Swamiji on Class and Chod (PDF) - The Movement Center
Swamiji on Class and Chod (PDF) - The Movement Center
Swamiji on Class and Chod (PDF) - The Movement Center
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(<br />
CLASS<br />
AND CHÖD<br />
Tools for Creating<br />
a Bigger Life<br />
by Swami Chetanan<strong>and</strong>a<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 1
I’ve been asked to explain again how Chöd, a tantric ritual practice from the traditi<strong>on</strong> of<br />
Vajrayana Buddhism, has come to be part of our practice here.<br />
First, you should know that the Tibetan influence in our lives<br />
has been artistic, cultural <strong>and</strong> spiritual, <strong>and</strong> it originated with<br />
Rudi. Rudi’s earliest spiritual experiences involved Tibetans<br />
<strong>and</strong> Tibetan practice. Rudi’s art collecti<strong>on</strong> included some<br />
incredible pieces from Tibet, including a very special statue of<br />
Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), an eighth century Kashmiri<br />
tantric master who was the first pers<strong>on</strong> to establish a m<strong>on</strong>astery<br />
in Tibet. Thanks to Rudi, we also have a l<strong>on</strong>gst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong> with the Tibetan refugee community that has<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinued until this day.<br />
After Rudi’s death, I started pursuing the historical foundati<strong>on</strong>s of our practice, <strong>and</strong> that led me<br />
to the esoteric Shaiva traditi<strong>on</strong> of Kashmir. <strong>The</strong> Kashmirian<br />
authors <strong>and</strong> commentators were really well educated, really<br />
brilliant people. While their main audience was an<br />
aristocratic court, they had the foundati<strong>on</strong> in training <strong>and</strong><br />
practice that came from the cremati<strong>on</strong> ground where<br />
tantrism had its roots.<br />
Chöd is also a cremati<strong>on</strong> ground pratice. When I met Lama Wangdu <strong>and</strong> I started studying<br />
Chöd, I realized that the earliest written sources of Chöd practice are Shaiva sources. Lama<br />
Wangdu agreed, <strong>and</strong> he told me that his gurus c<strong>on</strong>sidered Padmasambhava to be a reincarnati<strong>on</strong><br />
of Shiva <strong>and</strong> that all the practices that they have as part of their training came from Shiva. This<br />
is c<strong>on</strong>sistent with what we have learned from Professor S<strong>and</strong>ers<strong>on</strong> of Oxford University. It is<br />
his positi<strong>on</strong> that many of the Vajrayana sources were drawn from significant Shaiva tantras.<br />
So these two traditi<strong>on</strong>s developed mutually, coexisted <strong>and</strong> shared informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> insight over<br />
the years <strong>and</strong> developed in t<strong>and</strong>em. In fact, I think tantric Hinduism, esoteric Shaivism <strong>and</strong><br />
Vajrayana Buddhism have more in comm<strong>on</strong> with each other than they do with the other versi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 2
of their own religious traditi<strong>on</strong>s. In other words, tantrism is really about creative energy <strong>and</strong> not<br />
religious identity.<br />
In the Shaiva traditi<strong>on</strong>, there are four layers of practice, called “upayas.” <strong>The</strong>re is Anavopaya,<br />
which is related to the ritual aspects of any practice, as well as asana <strong>and</strong> pranayama. <strong>The</strong>re is<br />
Shaktopaya, which has to do with the awakening <strong>and</strong> circulati<strong>on</strong> of the kundalini energy. It<br />
relates to the percepti<strong>on</strong> that we are energy <strong>and</strong> the awareness of the pulsati<strong>on</strong> of that energy<br />
<strong>and</strong> its vibrancy in us, <strong>and</strong> the awareness of our interc<strong>on</strong>nectedness with other human beings.<br />
<strong>The</strong> third layer of the esoteric Shaiva practice traditi<strong>on</strong> is called Shambavopaya. That is seeing the<br />
