"Rebel Buddha" Drawing Results.

This is a second clip from the interview with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche (see another clip here) about his book, "Rebel Buddha." Special thanks to Shambhala for the clip. Being a rebel isn't in contrast with Buddhism, so long as it doesn't bring suffering. The Buddha himself was something of a rebel. I enjoyed how the rinpoche explained too that we must channel that rebellious energy, so that it brings about helpful change rather than painful change.

Now, onto other business; the results are in from the drawing for the "Rebel Buddha" and the hat has spoken. I was over-whelmed by the response to this great book, and so I emailed my contact with Shambhala about setting aside a second copy. I am happy to announce that they approved the second copy!! So, there will be two readers who will get a book. Now, onto the fun stuff. Drum roll, please!!

And the books go to.......

-Jason P. Reagan

-Daniel Bezerra

Jason and Daniel, send me an email with your name and address to: jaymur@gmail.com and I'll get you in contact with Shambhala.

~Peace to all beings~

Dzogchen Ponlop on an American Buddhism.

Interesting view point from the author of "Rebel Buddha" (see my review of the book by clicking on this sentence) on the possibility and viability of an "American Buddhism." Special thanks to the "Rebel Buddha" blog for the video. This isn't coming from a pop-star, celebrity or a person who tries on the latest, "Buddhist flavor of the month." This is Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. A very respected, world-renowned, Tibetan Buddhist scholar, and one of the highest teachers in the Nyingma lineage. He is also an accomplished Karma Kagyu lineage holder, and abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, which is one of the great monasteries of his lineage.
James: Even if there evolves a mixed-Buddhist lineage in America from the cauldron of melting Buddhist ideas; there will still be a place for the traditional lineages. Zen, Theravada, Tibetan, Pure Land, and the others will always have a strong, undiluted foot-hold here in America. However, it is inevitable as the Rinpoche describes for a specific American Buddhist tradition to form. No one can say what it will look like exactly but the melting is well underway.

I personally am happy right where I am in the Zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. However, I would have to kindly disagree with the notion that Buddhism in Asia is "pure." Buddhism in Vietnam for example is a blend of Mahayana, Theravada and Pure Land Buddhism. Yet, not many people attack it as a bastardization of Buddhism as some say of Buddhism in America.

Culture wise, Tibetan Buddhism is rather particular to Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Their cultural traditions are very different from say the traditions of practice in Thailand or Japan for example. Yet, not many say they are a watered down mess of Buddhist ideas. All I am saying is that Buddhism is fluid and subject to change and adjustments like any other phenomena in this ever evolving life-span. Personally, I keep practicing my Soto Zen lineage but delight in the proliferation of ideas merging together in the cauldron of change.

I must admit that It is a bit odd to me that the people who oppose a mixing of traditions to form a unique "American Buddhism" are so resistant to change when Buddha taught that it is inevitable. Why would Buddhism be immune to it? And, why assume that change must be "bad" or "less than" other forms of Buddhism because it's adapting to a new culture -- American culture? Perhaps the traditionalists need to probe their discomfort with such a change and meditate on why it bothers them so much. There is plenty of room for everyone, and not everyone walks the exact same path in Buddhism -- even within the same lineage or tradition. Including the older, established ones such as in Theravada. Even within Theravada (which is arguably the tradition that sticks to uniformity the most) has it's variations.

We all must remember that change isn't necessarily always "bad." That said, an "American Buddhism" won't be for everyone and that's not just fine, it's the way things have to be in a complex, diverse, ever-changing world. If it adheres to the three jewels, the four noble truths, and the eightfold path while teaching compassion, emptiness and the other biggies in Buddhism then I welcome it.

~Peace to all beings~

"Rebel Buddha" by Dzogchen Ponlop. Unleash the Rebel Within!!

When many of us think of a rebel we think of someone who challenges the status quo because of a feeling of confinement or discomfort with how society is unfolding. Buddhist master Dzogchen Penlop shows us in his book, Rebel Buddha that we all have a rebel within. It is the seed of awakening in our brain that was planted by our karma, which begins to grow and stretch against the confines of the ego-mind. It is our inherent Buddha nature or awakened essence that is reclaiming our mind bit by bit, which is why it's a process, or a practice.

In most Buddhist schools, we aren't relying upon a savior to pull us out of the muddy waters of samsara, (the world) and into the clear light of wakefulness, which infuses into us the ability to live with discomfort without suffering from it. We are aware that no one can do this for us, and that is why it is why its hard work to practice the Dharma. It's not just a matter of saying some prayers and having faith that you'll be saved from suffering:

If you're interested in "meeting the Buddha" and following the spiritual path he described, then there are a few things you should know before you begin. First, Buddhism is primarily a study of mind and a system of training the mind. It is spiritual in nature, not religious. It's goal is self-knowledge, not salvation; freedom, not heaven. It relies on reason and analysis, contemplation and meditation, to transform knowledge about something into knowledge that surpasses understanding. But without your curiosity and questions, there is no path, no journey to be taken, even if you adapt all the forms of the tradition.

James: We know that if we are to free ourselves from our situation that we have to lead the charge of the rebellion ourselves. We already tried putting the fate of our situation into the hands of another only to see it not come to pass, and while there are plenty of people along the route to walk with us and help us for a time; no one can do the final accent but ourselves. And while such an epiphany can be daunting it is refreshing to know that it has been done before; so why not us? We are just as capable of freeing ourselves as anyone else who has gone before us, but only if we have the courage to follow that rebel within.

