7/26/2023 0 Comments Cowardly lion growlIn meditation practice, we have no real intention of stabilizing our mind, generating kindness, or discovering our inherent goodness. It is similar to being lazy or stuck, when we feel as if we can be no other way. We have no motivation to go beyond it with bravery. Being cowardly means being content within our own cowardliness. There is a feeling that if we continue to elaborate the deception, it will eventually become true. The schism in our mind has reached our lips, and we are constantly saying one thing and doing another, using words to cover our life with a web of deception. Because we are unable to face the facts, we avoid them. The first is speaking with a double tongue. The excuses we use fall into three categories. It makes sense that the prerequisite for facing the facts is known as bravery, for to face the facts is brave. It is hard to be totally honest, and difficult to follow the instructions. Then, at the ultimate level, when it comes to following a spiritual path, we are already accustomed to a somewhat deceptive momentum. At the relative level, because we cannot be strong in our social and personal situation, we deceive our spouse, children, or friends. It is the result of avoiding relative virtue and absolute virtue. The self-deception that prevents us from being brave is based on not living wakefully, in the moment. To be a warrior is to experience life on our own two feet, without the companionship of habitual patterns. If we are to face these principles and incorporate them, we must be properly mounted in our minds and in our lives. In a jousting match with an oncoming rider-who we could equate with genuineness, egolessness, and cheerfulness-we would fall out of the saddle. To equate deception with riding posture, we are slightly askew. If our lives are based on deception, they are rooted in a serious fabrication. But if we use our activities as a buffer that prevents us from being, those same activities become a nesting ground for habitual patterns and cowardly traits-elements of deception that allow us not to be fully present. The Shambhala tradition regards any aspect of life as a potential path of warriorship. To engage in bravery, we must be willing to be free of deception. We arrive at this ability to be by cultivating a steady and forthright attitude toward the present moment. It is the act of wholeheartedly having the courage, relaxation, and insight simply to be. Bravery is that moment when we manifest 110 percent. Bravery is defined as “the act of both personally and socially manifesting.” If we manifest our potential, liberation will arise. These teachings are called “the sacred path of the warrior” because they emphasize bravery as an important factor in determining not only our personal future, but that of the world. My father, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, introduced the teachings of Shambhala to the West. The way to free ourselves, says Sakyong Mipham, is to face life head-on without the seductive companionship of habitual patterns. While Lion's Roar does not endorse him as a Buddhist teacher, we understand that some may want to access his past teachings in light of recent events, and so we are continuing to make this article from our archive of past issues available for those who wish to do so. Note: In 2018, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche became the subject of a number of allegations of sexual assault and misconduct and stepped back from the community he led, Shambhala.
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