interc<strong>on</strong>nectedness as a whole. It’s like looking at the ocean <strong>and</strong> not seeing the waves or the<br />
currents there, but seeing the whole thing as a totally interc<strong>on</strong>nected dynamic <strong>on</strong>eness.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n, bey<strong>on</strong>d those three, there is <strong>on</strong>e final layer that is called Anupaya. Anupaya is the total<br />
transcendence of any percepti<strong>on</strong> of separateness whatsoever <strong>and</strong> the dissoluti<strong>on</strong> of all<br />
phenomen<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> all thought into a very simple profound, state of being, bey<strong>on</strong>d any beginning<br />
or end, which is simply <strong>on</strong>e <strong>and</strong> simply is.<br />
In the Vajrayana traditi<strong>on</strong> of<br />
Padmasambhava that Lama Wangdu<br />
teaches, there are nine yanas. Each of those<br />
yanas is divided into three. <strong>The</strong>y are<br />
religious, philosophical <strong>and</strong> practical<br />
training. <strong>The</strong> pinnacle of that system is the<br />
practice called Dzogchen.<br />
In my opini<strong>on</strong>, Dzogchen <strong>and</strong> Anupaya are<br />
the same thing. Dzogchen means the<br />
perfecti<strong>on</strong> of wisdom. It is the recogniti<strong>on</strong><br />
of the state of meditati<strong>on</strong> that is always within us. It is the recogniti<strong>on</strong> that we are not<br />
meditating, but rather that this body <strong>and</strong> this individual life is like a small thought that is being<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 3
meditated up<strong>on</strong> by the ultimate reality. It is appreciating that we are not breathing, but rather<br />
but we are being breathed. We are nothing but the breath of God, if you will.<br />
Within the Dzogchen traditi<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> in esoteric Shaivism, there are two principal training<br />
programs at the highest level. Those two programs are Chöd, which exists in different forms in<br />
Shaivism <strong>and</strong> in Dzogchen, <strong>and</strong> the circulati<strong>on</strong> of the energy or kundalini yoga. Kundalini yoga,<br />
as you know, is the awakening of the energy, the expansi<strong>on</strong> of the chakras <strong>and</strong> the circulati<strong>on</strong> of<br />
the energy through the channels. In the Dzogchen traditi<strong>on</strong>, it’s called Togyal.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se two practices, Chöd<br />
<strong>and</strong> kundalini yoga, are the<br />
main ways in which we<br />
practice to bring out the best<br />
in us <strong>and</strong> the best in<br />
everything in our<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>ment. <strong>The</strong> circulati<strong>on</strong><br />
of the energy brings about a<br />
vibrancy <strong>and</strong> vitality in your<br />
physical body, a<br />
transformati<strong>on</strong> of all of the<br />
emoti<strong>on</strong>al garbage that we<br />
carry. We dissolve that <strong>and</strong> become emoti<strong>on</strong>ally balanced <strong>and</strong> clear <strong>and</strong> mentally clear <strong>and</strong><br />
sharp. Ultimately, we become profoundly aware of the power of spirit that is functi<strong>on</strong>ing within<br />
us as the very essence of our desires <strong>and</strong> our will, functi<strong>on</strong>ing as us, <strong>and</strong> also functi<strong>on</strong>ing as the<br />
vibrancy in all of our experience. We come to that place where we appreciate the total<br />
interc<strong>on</strong>nectedness of our body <strong>and</strong> mind <strong>and</strong> our envir<strong>on</strong>ment.<br />
Chöd practice is the c<strong>on</strong>scious c<strong>on</strong>templati<strong>on</strong> of the transcendence of our physical body <strong>and</strong> our<br />
mind, <strong>and</strong> our ego <strong>and</strong> all of our desires <strong>and</strong> our agendas <strong>and</strong> our trips <strong>and</strong> our attitudes <strong>and</strong> our<br />
likes <strong>and</strong> our dislikes <strong>and</strong> our beliefs <strong>and</strong> our disbeliefs. It is the transcendence of everything to<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 4
