A better samsara

 "A better samsara."  Those words jumped out of Ringu Tulku's book, Confusion Arises as Wisdom, my second time around and haunted me long after I passed that page. A better samsara...a better samsara... The phrase brought back a puzzling phrase of my own beloved guru Thrangu Rinpoche: "the happiness of samsara." Apparently I've missed it: there's still some good stuff here where we're all stuck. We don't have to try so hard to get out so fast. 

That's very comforting. The whole idea that there is a better, happier samsara makes it easier to get up in the morning to face a world that's been bitten by money and rabidly mad. It definitely helps confusion and feels like wisdom.  So I want to share what Ringu Tulku told me on pages 36 and 37. Please share too.

First of all, you need to know as I didn't, there are two distinct sorts of Dharma practice, and--here's what I didn't know-- both are okay according to the great master, Je Gampopa, whose text Ringu Tulku is teaching. The first is "worldly dharma." Many of us think we have to disparage this. We practice this, as Ringu Tulku says, "to get something better in this life or future lives. For instance, we want peace of mind, we want things to work out well, and we want to be happy."

And then he says:  "It's good to apply the teaching to our states of mind and emotional problems in order to have a better life."   Not just Ringu Tulku and Je Gampopa, but even the great Indian scholar Nagarjuna advocates worldly dharma practice. "Ascending the stairs of the gods' and humans' dharma will bring one close to liberation." He actually suggests we all begin with worldly dharma practice to become better human beings, what Ringu Tulku calls "good solid citizens of samsara." The Buddha's teachings and all the sutras and tantras agree on this psychological point:  the first step to liberation is to become a decent, stable human being. 

And here's why I find that so valuable to know. Mostly we just hear about the esoteric, exotic or excruciating practices great masters do to achieve enlightenment, how they all so roundly rejected samsara. "This can lead students to think that having complete renunciation," Ringu Tulku says, "is the only way to practice, and unless they are like Milarepa, they are not dharma practitioners. This isn't true. Worldly dharma practice comes first. We can apply the dharma in daily life to take responsibility, do the right thing, go to work, make money, and look after our family. It's good to create a nice life and a nice community, to do things for others, avoid extremes and include a little meditation to bring peace of mind."

The law of karma is that positive actions bring positive results. "So," Ringu Tulku concludes, "worldly dharma practice means doing dharma activities to in order to have a better world, a better samsara. As long as you're here, why not live in a better samsara than a worse one?"
  
Yes. Why not? Anyone have a problem with that?


~Sandy Garson "Wordsmithing to attest how the Dharma saved me from myself!"
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