The Dharma-Lotus Vision

Siddhartha Gautama is the person we know today as 'the Buddha'. It lived in the area of southern Nepal, northeastern India about 2,500 years ago. This person is the founder of Buddhism and in his 40 years as a teacher he gave many lectures, all of which were expressions of his philosophy which he called 'Dharma'. Dharma means "the Law of Nature", and everything and everyone is subject to the Dharma, there is no escaping it. Yet that is precisely what we are trying to do, to escape the Law of Nature and therefore we experience suffering. Very simply described, the Dharma consists of 3 laws (the 3 Dharmas):
  • everything has a origin and changes again
  • nothing stands alone, everything has a certain connection with other things
  • thus there is nothing that has an independent and individual character
Every time we do something that goes against these laws, we will experience this as suffering (fear, pain, sadness, disappointment, jealousy, regret, etc…). Every time we act completely in line with this law, we will remain in balance. And that is an important core value in Buddhism:

Get in Balance and Stay in Balance

This is not to say, however, that action determines our suffering. The intention for our actions is decisive. Thus, Buddhism does not have a list of right or wrong actions. However, there is a good or a bad intention to act.

Dharma-Lotus en de Satipatthāna sutta

The Buddha has taught and explained in sutras (suttas) for 40 years how to get and stay in balance. The Satipatthana sutta is possibly the most comprehensive sutta there is. Everything in there resonates with what Dharma-Lotus does. In other words: Ask us from Dharma-Lotus what we do and why we do it and then we refer to the Satipatthana sutta.

In the Satipatthana sutta it is clearly formulated and explained why a person suffers and what a person can do to get out of this suffering. At Dharma-Lotus we work with this vision, it starts with this vision and it ends with this vision. We do not offer Tantra for a better sex life, but because you can come and stay in balance through Tantra. We do not offer yoga or slow jogging as exercise, but because it allows you to get and stay in balance. Entirely as it is described in the Satipatthãna sutta without us having made anything up.

The Satipatthana sutta is a very powerful and very clear text that describes the entire process of man. At Dharma-Lotus we facilitate, so that you can get started yourself. This is possible with meditation, mindfulness, tantra, yoga, massage and slow jogging.

The original Satipatthana sutta can be read here and in the pali canon:(Majjhima-Nikãya 10). We edited it in which we took out the repetitions (chorus) and wrote down the sutta descriptively. The parts in italics are texts of our own in which we describe why a particular part of the sutta has inspired us.

Satipatthãna sutta (an edited version)

The Satipatthana sutta (“4 Modes of Cultivating Mindfulness”) is a direct path to getting out of suffering, finding a right attitude to life and attaining enlightenment. These 4 forms are:
  • carefully observe the physical body
  • carefully observe the feelings
  • carefully observe the mind
  • carefully observe the mental factors
Let's take a closer look at each of these:

attentively observing the physical body

Find a place where you are alone and sit in a comfortable meditation position. Now focus on your breathing without changing it; observe the inhalation as you inhale and observe the exhalation as you exhale. If your breathing is fast, observe that it is fast, if it is slow, observe that it is slow. Don't send it and don't count it. Observe the breath as it is.

Be mindful when you are not in a meditation position. Observe what you do: when you walk observe that you walk. When you sit observe that you are sitting. However you use your body, observe it and do so neutrally, or notice when you find something. Both when you are alone but also when you are in contact with others. Always and everywhere try to be mindful during every action of the body, no matter how big or how small it is.

If you attentively observe the physical body neutrally in this way, you will gradually recognize some properties that are a universal law (Dharma):

  • notice that everything arises at some point
  • notice that everything changes again at some point
Some exercises in the sutra

Sit in a meditation position and observe the physical body in relation to the elements: in the body the elements Earth (teeth, bones), Water (blood, urine), Fire (digestion) and Air (in the body cavities) can be recognized.

Sit in a meditation position and observe the physical body from top to bottom and back. Observe the outside with skin, hair, nails and teeth. Observe the inside with muscles, tendons, bones, bone marrow, organs, intestines, feces, bile, mucus, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, sebum, saliva, snot, joint oil and urine.

Sit in a meditation position and contemplate what your body will look like 1 day after death, 2 days and 3 days after death. The body that you have so cared for and cherished. See this body perish and be absorbed by the earth.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

Being attentive and neutral in your actions. So don't multitask; if you do several actions at the same time you cannot be attentive, because your attention cannot be divided. Take things at a leisurely pace, there's no rush. Only then can you observe what is happening in the body. Slow jogging and Kum-nye yoga are very nice versions of this. But even if you undergo a massage you can observe very well which processes take place in the physical body.

