Spacious Passion and Passionate Space

The poetic mystery of Vajrayana lies in the fact that every aspect of method enables us to contact the essence of the teachings. Through fully comprehending the Four Thoughts, we can embark on the practice of Dharma. We can become Dharma warriors – confident practitioners with open view. We can become people who live each moment as if it was their first and their last moment. We can become heroes of spacious passion and heroines of passionate space.The Four Thoughts teach us everything we need to know to be authentic practitioners. We can embrace the gentleness, kindness, and immaculacy of the warrior. We can embrace the dynamic energy, fierceness, and directness of the warrior. We can realise the potential of non-dual view on a moment-by-moment basis. This is called 'living the view'. Through living the view, we can find the presence of awareness in the dimension of the unfolding of our lives. We can follow the Noble Eightfold Path. We can follow the Noble Eightfold Path whether we are washing the dishes; performing life-saving surgery; tapping away on a keyboard; or changing the baby's nappy1. We are Dharma warriors with the ability to be present; and this ability will increase if we hold the qualities of a warrior in our hearts.1 Diaper in the USAIf we are kind and warm, we will tend to expect others to be kind and warm. We will approach others with an optimistic attitude. If met with aggression we are less likely to respond with aggression, because this is not the stance from which we began. Greeting people in a kindly way offers them the opportunity to respond in a kindly way. If they do not, this does not need to unseat our kindness. We can simply remain kind. If aggression does upset our kindness so that we respond defensively, then we were 'wearing' kindness as an artificial definition, rather than as the nature of our being in the present moment. If the wearing of kindness is a good-hearted attempt to become a compassionate person developing awareness, then we can simply acknowledge that we lost it that time, let it go, and re-

dress ourselves in kindness. If we do this often enough over a long period of time, eventually our 'cloak' of kindness becomes the quintessence of our being.Religion is a response to the primordial unlearned recognition of our innate potential as human beings. To be a practitioner is to live a life based in authentic religious tenets. To live one's life based on these tenets makes one a spiritual practitioner – even if one has no formal contact with organised religion. If one bases one’s life on the tenets of openness and kindness – both as view and activation – then one is likely to find the methods of Dharma specifically relevant and attractive.However, choosing to develop kindness and openness does not necessarily mean that I am a Buddhist. All the major religions contain the practice of kindness and the development of wisdom as central tenets. This is not coincidental. Essentially we know the power of discovering non-duality. When our insight spontaneously prompts us to act with kindness – when our desire to be kind spontaneously manifests as unrestricted awareness of what is needed – we recognise the electric pleasure of sparkling moments which reflect non-duality.When such moments of openness and kindness manifest spontaneously, we engage with our environment as honest, honourable, genuine people who naturally care about others. We naturally elect to be glad for the happiness of others and to be concerned for their unhappiness. We naturally demonstrate our capacity to manifest kindness and awareness. We are Dharma warriors.Warriorship here does not refer to making war on others. Aggression is the source of our problems, not the solution. Here the word 'warrior' is taken from the Tibetan word 'pawo'2, which literally means 'one who is brave'. The female word is 'pamo'3. Warriorship in this context is the tradition of human bravery, or the tradition of fearlessness.2 dPa’ bo.3 (dPa’ mo) In Tibetan Buddhism the terms khandro or khandroma (mKha’ ’gro or mKha’ ’gro ma) are frequently

encountered in relation to women – but this is the wisdom quality of women. The method quality is pamo. Khandro refers to the elements manifesting as female sky-dancing figures, surrounding either an awareness image (yidam – yi dam) or an historical religious figure. They are designated as female because the central figure is usually male (the figures surrounding a female image would be male). The general use of ‘khandro’ rather than ‘khandro-pawo’ reflects the male cultural bias of Tibetan Buddhist literature during the second spread of Buddhism in Tibet. Khandro is actually the contracted form of two words: ‘khandroma’ and ‘khandropa’. The enlightened woman can either manifest as khandroma or pamo, and the enlightened man can either manifest as pawo of khandropa. The pawo is the male warrior and the pamo is the female warrior. The term khandro is used to express phenomena manifesting symbolically as the female and male aspects of the five elements. Pawo (dPa-bo – daka or vira) Khandro (mKha’ ’gro – dakini)The khandro-pawo/khandropa-pamo principle is an expression of the non-duality of emptiness (khandro, female, wisdom) and form (pawo, male, method). Khandroma and khandropa refer to wisdom activity. Pamo and pawo refer to method activity. A pamo is a female who has realised her inner male qualities and manifests external method activity. Thus the male warrior is pawo and the female warrior is pamo.Warriors abide in the space of 'as it is'. The warrior knows as unlearned awareness that his or her existence is an opportunity, that death and birth flow continually, that perception and response rely on view, and that satisfaction is non-dual view. Warrior activity manifests without concepts of success or failure – the warrior is not constricted by fear of failure or burdened with hope of success. To have endeavoured wholeheartedly for a righteous cause is sufficient – whatever the outcome.Precious moments of kindness and openness can be seen every day. When we notice such moments it is important to appreciate them and to inwardly rejoice. Awareness of others' kindness develops our own capacity. If we feel jealous of kind acts and wish we had thought of them first . . . or think the kind act was futile because it passed unappreciated or observed . . . or think others ridiculous for compromising their own

