Difference between revisions of "Dharmapalas"
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<poem> | <poem> | ||
− | This is not a subject that I care to write about, but I will try something anyway, because there seems to be a great deal of confusion. Herewith, the main thing I want to say: | + | This is not a [[subject]] that I [[care]] to write about, but I will try something anyway, because there seems to be a great deal of {{Wiki|confusion}}. Herewith, the main thing I want to say: |
− | Dharmapalas are not junkyard dogs | + | [[Dharmapalas]] are not junkyard {{Wiki|dogs}} |
− | that we sic upon our perceived foes. | + | that we sic upon our [[perceived]] foes. |
− | The textbook definition of a [[Dharmapala]] (chos-khyong), or "[[Dharma]] | + | The textbook [[definition]] of a [[Dharmapala]] ([[chos-khyong]]), or "[[Dharma defender]]," or "[[protector]]," is that of a [[wrathful deity]] who "averts inner and outer {{Wiki|obstacles}} to [[spiritual]] [[attainment]]." |
− | I will be quite candid and tell you that it took me a very, very long time to come to grips with this definition, which I think can itself become an obstacle to clear understanding. I think a much better definition would be to say that dharmapalas are the wrathful personification of opportunities for spiritual attainment; opportunities that are not always immediately perceived as pleasant, or something wished for. | + | I will be quite candid and tell you that it took me a very, very long [[time]] to come to grips with this [[definition]], which I think can itself become an [[obstacle]] to clear [[understanding]]. I think a much better [[definition]] would be to say that [[dharmapalas]] are the [[wrathful]] {{Wiki|personification}} of opportunities for [[spiritual]] [[attainment]]; opportunities that are not always immediately [[perceived]] as [[pleasant]], or something wished for. |
− | Most people go through life afraid of dharmapalas, which is a shame, when respect serves the issue much better than fear. The respect is really a respect for one's own posssibilities -- one's own potential, if you like that better -- because it is a respect that enjoins one from becoming too wrapped up in neurosis. So, in a very real sense, we could say that dharmapalas actually personify our own better natures -- almost to the level of an active "conscience," if that isn't taking undue liberty with cross-cultural signaling, and confusing the matter even more. | + | Most [[people]] go through [[life]] afraid of [[dharmapalas]], which is a [[shame]], when [[respect]] serves the issue much better than {{Wiki|fear}}. The [[respect]] is really a [[respect]] for one's [[own]] posssibilities -- one's [[own]] potential, if you like that better -- because it is a [[respect]] that enjoins one from becoming too wrapped up in neurosis. So, in a very {{Wiki|real}} [[sense]], we could say that [[dharmapalas]] actually personify our [[own]] better natures -- almost to the level of an active "{{Wiki|conscience}}," if that isn't taking undue liberty with cross-cultural signaling, and confusing the [[matter]] even more. |
− | I have read two really splendid discussions of dharmapalas. The first was by Kyabje [[Dudjom Rinpoche]]'s son, Shenpen Dawa | + | I have read two really splendid discussions of [[dharmapalas]]. The first was by [[Kyabje]] [[Dudjom Rinpoche]]'s son, [[Shenpen Dawa Rinpoche]]. This is from a talk he gave in 1988, which you can find several places on the 'net. Since he obviously intended this to be confidential, I don't want to visit it too long. Nevertheless, I do not see the harm in disclosing that he made three very important points. |
− | First, he said "...in the whole buddhadharma, one of the most complex things to explain is the dharmapalas. The reason for this is because we must be spoken to on our individual levels of realization; otherwise, it becomes a gross fabrication of a very, very subtle complex." This sounds like it might be discouraging, but actually, it is very encouraging, because it points to a highly specific, individualized explanation that will ultimately arise when necessary. | + | First, he said "...in the whole [[buddhadharma]], one of the most complex things to explain is the [[dharmapalas]]. The [[reason]] for this is because we must be spoken to on our {{Wiki|individual}} levels of [[realization]]; otherwise, it becomes a gross [[fabrication]] of a very, very {{Wiki|subtle}} complex." This {{Wiki|sounds}} like it might be discouraging, but actually, it is very encouraging, because it points to a highly specific, individualized explanation that will ultimately arise when necessary. |
