Chapter 1: Provisions for the Journey

Throughout history there has always been an appreciation of that which is ultimately good and wholesome. The buddhadharma, the teachings of the Buddha, provides a way to realize that ultimate good. In this book we propose to study these teachings as transmitted by the gurus of the Kagyu lineage of Tibet. Because their realization and understanding have been based on personal experience, the teachings of their tradition continue to be fresh and alive; they are available to all of us right now. The message of this tradition is how to cultivate enlightened mind.

The motivation to cultivate enlightened mind begins as a vague impulse to achieve something. That vague signal leads us to search for an answer to the fundamental question of who and what we are. Our impulse to search, our longing to achieve, contains the seed of enlightened mind.

What is enlightened mind? According to the Buddhist teachings, enlightened mind is not manufactured. It is not a result of causes nor an accumulation of events; it is not an addition to what already exists. Enlightened mind has no birth and no death. It is without preoccupation, fear, expectation, or disappointment. That state of mind already exists in us; it is intrinsic to all human beings. Without any doubt, each one of us can experience it. That is our basic ground: our mind, as it is, is sufficient to realize the awakened state.

If that is the case, then what needs to be cultivated? The awakened state of mind is habitually obscured by ignorance; therefore it is necessary to cultivate the discipline that can illuminate our true nature. When we lift the veil of ignorance, awakened mind shines by itself.

We might ask, "How do you know there is an awakened state of mind? Can you prove that ignorance exists? Can you prove that enlightenment exists?" These questions express our general concern about our state of mind, about whether we feel good or bad or whether we are right or wrong. They are a manifestation of natural inquisitiveness. Because we are fundamentally open and awake, we are inquisitive; and our inquisitive mind is constantly questioning or searching.

According to the buddhadharma, the proper way to use inquisitiveness is to practice the discipline of meditation. We must constantly apply the technique of meditation practice in order to wear down our habitual tendency to ignore our basic state of mind. Meditative discipline brings about the realization that both ignorance and inquisitiveness come from the original ground of enlightened mind, which is unobstructed and has no allegiance to whatever occurs. That original mind is like a vast, open field, which is beyond success or failure, beyond good or bad.

These teachings are meant to give an outline of what is real and true. If enlightened mind were not already there, we would have no way to begin. The Kagyu lineage, in particular, emphasizes that all of us have basic intelligence, the spark of wisdom. Glimpses of the awakened state of mind occur in our ordinary experience. This is what makes it possible for us to journey on the path to enlightenment.

There are two aspects of this path: practice and study. Practice is the most important, because only through direct, personal experience can we attain realization. In fact, the Kagyu lineage is called the Practice Lineage. The second aspect, study or intellectual understanding of the teachings, illuminates our practice and confirms our intuitive experience. Those two, practice and study, are the provisions for our journey.

Having a proper attitude towards journey is essential. If we make a journey properly, then everything we encounter is considered part of it. We are fully involved in the process of journeying rather than being fixated on our destination. We are not looking for quick solutions, but we are willing to be open, precise, and thorough in relating with ourselves as well as all the facets of our environment—the weather, the scenery, the landmarks, and the obstacles or sidetracks along the way.

As we begin our journey, the biggest obstacle that we encounter is materialism. Materialism in general is the ego-centered notion of possessing things for oneself. Physical materialism is the accumulation of material comforts; psychological materialism is the accumulation of philosophies, ideologies, or psychological theories. But the most extreme and dangerous form of materialism is spiritual materialism.

Before we are even attracted to spiritual materialism, we have already become dissatisfied with physical and psychological comforts. Spiritual materialism is based on trying to possess the highest spiritual state, trying to have the best meditative experience. We adopt a spiritual disguise in order to mask our own fear and clinging; we convert spiritual teachings into personal territory. We smother any spark of intelligence, and in the process, we deceive ourselves and produce spiritual fraud. We may even go so far as to encourage others to follow us in our deception by capitalizing on their confusion and encouraging a "herd instinct."

In entering the path to enlightenment, we are beginning the process of transforming confusion into wisdom. But in order to make this journey, we must first acknowledge that we are confused and that our environment is chaotic. Beyond that, we must understand that chaos and confusion are perpetuated because we do not have the training to see things as they are.

The only way to begin our journey is to work with confusion. Looking into confusion is the opposite of spiritual materialism. Adopting spiritual materialism, we would like to disregard confusion and immediately embrace our own idea of enlightenment. We would like to believe we can accomplish in three days what should involve our whole life. In trying to sidestep confusion, trying to get around it, we miss something very dear and precious. In fact, we miss our own wisdom. Therefore it is best to begin simply, by taking a fresh look at our world and our experience.