love is all there is…The critical mass of enlightenment can be defined as the smallest number of awakened human beings whose collective influence can initiate a significant shift in global consciousness. The process of creating enough enlightened ones to achieve this critical mass can be likened to the transformation of coal into diamonds. The pressure of surrounding human unconsciousness creates urgency in the potential enlightened one to awaken from illusion. The total weight of so much unconscious ‘carbon’ exerts a tremendous pressure, through which a few coal stones reach the appropriate mass to become ‘diamonds.’ These awakened beings embody the crystal clarity of enlightened consciousness which can transform the level of consciousness of the entire planet.” (Anonymous)

As both an individual and collective, we have the ability to shift and transform the suffering in this world to beauty and joy. One method of ‘ether medicine’ that can relieve suffering on both a personal and global level is meditation. I believe that mankind is capable of evolving together on this spiritual journey through the love and support of one’s self in conjunction with one’s community – also known as Sangha or kula. The ability to achieve the deepest connection with the Divine is always present, but fear and bewilderment often prevents our remembering the light that radiates in all of us. Through meditation, one can observe this fear, acknowledge, and transcend it. Furthermore, there exists a theory of ‘mass consciousness’ and ‘critical mass’: once some minimum number of beings have awakened, the rest will be swept up in the changing tide of awakening and authentic liberation. Are we nearing this turning point in human evolution? More and more frequently we are asking the questions, “Who am I?”; “What is this all about?”; “How can I contribute?”; “How can I liberate myself and others from suffering?” I believe that it is through the various forms of meditation that we can answer these questions and, more importantly, heal ourselves and possibly heal mankind in the process.

Why meditation?
Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön teaches us that, meditation is, “a method of cultivating unconditional friendliness towards ourselves and for parting the curtain of indifferences that distances us form the suffering of others. It is our vehicle for learning to be a truly loving person.” It is through meditation that we “experience moments of being right here that feel simple, direct, and uncluttered. This coming back to the immediacy of our experience is training in unconditional, or absolute bodhichitta (awakened heart)…When we sit down to meditate we leave behind the idea of a perfect meditator, the ideal meditator, and preconceived notions. We train simply in being present. We open ourselves completely to the pain and pleasure of life. We train in precision, gentleness, and letting go. Because we see our thoughts and emotions with compassion, we stop struggling against ourselves. We learn to recognize when we’re caught up and to trust that we can let go. Thus the blockages created by our habits and prejudices start falling apart. In this way, the wisdom we were blocking-the wisdom of bodhichitta-becomes available… When we sit down to meditate, we can connect with something unconditional-a state of mind, a basic environment that doesn’t grasp or reject. Everything is allowed to come and go without embellishment. Meditation is totally nonviolent, non-aggressive occupation. Not filling the space, allowing for the possibility of connecting with unconditional openness-that provides the basis for real change.”

Why is this connection so important?
It is with through this connection to our awakened heart that we grow, evolve, and begin to remember the interconnectedness of all beings. As the sage Patañjali taught, “(through) meditation, body, mind, and consciousness come into communion with the soul; they are now free from attachments and aversions, memories of place and time. The impurities of body and mind are cleansed, the dawning light of wisdom vanquishes ignorance, innocence replaces arrogance and pride, and the seeker(s) becomes the seer…When this occurs, the senses rest quietly and stop importuning the mind for gratification. Then, that which hitherto acted as a bridge between the senses and the soul frees itself from the senses and turns towards the soul to enjoy its spiritual heights.” With this ‘dawning of light’ our vision becomes clear and we are then able to make a deep personal connection with the Divine that is in all of us. We are able to become our authentic selves and to shine out into the world with compassion, wisdom, and joy.

Is peace and happiness really available to us and if so, where is it?
In his book TURNING THE MIND INTO AN ALLY, H.H. The Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche teaches that, “True happiness is always available to us, but first we have to create the environment for it to flourish. We might have a deep aspiration to slow down, to be more compassionate, to be fearless, to live with confidence and dignity, but we’re often not able to accomplish these things because we’re so set in our ways. Our minds seem so inflexible. We’ve been touched by the softness of the flower, but we haven’t figured out how to make a place for it. We may feel that out ability to love or feel compassion is limited, and that that’s just the way things are. The problem for most of us is that we’re trying to grow a flower on a rock (the rock represents a bewildered mind).The garden hasn’t been tilled properly. We haven’t trained our minds…This is what we’re doing by learning to peacefully abide in sitting meditation: creating the space for our garden to grow. Then we can cultivate qualities that will allow us to live our lives in full bloom.”

What is the value to society if the individual meditates?
The Sakyong (also known as the earth protector) continues, “A Society of hard inflexible minds is a society that is incapable of nurturing the flowers of love and compassion. This is the source of the Dark Age. We tend to question our basic goodness and our wisdom. When we question these things, we begin to use seemingly more convenient ways to deal with our problems. We are less ready to use love and compassion, more ready to use aggression. So we have to continually remind ourselves of our basic goodness. If we want to help alleviate suffering on our planet, those of us who can make our minds pliable must plant a flower on the rock. This is how we can create a society based on the energy we get from experiencing our own basic goodness…Tilling the ground of our own minds through meditation is how we begin to create a new culture, a culture that can thrive in the modern world and at the same time support our human journey in an uplifted and joyous way. Such a culture is called and enlightened society. Enlightened society is where the flower and rock will meet.”

