The Lotus Still Blooms (2 page)

I am not a Buddhist teacher and have no claims of being such. I have been a student of eternal truths and a teacher of spiritual principle for more than thirty years. In retrospect it seems logical that my initial awakening began with the Unity Church, of which I have been a minister for twenty-nine years. Unity is a nondenominational spiritual movement of churches that focuses on the emerging of the inner spirit and teaches one to seek to know and practice the eternal principles of truth. Unity is not about dogma or creed, but rather bringing forth, as Thoreau stated, “the inner splendor.” Next my soul moved into the spiritual text
A Course in Miracles,
from its initial emergence into the spiritual culture of America in the 1970s. Today it is a popular tome containing eternal truths. As a student of these two paths I easily found points of agreement and fused both into my awakening consciousness. My friend Andrew Harvey, the twenty-first-century mystic, says, “All true spiritual teachings ultimately converge.” They were converging in my soul.

I have studied Tibetan Buddhism since that first encounter with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1991. The spiritual disciplines I have learned on my path have become so much a part of me that I have begun to constantly have insights and realizations on the ultimate nature of reality. There is a point where
all
teachings converge and the common thread of truth can be seen. That is happening in my life, and I am endeavoring to share how that can occur with you in your life.

As the years passed, and my study of Tibetan Buddhism deepened, I began to see clearly this convergence of Buddhism, my Unity teachings, the teachings in
A Course in Miracles
and myriad teachings in other spiritual books. I was excited. I was on fire with the possibility of true awakening.I realized, as I have heard the Dalai Lama say on several occasions: “The great truths are all the same.” I was seeing the sameness. I was living and breathing and practicing the sameness. And I was an American woman, a minister of a church that refers to what it teaches as practical Christianity.

A way to embrace the message of Jesus on a very practical level is to take these treasured teachings of Jesus and apply one or another to any of life’s circumstances. We are not about worshipping Jesus Christ; rather we direct our spiritual paths toward becoming a Christed being just as Buddhists aspire to become a Buddha. Regardless of the label one places on it, the sea of our Divine nature lies in every one of us. The great joy with Tibetan Buddhism is the numerous phenomenal spiritual tools and formulas for living that lead to an awakened spiritual life.

These formulas offer tremendous value to the Western practitioner of spirituality, no matter what one’s religious orientation. The formulas come to us from millennia ago overflowing with numbers: three of this; six of that; four of another having eight within it. As he read this book, my editor frequently pointed out that I was writing about yet another number. I did not make up these numbers, but I do believe I am one who can help you, the reader, navigate through them in such a way that you can understand and utilize them to better your life. You need not be overwhelmed.

My journey is extraordinary and blessed, and it is one I have always wanted to understand on deeper and deeper levels. Since that first trip in 1991, I have studied with the Dalai Lama numerous times. I have traveled to France to the monastery of Vietnam monk Thich Nhat Hanh, from whom I have incorporated so much wisdom and keen insight into my journey, which I share with you later in this book. This Zen monk, who left his home country during the Vietnam war to take part in peace negotiations in France, was forbidden by his government to return to his war-torn homeland.

What the Buddhists teach is a soul science. “Buddhism promotes understanding,not belief. Christianity promotes belief, not understanding,” says noted American Buddhist scholar Dr. Robert Thurman. This simple statement sums up these two spiritual paths succinctly and clearly and points out their differences.

Tibetan Buddhism’s teachings are so valuable because over the course of 2,500 years the monks and nuns have consistently practiced and refined them, sharing knowledge of how the soul works. In Buddhism it is said there are literally 84,000 teachings. I will offer the key teachings of Buddhism in this book, which is a result of my personal journey.

Buddhism, I believe, can work in concert with Christianity to create an ever-growing spiritual synergy. It has done and continues to do that for me. It has always been and continues to be of utmost importance to me that whatever I study or practice or teach be psychologically sound. This was a key factor in my coming into Unity and remains so to this day. It is my personal lens through which I evaluate a teaching or philosophy.

For one just beginning an exploration of Buddhism, it can be a daunting undertaking. What I’ve done in this book is taken the major concepts that I’ve studied for seventeen years and set out to explain them for the Western reader.

The Lotus Still Blooms
deeply explores a number of the major tenets of Buddhism in a methodical and practical manner that can immediately be practiced by the reader.

Taking my cue from where the Buddha began, I have begun with the Four Noble Truths and followed them with the Eight-fold Path. The subsequent chapters are all based upon teachings I have gleaned primarily from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but also from other Buddhist monks and nuns.

