| Buddhist Monk 2005-12-07, 1:05 am |
| Dharma - Quotations by Zen Master Rama, Dr. Frederick Lenz
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Dharma is an ancient word for truth.
Dharma is another name for existence. It is existence in its purest
form.
Dharma is the Truth that all of existence is. It does not disagree
with anything. It is the perception of existence in its purest
formlessness.
Dharma is a Sanskrit word. It simply means that which is right, that
which is correct, that which is the divine law.
Everything knows what is best for itself. That is what the Sanskrit
word dharma means. Dharma means the best of all possible actions.
There is a dharma for yourself, for someone else, for a family, for a
nation, for a universe. There are collective and individual dharmas.
Your dharma is what kind of work you should be doing, what kind of
people you should associate with, whether you should have a teacher or
not. Dharma encompasses all things and it is specific to the
individual.
When you understand dharma, when you see its perfect perfection,
shining both in and beyond all things, you will be freed from all
misunderstandings.
The first task is to discover the dharma by introspection, by
constantly questioning yourself and asking yourself, "What is right?"
Start simply everyday by asking yourself: "What is the dharma today?
What should I do? What is right? What does the universe want from
me?"
Naturally, to follow dharma, we have to find out what it is. You have
to struggle with it. The answer will not come easily. You will be
swayed by your desires, conditioning, and those around you who have
ideas about what you should do, what is proper, what is improper.
You can lie to yourself and fool yourself and rationalize that the
choice you're making is what is right and what is true and what leads
to liberation, when it's actually only the fulfillment of desire.
When you meditate you can stand back from your desire. When you
silence the mind and there is stillness, only then can you tell if a
desire is dharma.
In the light we can see what is and what is not. We know what is right
and what is inappropriate.
That which is right is different for each one of us in each situation.
There isn't a moral code that I or anyone can lay down that will tell
you what your dharma is.
What can be the dharma at one point in your life can totally reverse
itself, and suddenly you might be doing something the opposite or
something very new, something you never considered.
Dharma doesn't necessarily mean following a mundane and boring life.
It means a life of high adventure, not a life of endless, boring
repetition.
Very often, in order to bring about stillness we have to be tirelessly
active in the outer world. You might suppose this would agitate the
mind. It will not, if it is the dharma.
Love is the bridge that joins all the worlds together. Love permits us
to see who and what we are. The only thing that will truly inspire us
to find the dharma is love.
Meditate well so you can be a good instrument of eternity. You could
have a mediocre meditation today, but you're not going to. Today you
might run into someone who you might talk to about the dharma.
Intent is all-important. Your intent determines what happens to you
inwardly, in a karmic sense.
Following dharma puts you in a proper field of attention. In a proper
field of attention, regardless of what your outer circumstances are,
happiness will flow.
Human beings are not so in harmony with the dharma. That is why they
suffer so much. But you as an individual can reach a plane of
attention and can become attention itself.
Success is not success in an individual endeavor. Success is simply to
practice the dharma impeccably.
Happiness does not come from external objects. It comes from peace of
mind. You can be famous; you can be a king, a queen, anything. It
does not necessarily bring happiness or peace of mind. It comes about
through following dharma.
Souls have different journeys. The best thing to know is, not what
everybody else does, but what you do. Self-discovery essentially is
finding your own dharma, your own rhythm.
Wisdom is the ability to realize that everyone has their own dharma,
everyone goes their own way. What works for you is not the ultimate
good. Know that other people have different way.
What we do outwardly will only interrupt the flow of our perfect
attention if it is not in harmony with the dharma.
To not follow the dharma, either intentionally or through lack of
awareness, creates a very low level of attention. In this low level of
attention we make all kinds of mistakes and we are unhappy no matter
what good fortune befalls us.
When you are following dharma, you will be happy, at peace, still
inside. There will be a sense of purpose to your life. Difficulties
will not seem unconquerable.
When you are not following dharma, then you will not be at peace. You
will not be happy. The simplest things will seem to be endless
obstacles.
Not to follow the dharma leads to disaster. Life will be unhappy.
If you are doing that which is within you, what that part of you that
is beyond body would like you to do, then you would not experience
stress because you would be very fulfilled.
Beyond happiness and unhappiness is truth. Truth is not affected by
anything in the relative world. Truth is the unifying aspect of
existence.
Don't worry about techniques. Don't worry about chakras. Instead,
concern yourself with finding the dharma and meditate. Then the
kundalini will release.
It is necessary first in the practice of Kundalini yoga to determine
what the dharma is. There is a dharma for yourself.
Begin with your daily life. Take your life as a challenge and try to
bring yourself into harmony with each thing in your life.
Have a wonderful sense of humor, particularly about yourself and your
own situation. Yet don't simply laugh. Work to change and improve
things even though, at times, it seems impossible.
To increase the flow of kundalini that will alter our perception, it is
necessary to clarify the purpose of one's being. This is to come to
understand dharma.
The future is certain for those who follow dharma. Those who don't
follow dharma are pushed back again and again into the net of rebirth.
They are drawn back to the same planes of attention, or lower. It
could happen to you!
Feel the wind. This wind blows from world to world and from life to
death. This is the wind of dharma. Be in love with the wind. It is
an intimate lover. It enraptures you. It blows you through eternity.
You are dharma. You are a wheel. And the wheel of dharma spins.
- Zen Master Rama
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Thank you in advance for your religious tolerance.
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