Be neutral. Do the action because it matters, not out of habit or conditioning. Don't be afraid of being looked at strangely if you do the act and don't be afraid if you don't do the act.

attentively observing feelings

Just as you can neutrally observe the physical body, you can also neutrally observe your feelings. In terms of feelings, there are 3 flavors:
  • pleasant feelings
  • unpleasant feelings
  • feelings that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant
Also, observe whether it is a physical feeling or a non-physical feeling. Observe it and do this neutrally both when you are alone and when you are in contact with others.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

Don't run and don't go hunting. Don't do something to avoid a feeling, but observe the feeling. Do not take any action to experience a feeling, why the desire for that feeling? Realize what is a physical feeling and what is a non-physical feeling. Exactly this is why we offer Tantra massages. With us you cannot flee from an unpleasant feeling because the Kum-nye Tantra pushes you right in the middle of it. Although you will definitely experience them, don't think that you can start requesting nice and pleasant feelings from us on order. That's not how the Kum-nye works. Feelings come and go. Trying to hold them, avoid them or want to wake them up, causes unrest.

attentively observing the mind

The mind is 1 of the 6 senses. The other 5 senses (eyes, ears, tongue, nose and touch) can only perceive in the Now and also only what is really there. The mind can retrieve things from our memory and can create fantasies. Even if these are unreal. This does not make observing the mind any easier and requires keen concentration, neutrality and powers of observation.
  • know when the mind taps into your memory
  • know when the mind creates a fantasy
  • know when the mind is scattered
  • know when the mind is angry or filled with hatred or jealousy
  • know when the mind moves in a direction
Observe the mind and do this neutrally. Both when you are alone but also when you are in contact with others.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

There are many techniques and views in which the mind is either highly developed or seen as a hindrance. The mind is extremely important in only a limited number of tasks. We tend, however, to give the mind many more tasks in which it is unimportant; for example, we want to find something about everything. So it is important to learn to sharpen and focus the mind on what matters. This requires strong concentration and the ability to be neutral. This aspect resonates in everything we do. Also, or especially, in tantra this is of the utmost importance.

attentively observing the mental factors (dharma's)

When observing the physical body we have already come into direct contact with the universal laws, also called the Dharmas. The Dharmas are the laws or truths to which everything in our body and the universe responds. There are 3 basic Dharmas:
  • everything has a origin and changes again
  • nothing stands alone, everything has a certain connection with other things
  • thus there is nothing that has an independent and individual character
If you fully understand these truths, both in your head (Sutta-Maya-Pañña), in your experiences (Cinta-Maya-Pañña), and deep in your toes (Bhãvana-Maya-Pañña), then suffering will not bother you. have and you are enlightened. However, there are obstacles (mental factors) that ensure that there is suffering. This comes from ignorance (the opposite of Dharma). The 3 big ignorances are:
  • things are permanent, I want this to be permanent and not change
  • this is separate from that, this has neither cause nor effect
  • I am me and you are you, it stays that way and doesn't change
Dharma-Lotus vision:

This is a very difficult one, because here we have to learn to distinguish between what we believe/deem important/our truth and the universal truths (Dharmas). And sometimes they are miles apart and sometimes it is difficult to recognize that we were wrong for years. Everything we offer is aimed at this. Mainly Mindfulness, but also meditation.
If we want to observe the mental factors neutrally, you will encounter some obstacles on your path. These are called the 5 hurdles:

the 5 obstacles

There are 5 obstacles that keep us stuck in our desires and desires and thus cannot experience the Dharma. These obstacles are:
  • desire
  • anger
  • lethargy
  • brooding and grinding
  • doubt
If you're in one of these hurdles, know you're there. Don't fight it, don't repress it, don't ignore it, don't camouflage it, don't throw a positive sauce over it, but don't exaggerate it either. Observe as it presents itself, observe how you experience it, observe what it does to you.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

This makes it easy again. The basis of every nuisance we experience is always one of these 5. Yet we tend to include everything and everyone as a possible cause of our nuisance and can therefore no longer see the trees for the woods. But if you really take the trouble to examine this list of 5, you will realize that it is correct and that the cause of our nuisance always originates within ourselves. Please note; this has nothing to do with guilt or no guilt but with cause and effect. Just because the cause is in you doesn't mean you're to blame.
the 5 levels of appropriation

