Reviewing My 25 Years As a Student (Link #699)

Speaker: Daisuke Inaba. Dai-san analyzes the ways in which he's dealt with unexpected life events, including things about himself he hasn't wanted to face. Dai-san described some recent, unexpected events that caused damage to the entrance gate at Tashi Gachil. Staying present with the events and calmly investigating the source, Dai-san was able to respond with equanimity, instead of panic and blame. In looking back over his 25 years as a student of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, he remembered being very hard on himself, but now sees clearly the source of his pain as self-clinging. Practices such as Lojong allow Dai-san to view one’s own suffering as a way to decrease the suffering of others. This has helped him disrupt habitual self-clinging and focus more on alleviating the suffering of others, with meditation and prayer.