By Eric Pema Kunsang, a close disciple of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (lightly editted for clarity)
Great Bodhisattvas act in different ways, they don’t have the code of ethics that belongs to the Hinayana. We have to be very open-minded. Some act very normal, some act like crazy. Some act like business people, some as slaughterers. There is absolutely no fixed mode of conduct for a great Bodhisattva. So, the general rule is don’t judge. If you don’t know the person, then don’t say anything. It’s much safer because there’s a bad consequence of denigrating a Bodhisattva. I can tell you a story about that.
It was one student of Chatral Rinpoche. This lama was brought up and educated at Trulshik Rinpoche’s place in Tibet. It was before the Cultural Revolution. He did his ngondro (preliminary practice), the chants and the recitations etc and then he was finally allowed in that system to request the pointing out instruction (on the nature of mind).
Trulshik Rinpoche gave him the teaching but he just didn’t get it. He just couldn’t open his mind to be receptive to that. So he requested the teachings again after doing more purification practices and still he couldn’t get it. Trulshik Rinpoche said, “I know how to give this teaching. I’ve done my job and you are not getting it, so there’s something wrong with you.”
But Trulshik Rinpoche was also clairvoyant. So, at some point, Rinpoche said, “You must have defamed or slandered a great Bodhisattva. Think about when in your past you have done that.” The Lama, his name was Samten, Lama Samten thought about it and said he couldn’t think of having done this. He said, ”I have never done this. It’s not possible that I slandered a Bodhisattva.”
Trulshik Rinpoche said, “Think again. You don’t have to rush it. Just go to your heart and think it through.”
Lama Samten went back and he remembered it. It happened when he was still a businessman. In old times, there were no wide roads. There were all these trails, narrow trails, either on the plain or in the mountainside and you can easily pass another businessman’s yak (animal used to carry goods in Tibet) procession.
There were many yaks and they follow the leading yak; they just walk behind and you don’t have to tell them the way, they know the way by themselves. The lead yak has gone over this trail many times and if he dies then the second one will take over. They know the way and you don’t have to whip them. Yaks are more clever and have wider perspective. They often stop and look around and then they’ll know where to go.
So two yak processions came in from different directions, Lama Samten was a businessman then, and he was facing another yak procession. But the trail was too narrow so they couldn’t pass each other. His yaks got a little scattered over the mountainside.
Often, when you are a business person, you invest everything you have in the goods so you can make a bigger profit. He was rightfully upset. It turned out that the other yak procession had a few hundred yaks, all with full load, each yak could carry maybe seventy to a hundred kilograms each.
The yaks refuse to go another way if they don’t have to. So, Lama Samten said, “Those damn Kagyu lamas think they can chase away everyone else as if they had first right to everything.”
That was all he had said. It turned out it was Karmapa’s labrang. This means the monastic institution who is the owner of the other procession of yaks was under the Karmapa. He didn’t know these yaks belonged to the Karmapa but he just cursed whoever it was they belonged to and that was it.
Lama Samten went back to Trulshik Rinpoche who said, “Yes, that was probably it. Now you have to apologize to the 16th Karmapa. Apologize to Karmapa in person, not just recite Vajrasattva from afar. You have to walk all the way to Tsurphu and ask permission to apologize to the Karmapa in person.”
Lama Samten set out to do that. He walked all the way. I don’t know where he lived, but Trulshik Rinpoche’s place in Tibet was just behind Mount Everest and the Karmapa’s was near Lhasa.
In those days, there were no cars. It probably took one or two months to walk there. He did that and he came before the Karmapa. The Karmapa was walking out somewhere. Lama Samten threw himself on the ground and took hold of Karmapa’s foot. Karmapa told him to let go and tried to shake loose but Lama Samten was very sincere about this, so he held on.
Finally the Karmapa said, “Okay, what’s your problem? What do you want?” Lama Samten said, “I have slandered you and I’m really sorry.” Then the Karmapa said, “Okay, it’s over.” That was it.
When Lama Samten went back to Trulshik Rinpoche and received the teaching on pointing out instruction again. He recognized the nature of mind immediately. That was all it took.
I’m sure many of you may have slandered some Bodhisattvas so it is better to clear it up as fast as you can if you want to train in Dzogchen. Because sometimes it is possible that we think we got it (the nature of mind), but we didn’t really get it, and then the years go by.
There could be some haze or fog (obscuration) in our minds that need to be cleared up. If you can’t do it in person now, then at least make a decision never to slander anyone who may be a Bodhisattva because why should we?
Sometimes again, you just can’t help it. Some Bodhisattvas are misbehaving intentionally in order to get slandered so that people can make a connection with them. We don’t know their intentions. Even if you slander a Bodhisattva, you have created a karmic link to that Bodhisattva. You will definitely meet and receive guidance on the path at some point, but it’s a much longer path than not slandering.
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The accumulation of merit is not physical. It does not mean to give offerings to the Buddhas or bowing down and other forms of worship. That’s not the (actual) accumulation of merit. Merit comes from the attitude with which those spiritual activities are being done. Otherwise, it’s just movements.
The accumulation of merit is not in the bowing down but is in the (lessening or) surrendering of the self-centered attitude. That is what is called “merit”. That attitude is accompanied by the physical action of prostration. Hopefully, the attitude behind the prostration is giving up the root causes of samsara because that is how it’s supposed to be.
