thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
Rigpa, this may well have been what happened. Alas, karma does also seem to play a role in all this, doesnt it? And now that Ive brought up karma, Im sure some of you will accuse me falling back on another cop-out. Nevertheless, the reality is that falling for glossy advertising and Tibetan paraphernalia, feeling inspired and touched by Tibetan exoticism and the endangered Tibetan species, and everything else that pops into our minds, all arise from the causes and conditions that are the essence of karma. Thats the way it is and all I can do is encourage each one of us to accumulate more good karma so that we wont be faced with this kind of situation again in our lifetimes. Feelings are karmic. And I am afraid this situation wont be settled until that karma is exhausted. If a Vajrayana Teacher and Student Fall Out, What are the Consequences? If the teacher and student have reached a genuine understanding about the path being practised, and if all the necessary and appropriate foundations have been laid and a clear idea of possible consequences conveyed, but the student still has a wrong view and acts on it by slandering and criticizing the teacher, then, according to tantra, that student will face grave and unimaginable consequences. But the same also applies to the teacher. In fact, if the teacher hasnt laid the proper foundations, if the teacher takes advantage of a student physically, emotionally or financially, and if the teacher gives the highest yoga tantric teachings to those who have not established a proper foundation and as a result an immature student breaks the most fundamental root samayas, then the teacher will also suffer extremely grave consequences consequences even more serious and terrible than those faced by the student. If the proper foundations have been laid, but the gurus actions physical, verbal, emotional etc. do not bring the student a centimetre closer to enlightenment, and if the teachers actions are aimed at personal gain, sex, money, power or selfish indulgence, its clear he doesnt know what hes doing. He is therefore obviously not a great Vajrayana master, let alone a mahasiddha. And he will therefore experience extremely grave consequences. When I say grave consequences, I dont mean exposure in social media, or having his image ruined by scandal, or even that he is arrested and imprisoned. Thats nothing! The consequences for the teacher are far worse than mere worldly humiliation: he would end up in vajra hell. What is vajra hell? It isnt merely being boiled in molten iron or fried by hell guardians which actually sound quite comfortable by comparison. The unbearably awful characteristic of vajra hell is that once youre there, you will not hear a word about the teachings on cause and condition, dependent arising, shunyata and the rest, for aeons and aeons and aeons. A thousand buddhas might come and go, but in vajra hell, you will hear absolutely nothing about them or their teachings. If a teachers actions ruin the image of the Buddhadharma, or spoil an
aspiring students appetite for the Dharma, or if the seed of inspiration that leads just one person to follow Buddhadharma is burnt irrevocably, the consequences are so terrible that they are, in fact, inexpressible. Few people seem to know how difficult it is to be a Vajrayana student, but almost no one knows that it is far more difficult to be a Vajrayana master. I think the widespread woeful ignorance of these consequences is why so many people today fall over themselves to get a job as a guru even the non-religious secularists. But given the opportunity, these so-called gurus dish out abuse in exactly the same way ordinary people do. If people knew how precarious and dangerous a gurus job really is, I doubt anyone would want it. A gurus very prestige and all the perks he or she appears to enjoy, signify just how much greater the gurus opportunities to deceive and be deceived are, in comparison with the students opportunities. As Patrul Rinpoche stated in The Words of My Perfect Teacher, when a student offers a single penny or makes any kind of effort, however small, to show respect for the teacher by standing when the teacher enters a room, or bowing to the teacher, or letting the teacher go first there are consequences; and if the so-called Vajrayana master is not enlightened, he or she is not above the karmic debts these offerings create. Of course, ideally, a Vajrayana master should be an enlightened being. But the reality is that many Vajrayana masters may not be, yet for reasons that have nothing to do with personal gain, fame and power, they take on that role. Some assume it out of necessity. Or when the teachings need to be upheld or the lineage is at risk of being broken, they accept the role of Vajrayana master out of love for the teachings themselves. Basically, if they find themselves in the position of having no choice but to pass on these precious teachings, then very reluctantly, they become Vajrayana masters. So an unenlightened master should be under no illusions. He must know in himself that he isnt enlightened, and he should never deceive himself by claiming that he is. As his student, though, you must see your Vajrayana master as an enlightened being. This is the choice you must make. But doesnt that contradict the Buddha when he said, You are your own master. No one else is your master? No, it doesnt, because you are the one who is making that choice. A Vajrayana master is definitely not a mahasiddha if he is affected by scandal, afraid of being publicly shamed and terrified of being thrown into jail. Neither is he a mahasiddha if he worries about losing disciples. A genuine mahasiddha, like Marpa or Tilopa, wouldnt give a damn about any of that, nor would he give a second thought to being thrown into prison. And a mahasiddha would certainly never feel the need to apologize for any of his actions, because everything he does is done out