comfort . . . we make our world a little narrower and colder. However, if we notice that a young person has stood up on a bus to let an older person sit down and we feel warm towards them . . . if we applaud and support people who engage in voluntary work . . . if we are surprised to find ourselves moved to tears by our appreciation of the many little acts of kind intent that have raised millions of pounds to help others . . . we allow our glow of warm appreciation to feed ourselves, our environment and our capacity for kindness. We can rejoice in moments of expansive kindness and ensure that we demonstrate our appreciation. We can refrain from delighting in the cruel wit of someone’s clever, hurtful retort. We can avoid gloating over someone’s failure or loss. We can stand by someone rather than enjoying their humiliation. We can go to someone’s aid instead of sneaking away to safety and anonymity. We can be warriors in many little ways every day.Warriors do not concern themselves with peer pressure, peer approbation, or being socially accepted. Warriors make their own decisions about the needs of a situation based in awareness and kindness. Warriors do not feel the need to always do what everyone else is doing. Warriors do not wait for others to take the initiative or let the opportunity to help pass by because of a fear of making the first move. Warriors do not fail to practise the wholesome deed because nobody will see it. Warriors always have the energy to bother. They do not indulge indifference just because their lack of involvement does not appear to matter.The warrior is a familiar iconographic figure in all cultures. He could be a knight of mediaeval Britain, a North American Indian brave, a samurai – or she could be an Amazon, or a warrior queen like Boadicea*. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche also cites the legendary King Arthur, and King David of the Old Testament.4

Warriors are brave, fearless people whose fearlessness is rooted in the knowledge that they may die performing their duties. They know that there is nothing to fear if they remain true to their honour. Honourable conduct and view is the lifeblood of the warrior, and this

approach to life is as valuable and relevant today as it has been in any period of history.* Boadicea was a queen of the Iceni tribe of what is now known as East Anglia who led an uprising of the tribes (60 - 61 CE) against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. 4 Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the first Lama to teach Western people about warriorship, see his Shambhala: the Sacred Path of the Warrior, Bantam Books, 1986. Heroes and heroines are an important part of the literature of every culture. They often combine steely bravery, acute perception, and uncommon kindness. Real heroes and heroines have a combination of ferocity and gentleness; power and softness; severity and kindness. If we look at a well-known fictional hero of today – Superman – we can see that he possesses superhuman powers which can defeat the most valiant enemy. He has the potential to dominate humanity, to be as rich and powerful as he might desire; yet he is kind and gentle. The purpose of his self-made mission is to save people from suffering.One way we can approach the path of the warrior is through an understanding of the Fourth Noble Truth. The previous chapter referred to the Four Noble Truths, and explained that the first three are 'the truth of the experience of dissatisfaction', 'the truth of the cause of dissatisfaction', and 'the truth of the cessation of dissatisfaction'. The Fourth Truth is 'the path to the cessation of dissatisfaction' – which is the Noble Eightfold Path.It is important to notice the word 'path' is used here. We are not discussing a remedy or a cure. It is a path. The word 'path' is something found or laid down by someone who has passed that way before. A path has been trodden and tested. A path takes us from the beginning of a journey to the end. The Noble Eightfold Path is purposely designed to take us from where we think we are to where we actually are. It leads us from the experience of dissatisfaction – of duality – to the realisation of non-duality. The Noble Eightfold path is the path of the middle way – free from the four referential extremes of monism, dualism, nihilism, and

eternalism. These three terms require some explanation.'Everything is one' is the key tenet of monism. 'New age' philosophy is often a popular modern expression of monism. It is also found in the idea that God and God's creation are undivided. This idea – although appealing to some – is untenable in terms of the requirement of any effort with regard to the spiritual path, because monism encourages fatalism. If everything is God, then there is no purpose in a spiritual path. The reality of monism is partial inasmuch as it refers to the empty state. The fallacy of monism is that it denies the plurality of form. In asserting the reality of emptiness and denying the plurality of form, monism denies the non-dual nature of emptiness and form.'Divorced individuation' is the key tenet of dualism. Here, phenomena are seen as separate, insulated, and isolated. All experiences and phenomena are attributed meaning. The world of form defines meaning and the dissolution of form betokens loss of meaning. Self and other are understood as separate. The self and the world are understood as separate. The reality of dualism is partial inasmuch as it refers to diversity. The fallacy of dualism denies emptiness. In asserting the reality of diversity and denying emptiness, dualism denies the non-dual nature of emptiness and form.'Cynical retraction' is the key tenet of nihilism. Philosophically this pertains to existentialism and scientific materialism. Nothing is regarded as having meaning other than the meaning attributed by the individual, and this meaning is arbitrary. One's actions exist in isolation and the consequences of one's actions are irrelevant. The reality of nihilism is partial inasmuch as it refers to chaos. The fallacy of nihilism is that it denies the patterns which arise from chaos.'Nothing is arbitrary' is the key tenet of eternalism. Everything is regarded as having a meaning. One's life is seen as a series of experiences provided so that one can learn specific lessons which cause one to evolve in a positive direction. There are no coincidences and hidden value can be found in every calamity. The

