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.For example, we may want to become someone who will beadmired and respected, for example, or become so wise thatwe can ‘save’ people and be admired still further.But comingto Dharma practice we need a total y different approach, andmind-set, to anything we have experienced or engaged inbefore in our entire lives.is is because the root of Dharmapractice is ultimately not about becoming anything at al , butabout unbecoming.is mind is called Dharma mind.e heart and spirit of Dharma practice is about learn-ing to surrender, and giving up our ingrained habitual self-interests.So rather than seek any reward in our new practice,4445we begin to cultivate a spirit of not wanting anything in par-ticular in return for our efforts.Just cultivating this attitudeand giving up those precious attachments will now be rewardenough.With this practice, the one desire that is allowed bythe Dharma — the noble desire for release from suffering— can be fulfilled.is new mind and its cultivation requirea seismic change of attitude.In fact, this change of attitude has to be learned andrelearned, over and over again, as we continually fall backinto our old habits of seeking reward.oughts such as ‘ifI’m going to do this practice, I want to become like this andnot any longer be like that’ creep in.is ingrained habit ofself-interest is so powerful that we fall back into its clutchesover and over again.But learning to give up, to surrenderall those self-interests, within the practice of a wholeheartedcommitment to life, will in itself remind us that this is theway of the Dharma.e way of the Dharma is not the way of the world.e way of the world is to want and become, the way of theDharma is to give up and unbecome.is cultivation takesfaith in the teachings, and faith in the three jewels.e fearof ‘If I am no longer going to be like this and I am no longerwanting to become like that, what will become of me?’ is thefear that brings us back, again and again, to the self-interestof wanting to be something.But it is faith in the three jewelsof the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, faith that we havenurtured since the beginning of our practice, that will sup-port and carry us through that fear.So we will discover that,4647far from the black hole, and even death, that we fear willovertake us if we give up all desires, the human heart willshine through and take the place of fear and self-interest.Itwill shine through and radiate all around with warmth andlove because it is now a heart that is free from the bonds ofdesire and self-interest.taying at omeIt has been interesting, but sometimes alarming, at the booklaunches and in private talks, to hear others talk about theirmeditation experiences.I get particularly alarmed, whenI am told of experiences of energy gathering during sits— energy that runs through the body — perhaps finding itsway to the head, or into a limb, or even to an internal organ,sometimes causing violent jerking of the body or limbs, orjust general pain and discomfort.Sometimes that energy,having nowhere to go, even seems to create mental images ofdevils and demons.From the reports it seems to be of no particular im-portance what the meditation subject is — there have beenmany techniques developed over the centuries in Buddhism,but despite their variety they still fall into two basic catego-ries, concentration and insight — as it appears problemscan arise whatever type of meditation is being practised.Concentration, however, is a necessary feature of both.e basis of most of the problems I hear brought up are,I am sure, based on the assumption that the Dharma is to be4647found in our heads and intellect — through energetic think-ing and working things out [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]