Not Clinging to Any Point of View

Excerpted from Living Fully by Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche

The masters of the Great Perfection lineage always stressed that one's worldly responsibilities and lifestyle are not of primary importance. To embrace our true essence is the main point. You do not have to acquire anything extraneous; you only need to realize the wealth that you possess within. This teaching states that one's essential nature is timelessly pure and perfect. This flawless purity does not require any fabrication, because it is self-existing and self-sustaining. Being one with this complete state is the ultimate solution for all of our troubles, the one medicine that cures every disease.

In the view of the Great Perfection, everything is perfect in its own place. If your roommate is snoring, then he's snoring—that's it. You do not need to accompany his snoring with flutes and violins. You can find the rhythm there and accept it. The snoring of your roommate could be as beautiful as a Gregorian chant. Everything has this air of inexpressible magic, and anything is possible. If you insist that it should be some other way, you are clinging to your own contrived version of reality. In the Great Perfection, there is no clinging to any point of view. If you cling to a point of view, you do not recognize or accept things as they are.

The tradition of the Great Perfection holds the utmost respect for each individual's pure, innate nature. It recognizes and acknowledges the fundamental goodness within every being. Ultimately, nothing "good" needs to be established and nothing "bad" needs to be eliminated. With respect to discovering one's innate nature, these teachings do not talk about achieving anything because you cannot construct what is unconditional and self-existing from time without beginning. Living without the ideal of progress or the notion of self-improvement is not easy, since it requires supreme trust in the self-existing perfection of things exactly as they are.

I was once asked before a teaching, "Do you prepare for your talks beforehand?" And I thought to myself, "That's a good question!" Is there any way to genuinely prepare, and if so, what would I prepare for? If I prepare something nice to say to others, I have lost my freedom and become their slave. So the answer is no, I do not feel compelled to fabricate anything. What I share with others is the kindness of my teacher and a glimpse of perfect freedom. •

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Updated 1/20/14