fatalist understanding of karma is eternalistic. The reality of eternalism is partial inasmuch as it refers to inherent meaningfulness. The fallacy of eternalism denies the absence of particularity from which specifics arise.The Noble Eightfold path skilfully steers us between the extremes of these four philosophical stances. The path is taught as eight stages, but the totality of Buddhist method can be extrapolated from this simple structure. The fruit or destination of the path is the experience of the non-duality of emptiness and form.The eight stages of the path are: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right vocation, right effort, right attention, and right presence. 'Right' can also be translated as 'whole-hearted', 'appropriate', or 'congruent'. To engage in the practice of the Eightfold Path wholeheartedly, with total committed involvement, congruent with the view of openness and kindness, is to walk the path of the warrior. There is nothing half-hearted or wavering about a warrior’s adventure. The warrior stands on the edge of the unknown path, and steps out boldly without hope or fear.The key to the Noble Eightfold Path is the cultivation of right view. Right view is Dharma. Dharma means 'as it is', so right view is the understanding of 'as it is'. It is the view which has arisen from studying and understanding the first, second and third noble truths: 'the truth of our experience of dissatisfaction', 'the truth of there being a cause of dissatisfaction', and 'the truth that dissatisfaction can cease'. Right view is the understanding of the Four Thoughts. We understand that our being is an opportunity for realisation, that all appearances are impermanent, that we are responsible for our perceptions and responses, and that the distortion of perception and response are at the root of our experience of dissatisfaction.Initially, view may only be the intellectual understanding that the causes of dissatisfaction can be severed – but as we travel the path, view becomes increasingly subtle and profound. Experience of resting in emptiness can be cultivated through meditation

practice and this filters into our ordinary lives. We begin to undermine the fixation which judges every focus of perception in terms of aversion, attraction, and indifference. We develop an intellectual understanding that our experience of ourselves as solid, permanent, separate, continuous, and defined beings is not contradicted by our experience of ourselves as insubstantial, impermanent, inseparable, discontinuous, and undefined beings5. Through the understanding that we can release the primary dualistic drives of obsession, aversion, and indifference, we can begin to play in the arena of our habitual response patterns. We can find ourselves more lightly involved. We begin to develop an openness of view toward others and to the particulars of our environment. We become less fixed and sure of our opinions with regard to the way in which things appear.5 The two sets of terms ‘solid, permanent, separate, continuous, and defined’ and ‘insubstantial, impermanent, inseparable, discontinuous, and undefined’ relate to the five elements: earth water, fire, air, and space. The first set of five relate to form and the second set of five relate to emptiness. See ‘Spectrum of Ecstasy’ by Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen Shambhala 2003.One aspect of living as a warrior is the development of vajra pride. Vajra pride is the awareness that one is always present in the potential to awaken to realisation. Trying to live with this awareness moment by moment helps us to act with the courage, dignity, and honour required for appropriate responsiveness. Vajra pride requires that we attempt to act in the way an enlightened being would act. A realised being does not slink away at the first sign of danger. A realised being does not break promises merely because keeping them would make life difficult. The warrior is bold and fearless. The warrior gazes directly into the nature of what is manifesting in any moment. The warrior embodies his or her nature openly – as Ngak'chang Rinpoche would say: ". . . without grimy, greasy, or grotesque deceits."The second step on the Noble Eightfold Path is intention. From view – intention arises. Intention, as we

have seen, is the energy of karma. It is the power which motivates responses to perception, and which moves responses in the direction of duality or non-duality. Through understanding the causes of dissatisfaction, and developing spaciousness, we cultivate the intention and desire to remember that solidity, permanence; individuation, continuity, and self-definition are only half the story. We try to live with the understanding that we are the ebb and flow of existence and non-existence. We try to become aware of lapses into irritation, selfishness, and dullness. We try to become aware of indulgence in aggression, obsession, and depression. We try to remain true to the intention of living the view, in terms of ceasing to create the causes of the experience of unsatisfactoriness.From this basis, our communication with the world begins to reflect our intention. We attempt to align the third step of right speech or communication with the first two of view and intention. We avoid communicating rigid preconceptions and mandatory requirements. We try to keep our communication open and fluid, without judgements and expectations. We try to be direct, and refrain from deviousness or manipulation in our communication. We intend to communicate kindness intention. Through our attempts to maintain right view and right intention, our communication reflects this throughout the spectrum of our existence. It begins in terms of external communication – but becomes increasingly subtle as we allow spacious integrity to permeate what we are.The fourth step is right action, or conduct. Our interaction with the world with regard to conduct reflects our attempt to maintain congruency with right view, right intention, and right communication. We are direct and open in all our activities. We do not attempt to manipulate people or our experience of them. We respect others as beings who have the capacity for liberation, and we take responsibility for ourselves in that respect. We disallow the laziness or slovenliness that causes additional work for others, whilst respecting our physical requirements for relaxation and rest. We remember that it is only possible to discover the subtle

