Daily Dharma: Walking the Natural Path with an Open Mind

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Furthermore there is no is no lineage, and there is no transmission of the Dharma. A Master in the true Chan Dharma sense is a "teacher" or an "expert". In the Tibeten world of Dharma, the equivalent word concept a Lama and it is understood to mean "a good friend".

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There is however a foolish idea held frequently that a "Master " is someone who must be "awakened". While a Master may be awakened, one can see immediately with just a brief view of the Dharma world that many masters with lineage and glowing transmission are far from being awakened.

Oone must throw away that concept immediately. One must ask about the Dharma which is taught not the false ideas of trnsmission which perpetuate false teachings and build Dharma empires. Yun men declared referring to that saying , "the whole universe is on top of this staff. If you can penetrate it, there isn't any staff in sight either. Even so, you'd still be in bad shape. The lantern, the pillar and the entire Buddhist cannon lack nothing.

DAILY DHARMA - SECRET CHAN FOREST GATE OF MAHABODHI - SUNYATA 机禅林门 大菩提太虚

Come on, where do you see a single dot. Yet it is wide open.

But the question reflects more the inadequacy of this students search. Now let me declare clearly that there is no such thing as transmission as it is understood by those without a clear mind. Yun men declared, when asked what the eye of the genuine teachings were, "it's everwhere", and at another time in reply to the same question, "It is the steam of rice gruel". Do you all understand what I am saying. You can find the true Dharma even when listening to the sound of an ineffective Master crapping. But most of you cannot see that The truth is within you not outside.

You cannot see it because you are running around after initiations, lineages, and transmissions and some Master image that suits your idea of Awakning. Buddha received no transmission, nor did his great monks like Saraputa and the like. Discovering how your heart and mind can work together to use these feelings allows you to move beyond them and start to experience the kind of freedom that Schmid found.

He was thrust into discovering his true nature, and this allowed him to act against what seemed his own self-interest to "not think," in his words. It is not an easy task.

You may feel overwhelmed by the circumstances of your present life or bound by past traumatic events. Again, this is a failure in perception.

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They are just mind-states which can be known. They can be seen as impermanent and not belonging to you and, therefore, they do not ultimately define your true nature. A spiritual practice can provide you with the knowledge and discipline to investigate and work with these conditions. You have to discover that this is true for yourself, for you will not ultimately believe what someone else tells you. You can do this investigation within the parameters of your present life.

There is no need to wait until you can go to a monastery or get your life more together. The intensity of your desires and fears can be a source of energy that propels you to look more deeply for that which really matters. Roger Cohen, the reporter who wrote the article about Schmid, quoted Germany's current defense minister as saying at the dedication of the army base: Does this not apply equally to your personal history?

You do not have a choice about your personal history. For reasons of heredity, chance, environmental circumstances, and your own actions, your life is as it is at this time. But, you can choose from your history those things that will lead you to a deeper relationship with your true nature. To use another World War II example, psychologist Viktor Frankl in his book Man's Search for Meaning Washington Square Press, wrote, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread.

They may have been few in number, but offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: It is crucial that you understand, from a spiritual development perspective, that the pain and suffering with which you must work is no less substantial, less real, or even less difficult than these extreme war-based examples.

The constrictions of the heart and mind cannot be measured like so many pounds of pressure; they simply are there to be worked with, to help you find your way to your true nature. Moreover, the commitment to find your true nature is often lost in the ordinariness of life; there is less inspiration, and you are beguiled by the tyranny of routine and the collective humdrum of all those around you seeking material advantage. The Buddha taught that your true nature is obscured by the veils of wanting, fear, and delusion or ignorance.

He urged that you look at the nature of your mind systematically and observe how these three mind-states condition what you think and value, and how you behave. He taught that it is the identification with these mind-states that causes suffering; for instance, you mistakenly believe that just because you feel the emotion of wanting, your true nature is the same as that wanting.

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If you are not your thoughts, then what is your true nature, how do you find it, and how do you live so that it may flourish? These are the perennial questions for anyone who starts to develop an inner life. In Jesus's teachings, love is at the center of all being - love that is forgiving, unconditional, and not self-serving.

This is the kind of heart-opening that provided Schmid with his courage. The Buddha taught that our true nature is emptiness- a lack of a permanent Self- and when this true nature is realized, the divine states of the Brahma-viharas - loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity- emerge. There is also a state of mind and heart known as bodhichitta that leads one to completely dedicate oneself to the liberation of all beings from suffering.

In the teachings of the great yoga masters, our true nature is Brahman, the universal soul, of which the individual soul is simply a part. When this is realized there is satchidananda, the awareness of bliss, from the knowing that pure awareness is our ultimate nature. These teachings about our true nature are not theoretical.

Rather, they describe actual states of mind and body that can be physically and emotionally felt as profound consciousness shifts. For some people these changes in consciousness have a strong physical component or a marked shift in perception, both of which lead to dramatically altered states of being. For others the shifts are very subtle, primarily manifesting in clear thinking or a strong sense of emotional centeredness characterized by spontaneous altruism.

The manner in which your body and mind experience your true nature may be transcendent or immanent in its manifestation. When Sergeant Anton Schmid experienced a "soft heart" and first acted with selfless compassion, he was dwelling in the divine aspect of his true nature.

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