Animal Neighbor Friends outside in the Tent

I want to leave a quick message about some of my animal neighbors. Since I’ve pitched a tent in the backyard, I have been spending a lot of time in the morning and afternoon outside, and have noticed many animals have been visiting me. 

There is a grey cat with white paws who comes everyday. She’s a very sweet and beautiful cat. She has a big belly, although I’m not sure why; I suspect that she may be pregnant or a bit old. She comes at the same time at exactly 10 o’clock every morning. She is always on time, which makes me think that she may be an American cat. When Tibetan people say that they will arrive at 9AM, they might show up around 10AM, so I don’t think that she is a Tibetan cat 😆😆😆.  

When she arrives, she will stare at me and I look back at her. Then I know that she's ready to eat, so I give her some cat food and a dish of water. After she eats and drinks, she stays in the backyard and will sit in the sun or under the bench for about an hour. She sometimes rests and also stalks and plays with small bugs, but does not harm them; she acts out of curiosity. Once, two crows began to pick at and eat her leftover cat food; she just calmly observed the crows and stayed with them. She is very good natured. It was so beautiful to see the animals share with each other. I think that she knows that I am meditating inside the tent. Sometimes she will talk to me and make sounds like meow meow. I don’t understand what she’s saying but I wish that I did.

As the cat became more comfortable with me, she came right up to the tent, brushing up against the door while purring. I thought she was hungry, so I went inside the Dharma Centre through the back door to grab her more food. She then followed me and began to walk throughout the entire Dharma Center, examining each room. It was really like a tour; I told her, "This is my altar, this is my kitchen, etc." and she responded meow meow. She would very carefully and slowly examine everything, and saw the altar and looked at the Buddha statue.  I believe that she can feel the positive energy. I also followed closely behind her to make sure that she didn’t go to the bathroom inside. Actually, I don’t know precisely where she comes from, but a neighbor told me that she thinks the cat belongs to someone in the neighborhood. Now, she regularly comes into the Dharma Centre and it is difficult to convince her to leave. I think that she wants to stay, but I can’t keep her because I think she has an owner.

Another one of my neighbors is a gopher. One day, as I was sitting inside the tent, I noticed something moving underneath the ground in front of the entrance. There were mounds of dirt and I knew something must be underground. Lo and behold, a gopher emerged out of the earth! I sat and watched him as he would push dirt out of his tunnel and pop his head out of his hole. He was working very diligently and quickly. At that moment, as I witnessed this scene, I thought to myself, “I wish my students would work as hard as he does when practicing Dharma!” As he was burrowing his tunnel, he made a large mound of dirt next to his hole which seemed to be like a mountain for him. Later, during the midday when it became too warm, I didn’t see him anymore and he disappeared underground. 

The next morning, as I walked towards the tent, I found that he had dug another hole right in front of the tent door. Next to the entrance was another big heap of dirt. When I take my shoes off to enter the tent, I would have to step over the mound of dirt. This made it difficult to get inside. I didn’t want it very close to my feet because otherwise, if I accidentally bumped into the mound, it could cave in and close his hole that he worked so hard to dig. 

I then jokingly teased him saying, “My friend, are you jealous of me, or do you love me? You moved right in front of my tent. Now, I am going to move; if you’re jealous, you can follow me. If you love me, stay there. I will move first.” Maybe if someone walked by, they might think that I was speaking to a friend, but no one was there. I knew that he didn’t understand what I said and I was really saying something funny to myself. I figured that it would be better if I moved the tent farther away, so I took my cushions, books, and other things out of the tent and moved everything a few feet away, and set up again. The following day, I found that he hadn’t moved. I thought to myself, this means that the gopher loves me and is not jealous. 

A few days later, however, I was sitting in my tent and felt a patch of raised earth on the floor. I wasn’t sure where it had come from, so I exited the tent to investigate and found that the gopher had dug two giant holes surrounded by very large piles of dirt. One of these holes was directly underneath where I was sitting! Thereupon I chose to move everything a second time away from his home. 

About one week later, with no signs of new activity from the gopher for some time, one morning I discovered that he had dug a third enormous hole right in the middle of my tent. This was the biggest hole yet and looked like a small mountain. My neighbor Keith helped me to relocate my tent to another part of my yard. I joked with Keith, telling him that this gopher must be jealous, I’ve already moved my tent three times 😆. Keith responded, "No Rinpoche, animals have very small brains and aren’t jealous. Animals can feel positive energy and I think that they like you.” 

Ultimately, this happened a total of 5 times, even twice in one day! I called Keith and told him what happened. Keith says that if I sit over the hole, nothing will happen to the gopher. The gopher seems like a child seeking his mother, so finally I decided to stay put. 