nature of the experience of dissatisfaction with samsara through relative success, and therefore offer others opportunities for success in their lives. We help others whenever we can within the full capacity of our time and energy.Warriors' hearts are open and bold. They do not attempt to extricate themselves from situations which do not turn out as expected. They do not attempt to blame others for difficult life circumstances. In terms of karma, our 'primary causes' and 'secondary causes'6

are the material for transformation – so the warrior does not indulge in blame or attempt to divert the maturation of causes.6 Primary cause: the distortion created by duality; the primary distortion of perception and response. Secondary cause: the circumstances that arise in the course of our lives that spark response. We can never know what secondary causes may arise in our lives, or what primary causes they may spark.Warriors are honourable. To have honour is to be open and direct in communication and action. To be honourable is not to sidestep difficult situations, but rather to face them. Honour concerns keeping one's word. To act with honour is to see something through to the end. Honour does not leave tasks uncompleted or forgotten because it no longer suits our purpose. Honour concerns respect and dignity: respect for others and also for ourselves. Honour requires that we behave with dignity alone or in company. People usually have an instinctive feeling for what honour means – but even so it is often seen as ‘unfashionable’ – by those who espouse modern process oriented psychotherapeutic philosophies. Children can be ridiculed by their peers for respecting and obeying their teachers. There is often more 'street credibility' in being the cleverest in the class at undermining the teacher’s authority. There is often more admiration available from avoiding work than from excelling in set projects. Children may be ridiculed by their peers if they show respect to their parents. Honour is often seen as contemptible, whereas impertinence and defiance are greeted with approval.When we enjoy hearing the latest gossip reported in the press about a member of our country's government, we

may discount all possibility that they entered the profession with altruistic ideals. Though teachers, parents, or politicians may not always deserve our respect, to hold oneself with honour and dignity and to behave with respect is more personally important than politically sanctioned issues concerning the focus of respect. We lose power and integrity if we lose the capacity for dignity and respect.We are habitually attached to form – so it is important for us to understand and connect with pawo and pamo principles within ourselves. Through personal understanding of these principles our activities become method7. It is the form of how we are which interacts with the world and with circumstances – so we need to aim for impeccability with respect to form. Through impeccability we make contact with empty form. This means completing every task to the best of our ability. It means not being slovenly, lazy, or uncaring. It means being clear and direct in our communication. It means ensuring that our actions are congruent with the style of a warrior. Knights ensured that their armour was cleaned and shining before setting out. Their armour would be emblazoned with the colours and symbols of their knightly lineage. Their departure would be marked by a trumpet fanfare. Knights did not leave by the back door or attempt to sneak out unnoticed. The world of the knight is open and direct. Knights do not flinch in the face of danger or personal sacrifice if honour is at stake – and thus should we be in all our interactions with the world.7 Non-dual method (Tib: Thab – thabs; Skt: upaya).Right conduct extends to the nature of our means of supporting ourselves in the world. Right livelihood – or right vocation – is the extension of right communication and right conduct to include our entire environment. Our lifestyle reflects right view, and our sense of respect and responsibility extends into our environment. I recognise my interconnection with all beings and all things. I embrace my interconnection with all beings and all things. I understand that it is not appropriate for me to live at the overt or covert expense of others, whilst also acknowledging that it is

impossible to live without inadvertently harming other beings. I avoid adopting fixed stances or manufacturing an artificial spiritual personality. I continue in the attempt to keep my view and intention open and fluid.When we speak of right vocation, we need to disassociate this idea from fashionable 'politically correct' regulations. We are not dealing with spirituality at the level of 'green politics' in which we recycle rubbish, install solar heating and abandon disposable nappies. Right vocation involves being real in the world. This is not a question of utopianism – whether feasible or infeasible. It is a matter of essential kindness – a kind of caring which includes the broad picture. It is not a matter of refusing to drive cars because of pollution, nor of being oblivious to pollution. Right vocation is the recognition that attempting to take a purist stance is essentially devoid of compassion. Right vocation is a matter of increasing one’s sense of connection with everything – with those whose livelihood depends upon the car industry as well as with those who suffer because of it. Right vocation is the acceptance of being utterly and passionately compromised by one's situation. Right vocation is not looking for a get-out clause which allows us to be pure whilst others are impure. Right vocation is being able to do what needs to be done – or to die in the attempt.Maintaining right view, right intention, right communication, right conduct, and right vocation in our everyday lives requires effort, application, and enthusiasm. This is the sixth step of the Eightfold Path. We try to be totally involved with everything in which we engage. We partake thoroughly and participate whole-heartedly. We do not approach tasks with a half-hearted, 'good enough' attitude. We throw ourselves completely into whatever we are doing and do it to the best of our ability – whether it is our meditation or our laundry. We aspire to maintain right view and right intention.Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Four Great Efforts: the 'effort to develop'; the 'effort to relinquish'; the 'effort to maintain'; and the 'effort to overcome'. In terms of the Four Great Efforts; we develop the depth and scope of

