transmiting dharma to the west - tai situpa

8/12/2019 Transmiting Dharma to the West - Tai Situpa

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It Takes a Saint

What will it take to establish a truly Western dharma?

By Tai Situpa Rinpoche as told to Helen Tworkov

What can establish dharma in the West forever? Forever is a long time, but that s

how I understand this question. Its a big question, and a big answer will just

confuse everyone. So Ill make it simple: One Western person must attain full

enlightenment in the same way as Marpa, Milarepa, or Guru Rinpoche

[Padmasambhava, Indian founder of Tibetan Buddhism]. If one Westernerman or

woman, doesnt matterattains that level of realization, then pure dharma will be

established in Western culture, Western language, and environment, and so forth.

Until that time, dharma can be taught in the West, which is already happening; itcan be practiced in the West, which is already happening; and it can be recited in

Western languages. But its not yet one hundred percent complete.

Only with the presence of great mahasiddhas like Guru Rinpoche, Marpa, and

Milarepa did dharma become established in Tibet. After that, dharma flourished

within its own culture and language and has lasted to this day. This unbroken living

lineage and blessing explains how even an unenlightened person like myself can

teach and practice the enlightened dharma. In India, Buddhism took root with the

appearance of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Indian mahasiddhas. In both Tibet and

India, dharma was established through the appearance of enlightened beings, and

it will take root in the West the same way.

Until that happens, Tibetan dharma for Westerners remains inseparable from

Tibetan culture and language, Tibetan ways and mentality. All that will change

when a Westerner attains full enlightenment. The cultural context will become your

own, and this will greatly increase inspiration and confidence.

Of course, some people may not have the karma to appreciate a Western

Milarepa. In Tibet, some Buddhist kings who encouraged the spread of dharma

were assassinated. Shakyamuni Buddhas own cousin, Devadatta, didnt

appreciate the Buddhas qualities. But milk is milk and water is waterin the end,

the majority of people will discern the difference. If you get enlightened and appear

in the sky above the entire city of New York, and you manifest all the Buddha

qualities while singing the most perfect dharma song, which is the most

appropriate song for New Yorkers, all of them will have some realization.

No one can help make a Western Milarepa. Nobody supported the historical

Milarepa. His own mother urged him to continue black magic. When he was

practicing in the cave, people were very critical; they called him a ghost because

he was so thin. For years, he ate no human food and his clothes were shredded by

the wind and rain.

The West needs such a person, but you cannot make such a person. But I m sure

there are plenty of people out there. Perhaps one Westerner has already made the

decision to attain full enlightenment. I dont know about now, but in our past,

hundreds of people attained the same level as Milarepa. Our faith, confidence, and

trust are based on experience that has been confirmed over and over and repeated

by hundreds of individuals through many generations. In the West, people are

sincere and intelligent, but faith, trust, and a genuine understanding remain difficult

because you dont have your own lineage. Once you can see Buddha qualities

within your own environment and culture, and hear pure dharma in your own

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language, you will no longer be dependent on some foreigner.

At that point, the language will change and become part of the transmission. The

translations will shift. You wont need ten dictionaries and five translators arguing

over one small text. Translators, too, will become like Marpalosa. I am not saying

in any way that the current translators are inadequate. But the full blessing of

transmission cant happen until the person translating is enlightened.

My English is not goodits not too bad either, but my teachings in English cant

have the full blessing as when I teach in Tibetan. Not because Tibetan language is

superior and English inferiorboth are just languagesbut because the words of

enlightened masters have continued through my guru, and blessings inhabit the

words themselves. So even though I am not enlightened, I can benefit from the

spoken transmissions. In English, I have to use twenty words to communicate one

idea. When I say religion, compassion, or devotion, I am using the same words

as many others use in English, but Im not one hundred percent certain of themeaning. In the end, I have to justify my efforts by saying that I tried.

It all boils down to genuine living blessing or lineage. Blessing is more accurate

because lineage can suggest authority. Blessing communicates a greater sense

of genuine living transmission of the Buddha.

Nowadays, the West is developing so much awareness of psychology and the

environment, and Western science itself has changed. Its no longer a fixed, rigid

discipline but has become flexible, transparent, ready to investigate anything.

