Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, I Experienced

¶ … Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, I experienced a car accident that was instrumental to my spiritual awakening. Although the spiritual path I took diverged considerably from Trungpa Rinpoche's, I have also been steeped in Buddhist traditions. Trungpa Rinpoche was born in Tibet and fled the region during the same time that His Holiness the Dalai Lama did. Trungpa Rinpoche also helped his fellow monks find freedom across the Himalayas in India.

Reading the fascinating life story of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, I become aware of the many similarities and differences that characterize our spiritual journies. Like Trungpa Rinpoche, I was born into a specific religion. In my early childhood I was taught about Christianity, but later discovered that it was not a suitable faith for me. Buddhism, however, remained an important part of my heritage.

My mother has been a member of the Hsi Lai Temple for many years, and serves as the program director for the local branch of an international Buddhist social service organization called the Tzu Chi Foundation. I initially discovered the core tenets of Buddhism from the grounded perspective of social service. My mother had, since I was a young child, encouraged me to help out at the Tzu Chi Foundation whenever possible. Doing so seemed natural, and I did not associate the work with any kind of religious faith.

In fact, as I learned more and more about Buddhism it became clear to me that Buddhism was not so much like a religion as a way of life. When I had my car accident in 2006, it shook my mind as much as it did my body. face-to-face with death, I perceived a clarity of being that I had not before experienced. The ground I walked on felt different. Soon thereafter, I understood that the Christian dogma was not working for me.

Christianity was not the way I was going to find truth or enlightenment. For one, I do not believe in a creator God or the creation story the way that Christians teach it. The stories in the Bible tend to be recited as if they are truths and it is considered unacceptable to challenge them. With renewed clarity of mind, I began to explore Buddhism in more earnest. The tools with which to explore Buddhism were readily available and at my disposal.

For one, my mother offered easy access to the dharma via both the Tzu Chi Foundation and the Hsi Lai Temple. I joined the former, and automatically felt drawn to attending services at the Hsi Lai Temple too. This way, I interacted with other Buddhists and came into contact with books and texts including the writings of the Hsi Lai Temple founder, Venerable Master Hsing Yun. I also encountered core Buddhist sacred texts including the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra, which addressed challenging concepts such as emptiness.

Through my study of Buddhism, I also discovered the work of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. One of the first Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche books I read was called Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. This book had a tremendous impact on me, as I completely understood how people use meditation and spiritual discipline as a means to feel superior to other people. This form of egotistical spiritual pursuit is deeply hypocritical and missing the point of spiritual practice entirely. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche calls this phenomenon spiritual materialism, which is basically a form of self-deception.

I also became conscious of the main difference between Christianity and Buddhism, which is the concept of God. Yet I did not at any moment feel like Buddhism was antagonistic towards other religions. Quite the contrary, Buddhism seems to have a universal appeal. As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche states in Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, "Although the Buddhist way is not theistic, it does not contradict the theistic disciplines," (p. 4).

This is indeed one of the reasons why I was so readily able and willing to embrace the teachings of Buddhism: there were no serious mental or emotional obstacles in my way. It is just as Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche states: "According to the Buddhist tradition, the spiritual path is the process of cutting through our confusion, of uncovering the awakened state of mind," (p. 4).

I had yet to experience what I believed to be Enlightenment, but I had taken those first valuable steps towards clearing away the mental cobwebs -- the clouds that obscure the sun. My mind paved via the jarring experience of a car accident, I dove right into both the social service aspect of Buddhism and the meditation practices. At the Tzu Chi Foundation, I trained myself on being an effective leader.

I pointed out to the organization the need to restructure, diversify and become more active in certain areas of our society. I noticed the need for more fund raising activities in our community. This brought to mind what my parents had always taught me about success in business: "If you think, then you will be prepared. If you are prepared, then you will have no worries." Working at the Tzu Chi Foundation became an extension of my self, and all aspects of my life seemed well-integrated.

The sense of unity that pervaded my daily existence built upon itself, helping my spiritual practice to blossom. Because of this, I truly believe that at least for me, service to an organization can awaken spiritual states of mind. It may be because social service sets aside the ego, at least temporarily. We get out of ourselves. Like being in a near-fatal car crash, helping people who are in need removes mental and emotional obstacles to reveal the natural clarity beneath.

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche presents Enlightenment not as a goal to be achieved but as a natural state that is re-discovered. This made complete sense to me; as the author states in Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism: "It is not a matter of building up the awakened state of mind but rather of burning out the confusions which obstruct it. In the process of burning out these confusions, we discover enlightenment," (p. 4). Moreover, Enlightenment is a permanent state; it is our ego life which is the impermanent, illusory one.

The emphasis is on the process of spiritual development and not on the finality of obtaining some goal that is out there, beyond me. I am the goal. These Buddhist teachings led me deeper into my meditation practice, to contemplate the concept and expeirence of emptiness. Emptiness and co-dependent origination are concepts that cannot easily be intellectualized because they are ineffable. Instead, we experience them directly in the meditation practice. When we experience emptiness and understand co-dependent origination, that state of mind becomes more natural.

In November of 2009, I officially become a member of Hsi Lai Temple. The act of becoming a member solidified my commitment to help others -- both in the sense of social service which is delivered devoid from any spiritual teachings and also in the sense of directly helping others to find their spiritual path. Because of my leadership experience in the Tzu Chi Foundation, combined with personal Buddhism practices, I have received the Refuge Certificate from the Temple.

