A Yogi In The Making
In Tibetan culture, when someone is referred to as a yogi, usually she or he is quite free inside from the world. They’re often regarded as happy and carefree. Anyone can become a yogi regardless of whether they are a monk or layperson in this life. There are some spiritual communities who call all their meditators yogis.
Sojong Reminder 15/7 from Anam Thubten
Dear dharma friends,
The lotus blossoming in the mud is a famous metaphor. Traditionally, it represents the mind of Buddhas who can live in samsara, but not be stained by it. Let’s use this metaphor to remind ourselves of how to live in this world.
We can live in the world completely like everyone else and enjoy the myriad of human experiences. We can open ourselves to ordinary affairs, like relationships and work. We do these things anyway - except when there are moments of desire to disengage from the world. Such feelings may arise from being disenchanted with the world or from experiencing an intense desire for some kind transcendence. These feelings can appear spiritual, but should not be taken too seriously. As long as we live in this body, there is not much of a way we can cut ties with the world.
The world can be like mud. It’s never perfect and probably never will be. Here “mud” represents the delusion of the collective that rules our minds everyday. It's easy to get trapped in the snarl of concepts and beliefs of everyone out there. They often come as stories and narratives that together we create and then literally live. Each time we contemplate, we feel that we’re stepping outside of the world and can see the illusion that we all bought into; beliefs about who we are, who we should be, right, wrong, success versus failure, or achievement versus loss. The list of illusions can go on forever. There is a way that we don’t have to buy into the illusions of world while still living in it with everyone around us. Outwardly, we can keep all our mundane affairs while being free from them inside.
In Tibetan culture, when someone is referred to as a yogi, usually she or he is quite free inside from the world. They’re often regarded as happy and carefree. Anyone can become a yogi regardless of whether they are a monk or layperson in this life. There are some spiritual communities who call all their meditators yogis. In my opinion, this is a wonderful model. We might like to regard ourselves as yogis and keep the yogi’s vow - an inner commitment to wake up from the illusion of the world.
It’s time again to observe monthly sojong. Let’s renew our Refuge and Bodhisattva Vow. During this sojong, we might like to hold a strong intention to be like the lotus, beautifully blossoming in the mud.
With palms joined,
Anam Thubten