− | Next, he said, "...dharmapalas are the main working force of all the [[Buddhas]], because they communicate the process of our mind." I think this is brilliantly stated, because it precisely explains how spiritual attainment becomes possible, as we enter into or engage difficult situations. | + | Next, he said, "...[[dharmapalas]] are the main working force of all the [[Buddhas]], because they {{Wiki|communicate}} the process of our [[mind]]." I think this is brilliantly stated, because it precisely explains how [[spiritual]] [[attainment]] becomes possible, as we enter into or engage difficult situations. |
[[File:Art-ds-sd.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Art-ds-sd.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
− | Finally, he said, "What dharmapalas really are is our confidence. They support our confidence to be able to reach out and help others. In fact, if we lack confidence, dharmapalas have a way of subtly communicating with us to bring our confidence back. Confidence is the right way of respecting the teachings, the right way of benefiting people. That is the confidence it will bring up in us." This is completely good news. How can anyone be afraid of that? | + | Finally, he said, "What [[dharmapalas]] really are is our [[confidence]]. They support our [[confidence]] to be able to reach out and help others. In fact, if we lack [[confidence]], [[dharmapalas]] have a way of subtly communicating with us to bring our [[confidence]] back. [[Confidence]] is the right way of respecting the teachings, the right way of benefiting [[people]]. That is the [[confidence]] it will bring up in us." This is completely good news. How can anyone be afraid of that? |
− | I think if you want to hear more of what he said, you should resolve to meet him in person, rather than go hunt down the bootleg copy of his presentation. | + | I think if you want to hear more of what he said, you should resolve to meet him in [[person]], rather than go hunt down the bootleg copy of his presentation. |
− | The second discussion of dharmapalas comes from | + | The second [[discussion]] of [[dharmapalas]] comes from [[Trungpa Rinpoche]], and you can find this quite openly in that little [[book]] I mentioned the other day: Training the [[Mind]] and [[Cultivating]] [[Loving-kindness]] (1993). |
− | In the context of a lengthy discussion of the transformation of bad circumstances, he characterizes dharmapalas as "sort of like shepherds." He writes: | + | In the context of a lengthy [[discussion]] of the [[transformation]] of bad circumstances, he characterizes [[dharmapalas]] as "sort of like shepherds." He writes: |
− | "The dharmapalas represent our basic awareness, which is not so much absorbed in the meditative state of being but which takes place or takes care of us during the postmeditation experience." | + | "The [[dharmapalas]] represent our basic [[awareness]], which is not so much absorbed in the [[meditative]] [[state of being]] but which takes place or takes [[care]] of us during the postmeditation [[experience]]." |
How does it work? He explains: | How does it work? He explains: | ||
− | "If you have the slightest temptation to step out of the dharmic world, the [[Protectors]] will herd you back -- hurl you back -- to that world. That is the meaning of asking the dharmapalas, or the [[Protectors]], to help you in your practice." | + | "If you have the slightest {{Wiki|temptation}} to step out of the [[dharmic]] [[world]], the [[Protectors]] will herd you back -- hurl you back -- to that [[world]]. That is the meaning of asking the [[dharmapalas]], or the [[Protectors]], to help you in your practice." |
− | + | [[Trungpa Rinpoche]] then goes into [[discussion]] of hidden neurosis, [[aggression]], and all the underpinnings of [[spiritual]] [[life]] we [[experience]] but don't want to admit we [[experience]]. We don't want to admit this at all! He concludes his [[discussion]] of the [[subject]] with this admonition: | |
− | "...If true teaching has not been presented, we all could be struck down by that. So we are asking the [[Protectors]] to give us help and feedback through teachings, bankruptcies, through organizational mishaps, through being millionaires, or through work in general. It is all included." | + | "...If [[true teaching]] has not been presented, we all could be struck down by that. So we are asking the [[Protectors]] to give us help and feedback through teachings, bankruptcies, through organizational mishaps, through being millionaires, or through work in general. It is all included." |
[[File:Dharmapala-mahākāla.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Dharmapala-mahākāla.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
That says it all, doesn't it? | That says it all, doesn't it? | ||
