Wholistic Fitness

This DL picks up where my Teaching of 6/5/08 left off…

click on photos for greater Transmission effect.

please keep your spine elegant and breath conscious while receiving this DharmaTeaching. thank you.

The fourth of the Four Thoughts is the suffering that all Beings endure. There are primary and subsidiary forms of suffering of which i have Taught you in this Hall previously.

Yesterday. i awake and reMembered with the samadhic consciousness* in which my mind rested during a portion of my Sleep Without Dreams State (the smallest circle of the OM Symbol) and relished the wonderful, fit, and powerful sense of my Precious Human Body (see Part I of this DharmaTeaching). in the next moment, i recalled my current fear-saddled karmic workload of suddenly being a 46-year old new daddy/provider/partner/businessman through Dharmic Service and all the responsibilities that goes with ilg trying to do what he does each day instead of my former life of just training, practicing, napping, partying…the weight of my new ‘adult’ response-abilities produced a form of suffering. all of this within the first few seconds of my day.

a bit later in my day, i ran up Mt. Elden Lookout. it’s only 2.5 miles to the summit. it’s just that within that 2.5 miles? there is close to 2,400′ of elevation gain. yup. it’s a Flagstaff classic…a “volcanic staircase of suffering” is what i like to refer to it as. love it. yet within my loving, there is much suffering. the suffering of my chronic spine injury which is basically bone-grinding-on-bone at this point sending me into searing heights of excruciating pain. i consider the pain purifying as i all-ways do. the Buddha referred to this subsidiary pain as Viparinama-dukkha (pain of alteration)… suffering caused by change or violated expectations or the failure of happy moments to last. ilg is well-accustomed to each form of Viparinama-dukkha. i feel ready for it in the Bardo, yet continue to train within these forms of suffering, not taking my lifetime of suffering for granted.

Superimposed upon the pain of my hip/back while running was the pain of the effort itself. this type of pain, which many shy away from at all costs, is like a shower to me. all Human Beings experience both physical and emotional pain from ‘problems’ which is a Word Choice that we do not use in the WF Tradition. Instead, i have Taught you to swap out the Word Choice of “problems” with the Word Choice of “challenges.” my challenges are unique to the pattern of my karma. yours are unique to your karma. we all have desires, many of which remain unfilled. even with the celebrities and rich people i have worked with in Hollywood. trust me; the Buddha was spot on; “everyone suffers.”

A bit later in my day, a Student quit. this Student was an addict (as all of us are in one Way or another) and i had given an extra-ordinary amount of loving-kindness, deep Teaching, and outright sweat and meditative spirit to this Student. you see, Noble Yogis, we give love and trust to others and sometimes – okay, MOST TIMES – we feel betrayed or are left with a hurting Heart. Anger is quick to arise. If we do not have a strong, wise DharmaTeacher in our spiritual life, we may seek revenge in any number of insipid, stupid ways. Such things – and others – subtract from our natural state of serenity and joy.

In the evening Brahmamuhurti of yesterday, i was deep in yet another Loving Zen M(o)ment with Dewa (there seems to be an endlessly linked cascade of such M(om)ents whenever i am with Her). She and i were engaged in another round (there are several throughout the day) of Her “Walking Practice” on the Temple Lawn. Charlie, our last remaining Temple Cat Being, was with us, pining for Dewa’s affection since She and he are on the same basic height level. Next thing i knew, Charlie bolts into the Elder bushes, pounces, and comes up with a Goldfinch flapping its poor wings, its body trapped in the jaws of Charlie. i sprint Dewa into Her porch playpen, pick up a rock and chuck it at Charlie, not even coming close to him. i give chase, ducking into the deeper bushes, scratching myself, and start chanting the Tribal Mantra for the Bird Being. a long, sad, and very touching saga ensured. at one m(om)ent, i sat chanting the Mantra in yogi squat among the bushes, eye-to-scared, shocked eye with the Finch. her wing, broken. her little black eyes so rich with Fear of Death. “All Beings tremble before death, even the wise.” Patanjali’s sutra surfaced from the hurt in my heart. i told her how much i Loved her. i told her that i was the one who fed her during the deep, cold winter days. i told her how beautiful she was. i told her how much joy her presence at the feeder meant to Joy, Dewa, and myself. i told her that my Lineage Teachers will allWays protect her no matter what happens. i told her that i am deeply sorry and that the same thing will happen to me, to Charlie, to Joy, to Dewa, to all Beings. it’s okay to die for you will always live, little bird…yogi ilg is here. i chose to let her be. several check ups later, she was still nestled, scared and in shock among the dead pine needles so accustomed to her Way of Life. it was not long before i was inside, watching Dewa, when i saw Charlie sprint past..the poor Finch, once again, trapped in his mouth. eventually, i took a shovel head and brought it down hard upon the Finch Being’s Precious Feathered Body. Her suffering on this Day, ended. more chanting, this time with tears for It All.

if we study our Days from the Turning Of The Mind To Dharma, we will quickly realize the utterly deep desire for Enlightenment; for freedom from all this coming and going, this suffering of life, death, and rebirth. the Pain of being unEnlightened.

if we study our True Self;
we would run toward WF as if our lives counted on a strong, proven Path toward Enlightenment. or at least a Path toward Freedom from Pain.

however,
we don’t.
we watch TV.
we spend money on silly movies
and beer
and fancy things
that
really,
when it comes right down to it,
has nothing to do
with the Highest Story
of Us.

Later in this Hall, i will provide Teachings that will allow you to realize effective Practices to reset your Highest Self time and again on the Path of Enlightenment and to use ALL circumstances for what Ram Dass called, “grist for the mill of Awakening.”

Traveling the Path toward Enlightenment is just like my run up Mt. Elden…one step – pain-filled as it may be – must be taken before the next one. and the thing is, you never know if the next Step is going to catapult you into the Next Higher and PainFree Realm of unconditional peace, power, devotion, dispassion, and knowledge.

yet, surely, the Masters say, one of your next Steps will.

as long as they are heading in the only Way i have Taught you since 1982:

Upward.

This then, ends my Teaching on, “Turning The Mind To Dharma.”

endless thanks to my Teachers, especially Lama Karma Rinchen and Lama Karma Dorje
at the Kagyu Shenpen Kunchab Bodhi Stupa, Santa Fe (photo #1)

other Photos:
#2; a Goldfinch Being…in less suffering times…
#3; i lift Rinpoche Dewa toward Father Sky as She gifts us all one of Her classic “Padmasambhava gazes.”

* “Make your daily life your sadhana and your sleep your samadhi.”
– Swami Rama

THIS 3-PART DHARMATEACHING IS AVAILABLE AS A PAY-PER-PDF for $5.00 in the WF Pro Shop:

Turning The Mind Toward Dharma