The Spirtual Renegade

If I had to definite my spirituality in one word it would be: Enlightenment. I seek authentic Dharma in many different areas, from Christianity, Hinduism to Buddhism. The subject of Enlightenment dominates in all areas of my exploration in those faiths. I’m guided more by intuition, if I feel I need to learn from a particular field, then I do my research and add it to the toolbox.

My own Native background didn’t steer me in this direction or my family or friends. This quest for Truth has been pretty much of my own initiative. My partner thinks I’m crazy, my friends don’t understand my drive and I’m not bound by the ties of blood relatives or children.

So, even in the simplest of terms, I’ve been ‘out there’ by myself for some time now. In the non-dual sense, no one is really alone, we’re all interconnected, every sentient being has been our kind parent.

The school of the universe has given me an All-Access Pass in this life, so I’m going to utilize to the fullest and seek Truth, Enlightenment for all sentient beings. Who cares what other people think? Be kind, be loving, seek Truth and lead by the strength of your spiritual practice.

The Sound of the Still Drum

VINAPA, The Music Lover

"After years of perseverance and devotion / I mastered the vina's errant chords / Then I found the unstruck sound / And lost my self."

Vinapa was the only son of the King of Gauda, a realm bordered by Mother Ganga. He was dearly beloved by his parents and the court. Eight nurses indulged his every whim, and the court musicians came to soothe him whenever he was fretful. Perhaps this early exposure to the deep realms of music changed his fate? For, as the prince grew older, he ignored his lessons in statecraft and pestered the court musicians continually until they agreed to teach him to play the tambura.

Hour after hour, day after day, the young prince would pluck the four strings of the tambura. His fingers never seemed to tire of coaxing the deep droning hum, the breath of OM, from his instrument. He was so gifted that he mastered the tambura after a short while, and then he learned to play the seven stringed vina. As he plucked the vina with his plectrum, the additional strings of the instrument would vibrate in perfect sympathy. Entraced by the feminine insightfulness of this instrument, the young prince could not be parted from it. He was obsessed with the vina. He could hardly bear to set it down to take a few morsels of food.

But he was no ordinary musician. He was the heir-apparent to the throne. When the time came, would he be able to rule the kingdom with wisdom and compassion? Would he have the skill, the interest, to do so? His parents and the court grew more and more concerned.

Despairing, they finally summoned a highly trained yogin called Buddhapa in hopes that he could wean the prince away from music. At their first meeting the young prince was deeply affected by the remarkable qualities of this holy man. Recognizing his master, Vinapa prostrated himself before the yogin and walked around him in reverential circles. Then they sat down to speak deeply, from the heart, about life and death and all that lies between and beyond.

Buddhapa had known instantly that the prince was ready for spiritual training. In the course of their conversation he asked the young man if he was ready to undertake a sadhana, the practice that disciplines the mind on the path to Buddhahood.

"My music is my sadhana, venerable yogin," replied the prince. "Nothing matters to me but my vina and the sound of the tambura. The onlysadhana I would practice is one that I could learn without abandoning music."

"If you are as dedicated to music as you say, then I shall teach you a musical sadhana," promised the guru. Whereupon he initiated the prince with the rite that mellows the immature mindstream.

"Meditate continuously upon the sound of your instrument," Buddhapa instructed him. "But while doing so you must free yourself of all distinction between the sound that is struck and what the mind perceives. Cease all mental interference with the sound. Cease all conceptualizing. Cease all critical and judgmental thought. Contemplate only pure sound."

The prince practiced the precepts he had been taught for nine years, during which time he grew to manhood. And as he grew in body he also grew in mind and spirit. All that lay between him and pure cognition was erased from his mind as shadows flee from a clear light. And this very light began to glow within him as though he were a precious butter lamp, and he attained the state of mahamudra-siddhi.

Wondrous were the feats he performed. He could foretell the future, read the thoughts of those around him, and appear in more than one place at the same time. He became universally renowned, and it was said that he had gained his siddhi directly from the deity Hevajra himself.

His true kingdom lay in the realms of spirit. All his long life he taught multitudes of beings how to find release from the bonds of existence. And when he completed his task, he was assumed bodily into the Paradise of the Dakinis.

-Taken from Buddhist Masters of Enchantment, trans. by Keith Dowman. Inner Traditions Publishing, 1998. Used without permission. If you are the copyright owner of this work and wish for it to be removed, please contact the blog moderator, who will be happy to comply.

The Sangha - Voices in Harmony

It's really great reading tweets from inspiring people who trigger my fingers to peck at the keyboard. I call it the 'riff' effect--like a group of jazz musicians who take a particularly nice chunk from another song and add their own inflections. The online or e-sangha as some like to call it, in the course of a day or so, will usually 'riff' off a commentary or meditation from another blogger or tweeter. Sometimes I'll read an idea and it will lead me to a line of contemplation about my own practice. Usually those ideas remain in my head, because I'll usually dismiss my line of reasoning or I just have nothing significant that I want to relate to other people.

Jack/John, Mr. ZenDirtZenDust on Twitter or whatever he's calling himself this week(haha!) usually posts some very insightful bits that I'll comment on or tweet about. Today's topic is the concept of Sangha. For some reason, the first image that came to mind was India in the time of the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni.

There were members of the sangha who traveled with him everywhere he walked. I'm sure the number of these people changed from village to village, it was never a static number. Given that people are social creatures, some of those people probably got to know each other, break bread, share a drink and came to know each other rather well. When the traveling sangha member that they knew would come back into town, classic Indian hospitality was extended to them and they were put up. They became like extended family, or o'hana, in Hawaiian.

I'm sure there were many Dharma discussions and debates that went well into the night about what the Buddha had spoken about. They shared ideas, insights and tips to greater awareness, pitfalls to practice and other news of the day. Then, when the Buddha moved on to another village or area of the country, the traveling sangha member would move on, too.

This exchange of ideas is what the real Sangha means to me. Its not just about the people at the local dharma center or people who have lineage ordinations. Its about sharing ideas and viewpoints of the Buddhadharma. Back in the day, people had to wait months, even years to see each other again. In today's world of near-instantaneous communication, we can pick up the phone, jump on twitter or write on ye ole blog.

I love that people from different backgrounds and locations can communicate with one another. To me that's the real blessing of technology. The key is to keep the lines open and clear, without judgement or bias. Let's come together when we can, online or otherwise and learn from each other in the spirit of scholarship and full acceptance.