 I thought about another gopher who transitioned to death in the Dharma Centre two years ago. I prayed for him many days and named him Karma Zangpo. He is buried in the garden next to the Buddha statue. I told him please to come back to the Dharma Centre and become my student, and I wonder if the same gopher has come back to be close.

Animals may think, this land is mine and does not belong to human beings. I was here before you came. We may also think, this is my property and my house because I rightfully purchased it. We don’t know or understand these things because we don’t see them, but nagas, local deities, and spirits have been living here far before the arrival of humans, and they view the land as their home, and that is why I spoke to the gopher. 

I also have neighbors who are squirrels. The squirrels who live in downtown Pacific Grove, particularly the ground squirrels at Lovers Point beach, are accustomed and somewhat close to humans because people will feed them things like peanuts. Tree squirrels, however, are still afraid of people. A tree squirrel came to my front door after I had meditated and made breakfast. He was handsome and seemed young. He would run to and fro, and sometimes glance over at me. I thought that he might be hungry and maybe just wanted to have a look at me. I didn’t want to give him my food because I don’t think that it would be suitable for his diet.

There was also a family of deer, a mother and her baby fawns, who came into the backyard one day. They were looking at me through the tent while I was meditating. They stayed for a little while and didn’t run away. So many other little creatures, such as birds and bugs, are around. I heard that animals know and can feel spirituality better than human beings. This is not because of me; I believe that this comes from the Manjushri Dharma Center. There are so many blessings here: Lamas have visited, there is a beautiful altar with statues and portraits of Gurus, thangkas of deities, prayer flags, and so many precious and sacred objects. I think they can sense this and I hope that they continue to come. 

At the end of May, strong winds began to blow my tent around to the point that it seemed as if it would fly away. This, along with the warmer weather coming during the summer, made me think that it was time to put away the tent. I called my neighbor and student, Keith, to assist me take down the tent. Keith told me jokingly, “Oh no Khenpo, the gopher will miss you!” When we finally put the tent away, we saw that the holes which the gopher dug seemed to follow the path that I took almost exactly. After I moved out of the backyard, he did not dig any new holes. In the mornings, I still go outside to greet my friend the gopher, ask him how he is doing, pray for him, and tell him to continue meditating underground ?�. Maybe he really does love me!

Make the Best Use of your Time

I want to start by saying that I hope all of my Dharma brothers and sisters around the world are doing well during these challenging times, and that I pray for everyone’s well being with all of my heart.

Today, I want to let my friends and students know of my everyday affairs during the coronavirus lockdown, and would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of meditation in your daily practice.

To start with, I am your teacher and you are my students. The bond between a teacher and student is sacred; in general, talking about the role of a Guru is an uncomfortable subject for me. It seems as if I am praising myself and displaying my ego. I am not saying that I am an adept teacher and that you should have faith and devotion in me. While I view all of you as my Dharma brothers and sisters, in this case, I must act as an example for you. I sincerely hope to be a good example and I always try my best. I follow the established practice and tradition of my Guru, and in turn, the emulation of my Guru’s Guru. I speak from my own experience with my Root Guru, Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche. Having had the good fortune to associate closely with him for many years, I was able to examine him in many ways; his interactions with students and fellow monks, his acts of kindness towards other sentient beings, his daily practice, his meditative absorption, etc. It is said, we should examine the qualities of a Guru which should increase our faith in him. Such was the case with my Guru; the more I accompanied him, the stronger my faith became.

I myself do not have much knowledge or realization, but what little I do have I want to share with you in order to benefit you who are dearer to me than my own self. As I have told you before, meditation is a source of great happiness for me and the profound practice of Holy Dharma brings unparalleled joy! The concept of Dharma, a Sanskrit word, is often misunderstood. Some scholars believe that Dharma is a philosophical system and body of knowledge which can be learned by methods such as memorizing sutras. While intellectual knowledge of Dharma is certainly important on the path, Dharma is much more; Dharma is about the transformation of the person ― body, speech, and mind ― into a better and better human being. True understanding of Dharma comes from practice, deep experience, and realization. This transforms the entire nature of an individual; a qualified teacher is not merely a scholar, but rather one whose teachings come from experience and from the heart. The tradition which I come from, the Kagyu lineage, are known to be practitioners, and I myself strive to be a practitioner of Dharma.

During this coronavirus pandemic, I am always meditating. Following my normal schedule, I wake up at 5:00AM, make tea, bring the teacup to my meditation cushion, and then begin my meditation. Meditation is not just one activity or practice; some students seem to believe that meditation is solely defined as shunyata, or emptiness, meditation. This is one form of meditation; I also meditate on love and compassion, practice Guru yoga, visualization of deities, and meditation on impermanence, which is the root of my practice. In addition, I pray, chant, read Dharma texts, help my students, and engage many other activities. Meditating on emptiness while sitting in one position for 8 hours is very difficult; by engaging in varied types of meditation, practices and activities, meditation becomes easier. Then, it is not as difficult to practice 5, 6, and even 7 hours or more. Truly, everything, all actions, words, and thoughts throughout the day can be a form of meditation. 