do with mind <strong>and</strong> body <strong>and</strong> the c<strong>on</strong>templati<strong>on</strong> of who we are bey<strong>on</strong>d that sack of flatulence that<br />
we walk around in all the time.<br />
Chöd practice is also a dem<strong>on</strong>strati<strong>on</strong> of loving<br />
kindness <strong>and</strong> compassi<strong>on</strong>. It is the awareness that we<br />
are resp<strong>on</strong>sible for the quality of our envir<strong>on</strong>ment, for<br />
our own transformati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> the transformati<strong>on</strong> of that<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>ment for the benefit of the whole. It is the<br />
appreciati<strong>on</strong> that this whole world is not someplace<br />
we have come to to get something from.<br />
We are not in this world to get anything. We are in<br />
this world to give. Giving of ourselves to the tensi<strong>on</strong>s,<br />
whether they be spirits or people, whatever<br />
circumstances, giving of ourselves in every<br />
circumstance that dem<strong>and</strong>s of us, requests of us,<br />
presents itself to us, allows us to dissolve the boundaries of our awareness <strong>and</strong> transcend the<br />
whole paradigm of desire <strong>and</strong> a versi<strong>on</strong>, of love <strong>and</strong> hate, of want <strong>and</strong> d<strong>on</strong>’t want, of pain <strong>and</strong> joy,<br />
pain <strong>and</strong> pleasure, allows us to dissolve that <strong>and</strong> begin to appreciate the wholeness of life within<br />
us <strong>and</strong> wholeness of life<br />
itself. In which case, we<br />
are released, relieved to be<br />
able to live in the<br />
dimensi<strong>on</strong> of ourselves<br />
which is whole, which has<br />
never had a problem.<br />
We live in the dimensi<strong>on</strong><br />
that has no problem, has no<br />
limitati<strong>on</strong>, has no tensi<strong>on</strong>,<br />
is nothing but the vibrancy<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 5
of the creative energy <strong>and</strong> is inherently joyful. <strong>The</strong> point of growing is to bring us to that place<br />
where we can live c<strong>on</strong>scious of the completeness, the wholeness, which is ever present within<br />
ourselves <strong>and</strong> enjoy it. Enjoy it now! Not tomorrow. Not after we die. Now, because that<br />
dimensi<strong>on</strong> of ourselves is bey<strong>on</strong>d time <strong>and</strong> space. In that dimensi<strong>on</strong> there is no past <strong>and</strong> no<br />
future. <strong>The</strong>re is an infinite present, infinitely now, which is infinitely complete.<br />
I was h<strong>on</strong>ored to receive Lama Wangdu’s teachings<br />
<strong>on</strong> Chöd <strong>and</strong> profoundly impressed by those<br />
teachings. <strong>The</strong>y res<strong>on</strong>ated with my Catholic<br />
upbringing, where I first learned that it is necessary<br />
for us to be c<strong>on</strong>cerned about our fellow human<br />
beings. Because we exist in a totally integrated,<br />
totally interc<strong>on</strong>nected envir<strong>on</strong>ment, in which we<br />
are not now, nor will we ever be separate, we cannot<br />
achieve anything just for ourselves. Because we are<br />
never going to be working <strong>on</strong>ly for ourselves; it is<br />
not possible in an integrated envir<strong>on</strong>ment. We have to be c<strong>on</strong>cerned about our<br />
interc<strong>on</strong>nectedness <strong>and</strong> to appreciate that the quality of our life is in some measure dependent<br />
up<strong>on</strong> the quality of the envir<strong>on</strong>ment around us.<br />
<strong>The</strong> circulati<strong>on</strong> of the energy is really about the quality of the whole. I was very pleased that we<br />
could bring this Chöd teaching to reinforce that underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>and</strong> to have a practical way of<br />
beginning to put people in touch with that boundless dimensi<strong>on</strong> of themselves, <strong>and</strong> the fact that<br />