of compassion. On the other hand, if your Vajrayana master is not a mahasiddha and not only beats up his own students but also random people in the street, prefers shit to gourmet food, tears up $100 notes, carries around a suitcase full of footballs or sand, gets equally turned on by a rock and sexy man or woman, talks gibberish, and doesnt guide you onto a path that has a view, meditation and action, or a ground, path and fruition, then he is simply mad and belongs in a lunatic asylum. But what if a Vajrayana master is neither a mahasiddha nor mad, what should he do? He should behave decently. Whether hes enlightened or not, a Vajrayana master will have studied many precious, profound teachings and techniques. Now that hes a teacher, he can share what hes learned with sincere and devoted students. He knows that by using these teachings and the methods his masters used to teach him, there is every possibility that his disciples will get enlightened before him. So he has very good reason for being decent and for not taking advantage of those who have surrendered everything to him. Whatever his students have sacrificed and offered time, money, offerings, respect, whatever he must use it to help them. If he lights one candle and puts it in front of a statue of a Buddha with genuine aspirations for his students enlightenment, that will do. Being decent also means that the Vajrayana master must know his students limits what they can and cant take. To do that, he simply has to use his common sense and ask himself what his own limits might be. What, for example, wouldnt he have done even if his own Vajrayana master had told him to do it? If Sogyal Rinpoches Vajrayana master had told him to become celibate, would he have? To always obey the gurus orders is difficult. Fortunately, none of my Vajrayana masters ever told me to do anything that I would have found impossible to attempt Im quite certain they knew that I lacked the capacity to do absolutely anything they asked of me. At the very least, an unenlightened Vajrayana master must always consider the consequences of his actions. In particular, he should ask himself if his actions might turn people away from the Buddhadharma in general and the Vajrayana in particular. And an unenlightened but decent Vajrayana master must always remind himself to distinguish between the fearlessness of crazy wisdom and the stupidity of I will never get caught! Lost in Translation: Misreading Cultural Cues From my own very limited point of view, and after the experience of having western friends for several decades, I would say that only one lama has really understood western culture and acted on it appropriately, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Most Tibetan lamas, as I said earlier, teach non-Tibetans in exactly the same way they teach Tibetans. In the process, they try to do the impossible by transforming their western students into Tibetans. Believe it or not, I have met people who
genuinely believe that the only way they can study and practice the Dharma is by learning Tibetan, chanting Tibetan-style, saying prayers in Tibetan, and even wearing Tibetan traditional dress. Ive also noticed that Tibetan lamas spend a great deal of time teaching their students Tibetan traditions that have nothing at all to do with the Dharma. I wouldnt be surprised if, by so doing, some lamas have led their western students to believe that its only possible to attain enlightenment as a Tibetan. If Buddhadharma in general and Vajrayana in particular are to be passed on and taught to non-Tibetans, it is so important that there is a proper cultural understanding between teacher and student that allows the genuine Dharma to be transmitted properly and accurately. This is really difficult, but absolutely necessary. Culture, after all, is a habit, and habits are the fundamental manifestation of ignorance. So it is totally unfair to blame the Vajrayana system when lamas and students dont follow Vajrayana procedures because they prefer to rely on their cultural assumptions and habits which Im afraid most lamas like to do. The Vajrayana system itself lays out all the necessary procedures very clearly. Almost all major initiations even the very first of the usual four initiations are preceded by at least six warnings. These warnings include instructions about the lama showing the vajra, giving the oath water, and more. But how many of us lamas really emphasize these warnings? When Tibetan lamas give initiations to Tibetans and Bhutanese, most recipients have no clue about whats going on, and very few even care to know. By and large, Tibetan lamas take for granted that western students have the same attitude. These lamas sometimes give initiations to thousands of students at a time, but too often students dont know what they received, let alone what the ritual meant, because the Vajrayanas warnings were simply read out loud and left unexplained. To be fair, some responsibility must also rest with the western students, who are sometimes more interested in looking and speaking like Tibetans than actually practising the Dharma. If they are Tibetologists, activists who yearn to be the saviours of Tibetan culture, then thats the way to go and I assume there might be some benefit in it. But here we are talking about Buddhadharma, and Buddhadharma is way beyond culture and country. So if you are interested in attaining so-called enlightenment, if you want to be awakened and liberated from all defilements and the effects of defilements, then obviously you have to go beyond culture altogether even the curry-eating, tsampa-chewing and coffee-drinking cultures. Clear distinctions between Dharma and culture must be made if we are ever to sort out the current confusions which, as Ive said, will probably continue for a while longer. Looking at the next generation of lamas and how they are currently manifesting, I must say, I cant see a glimmer of awareness of this issue amongst any of them. Ive been told that Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche made his students do sitting practice shamatha for several years.
