One of the hardest things about Dzogchen practice for me has been the breathing deep and taking in the suffering of others and and then exhaling nice, comforting thoughts back out to the other beings of the world. It really is hard to do this on the subway because of some of the smells. I've got a real nose for them. Here are some I have identified:
1. dookie
2. crotch rot
3. "I only brush my teeth at night"
4. "If I let this out silently, it doesn't count" (this theory is wrong. You can't compare farting to the "if a tree falls in a forest and nobody hears it" question because trees don't emit noxious gases)
5. peepee
6. Au de Four Days of Drinking and Smoking
7. the soil (is there actually soil in Manhattan still? Yes.)
8. Fish (or is it?)
9. Squid (is that what it is?)
10. Dead animals
11. Rotting Dairy
12. Dredlocks
There is a story of one monk who had not understood compassion fully, so the Buddha presented himself to the monk in the form of a dying dog on the side of the road. The dog's lower half was being eaten my maggots. The monk felt so much sympathy for the animal that he bent down and sucked the maggots out with his teeth. The Buddha transformed from the dog into his customary Buddha shape and told the monk he had now reached a new samsara level. Hmmmm.
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11 comments:
The Dzogchen practice helps us to find compassion within ourselves and allows us to see the great connection we share with other lives. If we cannot get over our distaste for something as minor as the way a person smells, then our hearts can never be truly open. Our interconnectedness can reach far deeper than our olfactories.
Thank you. I was being facetious. Actually I had hoped the maggot story expressed my desire to find the compassion beneath my olfactory sense. I guess I should have been clearer?
p.s. If this is a certain Quiet Librarian who is fond of commenting anonymously, I encourage him to try standing up for what he believes in with guts. If its somebody else, please forgive this post script.
give 'er good, sooz.
I did not mean to offend you in any way. I apologize if my comment came across as condescending or rude. And of course, I see clearer the connection between your experience and the parable you told. Thank you for bringing my attention to that. I too, am on a journey as a heart-warrior and understand how difficult the practice can be. I wish you much success as a bodhisattva.
As for my identity, I wish to remain anonymous. My communication tends to be much purer and more honest when I leave my ego out of it.
Sooz,
I never post anonymously; I only post under nome de plumes. Whoever that is, it is not me. I'm not clever enough to think up hilarious hyphenated terms like "heart-warrior."
Thank you Anonymous! I wish you luck too! I am not offended, I just wanted to make sure I was understood. How on earth did you unearth my blog from the annals of the web? Best regards!
As for you, "siddharta": the bird.
Dear Siddhartha:
I suppose the term heart-warrior does sound rather funny to the non-experienced, however it is quite common in the vernacular of many Buddhists. In fact it has been used quite frequently in the books of American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron, who was a student of the Tibetan meditation master, Chogyam Trungpa.
But surely you must know that, considering you decided to use Buddha himself to represent you in your online endeavors.
Peace, Love and Happiness to you, "Siddhartha", and to all living things.
Namaste
PS- Sooz, all I can say is that some greater Karmic force led me to Google today.
Peace.
I love this dialogue!
Anonymous,
I have heard the term "heart-warrior" before, but it's always struck me as suffering from bad translation. I'm sure the term does not sound so cheesy in the original Sanskrit.
Are you a Hinayana or Mahayana Buddhist?
Namaste
PS. Sooz, that's not very compassionate of you. I'd like to take that "bird" and make it a dove of peace between us. Besides, I'm so far ahead of you in points you'll never catch up. Sayonara!
Step one in making a "bird of peace": Gloat at your presumed victory? I don't know Greg (oooo!), it seems like when YOU keep score, you're winning. And when I keep score, I'm winning. So I don't think you've got much of a case there. Now I offer my outstretched (and not just one finger) hand to you in peace. For Realsies.
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