Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva
Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva: Verse 28
Avoid practicing as if your hair is on fire, take it easy with piety and. devotion..
Listeners and solitary buddhas, working only for their own welfare,
Practice as if their heads were on fire.
To help all beings, pour your energy into practice:
It is the source of all abilities — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.
Have you ever sat in a dharma center, participating in a teaching, or some event, or most compelling, sitting at an initiation and found yourself watching and disapproving of those regulars who are also sitting there, so incredibly pious? Knowing all the mudras, skilled at executing each action.
There’s the woman who disapproved when you questioned a teacher about some line of dogma. There’s that nun who sits crossed-legged in the back row— -she’s fond of telling students what materials are “OK“ to read, and what’s frowned upon — she’s even been known to tell a newcomer to stay away from Dharma on the Internet, because:
“You can’t possibly know what materials would be beneficial.”
This is what is meant by “listeners and solitary buddhas, working only for their own welfare, who are practicing like their heads were on fire.”
Do you hate yourself when you have those really nasty, disapproving thoughts about people in the Sangha? Do you feel like you’re betraying the whole meaning of a spiritual endeavor? Well, you are, but then so is Tokme Zongpo. If he can do it, why can’t you?
He’s telling us not to imitate the piety of superficial practitioners, no matter how serious and devoted they may seem. We should avoid practicing as if our hair is on fire; take it easy, go slowly, don’t rush toward whatever someone claims is the road to nirvana.
My teacher once told me; “If someone ever tells you “I’m enlightened” — run as fast as you can, get away from him/her.” He went on to say “The only thing that matters is compassion.” Years later, I was crying about a lost business opportunity, he said “This is so lucky. Now you have more time to practice.”
Avoid practicing piety. Instead, practice compassion. So why is it so hard to be compassionate towards the people who tell you: “Beware of the Internet, you won’t know what teachings are beneficial.”
Some professional psychologists do the same thing. They tell clients “don’t look things up, you won’t know what reading will be beneficial.” But we all have internal wisdom, and even when we stray, somewhere we know it. The professional Buddhist, the professional anything, take it all with a grain of salt. What feels right will resonate, but it’s so hard to believe that.
Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog
