A word of warning.

 Padmasambhava said, “Though your view is higher than the sky, keep your deeds finer than barley flour.” He is talking about receiving exalted teachings on the view, but not caring about our conduct.

As Tulku Urgyen said, “Adopt what is virtuous and avoid evil, with respect for the law of cause and effect. Pay attention to the smallest detail. This will keep harmony with the view and conduct.”

If we don’t pay heed to our conduct in life, thinking that it doesn’t matter about our actions, we are fooling ourself. Every time we fool ourself, we will acquire that amount of negative karma.

Of course, ultimately, it is true that there is nothing to do, but this is only true after we have passed through to the other side of understanding: experience and realisation.

To maintain an intellectual understanding, without undergoing training, is a severe misunderstanding. This is how Dzogchen practitioners go astray, ending up with a ‘make-believe’ view, lacking insight.

The view is not something spectacular. It is quite ordinary and simple. Everything genuinely drops away. This brings us back to our conduct. Conduct is merely the continuity of the meditation experience of empty cognisance. And, most importantly…compassion for ourself and others.

This compassion means that we care about others before our own proclamations! Spirituality is a two edged sword: it can cut through our own confused, fixated ego, or it can create more confused fixation by trying to cut through another’s ego…not to mention the bad karma we acquire by this.

We can fall into the trap of having good karma – a charmed life with minor ups and downs – but waste this good karma, exchanging it for bad karma to be experienced in the future. This may be the activity of a Bodhisattva, who does this intentionally and knows and accepts the consequences, but it’s not for us…yet.

 Buddha:

Do good.

Do no evil.

Train the mind.

Tony:
Keep sharp!