our understanding and experience of view and intention. We relinquish unhelpful habits and neurotic patterning. We maintain practice and try not to fall into old patterns. We actively work to overcome our neuroses. Once effort has become realised manifestation, then these Four Efforts become the four Buddhakarmas of enriching, pacifying, magnetising, and destroying. The enthusiasm of our conduct manifests as appropriate, to benefit all beings in all situations.Wholehearted effort in the practice of congruent view, intention, communication, conduct, and vocation creates a sense of spaciousness. With this more spacious experience we discover the seventh step of the path – our attention becomes naked and direct. It begins to be easier to maintain attention in all situations and experiences. We gradually find greater ease in bringing our attention to the present moment and remaining there. It is not possible to be aware of the sparkling potentiality of the present moment if we are critical, dreaming, or abstracted. Right effort, view, and intention help us to keep our minds alert and present.The final stage of the path is right presence or concentration. Ultimately, finding presence of awareness in the dimension of the moment is the experience of rigpa – the non-dual experience of emptiness and form. Within this experience, all manifestations become the ornaments of rigpa and are experienced as purely appropriate, natural, spontaneous, and free. Karma as a cause of dukkha no longer exists. Spontaneous non-dual perception manifests as simultaneous spontaneous non-dual response. We are freed from our neurotically patterned responses of attraction, aversion, and indifference, and our responses manifest as ornaments of rigpa. Our natural mode of being is to be Dharma Warriors. We are no longer tossed powerlessly like a leaky boat on the stormy waters of hope and fear, expectation and preconception.The Eightfold Path can be looked at in many different ways. It is common for the Eightfold Path to be

presented in a linear way according to the Sutrayana path of renunciation. In that paradigm the path is split into three aspects of development: wisdom, virtue, and concentration. View and intention are connected with the development of wisdom. Communication, activity, and vocation are connected with the development of virtue. Effort, mindfulness, and presence are connected with the development of concentration. In this way the Eightfold Path represents the entire path of Sutrayana. The eight strands of the path can be seen as a rope woven together. The rope cannot function as effectively if it loses a strand or if some strands are weaker than others. We may focus on different strands at different times, but gradually we strengthen each strand until the separate strands merge into an undivided experience – the path of the warrior.Dzogchen offers a non-linear approach to the Noble Eightfold Path. From the perspective of the Ulukha-mukha Upadesha Dakini Sutra, all aspects of the path are instantaneously realised through the spontaneous arising of view. In terms of Dzogchen, view is non-dual recognition. Emptiness and form are undivided in the experience of rigpa. From this perspective the form of the path cannot be isolated from its emptiness, and the emptiness of the path cannot be isolated from its form. The eightfold path arises as view, meditation, and action. It manifests as the opportunity for direct introduction to rigpa. It manifests as remaining in rigpa without doubt. It manifests as continuing in the state of rigpa. Each aspect of the eightfold path is spontaneously present. View inevitably encompasses all the other seven aspects of the path. Congruent effort inevitably encompasses congruent attention, motivation, conduct, etc. Congruent intention simultaneously manifests as congruent communication, action, presence, etc. The eight aspects of the path cannot exist separately, but only as a simultaneous expression of the Dzogchen pathless path of self-liberation8.8 (gang shar rang grol)Ngak'chang Rinpoche comments with respect to self-liberation:

"Gangshar rangdröl does not mean liberation of the self, for the self, by the self. The word 'rang' in Tibet in not adequately translated by the word 'self'. Rang means 'of itself' – so this is not the self of the self-cleaning oven. The self-cleaning oven gets rid of cooking residues which are not part of the oven. In terms of self-liberation there is nothing to remove – nothing to change. 'That which arises' is simply self-recognised as the non-dual efflorescence of the natural state."

The Eightfold Path constantly aligns us with method and view. Awareness, understanding, and active memory of the path enable us to check ourselves. In this way we can authenticate our existence as warriors in the world. We can discover the liberated energy of realisation that naturally engages in manifesting for the benefit of everyone and everything everywhere. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche said that the key to warriorship is not being afraid of who you are:

'When you live your life in accordance with basic goodness, then you develop natural elegance. Your life can be spacious and relaxed, without having to be sloppy. You can actually let go of your depression and embarassment about being a human being, and you can cheer up.' 9

9 Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala: the Sacred Path of the Warrior, Bantam Books, 1986.This is also the essence of the Vajrayana path. We are, and have, everything we need to become enlightened; and we should not believe that we are unworthy or incapable of realisation. ‘The essence of warriorship – is refusing to give up on anyone or anything.'10

