I found my mother Tara.

Today I went to the shop that sells Thangka art and the moment I saw the white Tara thangka there, I was so happy, as if I found my mother Tara, whom I have been looking for, for so long. I received Tara’s empowerment and instructions for practice when I was very young from an old Rinpoche, and since then I try to practice daily. White Tara practice is for longevity as well as for wisdom, just like the practice of Buddha Amitayus. I just felt very happy and wished to share this with you.

After my return to Nepal, everything seems the same and not much has changed. I have just read my earlier blog and felt it was very long. I wonder if readers need some time to read it. Anyway, some readers thanked me for the advice but I think there is nothing special about what I wrote. Most of these advice are not new to Buddhist practitioners but they definitely play a role of reminding one to reflect on oneself.

We humans are funny sometimes. We just think that whatever we think is right, then insist that it is right, but we do not reflect on how inaccurate our thoughts are. Actually, most of the time, whatever we think is right in the morning, turns out to be wrong in the afternoon or evening. Our mind which is controlled by emotions finds it hard to perceive truth but is like an inaccurate fortune teller’s prediction most of the time. What we stubbornly insist on as correct is only because we think it as correct or just referred by any senior or elderly people say so. Most of the time what we think is correct may actually be far from the correct or truth.

At the very beginning, our emotional mind cannot see the truth of what actual it is and therefore we should not feel so arrogant and be against the thoughts and views of others. We should learn to respect everyone’s views and try to keep ourselves free from the tie of emotional concepts.

I have seen some people who act very proud and try to present that as a good quality and do not think that it is a defect. Actually, having a humble and simple life is the most comfortable type of life where one does not have to face much problems like people with a lot of pride. In the past, masters say that pride is just like a bowl turned upside down, which is unable to contain any substance. So we should improve ourselves in this aspect. People often think and even have told me that if we are humble, people will take advantage of us. If we are not truly developing humility in our way of life but only act as if we are humble, then you may think and also feel this way. Otherwise, true development is more about the training of the mind. We do not need to purposely show others that we are humble and simple. If our humility is not very noticeable to others, we do not need to worry about others taking advantage of us.

The qualities we develop are actually like software we are trying to adapt to, not just merely for trying to do something special for a certain time. Just like computers or some device that when upgraded, the software or firmware we have works better but that does not mean the software has totally changed or device outlook body need to be change its shape. Likewise, we need to upgrade our minds and point it towards the Buddhist way. This is more important than trying to act like a Buddhist. We all have very beautiful qualities which inherently exist. These are loving kindness and compassion. We do not need to search to find them. They are already with us but we just need to expand them to reach everyone. The reason for me to say this is that even ferocious animals like tigers and lions also have such qualities but concentrate them very narrowly towards their closest ones. In the same way, humans definitely have such qualities in varying degrees, some show them more than others, but all have such qualities.

This point can be expanded in many ways. Due to Buddha’s compassion towards us, many methods of practice has been taught. One particular key point is the development of selflessness. Loving kindness and compassion helps the development of selflessness become easier. Ego clinging can be the main obstacle to our practice. It makes our attachment to the self more solid and strong so that weak and temporal practice cannot break through it.

Mindfulness is another very important factor as we often forget about mindfulness and awareness of what our mindset is or should be at present moment. We just simply wonder about all complicated matters unknowingly. This is just like surfing the web aimlessly without a proper destination to reach, following countless of links and becoming confused about where we started from or what is the intended purpose. So surfing today’s world wide web is very similar to how our discursive thoughts work. Also talking about the web, I remember that one of the teachings say that if we tie ourselves up completely and try to move to get out within the conceptual ego state of mind, the more we struggle, the more we become tied up. Just like flies trapped in a spider's web; once they try to free themselves by moving their legs. The more they struggle, the more they are tied up. Finally, they struggle to death. So similarly, to seek happiness, we try tens and thousands of methods but we end up suffering physically and mentally. Finally we still cannot escape Samsara and continue to suffer endlessly.

Hope you will not fall asleep while reading halfway. I will write more thoughts later and till then Sayonara.