− | So, the day may come when we are in the middle of heated contention with people we perceive as foes, and we might become very exasperated with the whole situation and start making all sorts of offerings to the [[Protectors]]. | + | So, the day may come when we are in the middle of [[heated]] contention with [[people]] we {{Wiki|perceive}} as foes, and we might become very exasperated with the whole situation and start making all sorts of [[offerings]] to the [[Protectors]]. |
− | We might ask the [[Protectors]] to "smite the foe," as it were, which subsumes some sort of satisfaction when the foe is smitten. | + | We might ask the [[Protectors]] to "smite the foe," as it were, which subsumes some sort of [[satisfaction]] when the foe is smitten. |
− | However, that sense of exasperation (fear), and that belief in a forthcoming satisfaction (hope), is precisely the sort of straying from [[ | + | However, that [[sense]] of exasperation ({{Wiki|fear}}), and that [[belief]] in a forthcoming [[satisfaction]] ({{Wiki|hope}}), is precisely the sort of straying from the [[Dharma]] that will [[cause]] the [[Protectors]] to correct us -- sometimes very abruptly, you know? |
− | Because it is a kind of cowardice. We are trying to avoid fixing the situation ourselves, and are instead calling on the [[Protectors]] to do the dirty work for us: "go give that son-of-a-bitch what he's got coming," rather than open-heartedly embracing [[Dharma]]'s inherent gentleness at the very time when it is needed the most. This, too, will earn the attention of the [[Protectors]], and again -- this can be very abrupt. [[Protectors]] protect us from ourselves. | + | Because it is a kind of [[cowardice]]. We are trying to avoid fixing the situation ourselves, and are instead calling on the [[Protectors]] to do the dirty work for us: "go give that son-of-a-bitch what he's got coming," rather than open-heartedly embracing [[Dharma]]'s [[inherent]] [[gentleness]] at the very [[time]] when it is needed the most. This, too, will earn the [[attention]] of the [[Protectors]], and again -- this can be very abrupt. [[Protectors]] {{Wiki|protect}} us from ourselves. |
− | You know, when I was a child, sometimes I was naughty. In the midst of naughtiness, sometimes I would stub my toe or bark a shin, and I would howl. My mother always used to smile, and say, "that's your protector." That invariably made me even more frustrated, until one day she said that, and I just started to laugh because it suddenly seemed so true. | + | You know, when I was a child, sometimes I was naughty. In the midst of naughtiness, sometimes I would stub my toe or bark a [[shin]], and I would howl. My mother always used to [[smile]], and say, "that's your [[protector]]." That invariably made me even more frustrated, until one day she said that, and I just started to [[laugh]] because it suddenly seemed so true. |
− | Similarly, you may be in a situation where you have been practicing all sorts of wickedness because you have either been wrongly taught, or you have some obstacle to understanding what you have been rightly taught. This could extend to the organizational level, wherein an entire group of people have been ham-fisted and wooden-headed for so long that the result of their ham-fisted woodenheadedness becomes inevitable. They might start looking around for a scapegoat to blame, and having found one, they might swear out the [[Protectors]], so that they can feel blameless -- and of course, satisfied. | + | Similarly, you may be in a situation where you have been practicing all sorts of wickedness because you have either been wrongly [[taught]], or you have some [[obstacle]] to [[understanding]] what you have been rightly [[taught]]. This could extend to the organizational level, wherein an entire group of [[people]] have been ham-fisted and wooden-headed for so long that the result of their ham-fisted woodenheadedness becomes inevitable. They might start looking around for a scapegoat to blame, and having found one, they might [[swear]] out the [[Protectors]], so that they can [[feel]] [[blameless]] -- and of course, satisfied. |
− | My, but that is dangerous ground! | + | My, but that is [[dangerous]] ground! |
− | [[Protectors]] do not always germinate misfortunes. Sometimes, the correction can come in really unexpected ways. This is like the old joke about the Buddhist. His mother died, he had a heart attack, and then he wound up in jail. He was doing really well with all of this, until one fine day he won the lotto, and that completely brought him down! | + | [[Protectors]] do not always germinate misfortunes. Sometimes, the {{Wiki|correction}} can come in really unexpected ways. This is like the old joke about the [[Buddhist]]. His mother [[died]], he had a [[heart]] attack, and then he wound up in jail. He was doing really well with all of this, until one fine day he won the lotto, and that completely brought him down! |
[[File:La Vajrabhairava.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:La Vajrabhairava.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
