What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

passel
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What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by passel »

What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity down?
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

passel wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:14 am What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity down?
If by “down” you mean accessible, that’s what it is.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Simon E.
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Simon E. »

Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
“You don’t know it. You just know about it. That is not the same thing.”

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to me.
haha
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by haha »

It is just like showing the moon by a figure. First, one sees that the person who has taught the essence is as the Buddha. Then, one sees that oneself as the Buddha. And then, one sees all sentient beings as the Buddha.
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Yeti »

passel wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:14 am What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity down?
Yes it is, because the whole thing is encapsulated within the Five Certainties. http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/nges_pa_lnga
"People are fond of saying all sorts of things about others behind their backs, mentioning their names again and again. Instead of slandering others in this way, “slander” the yidam: utter his name repeatedly by reciting his mantra all the time." - Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche - Zurchungpa’s Testament - Shambhala Publications
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Sonam Wangchug
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Sonam Wangchug »

Something often glossed over in these conversations is that some lama's are ACTUALLY pure.

So sometimes it is a matter of seeing accurately.

Another thing, the lama is not understood as a separate entity, but your Buddha nature in "external form" (to use a limitation of language). Due to ones merit we are able to via communication come to the recognition of the Inner Guru, from this 'outer' reflection of our merit appearing as a spiritual guide.
"To have confidence in the teacher is the ultimate refuge." -Rigzin Jigme Lingpa
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by zerwe »

I would say that it should be less about lifting the lama up and more about bringing purity to your mind.
Shaun :namaste:
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by kausalya »

zerwe wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2020 5:45 pm I would say that it should be less about lifting the lama up and more about bringing purity to your mind.
Shaun :namaste:
Depends on how you look, too. Why can't you imagine both happening simultaneously?

My life tells me that there is equal blessing for teacher and students if samaya is maintained:

You help the guru achieve the goal of learning about & liberating people from your Buddha-family, and the guru teaches you to see the world as he does, so you can carry on the goal of furthering the lineage on his behalf. (For most of us this is done in secret, through the display of bodhichitta to other beings who are receptive and in need of help. Secrecy is what prevents this result from being spoiled in the short term, such as by the ridicule of others.)

If you have a human teacher, you carry each other up alternate steps of the ladder. We can view all beings this way, using the profound method of Guru Yoga. Faith & watchfulness are the only prerequisites there.

* Note that I would never seek to exclude female teachers from the same duty, but I'm unsure of how to avoid awkward-sounding prose most times. My only teachers have thus far been male, which is a situation I hope to correct.
"For as long as space remains,
For as long as sentient beings remain,
Until then may I too remain
To dispel the miseries of the world."
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

Something often glossed over in these conversations is that some lama's are ACTUALLY pure.

So sometimes it is a matter of seeing accurately.
And so, in those cases, seeing fault and criticizing actually is just the dirt on your own glasses. Having a lama that’s without fault is a true gift because you can dismiss your own negativity as invalid.

But how to deal with your own negativity when the lama does have fault? It’s still there regardless of the lama’s qualities (or lack thereof)?
I would say that it should be less about lifting the lama up and more about bringing purity to your mind.
And that is largely done by refraining from finding fault
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
kausalya
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by kausalya »

smcj wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2020 7:34 pm
Something often glossed over in these conversations is that some lama's are ACTUALLY pure.

So sometimes it is a matter of seeing accurately.
And so, in those cases, seeing fault and criticizing actually is just the dirt on your own glasses. Having a lama that’s without fault is a true gift because you can dismiss your own negativity as invalid.

But how to deal with your own negativity when the lama does have fault? It’s still there regardless of the lama’s qualities (or lack thereof)?
I would say that it should be less about lifting the lama up and more about bringing purity to your mind.
And that is largely done by refraining from finding fault
In other words, we need to cultivate a high degree of discriminative wisdom, so that we have the eye to see the lama's actions as a lesson. Even when they display the appearance of faults! :P
"For as long as space remains,
For as long as sentient beings remain,
Until then may I too remain
To dispel the miseries of the world."
(Shantideva)
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

In other words, we need to cultivate a high degree of discriminative wisdom, so that we have the eye to see the lama's actions as a lesson. Even when they display the appearance of faults!
In the case of a lama that does have faults I wouldn’t call it discriminative wisdom. I’d call it double-think. But the goal isn’t to perpetuate a patriarchy, or make a personality cult. Those are unfortunate possible abuses. Rather it’s a commitment to abandon your own negativity in how you see things. You start by seeing just one thing as without fault—your lama. Then you expand on that to other aspects of life. Finall you can see it in your own mind.

