Illusory Advice: Purpose

"There is no purpose to life—in the sense of an ultimate purpose—there is only purpose in the moment. To give a simple example: there is a purpose in brushing your teeth because it will make your mouth feel nicer and help prevent gum disease so that your teeth don’t fall out. Your life will be more comfortable with a mouth full of teeth in healthy gums. However eventually your gums will rot and your teeth fall out—if not while you are alive, then certainly after you are dead—so there is no ultimate purpose in brushing your teeth. Being aware of the transient, in-the-moment purpose of brushing teeth, you do so conscientiously, beautifully, with presence of mind – brushing teeth becomes an art form. It has its own purpose. "

p172-173, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: Secondary causes

"External factors spark patterns of perception you do not know you have. Life is a little like walking through a minefield – you never know when you may step on something—a circumstance of your life—that will explode a programmed pattern of perception. If the cause is not encountered the reaction will not occur. One of the principles of the monastic path is to regulate the secondary causes—in terms of life circumstances—as much as possible to avoid triggering unhelpful reactions that deepen patterning. The tantric path however says: ‘Bring it all on!’ so that you have the opportunity to transform distorted perception and response into enlightened perception and response. "

p168-169, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: Does samsara really exist?

"Samsara exists because of duality. It can easily cease to exist in the moment through changing your view. Dwelling in the natural state would not mean that you lack the ability to act – your actions would be totally appropriate and compassionate. It is possible to be wrathful without being angry. It is possible to be destructive where the situation requires it without this being out-of-control energy. It is possible to make a stand without justification and self-protective posturing. To dwell in the natural state would be to be a Dharma warrior. "

p164-165, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: Intensity

"When you start to practise more intensely all sorts of aspects of yourself suddenly seem to come into focus and insist you notice them. These have always been there, but safely tucked away where you could previously ignore them. This is what Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin calls ‘the hell of being a practitioner.’ Practice—especially Vajrayana—is like grabbing the bare electricity cables and inviting the shock. If the intensity is becoming too much, then ease off a little for a while. Engage in simple practice such as shi-nè, and inspirational practice such as Lama’i Naljor and yogic song. Physical practice may help as well. Perhaps have a few short practice sessions rather than one long one. When you feel a little more settled again you can increase the intensity once more. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint and you have to learn to pace yourself – knowing when to ease off and when to push through. It sounds as though this may be a time to ease off for a while. "

p146, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: The Annoying Friend

"Sangha members are the annoying friends who help each other to be real in the world and live their lives as practitioners. They do not offer the comforting platitudes, but they also have to be careful with their directness. Sangha members do not want to add to the person’s negative view of themselves by confronting them with the cause of discomfort. Dwelling on shortcomings gets in the way of developing pure view. It makes it more difficult for others to view them as a realised being, and it makes it difficult for them to view themselves as beginninglessly enlightened. Remember that their miserable expression of their view of themselves is directly linked with their enlightened nature: their avarice with generosity, their anger with clarity, and even their depression with intelligence. If you can see this then a helpful response might suggest itself. "

p136-137, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: Pure view

"To belong to a sangha and to be able to immerse oneself in the pure view of a practising Vajrayana community is an extraordinary opportunity. You can let go of self image and posturing; you can let go of needing to impress others or wishing to appear in a good light; you can let go of needing to be liked and appreciated, because being liked and appreciated is the ground of vajra sangha; you can let go of the fear of others’ limited views and misconceptions about you, because trust is the ground of the vajra sangha; you can let go of needing company and fearing isolation. You can free-flow in awareness-presence and discover the liberation of that experience."

p135, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: Worthwhile pursuits

"Spiritual practice is a worthwhile cause that can succeed. The path is valuable and the goal is achievable. Only spiritual development steps outside the mere manipulation of the form of your existence. Only spiritual development can give lasting liberation and freedom from the dissatisfaction and hardships of samsara. It is important to free people from suffering in its most physical and gross form and give them comfort, so that they can discover the subtleness of dissatisfaction in the context of the comfort and pleasure of their lives. Then they have the opportunity to engage in spiritual practice. "

p126, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: Right livelihood

"We are all always compromised. Being alive is the cause of discomfort or death for other beings. Every time you cook, drive your car, walk across a lawn, take medicines, etcetera, etcetera, you are causing the death or discomfort of other beings. It is not possible to live in the world ‘purely.’ Your life is the cause of suffering for other beings. Everything is interconnected. Practitioners recognise their dependence on all other beings, in their ability to live their lives. They try not to do harm and to be of benefit to others within their capacity. "

p122, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: The perfect parent

"The path of the Mahasiddhas is to live life exactly as it is and to enable that to be the path of realisation. Being a parent offers many opportunities for practice. You could become the ‘perfect parent’ and discover realisation through that as a method. "

p121, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.