− | You know, I see things like this all the time. For example, I know of a case involving a nun. She didn't feel very comfortable practicing where she was, so she decided to go practice elsewhere. The other nuns and monks she left behind became rather unaccountably angry about this, and started accusing her of breaking her vows, and all sorts of other nonsense. They started saying things like, "we'll remember her when we do protector prayers." They didn't want her to be protected, mind you. What they wanted was for her to be punished for leaving them. Over a year after she left, they were still stalking her, making all sorts of threats, and generally trying to make things unhappy for her. One of them even wrote this puerile little poem: | + | You know, I see things like this all the [[time]]. For example, I know of a case involving a [[nun]]. She didn't [[feel]] very comfortable practicing where she was, so she decided to go practice elsewhere. The other [[nuns]] and [[monks]] she left behind became rather unaccountably [[angry]] about this, and started accusing her of breaking her [[vows]], and all sorts of other nonsense. They started saying things like, "we'll remember her when we do [[protector]] [[prayers]]." They didn't want her to be protected, [[mind]] you. What they wanted was for her to be punished for leaving them. Over a year after she left, they were still stalking her, making all sorts of threats, and generally trying to make things [[unhappy]] for her. One of them even wrote this puerile little poem: |
Chicken-lickin' good | Chicken-lickin' good | ||
Line 69: | Line 77: | ||
Is their thing! | Is their thing! | ||
So we will many | So we will many | ||
− | Offerings bring. | + | [[Offerings]] bring. |
And they continue | And they continue | ||
To take wing! | To take wing! | ||
Line 77: | Line 85: | ||
Deal with | Deal with | ||
ALL your flings! | ALL your flings! | ||
− | For false prophets | + | For false {{Wiki|prophets}} |
It will sting, and sting. | It will sting, and sting. | ||
− | Gotta hide! | + | [[Gotta]] hide! |
− | Gotta run! | + | [[Gotta]] run! |
Before this very year | Before this very year | ||
Is done | Is done | ||
Line 88: | Line 96: | ||
You see the bums. | You see the bums. | ||
Melting in the | Melting in the | ||
− | Light of sun | + | [[Light]] of {{Wiki|sun}} |
− | No one' gonna love it | + | No one' gonna [[love]] it |
Quite like me. | Quite like me. | ||
[[File:Myth2-11-14.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Myth2-11-14.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
− | You know, when I read this, I felt such sadness. This is not [[Dharma]]. This is witchcraft. Read it again, and as you do, realize that it was written by someone who thinks of his or herself as a "[[Dharma]] practitioner," and a "member of a [[Sangha]]." What do you think? Do those descriptions rightly apply? Has the author embraced [[ | + | You know, when I read this, I felt such [[sadness]]. This is not [[Dharma]]. This is {{Wiki|witchcraft}}. Read it again, and as you do, realize that it was written by someone who [[thinks]] of his or herself as a "[[Dharma]] [[practitioner]]," and a "member of a [[Sangha]]." What do you think? Do those descriptions rightly apply? Has the author embraced the [[Dharma]], or strayed from the [[Dharma]]? Do you think this person's [[teacher]] [[feels]] [[satisfaction]] when [[seeing]] this? Thousands of [[people]] read this 'blog, and I would really like to hear at least some of your opinions -- or at least the opinion of those with [[confidence]] (and idle [[time]]) enough to [[state]] an opinion. |
− | I have written this little post today with the intention that it be of some benefit to people who are confused about [[Protectors]]: people who are trapped by hopes and fears. There is no question that the energy involved is incredibly powerful -- powerful enough to bring you to the mat -- but, the end result is I think gentleness, or at least an appreciation of gentleness. Gentleness and openness, without all the subtext about aggression, revenge, contention, slyness, and the lot. | + | I have written this little post today with the [[intention]] that it be of some [[benefit]] to [[people]] who are confused about [[Protectors]]: [[people]] who are trapped by [[Wikipedia:Hope|hopes]] and {{Wiki|fears}}. There is no question that the [[energy]] involved is incredibly {{Wiki|powerful}} -- {{Wiki|powerful}} enough to bring you to the mat -- but, the end result is I think [[gentleness]], or at least an [[appreciation]] of [[gentleness]]. [[Gentleness]] and [[openness]], without all the subtext about [[aggression]], revenge, contention, slyness, and the lot. |
