In love with the world - 16. Where the Buddha Died

Contributors

Christophe, Carles

Key point of the chapter

This is a transition/bardo chapter from the train station in Varanasi to Kushinagar, the death place of the Buddha.

Turbulence is not the real problem. “Deeper down I feel alert, confident, even content.” Rinpoche aspires to be reborn as a carefree wandering yogi.

The power of aspiration:

• stay connected to the timeless awareness that is the very essence of all turbulent emotions;
• welcome negative emotions and try to work with them;
• see the waves, not as monsters […] but as displays of enlightened activity that reflected the true nature of our own mind;
• deepen our understanding so we could be of more benefit to sentient beings.

Adding wood to the fire is not an event but a process.

Quote from 'Carefree dignity' by Tsoknyi Rinpoche

IT’S ACTUALLY FINE to be happy, carefree. The more carefree you are from deep within, the better your practice is. Carefree means being wide open from within, not constricted. Carefree doesn’t mean careless, that you are sloppy or that you don’t care about others. It’s not like you don’t have compassion or are unfriendly. Carefree is being really simple, from the inside.

Questions

• How does it feel being carefree ?
• Do you remember situations in which you deeply let go of your expectations about what you want to happen and simply be? What made it possible?

Meditation

Feeling carefree