Our discussion on how this class impacted our actual practice and cultivation focused mostly on our understanding of the FIve Vidyas themselves and not on the two erroneous views related to them. No worry, We will consider them again at our next series of classes when we look at the evil and erroneous views held about holy beings. For those just joining this discussion, the evil and erroneous views are from the Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation and related discourses by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Others shared their experiences which ranged from seeking more information in Buddhist literature about the Five Vidyas and what they meant to very personal stories including a beautiful story from Mexico about how this person’s life changed when she and her dancing partner started dancing for those in nursing homes. How do we give of ourselves to help others and bring them to the dharma? Suddenly their dancing business started to prosper as well as their spiritual lives. They had donors and invitations to dance in places where they never believed they would be able to dance. This included being able to perform for H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
At an earlier class I shared a similar story about a friend who has also followed the Buddha Master and who is a gifted pianist who, like the dancers, went to play for those confined to nursing homes. What he found was that the pianos they often had in these homes were woefully in need of tuning. He then learned how to be a piano tuner and also went to these homes to bring them up to standard. Could these not be Bodhisattva acts?
Someone brought up what it meant to be a causal Bodhisattva. I think that was also from an earlier class. This I felt was a very helpful insight. As I understand it, you are a causal bodhisattva when you behave like a Bodhisattva. It may be just for a moment, but you have the casual conditions of being a Bodhisattva, but have not yet developed your powers. I think many people rise to that. Maintaining that state is something else, but that is what our practice is all about. Yesterday another student talked about how this is all about our “actions” or our karmic acts. Very good! It is not something theoretical or abstract that we put into a sort of spiritual bucket for special occasions, It is just what we do. The Five Vidyas are as Akou Lamo Rinpoche said, “what Bodhisattvas and Buddhas do.” CLICK for article on the Four All-embracing Bodhisattva Virtues.” I think calling them “Bodhisattva Acts” might be a better way of talking about them.
We knew the six paramitas (generosity, morality, patience, effort, concentration or meditation, and wisdom) are the spiritual practices of Bodhisattvas, but now we can see that the Five Vidyas are skills or knowledge we need to acquire as well on our path to becoming holy people. We will talk more about what it means to be a holy person when we restart our classes on these evil and erroneous views.
Another student had also shared how he now realized that his skills as a “fixer” (as in fixing up that which is broken, not anything shady like we hear on TV) he now saw as healing gifts. The important lesson was that we learn how to develop our skills to become Bodhisattvas and use them as Bodhisattvas. There were other examples that were like this.
One of the insights I received from Asanga’s The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment (The Bodhisattvabhumi) was that you learn the craftsmanship vidya to be able to teach a “craft” to others so that they may prosper and be able to learn and practice the dharma. I knew the Buddha Master did that. Now I understand that is just something Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do. That is something we can all do. The Five Vidyas are not something so high that they are only for very advanced and highly evolved beings. We can all perfect them. That is how we progress, too.
CLICK for more from earlier classes on the Five Vidyas.
I was fortunate to attend the ceremony when the nectar shown above manifested before us. CLICK for more photos. I offer this photo as my testimony about the Five Vidyas.
Thank you my most auspicious master