This material has liberated and transformed my life and the lives of many whom I have taught. It can do the same for you if you read and study and practice. May the message of
The Lotus Still Blooms
fill your heart daily with inspiration and the deep desire for your own life to be liberated.

The lotus symbolizes the gorgeous flower that rises out of the mud of this world. It is a symbol of purity and spontaneous Divine birth. It is said to be the throne of the Buddha. May it come to be your throne of wisdom and love, as the lotus still blooms in you.

We all have spiritual gifts, and I have long been told that one of my greatest is to take complex concepts on spiritual subjects and teach and explain them in a practical and understandable manner that can be utilized in one’s day-to-day living. May this be the case for you. While you read and study this book, I hold this prayer for you:

Joan Gattuso
Molokai, Hawaii

—EKNATH ESWARAN

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

THERE ARE SO MANY “secrets” being revealed today. There is the land-mark work
The Secret
. Although interesting and inspiring, it certainly does not contain any hitherto unknown esoteric secrets. Napoleon Hill’s classic
Think and Grow Rich
offers numerous secrets that, if you discover them, will lead you to wealth and fulfillment. In recent history there have been any number of books that offer the secret to success, the secret to happiness, the secret to perfect weight, the secret to raising brilliant children, the secret to brilliant career moves, the secret to attracting a loving partner.

What is it with all these “secrets”? Are they really secrets at all, or is the secret simply to throw out the bait and see how many looking for a quick fix will grab the minnow? My colleagues and I chuckle and wonder why something is called a “secret” when it is something we have known and taught for decades. A minister friend of mine says, “People can feel important and special if they believe they are being let in on a secret that others don’t know.” He’s right, in my opinion, and certainly book publishersand authors (including me) will use whatever ploys and hooks are needed to sell books and sell lots of them.

In Buddhism there are treasures, often called “precious jewels,” but they are not necessarily secrets. In my understanding all the hyperbole about secret teachings pales in the light of the magnitude of the eternal truths contained within the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path, which are followed by thousands of advanced teachings available to the true seeker.

In Tibetan Buddhism there are deep teachings given only to advanced practitioners, usually monks and nuns, after years and years of study. The master teacher decides if the student is ready, and only then is this deep, complicated material taught. That is not what
The Lotus Still Blooms
is attempting.

Although the teachings on these pages are not swaddled in hype and the promise of a quick fix and easy riches, they do, as the Buddha taught, point the way to awakening and enlightenment. They outline a path to embrace and walk that begins to answer life’s profound questions, not just for a moment but for all time. Hopefully these lessons will inspire you as you begin to practice and learn these eternal truths. Hopefully they will give you tools and formulas that are applicable to absolutely every aspect of life.
They are not secrets but truths.
They are without equal. They are fabulous and thrilling. They are the Four Noble Truths. They are noble because they are without equal. They are truths because these four are perhaps the greatest summation of the mystery enfolding human existence. They contain the diagnosis, the prognosis and the cure for the human condition.

Here is the answer that was first taught 2,600 years ago by the Buddha. It still excites me to the extent that my heart rejoices. I am enlivened to share these truths with you. They are clearly and succinctly stated so that you may understand them and perhaps change your life.

So let us begin at the beginning.

This beginning of Prince Siddhartha’s life-changing journey would

turn his world upside down, as it has done for the millions who have followed the Buddha’s teachings through the aeons. The Buddha vowed, as he sat in meditation under a bodhi tree, that he would not arise until he achieved enlightenment, the supreme state of absolute transcendence and clarity. And that is what occurred.

After achieving enlightenment, the Buddha rose from under the bodhi tree and in a serene spot delivered his first message to a small band of future followers. This has come to be known as the Deer Park Sermon, where the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma (the body of spiritual teaching) took place. This is where the Buddha first taught what would become the essential teachings of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths.

Many have allowed the first Noble Truth, “Life is suffering,” to frighten them and have been unwilling to look further. When properly understood and taken within the context of the entire four, it is not frightening, it is enlightening. Here are the four:

The wise and scholarly have noted that the 84,000 teachings found within Tibetan Buddhism can be summarized by the Four Noble Truths. It takes real willingness to look at the first Noble Truth in order to become aware of another way and to recognize that this spiritual truth is your reality. Life contains suffering. Many are experiencing suffering at this very moment. Pick up any newspaper, turn on the evening news, look deeply at the lives of those around you, look deeply into your own life. Suffering will be found at every turn, because suffering is an inescapable fact of life, because life and its pleasures and ills are impermanent.