Frank's Summary

This week I explored further the notion of "falling in love with wh". So I allowed myself to explore my devotional side. In fact almost all sages I adore for their supreme wisdom also had a strong devotional side which gives me confidence in this approach. Devotional practice means for me to connect with teachers, buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods or holy places by thinking of them, visualizing them, praying to them or contemplating their good qualities. Also my curiosity to know more about devotional spiritual practices was renewed. I read up on some I don't know so much about, and tried with refreshed vigor some oldies, but goldies, like the Buddhist practice of taking refuge. Outer refuge is taken in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The innermost refuge is taken into true nature of one's being, which is the true nature of this moment, which is wh. "I" take refuge in the perfect nature of thins and this gives protection for this "I" and its worldly concerns.

Another connection between devotion and wh that became obvious to me this week, is the practice of "guru yoga". This is a famous Tibetan practice in which one contemplates the nature of the guru (the devotional part), and then merges one's mind with the enlightened mind of the guru (the wisdom part). In fact one rather recognizes their sameness, but it sometimes helps to not be too abstract about it, but rather have some good "action" going on, like the guru dissolving into light, then merging etc.

Consciously rejoicing and appreciating the qualities of wh and of the qualities of being, of appreciating the gift of doing this experiment, is another beautiful variant. For example in a Buddhist prayer it talks about "rejoicing in the vastness of awareness".

A prayer I used with great joy is from Ramakrishna, one of the famous recent Hindu sages: "To my divine mother I prayed only for pure love. I offered flowers at Her Lotus Feet and prayed to Her: "Here is Thy virtue, here is Thy vice. Take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy knowledge, here is Thy ignorance. Take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy purity, here is Thy impurity. Take them both Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy dharma, here is Thy adharma. Take them both, Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee."

I like this prayer a lot and find it very profound, because it helps me to let go of the struggle of whatever opposites, I am currently engaged in. The mother principle here is the nourishing, compassionate, loving principle in the universe, for me often embodied by Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. Embracing in a slightly bemused way my struggle within opposites is already transcending them. What a relief. It is said being like a parent, watching children who are seriously engaged in a game.

As you can tell, now I am hooked and want to explore the connection between devotion and wh further. Maybe this is just my imagination, but I do think wh was found more easily during my daily activities. It sure is a lot of fun.