But without a lama who has lineage and some cultivated good qualities to start you off, it’s just head tripping yourself.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
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ajhayes
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by ajhayes »

I am grateful that this discussion is happening. It helped me a lot.
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

:good:
Simon E. wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 9:48 am Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Malcolm
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Malcolm »

Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 2:47 pm :good:
Simon E. wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 9:48 am Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
Image
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Knotty Veneer »

I've been thinking about this recently. It's never an issue I've had to worry about in my relationships with my teachers. Akong Rinpoche was a saint. I never saw him ever act in any way unkindly ever. I also have never heard any stories whatsoever from my fellow students that reflected badly in any way on him. In addition I know of many things he did that really marked him out as a decent, good person. And I haven't touched on all his achievements creating Samye Ling, his vast charitable work etc.

Lama Yeshe Losal was by his own admission a "selfish waster" when he was young and has told me some pretty unethical things he did when young with which I won't pass on. However he is someone who got his act together, saw the error of his ways, and worked hard to turn his life around and do some real good with his life. I've never known him either to be anything other than pure in conduct.

The other teacher I had most contact with was Ringu Tulku. Again his behaviour is completely beyond criticism. A monk with very pure vows and a kind and compassion individual and very learned scholar. Any other teachers I have received teachings from: Thrangu Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Khenpo Lhabu have all been beyond reproach in their conduct and exceptional in their learning and realization.

I am lucky that the teachers I have had most contact with I have never had to explain away any apparently unseemly behavior and remind myself to apply "pure vision". I do not need to work hard on seeing them as pure - their every action does that for me.

As others have pointed out, I think the pure vision thing is all about how you relate to your teacher. You need to see them as more than just someone like you. You need to seem them as someone better than you, someone with something you can learn from.

HOWEVER, if you do find yourself making excuses for what looks like unethical behaviour and reminding yourself about having "pure vision" I think that is a big fat red flag and you should proceed very carefully. And if, after very careful consideration you find still cannot shake the feeling that what the teacher did was wrong, then do not be afraid to call it out and start looking elsewhere for teachings.
This is not the wrong life.
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

Malcolm wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 3:05 pm
Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 2:47 pm :good:
Simon E. wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 9:48 am Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
Image
A Buddha would see their essential Buddha-Nature and see their defilements as adventitious. A preliminary step to that accomplishment would be to see the Lama as pure, even if he was not.

So yes; Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Malcolm
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Malcolm »

Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:58 pm So yes; Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
This was a note to the mods that this was a Zombie thread.

Zombies, not being alive, have no buddhanature, no more than a rock has buddhanature.
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

Malcolm wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:26 pm
Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:58 pm So yes; Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
This was a note to the mods that this was a Zombie thread.

Zombies, not being alive, have no buddhanature, no more than a rock has buddhanature.
Don’t zombies have awareness?

(I’m somewhat disappointed in myself that I’m actually going to post this.)
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
Archie2009
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Archie2009 »

Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:00 pm
Malcolm wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:26 pm
Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:58 pm So yes; Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
This was a note to the mods that this was a Zombie thread.

Zombies, not being alive, have no buddhanature, no more than a rock has buddhanature.
Don’t zombies have awareness?

(I’m somewhat disappointed in myself that I’m actually going to post this.)
They have appetite. :tongue:
Malcolm
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Re: What if seeing a lama as pure was less about lifting a lama up and more about bringing purity

Post by Malcolm »

Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:00 pm
Malcolm wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:26 pm
Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:58 pm So yes; Seeing the Lama as pure is about you. Not about them.
This was a note to the mods that this was a Zombie thread.

Zombies, not being alive, have no buddhanature, no more than a rock has buddhanature.
Don’t zombies have awareness?
If they did, they would not be dead people in various stages of decomposition.
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