Since I’ve spoken briefly about the various practices of meditation, we must ask ourselves, what is meditation and what is the real purpose of meditation. I believe that to meditate is to take care of your own mind. The mind is akin to a baby who must be nurtured, and meditation can be likened to motherly care. As stated in the 12th verse of my composition Excellent Path of Freedom: The Jewel Ornament of Liberation in Brief:

Even though a child of good family is home, because of severed lineage, he has been separated from his Mother for a long time. Once he encounters his virtuous Mother, from then on, his realized qualities will be perfected. If he becomes certain about this family of eternal happiness, that is also an ornament of Liberation.

In this birth, we have been given the rare opportunity of the precious human body and the precious human mind; as stated in the 2nd verse of the text I composed for my students, The Heartfelt Advice of Dharma Nectar:

This boat of a precious human life we’ve found just this once, is not found again. To cross over the terrible ocean of samsara, don’t be lazy getting in the boat!

Many of us are very careful and attentive to the needs of our physical bodies. We clean ourselves, we provide our bodies with delicious foods, clothe our bodies nicely, put on cosmetics and makeup, etc., everything externally! We seem to, however, forget about or disregard our precious mind. As stated in verse 5 of The Heartfelt Advice of Dharma Nectar:

Mind is the king, with power over all. 

The body is the slave, whether of virtue or vice. 

Not emphasizing ‘imitation virtue’ of body and speech, 

always watch your mind! That is Heartfelt Advice

Who comes to the Dharma Centre or reaches out to me, sometimes even crying? Those who are suffering from physical ailments and afflictions of the mind, such as depression, loneliness, anxiety, etc. If one’s mental state is miserable or if the body is sick, how can one meditate without undue strain? By this time, it may be too late. Therefore, I think it is very important to take proper and good care of your mind. Good meditation is like medicinal nectar for the mind. 

The mind is not a trash bin for keeping anger, pride, jealousy and so forth! It is a treasure chest for keeping happiness, compassion, love, mindfulness, and alertness. Therefore, be vigilant and bring positivity to your mind, rather than filling it with negativity. If you take care of your mind and cultivate positive qualities, if you bring positive thoughts to the mind every day, treating it as a treasure chest, the mind will become very happy and will bring you happiness. If you don’t take care of your mind and negative states of jealousy, attachment, and ignorance grow, treating it as a trash bin, the mind will not remain content and will bring you suffering.

Right now, we have an uncommon situation that presents a very good opportunity; we presently have time. Usually, most people don’t have time and are very busy. When I request my students to come to Saturday morning meditation practice at the Dharma Center, I often hear, “Sorry Rinpoche, I would come but I have to work.” This is a legitimate excuse. One must work; we need money to survive, especially in this country where the cost of living is very high. I tell them, “I am so sorry that you cannot come, I understand.” But right now, this is not the case. Most people have time and are stuck at home. I think that during this period when you cannot leave your house, make a schedule and get into a routine everyday. Do not repeat the same patterns. Change your daily habits a little bit at a time.

If you normally wake up at 7AM, wake up at 6AM; then you can make tea and begin the morning one hour earlier. Afterwards, instead of 30 minutes of meditation, try to meditate for 1 hour. Then, you can have breakfast with your family and later read Dharma-related texts. Continuing to do the same activities in the identical way will not bring different results or positive change to your life. I request you: please, persist and persevere in your practice of Holy Dharma and use this time wisely; take this opportunity to change in a beneficial way that is good for your body, speech and mind to turn closer towards Dharma. 

Because English is my second language, the conveyance of oral teachings can be complicated. We have been very fortunate, however, to have had very skilled translators over the past ten years whose assistance has enabled the composition of many teachings into English and even the publication of books. Written teachings represent a great opportunity for us; I want to request everyone to read these teachings and I sincerely hope that you do. I am not saying that my compositions are the best so you must read them. Rather, I wrote these teachings with you, my students, in mind. If you, whose benefit the teachings are intended for, don’t read, who will? A few books you can read include my recent text, A Door of Entrance to the Heart Advice Called a Ship Sailing to Liberation and Excellent Path of Freedom: The Jewel Ornament of Liberation in Brief, along with the numerous teachings available over the internet on my blog. I sincerely hope that all of you stay well during this pandemic and that you make the best use of your time during this period in which we find ourselves. I send you my love and best wishes.

I, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, wrote this brief account on April 5, 2020, in order to encourage my students to make the best use of their time during the current pandemic. This blog was transcribed by my student, Karma Choeying, through a series of audio recorded messages and conversations.