An esoteric or enlightened teacher of Buddhism is someone who has the ability to transfer power to another individual. A real empowerment is not just a ceremony.
Dharma is an ancient word for truth.
Dharma is another name for existence. It is existence in its purest form.
Dharma is the Truth that all of existence is. It does not disagree with anything. It is the perception of existence in its purest formlessness.
Dharma is a sanskrit word. It simply means that which is right, that which is correct, that which is the divine law.
Everything knows what is best for itself. That is what the Sanskrit word dharma means. Dharma means the best of all possible actions.
Dharma simply means the right thing in the right place, in the right space.
There is a dharma for yourself, for someone else, for a family, for a nation, for a universe. There are collective and individual dharmas.
Your dharma is what kind of work you should be doing, what kind of people you should associate with, whether you should have a teacher or not. Dharma encompasses all things and it is specific to the individual.
When you understand dharma, when you see its perfect perfection, shining both in and beyond all things, you will be freed from all misunderstandings.
The first task is to discover the dharma by introspection, by constantly questioning yourself and asking yourself, "What is right?"
Start simply everyday by asking yourself, "What is the dharma today? What should I do? What is right? What does the universe want from me?"
Naturally, to follow dharma, we have to find out what it is. You have to struggle with it. The answer will not come easily. You will be swayed by your desires, conditioning, and those around you who have ideas about what you should do, what is proper, what is improper.
You can lie to yourself and fool yourself and rationalize that the choice you're making is what is right and what is true and what leads to liberation, when it's actually only the fulfillment of desire.
When you meditate you can stand back from your desire. When you silence the mind and there is stillness, only then can you tell if a desire is dharma.
In the light we can see what is and what is not. We know what is right and what is inappropriate.
That which is right is different for each one of us in each situation. There isn't a moral code that I or anyone can lay down that will tell you what your dharma is.
It is acceptance of the will of God - waiting, if necessary, forever, happily rising above your desires and above your frustrations to always do what is right. Always do what is right. This is the spiritual study.
What can be the dharma at one point in your life can totally reverse itself, and suddenly you might be doing something the opposite or something very new, something you never considered.
Dharma doesn't necessarily mean following a mundane and boring life. It means a life of high adventure, not a life of endless, boring repetition.
Very often, in order to bring about stillness we have to be tirelessly active in the outer world. You might suppose this would agitate the mind. It will not, if it is the dharma.
Love is the bridge that joins all the worlds together. Love permits us to see who and what we are. The only thing that will truly inspire us to find the dharma is love.
Meditate well so you can be a good instrument of eternity. You could have a mediocre meditation today, but you're not going to. Today you might run into someone who you might talk to about the dharma.
Following dharma puts you in a proper field of attention. In a proper field of attention, regardless of what your outer circumstances are, happiness will flow.
Success is not success in an individual endeavor. Success is simply to practice the dharma impeccably.