− | We might think we're getting away with something, and we might enjoy some success at that for a little while, but in the end -- and here I discard risk of repeating myself and embrace repetition wholeheartedly -- there is absolutely no replacement for authentic presence. Authentic presence makes contrivances unnecessary. Hope and fear evaporate in the all-illuminating light of the great sun. | + | We might think we're getting away with something, and we might enjoy some [[success]] at that for a little while, but in the end -- and here I discard [[risk]] of repeating myself and embrace repetition wholeheartedly -- there is absolutely no replacement for [[Wikipedia:Authenticity|authentic]] presence. Authentic presence makes contrivances unnecessary. {{Wiki|Hope}} and {{Wiki|fear}} evaporate in the all-illuminating [[light]] of the [[great sun]]. |
− | "May the knot of hope and fear be freed within vast and infinite pervasiveness!" | + | "May the [[knot]] of {{Wiki|hope}} and {{Wiki|fear}} be freed within vast and [[infinite]] pervasiveness!" |
− | I will honestly tell you what you probably already know: that I don't know very much about this subject. I cannot in good conscience even say that these are things I have heard. There is only this little that I have read, a few tiny things I have heard here and there, and the rather more gargantuan corpus of mistakes I have made, and continue to make, albeit always with the very best of intentions. Thus, while I may not be eminently qualified to wield a bucket and mop, at the charitable least my many bruises, bumps, and scrapes entitle me to an opinion about slippery floors. | + | I will honestly tell you what you probably already know: that I don't know very much about this [[subject]]. I cannot in good {{Wiki|conscience}} even say that these are things I have heard. There is only this little that I have read, a few tiny things I have heard here and there, and the rather more gargantuan corpus of mistakes I have made, and continue to make, albeit always with the very best of {{Wiki|intentions}}. Thus, while I may not be eminently qualified to wield a bucket and mop, at the charitable least my many bruises, bumps, and scrapes entitle me to an opinion about slippery floors. |
[[File:Myth2-11-18.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | [[File:Myth2-11-18.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | ||
− | Dharmapalas are not bogeymen. They are not a story we use to frighten children into behaving themselves. They are not demons unleashed by spells and incantations. They are not a threat that Buddhists use against each other. | + | [[Dharmapalas]] are not bogeymen. They are not a story we use to frighten children into behaving themselves. They are not {{Wiki|demons}} unleashed by {{Wiki|spells}} and incantations. They are not a threat that [[Buddhists]] use against each other. |
− | Please, if you are a real Buddhist, I am asking you so respectfully and politely, not to condemn yourself by begging the [[Protectors]] to serve your malfunctioning emotions. Don't invoke that energy to harm another person with whom you disagree. It cannot possibly harm the object of your aggressive fantasies, but it can absolutely destroy you and those around you. | + | Please, if you are a {{Wiki|real}} [[Buddhist]], I am asking you so respectfully and politely, not to condemn yourself by begging the [[Protectors]] to serve your malfunctioning [[emotions]]. Don't invoke that [[energy]] to harm another [[person]] with whom you disagree. It cannot possibly harm the [[object]] of your aggressive fantasies, but it can absolutely destroy you and those around you. |
We have all seen a sparrow repeatedly fly into a windowpane. Because of the sparrow, I have written this. | We have all seen a sparrow repeatedly fly into a windowpane. Because of the sparrow, I have written this. | ||
− | Only this reason. | + | Only this [[reason]]. |
</poem> | </poem> | ||
{{R}} | {{R}} | ||
[http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/protectors.html tibetanaltar.blogspot.com.au] | [http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/protectors.html tibetanaltar.blogspot.com.au] | ||
[[Category:Deities in Tibetan Buddhism]] | [[Category:Deities in Tibetan Buddhism]] | ||
− | + | ||
[[Category:Buddhist Terms]] | [[Category:Buddhist Terms]] | ||
[[Category:Thangka's]] | [[Category:Thangka's]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Dharmapalas]] |
Latest revision as of 15:42, 22 January 2024
This is not a subject that I care to write about, but I will try something anyway, because there seems to be a great deal of confusion. Herewith, the main thing I want to say:
Dharmapalas are not junkyard dogs
that we sic upon our perceived foes.
The textbook definition of a Dharmapala (chos-khyong), or "Dharma defender," or "protector," is that of a wrathful deity who "averts inner and outer obstacles to spiritual attainment."
