Buddhas
amongst us: What the fellow Chinamen saw in Mrs Chang?
In
the past, the dharma - teachings of reality - have flourished in many
countries such as India, China, Tibet, Japan, Mongolia and Korea. At
some point in history these teachings were brought over by pioneers
to these new areas and locals started practicing them. As we know now
there has been many great fully enlightened masters in all of these
countries. If I were to gather a list of all of them, it would make a
thick book. We are talking about tens if not hundreds of thousands of
individuals.
If
we think about this it must have gone in the following way. For
example, a local, let's say mister or missis Chang from somewhere in
China, took up some form of dharma practice and started practicing
it. Some years went by and gradually this person reaped fruits from
her/his practice. Then finally one day she finished her practice,
finished the whole path of purification and became equal to all
buddhas and mahasiddhas - masters - in her attainment. She became a
living mahasiddha. Excellent! This is how it is supposed to be.
Now,
if we think of Mrs Chang and she becoming a fully enlightened master
of dharma, it is inevitable that the people around her - the locals -
at some point had to accept the fact that a) also Chinese people
could attain buddhahood and b) that there was one (or more) of these
attained buddhas living amongst them. There had to be a moment or a
process among Chinese people and their culture where attaining
buddhahood as a Chinaman became part of their view and comprehension.
The same applies to all other ancient dharmic cultures.
Teaching
of reality - dharma - has only one purpose, that of helping people to
become who they truly are, or in other words shedding what they
aren't. If people are who they truly are, they have no self-delusion
and are buddhas. To achieve this is the sole purpose of all dharmic
teachings, i.e. the purpose of yogas and tantras. And there is no
other way to validate the purpose of dharma except through first hand
experiences and by becoming a living buddha oneself. That someone
else in India or China has achieved this is inspirational but only
so, and this is not enough. The meaning and purpose of dharma can
only be verified first hand. This is the only authentic way to
develop faith towards the teaching and towards one's guru.
So,
according to our example, Mrs Chang took up practice and became a
fully realized individual. And the locals had to accept that them too
could take up practice and go all the way. After all, the central
tenet of mahayana and especially vajrayana says that enligtenment is
possible in this life and in this body. Some tantric manuals even say
that one who has the right methods, the blessings and guidance of a
guru and works hard, can finish the path in a matter of few years,
namely 2-7 years.
So,
by her example Mrs Chang testified to the validity of the view and
took her place in the lineage. This made her dharma clear, palpable,
alive and down to earth. Had her dharma been mere shallow words
supported by big money of the rulers and the religious establishment,
people wouldn't have paid attention to it, unless being forced.
The
people who knew Mrs Chang, lived with her and had interactions with
her, had to accept that she had indeed fully awakened. The energy and
verbal expression of a mahasiddha, who knows the nature of mind
inside out, does not go unnoticed, unless if one is not listening. So
the locals saw the change in Mrs Chang, felt the wisdom energy
pouring out of her and simply had to accept that a fellow Chinaman
had become a holder of wisdom.
This
process must have happened countless times not only in China but in
each of the countries I mentioned. By looking at the local community
now we can see that it is not a problem for Indian, Chinese,
Japanese, Mongolian, Korean or Tibetan people to accept and
appreciate that some of them are living buddhas. For them it is
natural to have people like that among them. It is also natural for
the locals to bow their heads, to touch the feet (to receive
blessings), to visualize their gurus in meditation and to offer
themselves and everything they have to their gurus. I have seen
people do that and I have done that myself, both in front of my Asian
and Western gurus.
To
me it has never been a problem to acknowledge whose medicine kept me
alive. Knowing this I never had a moment when it wasn't clear and
therefore my gratitude towards my gurus is to this day, to this
moment, incessant. Anyway, the process of acceptance that happened in
Asian countries hasn't even started in the West.
Dr
Daniel Brown, a professor and teacher of Tibetan buddhism, was the
only voice within Tibetan buddhism who publicly stated that two
people in his sangha had attained buddhahood.
He-was-the-only-one-in-the-whole-field-of-dharma-who-openly-stated-this.
To my knowledge he was the only one to state this among thousands of
dharma teachers active in the West. Well, I have too but I am unknown
and not part of the establishment so whatever I say is disregarded by
most buddhists.
Anyhow,
Dr Brown did and by saying this publically he was in fact doing the
same thing as countless past masters who openly stated that they had
attained the end of the path. I am including a number of these
statements, quoted from classical buddhist and dzogchen literatire,
in my upcoming book. I never met Dr Brown but I highly appreciated
his openness and directness, especially during the last years of his
life. Some of his talks, like Sacred Sundays, are outstanding. May he
enjoy his rebirth in the pure lands in the midst of masters and
adepts. May he enjoy the natural bliss of being!
Unless
the teachings of dharma are lucid and down to earth, they will not
become part of the modern Western culture. If the teachings have too
much foreign or ancient baggage, or if they are not taught well,
people will not take them seriously and throw them away as
mumbojumbo. If they won't take them seriously, the dharma will never
become the universal existential helper and pacifier it always was
and is supposed to become.
KR,
12.4.2022
