People enter states of consciousness where they think they've become enlightened. The best thing to do, if you've gone through one of those phases, is to be sensible, laugh at yourself for how foolish you were.
If you attain liberation do not feel that it matters or it is important. You had nothing to do with it. If you are bound by ignorance do not feel bad. You had nothing to do with it.
In the beginning we define what is spiritual. But as you go on, you see that everybody and everything is an instrument of infinity.
Etiquette is an intelligent way to live. There are certain ways of living you will learn being around advanced students and mostly your teacher. These are methods that have been handed down for thousands of years.
The outer form of Buddhism, of practice, is etiquette - a series of ways to live intelligently that keep you alive, awake and happy, wakeful.
Buddhism is not just going to temple, being at a ceremony and dressing up. That is the church of Buddhism. Esoteric Buddhism is to move beyond this world.
I used to live in Buddhist monasteries and I finally had to leave them because they were just too cluttered for me. They were cluttered up with many thoughts about Buddhism.
Part of what we seek in Buddhism is the sense of quiet observation. We don't get so involved in a state of mind that we forget that it's just another transient state of mind, no matter how much ecstasy or agony is involved.
Tantric Buddhism is just a collection of things that work by doing them. And sometimes we add new things. We have electronic music; we did not have it in Tibet.
Be neither attracted nor repulsed is the message of Tantric Buddhism. Don't be drawn to something, don't run away from it. Just naturally accept whatever comes into life.
What we seek to do in Tantric Buddhism is to liquefy ourselves. Life will automatically bring us to the next stage. You don't really have to know where you're going - It's like breathing.
Zen is Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayana is tantric Buddhism - these are various forms of it. Tantric Buddhism simply means cutting to the chase.
For the person who wants to get to the mystical experience directly, Tantric Buddhism is the path.
In Tantric Buddhism, we believe that Samsara is Nirvana. That is to say that everything in the universe is part of us. And we also are part of everything in the universe.
A critical part of Tantric Buddhism is a process of turning of the activities and experiences in your daily life into meditation.
Perhaps my own struggle against the negativity created by these so-called critics has enabled me to develop a more resilient, peaceful, inner strength which I, in turn, have attempted to communicate to others.
Obviously, following my convictions has come at a personal price, but they are important enough that I have been willing to endure the abuse.
It is inevitable that, in the process of teaching an Asian religion in a Western country, many of the teachings will seem strange or unusual - in the same way that Christianity and Judaism may seem strange and unusual to people from the Far East.
Every new movement or group of people who seek to explore awareness is considered a cult. The United States was founded by several cults. They felt that Protestantism had become much too lax, so they came to America and set up a hard line religious cult.
The source of their motivation ranges from what you might expect - from the seeking of money and publicity, to those who genuinely suffer from chronic personal problems and have fixated on me as the cause of their frustrations and failures.
Unfortunately, in self-discovery, you get the culty types who want the father figure or mother figure to tell them everything to do. They don't want to do any work. They want to hang on your energy and try to drain it.
All I can say is that these cult stories are totally untrue, are without any foundation, and trade on a deep bias against Westerners who dare to embrace an Eastern belief-system.
I find it ironic to read stories about myself which have never occurred and are simply so absurd that they are comical. At other times, it is very painful to be so misinterpreted and vilified.
I don't think there is anyone in public life today who can escape the inevitable onslaught of the media. It seeks to pry into and often grossly distort aspects of one's personal and professional life. I guess it just comes with the territory.
Certainly, I am aware that there have been a number of articles written about me and television shows in which I have been featured and referred to as a "cult leader."