10 Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala: the Sacred Path of the Warrior, Bantam Books, 1986.Warriorship is an essential aspect of our relationship with our Lama/s. We need a respectful, open, appreciative attitude – being prepared to listen and to work with whatever suggestions are provided. This does not mean we abandon respect for ourselves, however – the dignity of vajra pride is actually an essential aspect of relationship with our Lamas. Vajra relationship, the

relationship with one's Lamas, does not require that we become servile. Grovelling* in an obsequious** manner in order to gain spiritual privileges never procures the desired end. Khandro Déchen once told me that very little is more disgusting to one's Lamas than to have to endure sycophancy***, and pointed out that often such 'dharma toadies' were responsible for some of the unkindness and unhelpful acts which have been perpetrated under the so-called 'sanction' of 'instructions from the Lamas'. Such students often fail to understand instructions or use instructions as excuses to abandon responsibility.* to grovel – To behave in a servile or demeaning manner; cringe. To lie or creep in a prostrate position, as in subservience or humility. To give oneself over to base pleasures.** obsequious – being overattentive in order to gain favour (Lat. obsequiosus - compliant)*** sycophant n – a person who uses flattery to win favour from people with power or influence (Gr. sukophantēs). sycophancy n. sycophantic adjWarriors maintain integrity and take responsibility for their actions – in every situation. If one has the capacity to follow the instructions of one’s Lamas, and allows one’s rationale to be overridden, it offers great opportunity for spiritual growth – but one still remains responsible for one's decision to function in this manner.Ngak'chang Rinpoche said:

"Self-respect is crucial as the basis for respecting the Lama. If you have no self-respect then you cannot respect others. Self-respect however, does not mean self importance or self admiration. Self-respect is not integral – it has to be earned. Self-respect is earned through maintaining commitments and through ones reliability in the experience of friends and family. Self respect is earned through effort and demanding work – through integrity and through the friction sometimes arising from honesty and sincerity. If one has authentic self-respect rather than self importance then one can have authentic respect for others. If one has self respect as a practitioner then

one can respect the Lama. One then respects the Lama because one recognises the qualities of the Lama from the perspective of one’s own genuineness."

The heart feeling of warriorship is encompassed in the Three Terrible Oaths associated with the practice of Dorje Tröllö, the most wrathful manifestation of Padmasambhava.Dorje Tröllö proclaims:

"Whatever happens – may it happen.Whichever way it goes – may it go that way.There is no purpose."

Whatever is happening – is perfect. Whatever the outcome of any situation may be – it is perfect. There is no inherent purpose to any activity – other than its own compassionate purpose of being. Its own purpose of being demands presence, entire effort, complete attention, and intent. This is the view, this is the path, this is the heroism of living as a Dharma Warrior. Ngak'chang Rinpoche says of the third terrible oath:

"When Dorje Tröllö proclaims 'There is no purpose' – he declares 'there is no one purpose'. Purposes are pluralistic because compassion is pluralistic. Compassion is pluralistic because compassion is form and form arises in infinite variety as responses to the needs of beings. There is no 'will of God', there is only the necessity initiated by the unique circumstances of each phenomenal point-instant of reality.”

Questioner: I have heard the path of Tantra described as dangerous. Why is it dangerous?Ngakma Nor'dzin: Tantra is dangerous because the Lama engages with our neuroses to transform them into enlightened view and activity. If we maintain our vows and commitments with the Lama, that is wonderful – because we begin to experience the enlightened play within our neuroses. We begin to become more transparent to ourselves. However, if we do not maintain our vows and commitments with the

Lama, we spiral back at high velocity into the neuroses from which we have experienced incomplete release. If we lose our trust in the Lama all we have left to fall back on is our trust in our own neurotic state. This spiral back into neurosis becomes hellish.Q: So can Sutrayana be dangerous too?NN: Yes and no. Sutra is not dangerous in the way that tantra is dangerous, because one does not have the Lama. Commitment to the Lama is a high voltage experience. But Sutra is not potent in that particular way, so there is not the high voltage hazard. With Sutra I do not have the opportunity that the Lama provides – of allowing me to short-circuit my neuroses. With Sutra I have the safe method of working through my neuroses slowly and systematically in order to see them as empty. The Vajrayana Lama on the other hand enables the short-circuit process of facilitating experience of the wisdom aspects of neurosis. This method frees me from the need to dismantle my neuroses one by one. The danger with Vajrayana lies in the necessity of utter trust and utter reliance on the Lama. It's like riding the tiger. If I dismount I will be eaten alive by my own neuroses.The danger with Sutrayana is simply the danger of error – of mistaking renunciation as 'truth' rather than seeing it as 'method'. If I mistake renunciation as truth I fall into the erroneous view that form is fundamentally flawed. Then I become puritanically austere in my interaction with others. The process of continually letting go of desire and aversion becomes constricting. I may develop a police-state mind in which I always condemn form to the confines of samsara prison. Determined 'mindfulness' can become a joyless lack of spontaneity, and the view that 'everything is empty' – can become nihilistic – I could forget that emptiness is form.Q: Nihilistic?NN: Believing that the view of lack of inherent identity denies the view of identity existing in the moment. In everyday terms this can manifest as coldness and severity because nothing in the phenomenal world is seen as having value.