I will be quite candid and tell you that it took me a very, very long time to come to grips with this definition, which I think can itself become an obstacle to clear understanding. I think a much better definition would be to say that dharmapalas are the wrathful personification of opportunities for spiritual attainment; opportunities that are not always immediately perceived as pleasant, or something wished for.
Most people go through life afraid of dharmapalas, which is a shame, when respect serves the issue much better than fear. The respect is really a respect for one's own posssibilities -- one's own potential, if you like that better -- because it is a respect that enjoins one from becoming too wrapped up in neurosis. So, in a very real sense, we could say that dharmapalas actually personify our own better natures -- almost to the level of an active "conscience," if that isn't taking undue liberty with cross-cultural signaling, and confusing the matter even more.
I have read two really splendid discussions of dharmapalas. The first was by Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche's son, Shenpen Dawa Rinpoche. This is from a talk he gave in 1988, which you can find several places on the 'net. Since he obviously intended this to be confidential, I don't want to visit it too long. Nevertheless, I do not see the harm in disclosing that he made three very important points.
First, he said "...in the whole buddhadharma, one of the most complex things to explain is the dharmapalas. The reason for this is because we must be spoken to on our individual levels of realization; otherwise, it becomes a gross fabrication of a very, very subtle complex." This sounds like it might be discouraging, but actually, it is very encouraging, because it points to a highly specific, individualized explanation that will ultimately arise when necessary.
Next, he said, "...dharmapalas are the main working force of all the Buddhas, because they communicate the process of our mind." I think this is brilliantly stated, because it precisely explains how spiritual attainment becomes possible, as we enter into or engage difficult situations.
Finally, he said, "What dharmapalas really are is our confidence. They support our confidence to be able to reach out and help others. In fact, if we lack confidence, dharmapalas have a way of subtly communicating with us to bring our confidence back. Confidence is the right way of respecting the teachings, the right way of benefiting people. That is the confidence it will bring up in us." This is completely good news. How can anyone be afraid of that?
I think if you want to hear more of what he said, you should resolve to meet him in person, rather than go hunt down the bootleg copy of his presentation.
The second discussion of dharmapalas comes from Trungpa Rinpoche, and you can find this quite openly in that little book I mentioned the other day: Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-kindness (1993).
In the context of a lengthy discussion of the transformation of bad circumstances, he characterizes dharmapalas as "sort of like shepherds." He writes:
"The dharmapalas represent our basic awareness, which is not so much absorbed in the meditative state of being but which takes place or takes care of us during the postmeditation experience."
How does it work? He explains:
"If you have the slightest temptation to step out of the dharmic world, the Protectors will herd you back -- hurl you back -- to that world. That is the meaning of asking the dharmapalas, or the Protectors, to help you in your practice."
Trungpa Rinpoche then goes into discussion of hidden neurosis, aggression, and all the underpinnings of spiritual life we experience but don't want to admit we experience. We don't want to admit this at all! He concludes his discussion of the subject with this admonition:
"...If true teaching has not been presented, we all could be struck down by that. So we are asking the Protectors to give us help and feedback through teachings, bankruptcies, through organizational mishaps, through being millionaires, or through work in general. It is all included."
That says it all, doesn't it?
So, the day may come when we are in the middle of heated contention with people we perceive as foes, and we might become very exasperated with the whole situation and start making all sorts of offerings to the Protectors.
We might ask the Protectors to "smite the foe," as it were, which subsumes some sort of satisfaction when the foe is smitten.
However, that sense of exasperation (fear), and that belief in a forthcoming satisfaction (hope), is precisely the sort of straying from the Dharma that will cause the Protectors to correct us -- sometimes very abruptly, you know?
Because it is a kind of cowardice. We are trying to avoid fixing the situation ourselves, and are instead calling on the Protectors to do the dirty work for us: "go give that son-of-a-bitch what he's got coming," rather than open-heartedly embracing Dharma's inherent gentleness at the very time when it is needed the most. This, too, will earn the attention of the Protectors, and again -- this can be very abrupt. Protectors protect us from ourselves.
You know, when I was a child, sometimes I was naughty. In the midst of naughtiness, sometimes I would stub my toe or bark a shin, and I would howl. My mother always used to smile, and say, "that's your protector." That invariably made me even more frustrated, until one day she said that, and I just started to laugh because it suddenly seemed so true.