Mindfulness: How do we develop a practice?
The Sanskrit word for mindfulness is shamantha which literally means “development of peace” or the “taming of the mind”. The whole point of mindfulness practice is to be present in the middle of our daily lives. Through mindfulness our minds and bodies become synchronized, they begin to work in harmony with one another, and they are become joined in union. When we practice in this way, mindfulness becomes a source of joy, happiness, and liberation. As we continue to practice mindfulness, both in sitting mediation and in our daily lives, our practice beings to expand to include even the most mundane activities.

Developing a meditation practice is a very personal path. The pith instructions are as follows: 1) Find some time to sit (in meditation) every day. (It is best if this is done as something that I schedule for myself). 2) Simply, “watch” the breath while meditating. 3) Cultivating “mindfulness” in our sitting practice is done so that that we can carry it into our daily life. 4) Our challenge then, is to carry this mindfulness from our seat into action in the world. 5) Remember that meditation is about opening and relaxing to whatever arises, without judgment.

The precious opportunity:
Meditation teacher, Stephen Levine encourages us: “As the preciousness to work on ourselves becomes more apparent, we come more purely to the practice…(Meditation) practice is very much like a dance on a tight-rope, balancing energies, awareness, concentration, balancing what is appropriate to the moment. In a moment of forgetfulness we fall from the tightrope only to find that we land on another tightrope. We fall from moment to moment. We discover that there’s really just one moment, and that moment is now. In our awakening, we begin to experience the totality of that moment.”

What about one’s meditation practice during difficult times?
It is not only during times of joy and happiness that we meditate, it also during times of difficulty and stress that we can find inspiration in the spiritual practice of meditation. In his book A Path with a Heart, Jack Kornfield tells us that it is through “difficulty that we can learn the true strength of our practice. At these times, the wisdom we have cultivated and the depth of our love and forgiveness is our chief resource. To meditate, to pray, to practice, at such times can be like pouring soothing balm onto the aches of our heart. The great forces of greed, hatred, fear, and ignorance that we encounter can be met by the equally great courage of our heart…Such strength of heart comes from knowing that the pain we each must bear is a part of the greater pain shared by all that lives. It is not just ‘our’ pain but the pain, and realizing this awakens our universal compassion.”

Permission to shine/ How does our awakening help society?
In her book, A HEART AS WIDE AS A WORLD, Sharon Salzberg teaches us that, “with the practice of meditation, we can develop (this) ability to more fully love ourselves and to more consistently love others…In (meditation) practice we explore the ways we relate to our own experience and to our motivations for change. We look at the degree of concentration, mindfulness, and love that we bring to bear on whatever may be happening in our lives. Our efforts in meditation are directed toward opening, toward knowing what we feel, toward remaining awake to the suffering and joy we encounter. This is meditation as a way of life, a way if recapturing our lives so we can delight in the integrity, joy, and peace that arise from understanding the truth of who we are…While happiness is in itself, one of the fruits of meditation, it is also a state of mind we can have right now, simply by respecting ourselves and living a life of caring. This is the happiness that is an essential ingredient for the ultimate liberation of our minds from suffering…This sense of openness and wonder is very much like the approach we need to take in the practice of meditation. Our wonderment gives us the courage to journey, to let go of what we know and go into the unfamiliar. The world of silence and intuitive understanding that we enter in meditation is perhaps unlike any place we have known before…When we approach life with wonderment, it gives us the courage to open our hearts further and further, so we can find a greater happiness than we have ever known before. There is a magic in wonderment, in making a friend of silence, in the space between breaths, in finding the beautiful gift of connectedness. Through meditation practice we come to know these hidden things, to reclaim forgotten things.”

There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. I am inspired by the knowledge that all sentient beings are intimately connected. It is because of this intimacy that my thoughts actions affect not only myself, but all other beings as well. In ETHICS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM, H.H. The 14^th Dalai Lama teaches that “…every action has a Universal dimension.” He then asks us to “evaluate our own needs in relation to the needs of others and consider how our actions and in-actions are likely to affect them.”

Cultivating what the Tibetans call the shen dug ngal wa la mi sö pa (the inability to bear the sight of another’s suffering) allows up to drop deeply into the core of our hearts. It is from this deep still place that we manifest our actions from a state of bodhichitta (awakened heart). The willingness to reside in the “awakened heart” will free not only the individual self but the collective. We receive from the collective the support and courage necessary to do the work of awakening to every moment, and it is through the efforts of all sentient beings that society becomes enlightened. As Nelson Mandela says, “We are born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us: it’s in everyone. As we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.”

There is only one time to awaken. That time is NOW-The Buddha
By trusting in our basic goodness, we can bring some joy and laughter, caring and compassion to the world. When we conduct ourselves with dignity, love, and wholesomeness, we can stop polluting the world with our fears. We can stop creating hatred and war. We as a collective can do this. The time is NOW. We can go along now with the energy of the glorious sacred world. When we look around, we’ll see that we don’t have to create anything: our world is already enlightened. As The Sakyong says, “If that realization comes about, then everything is possible.”