The Intelligent Heart by Dzigar Kongtrul

Author:Dzigar Kongtrul
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala

Point Five

Measures of Proficiency in Mind Training

19. All dharma agrees at a single point.

When we take a photograph, we first see an image through the camera’s lens. We don’t press the button to take the shot until we see the image that we want to appear in the photo. Similarly, before embarking on dharma practice, we should start off with an image of what we want our fruition to look like. What is the point of practice? What are we doing this for? It is to liberate ourselves from self-importance, the source of all our suffering and the suffering of every sentient being. If our practice is helping us step out of the small self, then it is in accord with the initial image. It matches the intention of the dharma. If our practice isn’t having this effect, then it isn’t worth much.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be well and wanting to be safe. But we tend to take these wishes too far, becoming attached to ourselves in an unhealthy way, which doesn’t support us but makes us suffer. We all have a sense of when our attachments—to people, to situations, to ideas—have gone too far and are only harming us. We may even see that they need to be worked on. But the sad story is that we don’t often get around to that work. Sometimes we don’t know how to work with our attachments; sometimes we just don’t want to look at them closely. Either way, our attachments, along with all the other disturbing emotions that arise from self-importance, continue to make us suffer.

As beginning lojong practitioners, we may need to give these emotions a little room. We may need to let them remain at a low level, where they aren’t hurting ourselves and others too much. But when these emotions cross the line into neurosis, when they start leading to actions that produce negative results, then it is time to get to our lojong practice.

We can work individually with each of the five disturbing emotions—attachment, aggression, stupidity, jealousy, and arrogance. Or we can relate directly with their source: grasping to the small self. The latter approach is more in the style of the lojong teachings. It is also more efficient: it uses the same rationale as treating a disease by removing the cause rather than by addressing the symptoms. Relating directly with the source requires taking time to sit and notice what is always happening whenever we feel attached, or jealous, or confused. What is the common experience behind these various manifestations? Until we’ve spent time working with our mind through lojong, it’s hard to locate the experience of self-centeredness that is always present. Even when it becomes temporarily clear, the emotions and their related thoughts tend to take over our attention, masking the primary self-importance underneath.

It’s like trying to locate and remain aware of the source of a pool of water. When we first see a pool of water, it may take some time to see the spring that feeds it from below.

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