I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation and happiness in your
interest in learning the guidelines for meditation practice in your life. The
practices of meditation and mindfulness ultimately lead to the awakening
of our mind’s true nature of wisdom and compassion. We start our path
by establishing the motivation to study these teachings. We must answer
the question, “Who am I?” Just like the Buddha, we have to answer this
question for ourselves.
There is a story about a young reporter at an airport who spots a
Buddhist monk and decides to interview him. The reporter asks, “Sir,
what would you say is the world’s biggest problem? Is it global warming?
World hunger? Corruption?”
The monk smiles and replies, “Before I answer, let me ask you
something first … Who are you?”
The reporter agrees and says, “I am a reporter.”
“No, that is your profession,” says the monk. “Who are you?”
“I’m John Adams,” says the young man.
“No, that is your name.” He asks again, “Who are you?”
“I am… a human being,” he hesitantly replies.
“No, that is your species,” says the monk.
This goes on for some time until the young reporter finally says,
“Alright, … it appears I don’t know who I am!”
Then the monk answers, “This is the world’s biggest problem.”
In this book we will look at how the Buddha answered this question
and at what eventually led him to enlightenment. I emphasize it, because
it is the fundamental question that faces each of us. What follows is the
ongoing answer to that question on the nature of the self.
An important ingredient for the success of our journey is having a
strong motivation to change our life for the better by adopting new positive
habits that are the foundation for your future happiness. We can learn to
uproot our negative habits and replace them with positive healthy habits.
This requires mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of training to become more
aware of your own mind. This is done through the meditation practices we
will study. It is a way to end our suffering and attain true happiness.
The following instructions place the emphasis on our direct inner
experience in applying the truths revealed by the Buddha. The Buddha
is called the Supreme Physician because, in his words, “My teaching is
about suffering and the remedy to end it.” Its purpose is to diagnose and
offer a remedy for our suffering and discontent. His genius was the ability
to analyze suffering and then show us how to apply this wisdom as the
remedy to achieve our serenity and peace of mind. The Buddha did not
come to teach a new religion or convert anyone; he simply welcomed and
taught everyone who wished to awaken to deep peace and truth.
Today, people around the world are struggling with the many difficult
challenges that our modern life presents, such as health problems, finances,
relationships, climate changes, the threat of war, and much more. This has
resulted in overwhelming worry, fear, depression, and anxiety at personal,
regional, and global levels.
For many, these myriad struggles have led to such things as substance
abuse that are reaching epidemic proportions. In recent studies from CDC,
it was reported that over 66 million Americans reported binge drinking. In
addition, in 2020, National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
reports that over 40 million Americans, aged 12 or older, had a substance
use disorder (SUD) in the past year. They report these numbers continue
to rise annually.
The World Health Organization has reported that over 280 million
people on the planet can be classified as clinically depressed! This includes
people of all ages – it isn’t limited to adults. Sadly, the latest statistics
on adolescent health in our country have shown that over 16 percent of
this population suffer from depression. Even worse, depression leading to
suicide is one of the major causes of death in adolescents, second only to
auto accidents.
Although these disturbing numbers are staggering, unfortunately,
they are continually rising. We can conclude from this that a method for
spiritual healing and awakening is desperately needed. Data has shown
a connection between a spiritual orientation and mental health (see the
Bibliography and Recommended Reading section at the end of the book; The
Awakened Brain). Buddhism shows us that we can change and learn how to
lead happy, fulfilled lives! This is why it has so much relevance and appeal
in our modern world and is making such a strong resurgence. Buddhism
has spread from India to China, Japan, Tibet, Southeast Asia, and more
recently to the West. Despite certain cultural differences, it currently is
proving its ability to peacefully transform the lives of over five hundred
million people around the world.
This is why despite Buddhism being one of the oldest of the world’s
religions, it remains as alive and relevant as it was for its earlier followers.
Many scholars and adherents to these teachings, including myself, see it
more as a mind science and a supreme psychology than as a religion.
Anyone can derive healing benefits in body and mind if Buddha’s
teachings are applied consistently in daily life. We all want to be happy
and don’t want to suffer, but we must have the proper motivation and
training to progress. Implementing these practices into our busy lives can
be daunting, and they are not a quick fix. Time and consistent effort are
required to uproot the habitual negative patterns we have been cultivating
for years and even lifetimes.
Each petal of our Golden Eight-Petaled Lotus represents an effective
means to cultivate virtue and uproot our negative tendencies, starting with
the mindfulness and meditation practices. These methods can skillfully
lead us to a solution for the many challenges we are facing.
With each of the eight healing traditions we will study in this series,
the lineage of their teachings plays an important role. This is a necessary
consideration when looking for qualified and respected teachers in any
area of study we wish to pursue because it establishes the basis, beliefs,
context, and intent of the information. Each of the eight areas of study
will be preceded by a brief lineage history.
This book presents an exploration of meditation from the Karma
Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. This is one of four major lineages
of Tibetan Buddhism originating with the historical Buddha of our time,
Buddha Shakyamuni. We call this a fortunate eon because the sutras say
there will be 1,002 Buddhas who will come to teach. We are in a time when
the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, the fourth Buddha of this fortunate
eon, are available and still being taught and practiced around the world.
The teachings can be summarized by three aspirations to practice and
uphold: (1) cultivate excellent virtue in abundance, (2) avoid wrongdoing
and harmful actions, and (3) completely tame your mind. This is the
teaching of the Buddha. These may be simple to say but can be hard to
follow! There are many ways to practice these three profound aspirations.
All spiritual traditions profess to teach behaviors that lead to a happy and
fulfilled life, but few give such precise methods for doing so.