I’ve been reading “Turning the Mind Into An Ally” by Sakyon Mipham, son of the well-known Tibetan teacher, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In the chapter on "Rousing Motivation," Mipham writes:
“Many practitioners in our culture are motivated by worldly concerns and use spirituality to successfully accomplish their wishes. It’s fine to use spiritual practice to get what we want. People have always made offerings to the gods in order to ensure a plentiful harvest. It should be clear, however, that at the heart of this motivation lies the desire to please ourselves. The danger of this motivation is that we can trick ourselves into thinking that we’re becoming less worldly when what we’re really doing is distorting practice to fortify our comfort zone. This is a common pitfall, not a crime.
“My father often taught about “cutting through spiritual materialism.” This means cutting through our attempts to use spirituality to feed our solid self. The Buddha also taught that stability, the peace that comes through meditation, can become just as much of a trap as any old desire. We can create a Goldilocks zone our of our practice and hide there. We can become “spiritual junkies,” motivated only by what makes us feel good. So much of what passes as spirituality these days is really about pleasure-seeking, getting high. This self-absorption disguised as spirituality only leads to more suffering. Real spirituality is about getting grounded. Once we understand who we are, we can realize the needs of others and do something about helping them. Being grounded in who we are is known as basic goodness.”
This is a small portion of a wonderful book (which, by the way, is a national bestseller), but the subject seemed particularly relevant to many of the discussions on the FWP blogs. Spiritual materialism is an easy trap that I believe most of us fall into. And I'm not just talking about falling into it by "chanting for things" or "seeing our earthly desires as a vehicle for enlightenment." Buddhists of all flavors can get bogged down by methods and gadgets and doctrine of others. This Gohonzon or that? Chair or zafu? Mala or juzu? Nam or Namu? Meditation or chanting? China, Japan, Tibet, or India? Even following one teacher or one particular school of thought can be a trap. In my mind, perhaps the biggest trap of all.
If the idea is to perceive the true nature of MY OWN MIND, I have to be careful about putting too much credence in the ways of others and watch out for the outside trappings of it all. In the end, I believe what matters is what you’re doing inside your mind and heart and life, not which Gohonzon you have in your altar.
Good morning, Lolo and thanks for this blog. I remember back about 10 years ago when there was all that fighting over who had the "true" object of worship - the Gakkai or Nichiren Shoshu. Everyone was referring to the Gosho "The True Object of Worship" - leaving out the rest of the title "For Observing the Mind".
Observing my mind is a messy process, but I have been trying to do it more and more, and chanting less and less about "stuff" - that's kind of a relief, since it stops the pressur of having to come up with external "proof" all the time. The got to be a pain.
Anyway,thanks again. Best regards, Byrd in LA
Posted by: Byrd in LA at April 6, 2005 10:25 AM