Blog Post 14: Combining Our Inner and Outer Paths

“The three principal aspects of the path are Renunciation, Bodhicitta, and Right View of Emptiness.”

Most of us act based upon our perceptions, which are obscured by fog or a haze. Hence, even though there may be no obstacles, and we may be well equipped with a good body and a sound mind, we cannot see what is ahead of us because of this haze. We become unsure of ourselves. We begin taking smaller steps and having doubts as to what is there. The basis of this obscuration is our ignorance.

Generally, we stay immersed in the accomplishment of things in this lifetime. Our focus is on accomplishing meaningful and measurable things in this life because that gives us a sense of achievement. Consequently, we may attain certain material things, but we do not gain inner serenity.

Since we cannot easily measure inner serenity, we continuously jump from one thing to another because we can measure those things. We need to realign ourselves, not with the universe, but with the spirit of enlightenment, a spirit of discovery, and realizations.

From a young age, our focus is on passing tests, passing the exams, and making our parents happy. Learning becomes just a regurgitation rather than discovery and realization. There’s no spark. When we learn, the spirit should be like a “wow” that opens and blows the mind. It should be something that makes you feel; the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know. And we need to focus on what we can release, which will allow us to do more with less.

Balance is essential for each one of us. When it comes to spiritual cultivation, the focus is on our self. We need to break free from both our worldly and spiritual materialism. When we cultivate the dharma, it should not be about all of the trappings of this life. We have to understand that we are in a situation that can never be perfect. We need to have a watchful heart and watchful eyes and go with the flow of time. We should be generating a deep, loving-kindness toward all beings. Our cultivation should be that of inner joy, love, and inner serenity.

We also need clarity because from clarity arises the inner peace and serenity to see with our eyes and feel with our heart and realize and awaken into a pure presence. Our presence now is considered to be a small presence. It is small because it is only through the effort of pushing away all of our thoughts that we can create our own little space for ourselves. So we should slowly train with a growth mindset to include other beings into our small presence; as we grow it into the presence of a Buddha – an omniscient, pure presence, far beyond form, far beyond time, and far beyond this world.

Dharma Teaching by Singha Rinpoche and edited by Sandeep Nath
13 Dec 2020