The subtitle of Marcia Dechen Wangmo's book is Experience through Mistakes, which most of us can probably relate
to, whether we're on or off the path.
Her introduction sets the tone -- one of no bullshit,
but honest observation and revelation: "I can confirm the path because even with all my setbacks and failures,
what I have been introduced to and what I wish to unfurl is the strength of our spirit, the confidence in our capability as
human beings. We ordinary people can rise above our constraints and upbringings to change in positive ways. We
can connect with our must pure basic nature and triumph over any challenge."
Marcia
-- and she is an old friend, full disclosure here -- had an early "awakening to the mind of enlightenment" and the
knowledge that she was a Buddhist practitioner. She points out that " . . . none of us would even be able to meet
the Dharma in this life if we had not formerly done so." I particularly enjoyed the numerous moving anecdotes about
her relationship with the renowned Dzogchen meditation master, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, and her experiences as his student over
many years living in Nepal. (I have to add my personal heart-felt gratitude for all Marcia's work in bringing the Dharma
to the West, because without her I would never have met Rinpoche, truly a life-changing event.)
"Intellectual
analysis, though pertinent and inescapable, will not ignite the alchemical changes that are necessary to attain stability
and accomplishment in practice." Marcia explains how the "chemistry" works: "The moment of
that love [for the teacher] frees us from conceptual thinking; that very openness is the gap that allows us to awaken to our
inherent nature. Trust in the teacher and the teachings is a type of love that strips our mind of its normal tendencies."
This was my personal experience encountering Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.
One of the many
sentences in the book that I personally resonate with is, ". . . as I still play with conditional realities and am not
fully convinced of their futility, I have at least recognized that there is nothing more profound, precious, and meaningful
than the Dharma."
"Confessions of a Gypsy Yogini" takes up one of the key
elements of Buddhism, the First Noble Truth, which is defined as "duhkha," or suffering. Her unpacking
of the translation of the Sanskrit word is quite illuminating: "It is more than the fear of suffering that brings
most of us to the Buddhist path. Perhaps more subtle states like weariness, disillusionment and uneasiness could better
represent the motivating factor. It is an active choice that transcends gross psychological turmoil and personal pain.
We somehow glimpse . . . the futility of ordinary existence."
This surely was the rallying
cry of the Existentialists, but Sartre, et al, had nothing to offer in place of despair. This is, of course,
where the Buddhist path begins, with acknowledgement of our actual state of being.
Early on in
the book is a brilliant discussion of the five skandhas -- how we come to be here in our confused state -- before
she points out that "the beauty of the Dharma is that in every situation there's light at the end of the tunnel and a
map that leads us there." Beginning with the first skandha, or aggregate: "On the grossest
level, we have developed a strong habit of ego based on the previously mentioned lack of primordial recognition [of our basic
state]. From the lack of knowing, fear arises. We then constrict the openness of the basic state, our enlightened essence,
and strangle it like space held in our hands. Having solidified space, we bump into it and are intimidated. The
vastness becomes frozen. We encase our basic nature in self and not-self (other). This corresponds to the first of the
five aggregates, that of form."
Particulary noteworthy is her insistence that "To enter
the spiritual path is not to be deprived of all that is meaningful and worthwhile; it is the opposite. We embrace the
meaningful and worthwhile, and recognize the futility of everything else."
In a chapter titled
"Red or Blue Pill,"we are reminded of the two options Morpheus offers the future hero in "The Matrix".
"Taking the blue pill would eradicate [Neo's] memory of all that has been revealed to him about the fallacious reality
he inhabits. Taking the red pill would awaken him to the unadulterated, genuine way things are. He would be motivated
to engage in the struggle to transform the world for those asleep in the deception.
"We are at an analogous crossroad: Take the red pill, determine to apply Dharma methods, and begin a fresh,
traditional, radical course. . . Free from all deluded and painful states, we are infused with wisdom and the capacity to
benefit countless beings."
Marcia Dechen Wangmo's adamantine faith is comparable to a Tibetan's
and helps show us overly-modern Westerners what it's like to drop our spiritual cynicism and step into the light of loving
wisdom. Her book is a good place to begin if you haven't already entered the path, and a refreshing reminder of why
we started in the first place, for those who have.
June 2011
