conversations.from: human
conversations.value: a description for a book titled Turning the Mind Into an Ally about Rinpoche, Simple, Conradi with the genre: Health, Fitness & Dieting, Alternative Medicine
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: "In language totally fresh and jargon-free, the author Rinpoche distills the wisdom of many centuries. Simple as it is profound, his book bears reading many times."Peter Conradi, author of Iris Murdoch: A Life
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: the first four paragraphs for this book
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Turning the Mind Into an Ally
  You can contemplate these topics at any time. First do a little sitting, and then turn your mind to the contemplation of your choice for ten minutes or so. At the end of the contemplation, sit for a few more minutes. Depending on your schedule and how the practice feels, do one topic a day, one a week, or even one a month. In an all-day session of practice, you could do one topic in the morning and another in the afternoon.
  Perhaps we think of enlightenment as an instant transformation. One minute the Buddha was sitting under the tree, a regular Joe from India, and the next minute he woke up as Shakyamuni Buddha, the Totally Blessed One. However, it didn't happen like that. Enlightenment was the tail end of a long process. The Buddha was diligent in training and developing his mind. It took exertion, patience, and discipline to transform himself this way.
  Like spring bulbs dormant underneath the frozen earth, the qualities of the enlightened mind need time and the proper conditions to grow. Although surprising and revealing moments of insight may deepen our understanding, the mind of enlightenment doesn't open in an instant. These moments of insight are like the days getting warmer and longer at the end of winter. One warm sunny day isn't going to make the flowers bloom, but as more of them occur, we're going to see signs of stems and leaves and eventually buds. Just so, as our moments of insight accumulate, they begin to influence our activity; we're able to open our hearts. We begin to use what we've understood in contemplation to inspire our conduct in the world. The kind of insights we're going to have and our ability to know their meaning will depend on the strength of mind that we've already established.
  Most of us contemplate what's missing in our lives, as opposed to what we have. Contemplating what we have opens up our mind to be bigger, less insular. In contemplating the joy of being human, we focus on the words, "Joyful human birth, difficult to find, free and well favored."
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: four more paragraphs
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Our motivation stretches further when we begin to think about how our current actions might affect us after death. This larger motivation comes from seeing the vast interconnection of cause and effect and the fact that our present activities directly affect what will happen to us in the future. With this motivation, we practice spiritual teachings to assure a favorable afterlife or rebirth, depending on our beliefs. In traditional Buddhist cultures, people are motivated by the desire to accumulate merit. Merit is like a series of domino chain reactions that enable positive results in this and future lifetimes. Tibetan nomads go on long religious pilgrimages, sometimes prostrating themselves for months on end across vast, desolate plains and mountain ranges. They do this to show their heartfelt devotion for the living teachings of the Buddha. But underneath their activity lies the motivation to do something now that will lead to larger future happiness.
  Traveling in Tibet, I was so touched by the devotion of the nomadic people. Everyone makes offerings to the local monastery. People with almost no money give generously to teachers and monks. Whenever I was staying at a monastery, village people would line up for hours, pushing and shoving to be able to offer what little they had. People also spend their time carving mantras on stones and circumambulating sacred places. While meditating and making offerings is the foundation of their culture, their real motivation is to make things work out well for themselves later. They are less focused on "me" right now and more interested in how they can prepare for death as well as rebirth. They know that attaining personal enlightenment can take many lifetimes, so they're setting themselves up with meritorious activity in order to establish conditions for a favorable rebirth and ultimate enlightenment. In Buddhist terms this would mean being born human under circumstances in which we can hear and practice the dharma. This motivation is yet a larger version of the "have a nice day" approach. We're trying to get everything in order and make it work out in the long run. We want our nice day to last longer.
  In the next, larger motivation we see clearly that the chain reaction of causes and conditions that dominate our world is cyclical, endless, and fundamentally dissatisfying. Perhaps we've struggled through one relationship after another, or we have continual problems with our family or at work. Something opens our eyes to the depth of bewilderment and the darkness of samsara. We see that pain, suffering, impermanence, and death are the facts of life.
  When we enter into this larger motivation, we break out of thinking that we can get what we want from the circle of suffering. We see its endless quality, and we want the giant wheel to stop. Our motivation here is to break out of the cycle, and seek freedom from suffering.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: the last five paragraphs
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The essence of all of this preparation is really simple: when we sit down to meditate, we're eliminating all other activities. We choose the time and space wisely to reduce distractions. We prepare our body to relax before we sit. We prepare our mind to be as simple and present as we can be. And we do all of this with precision, as well as gentleness. But remember, this is just preparation, not actual meditation. If you try to create ideal conditions, you may never get to the cushion. At some point you just have to sit down and do it.
  For information regarding meditation instruction or inquiries about a practice center near you, please contact one of the following:
  Naropa University is the only accredited, Buddhist-inspired university in North America. For more information, contact:
  Information about Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, including his teaching schedule and a gallery of photographs, is available at his website:
  Born in India in 1962, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is the spiritual and family successor of his father, Vidyadhara the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He is the living holder of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, a lineage that descends through his father's family, the Mukpo clan. This tradition emphasizes the basic goodness of all beings and teaches the art of courageous warriorship based on wisdom and compassion. The Sakyong is an incarnation of Mipham Jamyang Gyatso (1846-1912), one of the most revered meditation masters and scholars of Tibet. Educated in Buddhist meditation, philosophy, and ritual, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche was raised in both Eastern and Western traditions. Each year he retreats to India for study and practice. He also teaches at Shambhala centers throughout the world.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Delete the last sentence.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The essence of all of this preparation is really simple: when we sit down to meditate, we're eliminating all other activities. We choose the time and space wisely to reduce distractions. We prepare our body to relax before we sit. We prepare our mind to be as simple and present as we can be. And we do all of this with precision, as well as gentleness. But remember, this is just preparation, not actual meditation. If you try to create ideal conditions, you may never get to the cushion. At some point you just have to sit down and do it.
  For information regarding meditation instruction or inquiries about a practice center near you, please contact one of the following:
  Naropa University is the only accredited, Buddhist-inspired university in North America. For more information, contact:
  Information about Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, including his teaching schedule and a gallery of photographs, is available at his website:
  Born in India in 1962, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is the spiritual and family successor of his father, Vidyadhara the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He is the living holder of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, a lineage that descends through his father's family, the Mukpo clan. This tradition emphasizes the basic goodness of all beings and teaches the art of courageous warriorship based on wisdom and compassion. The Sakyong is an incarnation of Mipham Jamyang Gyatso (1846-1912), one of the most revered meditation masters and scholars of Tibet. Educated in Buddhist meditation, philosophy, and ritual, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche was raised in both Eastern and Western traditions. Each year he retreats to India for study and practice.