Absent of illusion is devotion. Purpose of the devotion is to renounce. In order to renounce, you have to examine the reality of the suffering. Without examining the reality of the suffering, there is lack of motivation to practice Dharma, there’s a lack of sense of honesty to oneself. When there’s a lack of honesty to oneself, there’s a lack of honesty to what we practice, and how we perceive, how we project, you know? So then, if you are not honest with yourself, then there’s a lot of pretender. Pretending to be something that you’re not. So that happens to be everywhere, you know?
So therefore it’s very important that in order to understand the meaning of devotion, or even to experience the meaning of devotion, we need to make an understanding of the reality of the suffering, the cause of the suffering, and it does not mean that you have to be unhappy in order to examine it. Just examine it!
You may not need to be overwhelmed by the examination of the reality of the suffering. Just little bit of change of heart. With a little bit of broader understanding, with a little bit of appreciation to the Dharma, that is already the beginning. That is already a genuine progress. And be honest about your progress. Be honest to oneself, that’s the most important. When you can be honest with your little progress, and that’s the path of being happy, eventually. Not necessarily only in the time that you reach to the enlightenment, but along the journey, you can be happy with yourself, you know?
So to be honest to oneself is very important. And to be honest to oneself, you don’t have to be, tell to other people all your mistakes and suffering and all the hardship that you went through, honesty to others is not necessary. Honesty to oneself is the most important, when you are practicing. And then once you have enough development with a sense of quality and realisation, and then transparency, sense of attitude of transparency, develops by itself. You don’t need to force yourself to be transparent, you don’t need to force yourself to be something that you’re not. Even in the positivity, even more that you don’t have to pretend. So that’s something that you have to keep in mind.
Kalu Rinpoche
FB Livestream – 7 February 2022 (19’53”)
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