UNENDING STREAM OF KINDNESS

All Buddhist teachings – from whichever vehicle - deal with the manifestation of kindness; compassion being the central theme throughout all nine yanas - or vehicles. These yanas provide us with a nine-fold approach to the abdication of the tyranny of duality, in such a way that reveals the variegated nature of compassion as nine rich and subtle dynamics of being. Compassion is far more than feeling sorry for others, or empathy, or gentleness, or even the altruistic wish to liberate all beings; yet its proper understanding inspires the most simple kindness and infuses that kindness with energy, effectiveness, and playfulness. This day will explore the nine yanas as a developmental psychology which makes sense of every stage of spiritual growth. Through connecting compassion with the practises and views of each yana in this way, Dharma becomes dramatically available to everyone – showing that each of us has the capacity to liberate the stream of our unending kindness.
“Compassion is not merely the desire to give the whole world a cookie. It is not simply the most profound altruism. Active Compassion is, in fact, only one aspect of Bodhicitta. Each of the six classes of Tantra express this appreciative interactive empathy according to progressively more subtle and vivid criteria. We learn that the compassion we begin by cultivating – is none other than the innate energy of the natural state.” Ngak’chang Rinpoche