Q: And could there be an error of view with Vajrayana . . . ?NN: I could be open to the error of eternalism. Because I recognise that Vajrayana is incredibly rich in meaning, I could become laissez-fair with regard to form – regarding my entire neurotic state as a playground of transformation in which I am free to indulge, outside the guidance of my Lama. The Vajrayana view can be distorted and interpreted as it is fine to be however I want to be. Since all manifestations are viewed as having the potential for enlightenment, I could misinterpret this as permission to be and act without regard for others. I could excuse my inappropriate behaviour as 'crazy wisdom' when in fact it is inconsiderate lack of awareness. My ground of kindness and awareness could become mislaid in the plethora of symbolism.Q: If you’re acting in a kind way to people who aren’t acting in your best interest, is there the possibility of people taking advantage of you?NN: There can be. Kindness does not mean you have to be a wimp or a doormat. If you live with a needy person it is not always good to be ever-indulgent, if that merely allows them to cosset* their neurosis. I may have to remember not to be unkind to myself . . . I am after all a member of the 'all sentient beings' assembly. It is it is sometimes preferable to keep out of the way of people who take advantage of the kindness of others. I can also stand up for myself. It is possible to appear to act ferociously. I can manifest an angry-looking response that will let a person know that I think they are behaving unkindly . . . whilst retaining a kind happy mind. I need to be sure however, that my display is a display . . .* to cosset – to pamper or petQ: So it would look like an ordinary aggressive response, but we have got the individual’s well-being at heart.NN: [laughs] Yes. The motivation is to help that person. I would not necessarily recommend this activity for

everyone, but it is somewhat essential if you are a parent. Parents have to discipline their children. If you have to be really angry before you can bring yourself to say 'No you cannot have that,' or 'No, you cannot do that' then you have a real problem. Parents have to be firm and straightforward, and sometimes forceful, and this can look like anger. It’s bad news for the child if the parent cannot enforce discipline firmly from a position of kindness. With regard to our children, we have to know what is best. With regard to other adults, we do not necessarily have the right to assume we know best.Q: I was wondering about right view, right intention, and right speech. As a nurse, I have to sit with the dying as part of my duties. If someone asks me, 'Am I dying?' but I feel they don't really want to know, they just want to be reassured and free of fear – what do I say?NN: It is not always kind to tell the truth. Do not worry about the lie. It comes down to whether you feel confident enough to rely on your assessment of the situation. Only you can make that decision.Q2 So if you feel it would not help?NN: No, do not worry about lying. The fourth precept11

says that we should not lie, but if our communication of the truth causes great distress, then we have actually stolen that individual's opportunity to die with a peaceful mind. However, I am not sure I would agree with telling them everything is going to be fine either – when it clearly is not. They may resent this as their condition continues to deteriorate, which will also create an unhappy mind. It is not an easy situation, and I cannot give an easy 'fits all situations' answer. You would have to judge how best to answer that question in the moment, from a basis of kindness. Ngak'chang Rinpoche told me that the fourth precept concerns lack of deceit rather than the avoidance of lying. He said: "What do you do as a German Buddhist when the Nazis bang on the door and ask you if you sheltering a Jewish family?" I would suggest an outright lie as being the best way of maintain the fourth precept. When the truth causes harm it makes a lie of compassion. To be a

Buddhist is be compassionate rather than to adhere to formulae. 11 The five precepts are: to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. These are not discussed in detail in this work. When viewed from Dzogchen, this teaching examines the most subtle nature of these wrong views. For a commentary on the precepts, as they appear in the Ulukha-mukha Upadesha Dakini Sutra (’ug-dong Khandro Nying-thig mDo / ’ug gDong mKha’ ’gro sNying thig mDo) of the Aro gTér, see: The Five Owl PreceptsQ: If you’re acting in a kind way to people who aren’t acting in your best interest, is there the possibility of people taking advantage of you?NN: There can be. Kindness does not mean you have to be a wimp or a doormat. If you live with a needy person it is not always good to be ever-indulgent, if that merely allows them to cosset their neurosis. I may have to remember not to be unkind to myself . . . I am after all a member of the 'all sentient beings' assembly. It is it is sometimes preferable to keep out of the way of people who take advantage of the kindness of others. I can also stand up for myself. It is possible to appear to act ferociously. I can manifest an angry-looking response that will let a person know that I think they are behaving unkindly . . . whilst retaining a kind happy mind. I need to be sure however, that my display is a display . . .Q: So it would look like an ordinary aggressive response, but we have got the individual’s well-being at heart.NN: [laughs] Yes. The motivation is to help that person. I would not necessarily recommend this activity for everyone, but it is somewhat essential if you are a parent. Parents have to discipline their children. If you have to be really angry before you can bring yourself to say 'No you cannot have that,' or 'No, you cannot do that' then you have a real problem. Parents have to be firm and straightforward, and sometimes forceful, and this can look like anger. It’s bad news for the child if the parent cannot enforce discipline firmly from a position of kindness. With regard to our children, we have to