He also made them study the Sravakayana and Mahayana teachings in detail, putting them through years of preparation before they were granted any Vajrayana initiations or pointing out instructions. Trungpa Rinpoche went so far as to create the Shambhala phenomenon Shambhala training and sitting practice to ensure that his students were really well prepared for the Buddhadharma All the prescribed preparatory procedures are important. Remember, Naropa was already a celebrated scholar and the Dean of Nalanda University before he even tried to find his guru in other words, he was fully prepared. Direct Warnings that were Misinterpreted Another factor that adds to the complexity of the current situation is that however familiar students are with the advice that they should analyze and test the guru before becoming his student and even when they are given direct warnings part of being human is that there are some things we simply dont want to hear, especially when we have been hit by the arrow of inspiration. This means that in practice, on the rare occasions when the proper warnings are given, many people simply dont listen. Some dont even hear the words of the warning. For many of us human beings, the skill of being able to listen and actually hear isnt easy to pick up. Sadly, warning people of potential danger or trouble can itself end up causing even more problems. Recently, I was very frank with a young woman who was new to the Dharma and suggested that she stay away from a particular young lama because of a few things I knew about him. My advice was heartfelt and disinterested. I wasnt only concerned for her, but also for the young Rinpoche and for the Buddhadharma. But she didnt take my advice well actually, she took it completely the wrong way. To her I was being controlling, possessive and jealous. Of course, many young people have rebellious natures and often do the opposite of what you suggest. But in this case, she repeated everything that Id told her confidentially to the young lama, and the upshot was that a rift opened up between the lama and me. This was very unfortunate. Something similar happened when a student complained to me about how her guru was constantly asking her to buy him things expensive Rolex watches, cars, antiques etc. By the time she came to me, she had already bought him many things, but now, she said, she couldnt keep it up because she also had financial obligations to her family. I replied that generally speaking, if she, as a student, really wanted to make expensive offerings to her teacher, she should make as many as she could, for as long as she could. But, if she felt the slightest awkwardness about what she was doing, she should express her concern directly to her guru instead of to me. So she spoke to her teacher. Unfortunately, she also told him that I was the one who had told her to address him directly, and from that day to this, he and I
have not been on speaking terms. Giving advice can be hazardous. What if, years ago, Id warned the Rigpa students who wrote the letter critical of Sogyal Rinpoche, to examine and analyze their teacher carefully before they became his students. Would they have listened to me? I doubt it. At worst, an overt warning could have resulted in major misunderstandings and serious conflict which as a human being I certainly want to avoid. I also remember some very defensive reactions from Rigpa students after a joke I made about the excessive Tibetan paraphernalia I saw in Rigpa centres. But what if I had taken on the role of devils advocate? What if I had not only advised these students to check and analyze their guru, but gone further and said: Sogyal Rinpoche has introduced you to so many truly great Vajrayana teachers. Why did you choose to continue following him rather than one of those great masters? What if Id raised the question: Apart from what Sogyal Rinpoche himself tells you, what proof do you have that he was fully and properly trained? He was only a child when he received teachings from Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro did you know that? Did you know he was just ten or twelve years old when Khyentse Chokyi Lodro passed away? Did you know that he went to a Catholic school in Kalimpong and then to Delhi University? So when did he do his training? What if Id asked: Do you see Tibetans flocking to Sogyal Rinpoche for teachings? Tibetans are always very polite to each others faces, but do you know what they really think? Maybe, in spite of the fact they know he hasnt been well-trained, they are polite to Sogyal Rinpoche because they are following Tibetan custom. What if I had raised such questions? Would any of the students who are now being so critical have listened to me? Im not just talking about Sogyal Rinpoche here. What if I raised such questions about all our present lamas, rinpoches and khenpos? Karma so often undercuts analysis and bypasses warnings. And of course, karmic links and karmic debts always play out, including the continual misreading of cultural cues for example, whatever they think of each other, Tibetans are always publicly polite to each other, which many westerners misinterpret as a confirmation of high regard. The Tibetans and the Bhutanese and I myself am a Tibetan-Bhutanese hybrid have been thoroughly marinated in umpteen cultural habits. I must admit that more often than not, when it comes to talking frankly and honestly about these important issues, these habits really get in the way. People like me think we should always act humbly and often misunderstand the difference between being humble and not being upfront. But the habit of humility often serves a purpose, and can, for example, prevent unnecessary arguments from breaking out. Personally, I would still opt for this approach, partly out of habit and partly to stay out of trouble and as human beings, most of us usually try to stay out of
