The Yoga of Invoking and Abiding 

Last night, in true “underground” fashion, we hosted Lhoppön Rechung Rinpoche, a warm flame of Buddhist compassion with decades of monastic study under his belt, and the karmic constellation to become a family man with three children. 

Life in the world, in particular parenting, puts any philosophy to a rigorous test.

He shared that our essential nature is one of supreme perfection, capable of shining far brighter than the inherent fetters that come with identifying with outer circumstances.

We discussed language, and how some Tibetan, Pali, or Sanskrit terms don’t have parallel translations into English; we are left with a two-dimensional version of a diamond-faceted principle. Edicts of “faith”, “suffering”, or “devotion” only point in the direction of a larger teaching. 

Words create worlds: dense-worlds, fire-worlds, crystalline-worlds; our tongue the magicians wand.

Words create worlds.

After our discussion, we meditated on this inherent, perfect nature. By releasing habits of anxiety or resentment and dropping the pretense of personality, a more essential world is revealed. The method is simple: relax into consciousness itself, viewing all thoughts as transitory clouds in an expansive sky.

An exercise in subtraction, rather than addition. Or more accurately, simply abiding.

Whether one is a monk, a householder, or an urban seeker, awareness remains the fundamental fabric of all experience. The yogini curate her mind, through regular practice, towards the light of higher consciousness.