This solidifies my commitment to living by the ten Precepts as well as the Six Rules of Conduct of the Order. I am in the process of continually developing my character and shooing away ego arisings. I know that in the future I will serve the needs of the Buddhist Community, via mindfulness practice. Thanks to the teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, I remain aware of the dangers of the "Three Lords," which include the Lord of Mind, the Lord of Speech, and the Lord of Form.

In Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, I could see how easily it is for the ego to reassert itself. We must be continually on guard to prevent such things from clouding our mind and judgment. At the beginning of 2010, I took yet another step on my spiritual journey. First, I started to read more writings from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche including his seminal work Shambala: Sacred Path of the Warrior. I learned about the Naropa Institute and read other books written by authors of the Shambala Press.

At the same time, I wanted to learn more about Taoism. An important aspect of Chinese faith, Taoism is such a subtle teaching that it can readily make its way into Buddhism seamlessly. Like Buddhism, Taoism is non-theistic and is about process, harmony, and balance. I read the Tao de Ching to find the source of Taoist teachings, and have easily incorporated this into my faith. The principle of emptiness is one of the main spiritual concepts that Taoism and Buddhism share in common.

In the state of emptiness, the mind is devoid of desires, which are the root of human suffering. To empty the mind is to take the step towards spiritual Enlightenment. The mind is free of the Three Lords, and there is no tendency to feel negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, or paranoia. Often the state of emptiness only lasts but a few seconds in meditation, and even that can be enough to feel the sense of true joy.

Both Taoism and Buddhism encourage meditation as a means by which to liberate the mind and achieve emptiness. One of the Buddhist practices that encourages emptiness is mindfulness meditation, or vipassana. However, there are numerous specific methods that be used during the meditation practice. Some are more Tibetan in origin as those espoused by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the Vajrayana tradition. Other meditation practices are like those I learned at the Hsi Lai Temple, which combine Ch'an (Chinese Zen) Buddhism with Buddhist humanism.

Taoism, unlike Buddhism, also offers ancillary spiritual practices such as Tai Chi and Chi Gung. The teachings of Buddhism and Taoism go neatly hand in hand. Therefore, I am continually growing from becoming more open to spiritual teachings. The spiritual journey is like a flower blossoming. I do not believe that religious dogma or ideology are necessary, and in some cases they can be harmful.

As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche states in Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, ideology is too often used as "filters to screen us from a direct perception of what is" (p. 6). It is more important to embody a teaching than to believe it intellectually. We should discard ideology and instead embrace the uncertainty that is not only a natural state but also one that precedes Enlightenment. Embracing uncertainty is one of the key Buddhist teachings. We can learn to be comfortable with not knowing things -- or alternatively, with emptiness.

The Dao de Ching also treats emptiness with respect as in the passage that states, "The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows, it is empty but does not collapse; it moves and more and more issues. A gossip is soon empty, it is doubtful if he can be impartial," (Chapter 5).

This is almost in exact parallel to the concepts expressed in the Buddhist Heart Sutra, which states, "Here, Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness," ("Emptiness"). One main difference between what I have learned from Buddhism vs. what I have learned from Taoism, though, is the role of humanitarian action.

Taoism, while certainly not opposed to direct humanitarian action, tends to avoid the concept as an affirmation of non-interference. Buddhism is far more action-oriented, which is why we see organizations like Tzu Chi. Both Taoism and Buddhism embrace emptiness and chaos as certainties of life, and both advocate an acceptance of the mind. However, I find more human advocacy in Buddhist teachings. When I worked with the American Department of Labor, I became more keenly aware of my role in service to humanity.

This was the time that I became interested in the importance of community relations. I helped create social events that forged better communication between the government and the local society. During this time, I practiced my spiritual listening skills. In meetings, I enjoyed listening to the public and how they feel about the local community. I was exposed to a range of different ideas and points-of-view that I had not before considered. Just as reading about new religions opens my mind, so too does listening to alternative points-of-view.

Listening is a spiritual act. Moreover, I became involved in a community project with a goal of improving living conditions. We developed a comprehensive plan on how to practically improve quality of life and therefore relieve suffering. My ability to care for other people at the level of community development made me feel capable of applying all these skills into a Chaplaincy profession.

Not only I can use my government leadership skills, plus my leadership skills developed in my service with Tzu Chi, but also my interest in taking care of people directly via the spiritual act of listening. Among the Buddhism masters I have studied, I would say I most admire His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Few spiritual leaders can so effectively forget the realms of religion and politics. His Holiness the Dalai Lama works both on the spiritual and the physical level.

Because I will be working in the public sector, I feel I have a lot to learn from the Dalai Lama and the next step of my spiritual journey will be to study more about His Holiness's life and writings. During the Fall of 2009, I served as an intern in John Kerry's office. In particular, I worked at the Foreign Relations office, where I met a wide range of government officials from other countries. One day, His Holiness the Dalai Lama attended a congressional meeting.

At the moment I saw him, I felt His power of presence. From that time onward, I was convinced that Buddhism can effectively interface with the political world. I believe that the reason why Buddhism neatly interfaces with the political world is because Buddhism is a humanist religion. During my work with the Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles, I realized that Buddhism is effective only insofar as it impacts the world. For this reason, His Holiness.