by Rose Rabbit

Not long ago during a discussion about what it takes to become an enlightened, fully conscious being, my Elder, Grandmother Pa’Ris’Ha told me that it is “not enough to have a good heart, that a person must also have a good practise.” To my understanding, she was referring to a spiritual practice of ceremony, prayer and meditation that is followed and adhered to daily, monthly, seasonally and so on. It was the second time within a short period that I had received this message.

For several weeks I had been fortunate in that a wonderful Tibetan Buddhist Monk from Bhutan, Lama T’sering Wangdi, had graced me and some friends with his presence and had generously shared many of his wisdoms. One of the stories that he told has stuck with me because of its simultaneous simplicity and profound truth. One afternoon, Lama T’sering, with his bright smile lighting up the room spoke to us about the significance of having a regular spiritual practice. Holding his hands out in front, cupped together like a bowl he described this type of practice as being like an upright bowl in a rainstorm. Water is a blessing, he told us, and without it we cannot have life.

When we are willing to hold our bowls out to receive the blessing, they become filled with water so that our thirst may be quenched. If we turn our bowls upside down, the rain can only run off the sides and we are left with nothing. He said that having a spiritual practice is like offering our bowls upright, to the rain. It is the offering of a vessel, the actual doing of a purposeful activity that creates a space that can be filled with the wisdom of spirit and the gift of enlightenment. When we have no practice, our bowl remains empty and we restrict ourselves to unconscious, mundane existence, no matter how genuinely caring, loving and generous we may be in our hearts.

I really liked the Lama’s analogy because it made the concept of doing a practice seem simple, as easy as holding a bowl out in the rain. Yet, it also very clearly defines that we each have a responsibility involved in the process of enlightenment, that it does not happen by chance. There must be a preparation. As Grandmother Pa’Ris’Ha says, “we must meet Creator half way.” We must do our fifty percent of the work because in fact, spirit can only meet us half way and cannot enter where it is not invited. It also shows how very much we have the ability to choose where we end up and where we remain. Even if enlightenment does happen spontaneously, seemingly without preparation, a practice must be maintained in order to retain the awareness intrinsic to the awakened state. Or so I am told by people I know who take each and every breath in full consciousness. Certainly, from what I have seen, Grandmother Pa’Ris’Ha and Lama T’sering are devoted to a healthy dose of daily of practice. Grandmother has reported that if one lapses, the extent of awareness diminishes.

Grandmother has also said time and time again that “all are the chosen ones,” so it is really a matter of which of us choose to do what it takes to achieve enlightenment. Not one person is exempt from this. The blessing of the rain touches everyone. It is a matter of what we prepare ourselves to receive, yet regardless of what we do with the piece of time we are given to experience life here, we are never out of God’s love. Everything exists inside divinity, including our choices. Hopefully we can all choose a life that we are satisfied will bring us something we desire, and it will all be worthwhile, regardless of our bowl being right side up or upside down!