Similarly, you may be in a situation where you have been practicing all sorts of wickedness because you have either been wrongly taught, or you have some obstacle to understanding what you have been rightly taught. This could extend to the organizational level, wherein an entire group of people have been ham-fisted and wooden-headed for so long that the result of their ham-fisted woodenheadedness becomes inevitable. They might start looking around for a scapegoat to blame, and having found one, they might swear out the Protectors, so that they can feel blameless -- and of course, satisfied.
My, but that is dangerous ground!
Protectors do not always germinate misfortunes. Sometimes, the correction can come in really unexpected ways. This is like the old joke about the Buddhist. His mother died, he had a heart attack, and then he wound up in jail. He was doing really well with all of this, until one fine day he won the lotto, and that completely brought him down!
You know, I see things like this all the time. For example, I know of a case involving a nun. She didn't feel very comfortable practicing where she was, so she decided to go practice elsewhere. The other nuns and monks she left behind became rather unaccountably angry about this, and started accusing her of breaking her vows, and all sorts of other nonsense. They started saying things like, "we'll remember her when we do protector prayers." They didn't want her to be protected, mind you. What they wanted was for her to be punished for leaving them. Over a year after she left, they were still stalking her, making all sorts of threats, and generally trying to make things unhappy for her. One of them even wrote this puerile little poem:
Chicken-lickin' good
They say-
When predator becomes
The pray.
When secrets all
Come out to play
And darkest night
Returns to day
Protectors LOVE this
Kinda swing
Defending Dharma
Is their thing!
So we will many
Offerings bring.
And they continue
To take wing!
They call and fly
While they sing
They'll stomp and
Deal with
ALL your flings!
For false prophets
It will sting, and sting.
Gotta hide!
Gotta run!
Before this very year
Is done
We'll be having fun,
Just wait and see!
Flip the rocks,
You see the bums.
Melting in the
Light of sun
No one' gonna love it
Quite like me.
You know, when I read this, I felt such sadness. This is not Dharma. This is witchcraft. Read it again, and as you do, realize that it was written by someone who thinks of his or herself as a "Dharma practitioner," and a "member of a Sangha." What do you think? Do those descriptions rightly apply? Has the author embraced the Dharma, or strayed from the Dharma? Do you think this person's teacher feels satisfaction when seeing this? Thousands of people read this 'blog, and I would really like to hear at least some of your opinions -- or at least the opinion of those with confidence (and idle time) enough to state an opinion.
I have written this little post today with the intention that it be of some benefit to people who are confused about Protectors: people who are trapped by hopes and fears. There is no question that the energy involved is incredibly powerful -- powerful enough to bring you to the mat -- but, the end result is I think gentleness, or at least an appreciation of gentleness. Gentleness and openness, without all the subtext about aggression, revenge, contention, slyness, and the lot.
We might think we're getting away with something, and we might enjoy some success at that for a little while, but in the end -- and here I discard risk of repeating myself and embrace repetition wholeheartedly -- there is absolutely no replacement for authentic presence. Authentic presence makes contrivances unnecessary. Hope and fear evaporate in the all-illuminating light of the great sun.
"May the knot of hope and fear be freed within vast and infinite pervasiveness!"
I will honestly tell you what you probably already know: that I don't know very much about this subject. I cannot in good conscience even say that these are things I have heard. There is only this little that I have read, a few tiny things I have heard here and there, and the rather more gargantuan corpus of mistakes I have made, and continue to make, albeit always with the very best of intentions. Thus, while I may not be eminently qualified to wield a bucket and mop, at the charitable least my many bruises, bumps, and scrapes entitle me to an opinion about slippery floors.
Dharmapalas are not bogeymen. They are not a story we use to frighten children into behaving themselves. They are not demons unleashed by spells and incantations. They are not a threat that Buddhists use against each other.
Please, if you are a real Buddhist, I am asking you so respectfully and politely, not to condemn yourself by begging the Protectors to serve your malfunctioning emotions. Don't invoke that energy to harm another person with whom you disagree. It cannot possibly harm the object of your aggressive fantasies, but it can absolutely destroy you and those around you.
We have all seen a sparrow repeatedly fly into a windowpane. Because of the sparrow, I have written this.
Only this reason.