know what is best. With regard to other adults, we do not necessarily have the right to assume we know best.Q: With realised view is there no contradiction between seeing ourselves as defined and not-defined, separate and inseparable, continuous and not continuous?NN: The nature of the path of Tantra is ambiguity and paradox, and the practice is to be able to dwell in ambiguity. I am here with you in the rôle of Dharma teacher; when I visit my mother I am in the rôle of daughter; when I am cooking a meal for my family I am in the rôle of mother and housewife. It is not going to work if I try and be Dharma teacher with my mother or try to be mother when I am teaching Dharma. If I cannot allow one definition of myself to dissolve and another to arise, I cannot function in my life. The reason problems occur is because we cling to our definitions. We can learn to recognise the relative and transient form of our definition, separateness, and continuity, without denying our lack of inherent, fixed definition, dependence on others, and lack of inherent, unchanging continuity.Q: You said that we are 'utterly and passionately compromised' – insofar as we cannot take a puritanical stance. Could you say more about that please?NN: If I decide not to drive a car anymore because it is bad for the environment – that is one thing. It is simply a choice among choices. But if I became an ecological fascist and vaunt my stance as a definition of my purity and disparage those who drive cars – then I would become an ecological hazard in the emotional environment. If – as a puritanical pedestrian – I feel more courageous and willing to struggle with inconvenience, then I would cut myself off from both compassion and wisdom. Taken to its logical end, I would have to become the 'Stalin of the Sidewalk' or the 'Polpot of the Pavement' and kill everyone with a different opinion and view to mine. I would have to destroy that difference, that impurity, that audacity of living a different way.Q: So relaxing our outlook will loosen up these judgements?

NN: It’s not that we can’t make a stand about something and have a strong and radical view. It's simply that we cannot – as practitioners – see ourselves as being 'pure' because we have that strong and radical view. I am not a better person, nearer enlightenment, more worth listening to, seeing, or knowing, because I hold these strong and radical views and live my life in a strong and radical way. Everyone is beginninglessly enlightened. Everyone may be worth listening to, seeing and knowing. Everyone is a fascinating manifestation of form and emptiness. Form will arise in whatever way it arises and if you can enjoy its dance, it is all fascinating and wonderful. Even a viewpoint that is totally in opposition to my own is simply a display of form and emptiness and no more or less entrancing than my own.Q: But surely some opinions are simply bad – like anti-Semitism.NN: Certainly. But then there are the people who hold such views, and they may be simply severely misguided and personable enough in other respects. Even something as horrendous as anti-Semitism is interesting if we dare to let ourselves look at it. It is interesting to see what life circumstances led Hitler to that point, and how the characters of his staff, and the situation at that particular time in history enabled such an idea to actually manifest. The holocaust was an epic of paranoid brutality. It was neurotic dualistic view to an extreme degree, but if we define all those involved as ‘utterly evil and beyond redemption’ and all those who were horrified by it as ‘good and utterly worthy’, then we have cut ourselves off from any possibility of feeling compassion for Hitler or from any examination of our own prejudices – and as Ngak'chang Rinpoche often points out: "As soon as we place Hitler in a category called 'utterly evil and beyond redemption' we have taken the first step in the direction of establishing our own Nazi regime.” We would have laid the first brick of our own Auschwitz – as soon as we feel that anyone is beyond compassionate consideration we become closer to the person we condemn than others who are merely aghast. Ngak'chang Rinpoche would warn us that as he

has read that Hitler was rejected in his application to Art College – we should consider the notion that the world could be thankful that he was accepted.Q: Is kindness and the consideration of other individuals a natural response to the awareness of your own condition?NN: If we use kindness and awareness as symbols for form and emptiness, then kindness can never be different from awareness. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form – kindness is awareness, awareness is kindness.Q: So you could start from kindness and realise awareness.NN: Yes – in a sense it is easier to start from kindness, as we all have a sense of what is kind. Our ability to be aware of the clarity of our view, and to see directly into what is needed in a situation is not so guaranteed.Q: The idea of a hero or warrior not holding back or having doubts . . . the part for me where there is doubt – is that I'd be arrogant to think that I was always right.NN: I do not think that is what is being suggested. 'Continuing without' doubt refers to the confidence of recognising direct introduction to rigpa. It concerns being in that space so totally that you are not watching yourself being there, or assessing the nature of that space against previous experience. The fearlessness and hopelessness of the warrior is confidence in motivation, honour, and integrity. Our motivation is inevitably mixed. We are dualistic beings, so our motivation is dualistic. But if we do the kind deed and notice that part of the motivation was to feel good about ourselves, that is honest and open. But the point about arrogance is a good one – you can't go dragging old ladies across the road unless they want to go! (Laughter)Q: What if your action affects other people in ways that you aren't aware of?NN: You can only do your best. Situations and motivations are always going to be mixed – so simply

keep kindness uppermost in your mind and . . . just do your best.