Spiritual Centres

Spiritual centres are support groups where teachings can take place. They are good places and good company, with like-minded people. More or less.

However…

They are full of beings from the six neurotic realms from Hell being to Gods, out to project onto you, just like everywhere else, and you may feel that you don’t belong there.

However…

You’re one of these too. Spiritual centres are intense catalysts for change: very annoying. The best part of a retreat is going for tea outside when it’s finished!

However…

The commentary on a text by the teacher is invaluable: the next six months will be spent studying your notes. The purpose of teaching is putting it into practice, and connecting with that which already knows. Practice allows information to become knowledge through experience; knowledge then becomes wisdom, seeing ultimate truth within relative truth. When we reach this stage, our demons are useful as there, recognition has no permanent existence. In fact, the neurotic realms become the Buddha realms. The demons come to cause trouble, but receive only compassion and so move on to bug someone else – the universe is full of emotional beings!

However…

There is a certain dynamic within centres and that is to do with the yanas (vehicles). A group will have a particular attitude, and so will the teacher. Remember, a teacher can only deal with the type of people he or she attracts. All too often, if the centre is Tibetan Buddhism for example, people try to become Tibetan…this doesn’t work. Changing cultures does not change attitudes, and creates jargon barriers.

So sometimes, it is time to move on. If you have a genuine Dzogchen temperament, it will go crazy within a Hinayana set up – and the same applies in reverse. You have every right to chose what suits, and change if necessary.

Hinayana does not like demons and so stays away from them. Dzogchen practitioners welcome demons. In old Tibet, practitioners would go to graveyards at night to face their fears, because they believed in that sort of demon. This will not work for westerners: we don’t have that sort of fear. All we need to do is go to spiritual centres – there are enough demons there, which are reflected within!

However…

Saying all this, I’ve taken a break from spiritual centres for a while….too much sugar for my taste! And I’ve learnt so much, for which I am grateful. I’ve found my spiritual centre!

However…
Nothing lasts!

🙂