In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Who Can We Trust?and#8221; Saddharaja poses the question in the face of the three things mankind has traditionally relied upon: God, the Father, the group, and material possessions. He then explores what we really needand#8230; a mountain of confidence embodied in the figure of Akshobya. Includes a description of Akshobyaand#8217;s appearance in the Bardo. From the talk, and#8220;Akshobya,and#8221; given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, Winter Retreat 2001
Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio
Who Can We Trust?
[music] Dharma Bites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for your life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. Thank you, and happy listening. [music] So, what can we trust? Who can we trust? Yeah, it's a very uncertain world. Mankind, traditionally mankind, is tended to rely on three things. He's relied on God the Father, the group, and material possessions and status. These are three things that he's traditionally relied on. More recently, he's relied on gurus and science and technology. Well, let's have a look at God. Well, ever since Friedrich Neutscher pronounced that God was dead, we've been living in a more secular world increasingly. People tend to see the idea these days of a creator God looking after us and controlling things as being simply ridiculous. Yeah, we don't trust it. Most people don't go to church anymore. We find it increasingly difficult to believe in him. And then, of course, there's the group, the institutions of our culture, which we're obliged to conform to. There's the company and firm, there's the society or trade union, there might even be the football team. There's love and romance, marriage and family, happy ever after, if you're lucky. Many people just don't buy that anymore. It may bring us security and happiness if we're lucky, it may go horribly wrong. And then, of course, there's material wealth, money, and status. And it seems that, well, consumerism these days is the dominant religion. It's what most people seem to be interested in these days. They want to win the national lottery. They want to win 12 million. They want to buy the house of their fantasies, and then they'll really be all right. So this is the view. Either that or we work hard, we build up money in possessions, and then we'll be all right. But once again, a lot of people don't have confidence in this anymore. We feel that, well, we don't have confidence that we will actually make any money in the first place. And if we do make money, well, perhaps it won't make us happy. So what are we to do? What are we to do with these things? If we can't really trust these things, can't have confidence in them, what are we to do? Well, it seems to me that we need a mountain, we need some bedrock, something on which to really build. Something that is unshakable, true, and very definitely there. We need the truth. We need the three jewels. We need ethics and the law of karma. We need confidence in our own spiritual practice. Something that we can really rely on. And this mountain of confidence is symbolized, embodied in the figure of Achogia and this particular gesture. So this is what we have to do. We have to touch the earth, ourselves, of our own confidence. We have to become confident in the fact that spiritual practice does work. If we practice the precepts, if we study the Dharma, we go on retreat. We act generously. We act patiently. We develop friendship. Then, well, we can become confident ourselves. We can build a bedrock in our own spiritual lives. Something that we can really have faith in. So this unshakable confidence is represented in the figure of Achogia Buddha. It represents the strength and stability, the security that is offered by the Dharma and by spiritual practice. There's much more to Achogia than that. There's his mirror-like wisdom. There's his badra. There's his mysterious color, etc, etc. But there's no time. Yeah, you'll have to explore these symbols and qualities for yourself. So I'd like to end the talk with a description of Achogia's appearance in the Bardo. So you're in the Bardo, yeah? You've died. It's going to happen. You've died. And there are a number of choices presenting themselves to you. Some of these are wise choices and some are unwise. So when you see Achogia, then go for him. That's definitely a wise choice. That's one in which you can be confident. So here we go. At that moment, do not be afraid of the sharp, brilliant, luminous and clear white light. But recognize it as wisdom. Be drawn to it with faith and longing and supplicate it thinking. It is the light ray of blessed Achogia's compassion. I take refuge in it. It is blessed Achogia coming to invite you in the terrors of the Bardo. It is the light ray hook of Achogia's compassion. So feel longing for it. Do not take pleasure in the soft, smoky light of the hell-beings. This is the inviting path of your neurotic fails accumulated by violent aggression. If you are attracted to it, you will fall down into hell and sink into the muddy swamp of unbearable suffering from which there's never any escape. It is an obstacle blocking the path of liberation. So do not look at it, but give up aggression. Do not be attracted to it. Do not yearn for it. Feel longing for the luminous, brilliant white light, and say this inspiration prayer with intense concentration on Blessed Achogia. When through intense aggression I wander in samsara, on the luminous light path of the mirror-like wisdom, may Blessed Achogia go before me. His consort but a lotioner behind me help me to cross the Bardo's dangerous pathway and bring me to the perfect but his state. By saying this inspiration prayer with deep devotion, you will dissolve into rainbow light in the heart of Blessed Vadra, Sattva, Achogia, and become a sambokakaya Buddha in the Eastern realm of complete joy. We hope you enjoyed today's Dharma Bite. Please help us keep this screen. Make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. And thank you. [music fades out] [music fades out] [music fades out] [BLANK_AUDIO]