Scientists now accept that they dont know everything, which is a big step. And the

interdisciplinary research that is taking place offers very positive possibilities. Of

course, if an unenlightened Buddhist like myself and an unenlightened scientist

who doesnt even believe in enlightenment team up to investigate aspects of

meditation, for example, theres a very good chance of getting things wrong. Thats

the downside. But we can definitely learn from each other.

I dont mean to be arrogant, but Buddhas teaching has nothing to learn from

anything. Yet Buddhist persons have a lot to learn from others. For example, I

watched a documentary film about a tribe that lives in the forest. Every day they kill

monkeys for food. Of course, killing is bad karma, but without eating these

monkeys they would starve to death. Now, this tribe has a rule: they will not kill the

mothers of baby monkeys. However, if an accident occurs and a mother dies, the

baby is adopted into the tribe and raised as a family member. After that, even if

they are starving, they will never eat that particular monkey.

When this same tribe heard about people who raised animals among themselves,

such as sheep or cows, who drank the milk and ate the cheese from these

animals, or fed chickens from table scraps, and then slaughtered these same

animals for food, they were just appalled. They considered this completely

uncivilized behavior. Tribal people are often thought of as barbaric and ignorant and

not quite fully developed as human beings, but I learned how civilized this tribe is. Idont mean to suggest that anyone should live by hunting, but after watching this

documentary,

I can appreciate the wisdom of their view.

Buddha does not have to learn that. But Buddhists can learn that. I pray that this

coming together of science and psychology with Buddhism will have some positive

benefits, but I hope it wont be used to abandon the tradition. I dont want to learn

tomorrow that we must change our prayers because some unenlightened

Buddhists and some unenlightened scientists got together and decided on better

ways and words and sounds to help enlighten beings. I dont accept that.

Scientists can change anything about science, but I cant change anything about

Buddhas teaching because I am not a buddha.

Generally I think dharma is doing very well in the West. Many professors are

teaching Buddhism, university programs are increasing, dharma centers aregrowingyou have very good teachers, meditators, and translators. One Milarepa

will make this complete. Then dharma in the West can flourish and be established

forever.

Tai Situpais the main guru of H.H. the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, in

Mahamudra. He is also a scholar, poet, calligrapher, artist, author, architect, and

geomancer. Helen Tworkov is the founding editor of Tricycle.

Image: Photograph by Felicia Megginson

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maybe the Western dharma is already plantedSubmitted by galaward on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 08:22.

When I read Eckhart Tolle I think, wow, this is great Western teaching; it speaks

to tradition - many traditions in fact - clarifies them, and by so doing it also

speaks beyond tradition. I have great hope for those teachings.
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Go deeper ...

Past thoughts into silence.

Past silence into stillness.

Past stillness into the heart.

Let love consume all that is left of you.

--Khabir

Ahhh, having just finishedSubmitted by galaward on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 08:24.

Ahhh, having just finished reading Cave in the Snow, I think Tenzin Palmo is your

lady!!


Go deeper ...

Past thoughts into silence.

Past silence into stillness.

Past stillness into the heart.

Let love consume all that is left of you.

--Khabir

An Eastern View of the Dharma for the WestSubmitted by Richard Fidler on Mon, 05/31/2010 - 22:01.

Tai Situpa Rimpoche's view that, in order for the dharma to take on a Western

perspective, the West must produce a fully enlightened being originating from

Western culture is, of course, a put-down to the West. That the East, not the

West (or any other world culture) produced the only fully enlightened beings

smacks of racism to me. It denigrates the great thinkers of Greece, Rome, the

Enlightenment of Europe and the wonderful minds of the twentieth century in

America and Europe--not to mention the great shamans of the New World. I

cannot accept that this one area of the world--India, China, Japan, Southeast

Asia--gave birth to Buddhas while Africa, Europe, the Western Hemisphere

remained barren of great religious minds.

Rimpoche's thesis comes from his own Buddhist background, not from a broad

world view that goes beyond cultural values. Many in the West may not see

Enlightenment (a term that may not be acceptable to all Westerners) as the sole

goal of practice, that the saving and nurturing of this planet might come first, that

religious understanding may not come from unquestioning acceptance of a Holy

Man's teachings, but from individuals working in communities delving into the

meaning of life much as Gautama did 2500 years ago. The view that a great

teacher must arise to lead others to Enlightenment sounds like an Eastern way

of thinking to me. There is nothing wrong with that--but the dharma from a

Western point of view might look very different. Will it still be the dharma? I don't

know.


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