Words of the Lamas

Not only have I not been blogging lately, I also haven’t been reading much on the Internet - so I’ve missed some gems. I usually like to point y’all to the ‘Words of the Lama’ - some honky lamas in Great Britain. I use the word affectionately as I think they did for themselves. They say it will be hard for them to be great Lamas because they are not Asian.

So, when we say we’re just honkies, this is not just some mealy mouthed modesty. And it’s not even a question of our capacity or lack of it. It’s a question of culture. We’re not living in a Tibetan Buddhist culture, and because of that, someone with a ‘narcissistic personality disorder’ or an ‘anti-social personality’ disorder would have far too much room to manipulate. Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen are not exactly the pillars of society you know; and it doesn’t really take much to undermine our situation. Naturally no one would take the word of a disgruntled Westerner against a great Tibetan Lama. But [Rinpoche goes into a Southern drawl] ag’inst a pair of honky ‘no accounts’ who ain’t worth doodly squat . . .

These guys are looked down on in the general Tibetan Vajrayana community, I think. Who knows?

Here’s an excerpt from their September, 2003 ‘Words of the Lama’:

We do not feel that people need to give up “materialism” to be free of envy. One can simply be materialistic on behalf of all beings. This is true, full-blooded, unwithheld materialism. Envy merely arises out of our painful sense of poverty, how ever much we own - so “giving up materialism” might not necessarily be the greatest help. We would hazard the suggestion that “appreciation” is the key. If we awaken appreciation, then we become “rich” in the sense that our enjoyment increases exponentially. One does not have to own phenomena in order to appreciate or enjoy phenomena (emphasis added by beesucker). When we become “rich with appreciative enjoyment”, we become disinhibited in terms of appreciating the wealth of others. When we appreciate the wealth of others, envy ceases to exist and our appreciation becomes boundless. Our enjoyment of existence becomes the dance of self-liberated materialism.

And one from November of the same year:

Simplicity within loving relationship means we simply love each other. I know that I love you, and I am completely confident that you love me – but this does not mean that I act perfectly all the time. When the person I love says Ouch! , then I simply say I am sorry that I did whatever it was. Even if there is no Ouch! – if I suspect that I might have acted hurtfully in some way – I say I am sorry. I say this because I know that the person I love tries not to be too sensitive to my occasional heavy-handedness. They make this effort because they love me, and I feel naturally moved to display appreciation because of that. Living in this way does not necessitate fear or ‘second guessing’. Conceptual complexity is unnecessary in the moment of being in love. Conceptual complexity prohibits perception of the ambience of loving warmth.

See all of these articles here.