Finding the answer to everyday problems, and rediscover your place in the world.
What is the meaning of life? Some of us are still searching for this answer. My immediate answer to this question is that there is no one meaning to one’s life. Life is meaningless if you have no purpose. Truthfully, many will not really know the meaning of life until you die because you will not cherish your life until you are dying. So let’s us not focus so much on the meaning of life first because it has no meaning unless you learn to cherish your life. When you begin to cherish your life, the meaning will come.
Going back to the fundamentals, the reason why we may have difficulty in our meditation practice is because we are still ourselves. For those who have taken the initiation, your tantric commitment requires you to arise as the deity everyday. The meaning for that is to break the “us” who we believe that we are. The real blessing starts when you start to feel somewhat confused and insecure. If you never feel confused in samsara, that means that you are very firmly rooted in it. So for those who have received initiations you should stop daily, take a break and recognize yourself as your meditational deity. Why? Because although we are not yet the deity, we are cultivating on the generation stage.
But I will honestly tell you that there is no success until you die. The death I am talking about is not the death of your physical body. This death comes from renunciation. Because we all suffer due to our strong grasping and clinging to the self; to name, fame and honor, the more we have, the safer and more secure we feel in samsara. If we don’t practice renunciation everything that we do only becomes even more samsaric. We want enlightenment and awakening but we cannot become enlightened when we are clinging to ourselves and our identities. The real truth is found in renunciation. If we don’t renounce, we cannot die. If we don’t die, we cannot recreate. Then we cannot cherish our life and therefore we will have no meaning in our life.
The most important way to have meaning in our life is to meditate upon death. This practice is so that we get used to the idea of dying. If you cannot get used to the idea of dying you will only continue to become more and more egoistic and grasping. Once you are able to let go of the grasping and your ego, you will be able to let go of the distractions and attachment. This clears your mind up and instantly you will find the meaning to your life.
This advice along with guidelines about the meditation on death, was shared by Singha Rinpoche on the 5th December 2019, during the 1st weekly Dharma Teaching after Rinpoche’s India/Nepal pilgrimage trip.
Dharma Wisdom
Sacred Mirror
The Sacred Mirror represents consciousness and the element of space. Clear, pure and bright, the mirror reflects all phenomena objectively without bias, thereby reminding us to practice objectivity and to rise above our judgmental minds. On a more subtle level, it reflects the Buddha’s core teaching of emptiness – that nothing exists on its own side without a dependent arising cause.
Pinnacle of the mirror
The pinnacle of the mirror, formed by the white crescent moon, flaming red sun and an orange flame of fire, represents the completion stage of Vajrayana practice.
Light Rays
The light rays radiating from the Sacred Mirror represent the flourishing of the Buddha’s teachings, fanning out to the furthest reaches of the universe.
Full Moon Disc
The moon disc represents Bodhicitta, the aspiration to become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings.
Blue Lotus
Divinely fragrant, blue lotuses bloomed only in the Buddha’s time. By incorporating it into the temple’s logo, it is symbolic of the ever-present Buddha in Thekchen Choling. Moreover, a lotus flower represents purity, perfection, compassion and renunciation, similar to how the beautiful lotus remains untainted even though it had arisen out from the muddy waters.
Nine Precious Jewels
These nine precious jewels represent the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, yidam or mind-seal deity, Dharma protector, the sky, earth, and the human realm.
Two Dragons
The two dragons represent continuity and harmony and create the cause for the temple to enjoy the strong support of members and benefactors for Dharma to flourish.
Golden Khata
The flowing golden khata represents the auspicious increase of all Dharma activities.
The Seven Gems of the Chakravartin or a Wheel-Turning King
1. The precious horse represented by a unicorn’s horn
2. The precious elephant represented by its tusks
3. The precious queen represented by round golden earrings
4. The precious minister represented by square golden earrings
5. The precious general represented by a pair of crossed swords
6. The precious jewel represented by the triple-eyed gem
7. The precious Dharma wheel represented by a branch of coral