It is that voice inside our head, which says, "Something is missing in my life. I am no longer satisfied with what the world tells defines as leading a fulfilling life. I am not happy and want to change my circumstances." This is the rebel within that Dzogchen Penlop teaches in this wonderfully timely book because it is going to take rebellion of the spirit to over-come the chaos of modern life:

On the spiritual path, this rebel is the voice of your own awakened mind. It is the sharp, clear, intelligence that resists the status quo of your confusion and suffering. What is this rebel Buddha like? A trouble-maker of heroic proportions. Rebel buddha is the renegade that gets you to switch your allegiance from sleep to the awakened state. This means you have the power to wake up your dreaming self, the impostor that is pretending to be the real you [...] You are the champion of your own freedom. Ultimately, the misson of the rebel buddha is to instigate a revolution of mind.

James: The life of the Buddha was one of rebellion. He rebelled against his father and the luxurious life granted him. He suspected there was more to life than the material pleasure that fulfilled his Earthly needs but left him spiritually hollow inside. He rebelled against the Brahman teachers of his day who told him there was nothing left to discover, spiritually. Still, the rebel inside himself told him that he must push forward, into the unknown. It is the rebels who find freedom because they keep trying to escape their prison of suffering regardless of the set-backs. It is the slaves who simply do not try or assume that there is no point to trying. They are frozen in stone.

All it takes to free oneself from the ropes of doubt that plague them is some wiggling. So, if you have the strength yet to break free once and for all from the confines of suffering then do what you can--wiggle. In other words, take baby steps. Read books like this one, take walks in nature and focus on the details around you. Contemplate on how you are interconnected and benefit from all that beauty around you. Ask and discuss questions that bind you down but don't rely upon any one person too much. Keep searching--always. Don't let others do the thinking for you--question everything.

Let go of expectations. listen to your heart and just be in the moment -- let it all soak into your ropes and soon you will have worked the ropes enough to begin unraveling the emotional bondage. But it takes time. This is the wisdom contained in Rebel Buddha -- So, will you answer the call from your inner-rebel buddha, crying to be unleashed?

The good people at Shambhala have graciously given me an opportunity to giveaway one copy of Rebel Buddha. To make this fair I have decided to draw names from a hat. So, if you're interested, just say so in the comments and I'll include your screen name in the hat. It will be open for a week. So, get your names in by this coming Thursday when I will draw the name of the recipient. Thanks, and good luck!!

~Peace to all beings~

Is Buddhism a Religion? Yes, and No. How's That for a Koan?

We often talk about Siddhartha, the young man who became known as the Buddha, as if he were a god. The fact is that he was just a simple Indian guy, a human being like you and me. We think of him as some kind of super-genius for having attained complete spiritual awakening, but in fact his real genius was in showing how any one of us can attain the same awakening as he did. We describe him as a prince and a member of the elite royalty of his time, and we think that must have given him an advantage over us -- but the reality is that most of us today are probably better off, in material terms, than Siddhartha was. The point is, we shouldn't mythologize Siddhartha's life and think that his spiritual awakening was due to his special circumstances. Most of us today actually live in conditions very similar to Siddhartha's, in terms of our material situation.

James: This is something that many in the West don't understand. They think we worship Buddha when we bow to his statues. I think a segment of this misunderstanding stems from the Western idea of what a religion constitutes. The main religions practiced in the West all have the common denominator of a belief in an omnipotent being that rules over all humanity--a "God." Combine that with a relative cultural isolation of many Americans and you have a recipe for misunderstanding Buddhism and other non-Western belief systems.

Siddhartha was a truth seeker, nothing more. He wasn't looking for religion, as such -- he wasn't particularly interested in religion. He was searching for the truth. He was looking for a genuine path to freedom from suffering. Aren't all of us searching for the same thing? If we look at the life of Siddhartha, we can see that he found the truth and freedom he was seeking only after he abandoned religious practices. Isn't that significant? The one who became the Buddha, the "Awakened One," didn't find enlightenment through religion -- he found it when he began to leave religion behind.

James: I don't think this means that we should abandon monasteries, temples and teachers but it is a necessary caution in reminding practitioners that these things are tools to help us along the path that only we can walk. For example, I think we deify our teachers a bit and lean upon them sometimes too much like a crutch. Yet Buddha was clear that we can know the Dharma like the back of our hand but all that is worthless unless we set out on our own and put them into practice. No one can walk the path for us. No teacher can cure us of our suffering--regardless of how enlightened and talented they may be. So, in that sense Buddhism isn't a religion in the Western sense but rather, perhaps, a spiritual school. Let me be clear, however. It doesn't hurt to practice with others in a physical sangha because it offers us support and encouragement but just remember that Buddha had none of these things. And if he can do it, so can we.

After all, what would you do if you were the last Buddhist on Earth? Would you stop practicing because there were no more teachers, temples, statues and sanghas? Of course not. These things are maps but they aren't the path itself. Spiritual materialism and attachment to it's trimmings is just as sure a pitfall as falling into the delusional hole that we don't need any teaching or guidance at all. Ironically, fittingly and beautifully we come back to the conclusion that Buddhism itself should be approached with the middle-path mindset. The way we view it should be balanced between traditional practice and freelance adaptation to an individuals particular karma.

Neither wrong to attend a temple or monastery nor wrong to be more of a hermit Buddhist as Buddha initially was. Some teachers I have read will actually recommend certain students leave the monastery to study on their own as a hermit. So, there are many paths but only one Dharma. That said, neither I, nor Rinpoche are advocating we do away with Buddhism as a religion but rather to go beyond Buddhism as a religion. This means having the structural integrity of the Dharma as our foundation but we shouldn't let organized religion hold back our practice to where we simply copy someone else's practice. In my years of practice I have found that mimicking the path of someone else is simply yet another delusion.

To read the rest of Rinpoche's insightful article, simply click on this sentence.

~Peace to all beings~