one of us—if we follow what is in front of our noses—will meet with the situations from which all will benefit the most. It is unavoidable because information is everywhere and pervades space.
Don’t put your heads too far ahead of your hearts. Don’t push too much for what should be a gift. On essential levels we are taken care of. The energy-field of our refuge works. Whatever we need will happen in ways and at times which best fit our development. And this is not only due to one or two very conscious wishes which we may have formulated at auspicious times and places, intending them to ripen as tools for benefitting others. Moderate motivation and hopeful action also count. Anything positive said or done for the benefit of others removes hindrances and increases our stock of good karmas. It adds to our field of growth and will develop our inner and outer world in the best way. Therefore, I would not periodically get nervous and think: “What must I do now?” Instead, I would let conditions gather like a big stream, uniting its outer and inner potential and finding its best way. As things come naturally, they will grow through their own power. Enjoy them; they are a richness to be shared! Don’t have your life in one place and your head somewhere else.
You are not missing any conditions. I promise you, we are in a magic field that is active worldwide. We all fit, share important experiences, touch one another and grow. This gives great meaning and the flow is good.
Awaken your potential and bathe in the freedom that space gives all. Except for the first Ngöndro, which should be a sweat, meditate without ambition and expectations, with enough time, and follow the way it feels right for you. Use the chance to make short retreats when you can. If there is meaningful work to do—for example, in or for our centers—then do that. It is great to share experiences with kind beings. Being extreme, aiming for too much of this or that, is never a good idea.
The main disposition to hold in mind is the essential bodhisattva view of being useful to others. It means doing what matures them, while learning from the process ourselves. From such general motivation all blessings and special events will appear by themselves and we will stand in our full power.
Photo credit: Volen Evtimov