that boundless dimensi<strong>on</strong> of ourselves operates in our everyday life all the time. It operates<br />
every moment of every day in every c<strong>on</strong>text.<br />
How does all fit with our core practice, class? <strong>Class</strong> is about transmitting, making available to<br />
you the experience of that dimensi<strong>on</strong> where the you <strong>and</strong> the me no l<strong>on</strong>ger exist <strong>and</strong> there is <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
<strong>on</strong>e pure joyous loving awareness. <strong>Class</strong> is what is described in the Dzogchen traditi<strong>on</strong> as<br />
direct transmissi<strong>on</strong>. It is the direct transmissi<strong>on</strong> of the awareness of awakened mind or pure<br />
c<strong>on</strong>sciousness, which is the term in the Anupaya of esoteric Shaivism.<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 6
An important Dzogchen master in Tibet told me that the essential method of practice in that<br />
traditi<strong>on</strong>, according to the greatest exp<strong>on</strong>ent, L<strong>on</strong>gchenpa, is to find your guru <strong>and</strong> merge your<br />
mind with his. In Buddhism, the term “mind” really means your individual awareness. That is<br />
more than just your thoughts;<br />
it’s also your energy <strong>and</strong> your<br />
awareness. Merge with your<br />
teacher. Realize there is <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
<strong>on</strong>e mind.<br />
In Dzogchen teachings, as in<br />
Anupaya teaching, whether we<br />
use the term Shaktipat or<br />
direct transmissi<strong>on</strong>, the<br />
possibility of experiencing this<br />
dimensi<strong>on</strong> of reality is made<br />
present in our lives by a<br />
teacher, a mentor. So, class is<br />
where TrekChöd <strong>and</strong> Togyal<br />
come to the same point, where<br />
Chöd <strong>and</strong> the circulati<strong>on</strong> of the<br />
energy meet as the experience<br />
of totally undifferentiated pure<br />
awareness, bey<strong>on</strong>d flow <strong>and</strong><br />
bey<strong>on</strong>d time <strong>and</strong> bey<strong>on</strong>d space.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is <strong>on</strong>ly <strong>on</strong>e thing happening here. <strong>The</strong>re is <strong>on</strong>e practice, which has several forms. All<br />
those various forms meet <strong>and</strong> become completely <strong>on</strong>e-pointed in class, which is the Shaktipat of<br />
the Anupaya, the highest practice traditi<strong>on</strong> am<strong>on</strong>g all the tantric Shaivas <strong>and</strong> the direct<br />
transmissi<strong>on</strong> of awakened mind in the Dzogchen traditi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 7
I hope this helps you to underst<strong>and</strong> why we embrace Chöd <strong>and</strong> where it fits into where we do.<br />
Because class is Chöd <strong>and</strong> Chöd is class. Circulati<strong>on</strong> of the energy is class <strong>and</strong> class is the<br />
circulati<strong>on</strong> of the energy. You can’t ultimately separate the two.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Shaiva <strong>and</strong> Vajrayana practices we have are really the same thing put in different cultural<br />
envelopes. We’re not Hindu <strong>and</strong> we’re not Buddhist. We are just trying to be ourselves, in the<br />
finest possible dem<strong>on</strong>strati<strong>on</strong> of that that we can evoke from within ourselves <strong>and</strong> the total<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>ment in which we move.<br />
Please d<strong>on</strong>’t get c<strong>on</strong>fused about what our practice is or isn’t. We have to think instead about<br />
how we can use these tools to live in the finest place within ourselves—the most open, the most<br />
loving, the kindest, most compassi<strong>on</strong>ate place we can live from within ourselves. How can we<br />
live big, large <strong>and</strong> generous lives? Think about how these tools can help you.<br />
(from a talk at the July 2008 Retreat)<br />
TMC News, December 2008 <strong>Class</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chod</strong> 8