Parvati Magazine | Page 11

MEDITATION
as they afford us the opportunity to learn to become more compassionate, clear and skillful in
response to any external
‘opponent’.
When major illness or accident strikes, our bodies
become weaker but our
minds can become more
resilient.
Moving compassionately with illness
and its attendant frailty
can mean that we stop
trying to have impossible
dreams of physical prowess and learn to open
our hearts more in the
day to day interactions in
life. Then when we meet
someone who is frail, our
response will be one filled
with empathy for their situation and not necessarily offering ‘fixes’ for them.
In this way, we can prepare for our own old age
or ill health and enter that
state with loving kindness
and compassionate endurance.
When emotional upheaval strikes, our minds can
become confused and
an exhausting inner turmoil starts up. We may no

longer know which way to
turn or what path to take.
If we can learn, through
meditation, to stay balanced on this mental teeter-totter for long enough,
the pathway forward will
slowly become clear. Aspiration for a good and
wholesome outcome is
truly important here, as
the aspiring mind is what
leads a person forward
slowly or quickly into the
outer form. Making sure
then of our motivation is
imperative, if we are to
succeed.
In Buddhist terms, this is
called Establishing Bodhicitta.
In its relative
form, we can place all
things pertaining to this
world. In its Absolute form,
we learn to rest in an unknowing but expansive
state of mind that can
allow anything to arise.
Confusing one state from
another can and does
cause suffering. Relative Bodhicitta allows us
to enter and function in
the world in a caring and
compassionate way. Absolute Bodhicitta allows
us to be ready to ‘Be’

and not always ‘Do’. We
need to understand both
these states and not confuse them; otherwise we
will act when we should
stand back or refrain from
helping others when active help is needed.
At the same time, we
need to understand that
the two Bodhicittas are
one and the same. They
cannot exist without each
other; they are not separate. When we experience this, we are able to
act without attachment
to outcome and to be
present when things do
not work out the way we
hope, without negative
judgment.
If nothing ever came
along to ‘shake things up’
how boring life would be!
So the next time it happens to you, move to the
aspiring mind and by fully
entering this Bodhicitta
dance, you will be able to
meet life’s changes with
an open and expansive
heart.
copyright © 2014 by Lama Catherine Rathbun

Catherine Rathbun received her traditional teaching name, Lama Jetsun
Yeshe, from Ven. Karma Thinley Rinpoche, a lineage master of the Sakya
and Kagyu traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, in 2002. She taught meditation at
York University (1989 to 1997) and is the founding teacher at Friends of the
Heart, a meditation centre in Toronto. With a background in dance — she
was a member of the National Ballet Company of Canada from 1962 to
1963 — and a modern dance career in England (1967-69). She is the author
of Developing the World Mind and Clear Heart, Open Mind, and is currently
working on a new book called Waiting for Truffles: Meditations for Daily
www.friendsoftheheart.com.
Living. For more on Catherine, please visit www.friendsoftheheart.com.