trouble if we can. Of course, lamas often dont say certain things openly because their words have, in the past, been misreported, misquoted and cut and edited to mean something else entirely lamas are too often misrepresented in all kinds of ways. So, being able to say what they really think can become problematic. Basically, as I said earlier, warning people about how to choose their guru is one of the most difficult things a lama can do. But if we hold back from warning students openly, how can consequences be avoided? Different Times, Different Challenges I have received abhishekas from about thirty lamas, but I cannot claim to have properly analyzed all of them. To be perfectly honest, Im one of those Tibetans who mostly jumps into initiations without taking the time to examine the preceptor much at all. But before I decided to receive a particular initiation or teaching from a lama, I did usually remember to use my common sense. One method you can use to choose which lamas to receive initiations from is very similar to the way you can, for example, find out where to get good pasta in Italy. We assume that the places local Italians eat will be pretty good, because Italians know about pasta. Based on that common sense principle, I have myself avoided receiving teachings from certain lamas. Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche once told me that when Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche first visited France, hardly anyone attended his teachings, but as soon as it was known that Sogyal Rinpoche would teach, everyone would go to hear him. Of course, I understand why people flock to hear Sogyal Rinpoche; he speaks English and is humorous, so students can relate to him they feel connected. We human beings do tend to opt for accessibility when we can, so that may also have been a factor. I have to say that none of the gurus from whom I received initiations and teachings ever abused me financially, sexually, physically or emotionally. But I must admit, I also assumed that they would never do such a thing which was wrong of me. Once you decide to take a teacher as your guru, you are not supposed to make any assumptions about whether you will be treated well or not, because the point is to have the courage to surrender completely before you embark on the completely unknown and unpredictable Vajrayana journey. And as a Vajrayana student, I like to aspire that in future lifetimes I really will be able to maintain pure perception of my guru and have the ability to do whatever he or she asks of me, no questions asked. However, the common sense method for choosing a guru that I spoke of using the pasta example has its limitations. I am quite sure that many people fall for a guru because he or she happens to be the student of a great master, or because he or she has been publicly lovey-dovey with many other great gurus. My own experience has taught me that this approach
doesnt always work. Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche so venerated and respected Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, Shechen Gyaltsab and Khandro Tsering Chodron that anyone connected with them also became very precious to him even their pet dogs. I couldnt see much greatness in several of the people for whom Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche showed such great affection. When I mentioned how I felt to my personal tutor, he replied that Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche had perfectly pure perception of everyone and everything, especially those connected with his own guru. Then he scolded me, This is something you need to learn. Now I realize just how priceless that advice was. In a nutshell, for those of us who set out on a spiritual journey, judging a guru by his own CV and the illustrious masters he knows is not always a reliable method. In fact, on this path the very existence of that type of CV is fishy. Naropa didnt go to Tilopa because he had a great CV. On the contrary, Naropa had to seek Tilopa out. No one knew Tilopa because he was a common fisherman, so just finding him was extremely difficult. Checks and Balances To institute checks and balances in the spiritual world isnt easy. As the Buddha himself said a couple of millennia before it was recognized in the American constitution, no system is perfect. Buddhism is, nevertheless, a system, but a system that itself doesnt actually believe in system; and its ultimate checks and balances are karmic causes and conditions. Buddhism also recognizes that only an enlightened being can tell if another person is perfect or not. Some of you are currently trying to do everything you can to ensure that lamas who misbehave are not left unpunished. Your motivation may well be good: you may want to spare more innocent people the suffering caused by that kind of bad behaviour, and you may not want to see anyone else driven away from the Dharma because of it. My personal feeling is that, these days, there are very few morally decent, compassionate, kind, caring and uncorrupted human beings in the world the kind of person for whom we instantly feel a sense of awe when we meet them. And as the mentality of each man for himself grows stronger every day, the few decent human beings left on this planet are disappearing fast. Perhaps exposing peoples faults publicly like this, in social media and elsewhere, will make others afraid to act badly? Maybe this is the best we can do in this degenerate day and age. At least some lamas, especially the younger generation, are being sent a powerful message that they cant get away with this kind of behaviour. So at a time when power and prestige are so intoxicating that some lamas consider themselves untouchable and forget that they could well be held to account, perhaps it is necessary? But I really dont believe that public shaming or legal punishment is the answer, or that it will actually solve the whole problem. Many people seem to