The 5 levels of appropriation are the 5 Khandas, or the 5 sources of nourishment for the ego. As long as these continue to exist and cooperate with each other, we remain in our ego and thus in our ignorance and cannot experience the Dharma. These 5 sections are:
  • rupa: matter or physical form
  • vedanã: sensation
  • sañña: cognition
  • sankhara: conditionings/motives
  • viññana: perceptual awareness
Know what your physical body is and what is not. When you experience something physical, know that it is physical. When you experience a sensation, know that it is a sensation. Experience that it rises and passes away, experience that it is connected with other entities, know that it has a cause and an effect.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

The body consists of 5 major processes that are separate from each other but also strongly influence each other. Taken as a whole, they give the impression of individual character; an i. That is why it is so important to observe each part separately. Much of what we offer relates to this research. You can't do that in an afternoon and that's why we offer multi-day retreats at our own retreat center Ekãyano in France where you can do this research in peace.
the 6 senses

What is the difference between sound and hearing, between vision and seeing? We quickly say: “that is a rotten sound”, when the sound is just the sound and after hearing it we have made an interpretation (viññana: perceptual awareness) of it: Rotten sound. But the senses perceive only what presents itself:
  • the eye perceives visible forms
  • the ears perceive audible sounds
  • the nose perceives perceptible odors
  • the tongue perceives flavors
  • the sense of touch perceives touch
  • the mind perceives the objects of the mind
With each sense, know that if a sense makes a perception, it is a bond. When your ears hear something, know that you are hearing sound and know that your cognition is binding to both the sound and the source of the sound. Once we have a conditioning there will be an interpretation of the sound we perceive. So know when you connect, know when you don't connect.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

Why do we so often blame ourselves? Exactly for this reason. The shape is not ugly, but our interpretation of what the eye perceives makes it ugly. But what we perceive, no matter how, is always neutral. And that is why we can never put the cause outside ourselves. Actually, everything we offer is aimed at this, but the Tantra par excellence. With the Tantra you are with 2 people and the interaction and the different sensations can be interpreted very quickly. But what do you experience within Tantra if you really only perceive neutrally?
the 7 factors of awakening

When we look at ourselves it is possible to see the dharma. However, this dharma can be overshadowed by the 5 hindrances, the 5 divisions of appropriation and the 6 senses. Once we have understood the operation and process of these, we can experience the tranquility of perceiving the dharma itself. And as soon as you begin to perceive the dharma at the levels of Sutta-Maya-Pañña, Cinta-Maya-Pañña and Bhãvana-Maya-Pañña, we awaken. This awakening has 7 different successive factors:
  • attentiveness
  • commitment and energy
  • examining the sensations
  • joy
  • concentration
  • balance
  • equanimity
If there is no mindfulness or commitment, know that it is not there. Is it there, know that it is there. So be honest with yourself. If you don't have concentration in your meditation, work on your concentration. Do you not experience balance? Then this sutta is very important for you.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

Everyone goes through the same processes and everyone follows the same path, only everyone does it in a different way. These are the 7 landmarks you will encounter along the way. That is useful for us as teachers. In addition, they can also be a huge distraction and become a pitfall because we come to cherish it. It can create a new desire for a 'higher self' and create the illusion that you are 'already there'.
the 4 noble truths

In addition to the 3 universal laws, there are other Dharmas such as the 4 noble truths. You will increasingly recognize these in everyday life in all areas.
  • 1st Noble Truth: Dhukka - life consists of suffering
  • 2nd Noble Truth: Samudaya - all suffering has an origin
  • 3rd Noble Truth: Nirodha - the origin of suffering is always with you
  • 4th Noble Truth: Magga - there is a way to end this suffering (the 8-fold path)
Recognize these 4 noble truths in yourself, in yourself. But also in others, in them.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

The 4 noble truths are at the same time a test (what can you accept and what not), a guideline and an instrument. Each truth has its own character, techniques and exercises. Our guidance is always in small groups so that we can work a lot 1 on 1 and offer what suits you at the moment. The path is the same for everyone, but not everyone is on the same stretch of the path, and not everyone experiences the path in the same way. We therefore offer customization and therefore work in small groups.
the 8-fold path

This is the way to get rid of suffering. Through this attitude to life you can break free from the sources of suffering and become enlightened. Gautama the Buddha indicates at the end of this sutta how long the whole process to enlightenment takes and indicates that this can be 7 years but also 7 days or the whole life. At the same time he says that it is unimportant, that things take their time without knowing how long.
Dharma-Lotus vision:

Don't see this enlightenment as a goal, it's just a side effect. Don't focus on getting better, getting healthier, becoming more aware or on spiritual growth. Don't think in terms like: 'this is going to take a long time'. Experience your balance, come into balance and stay balanced. At our retreat center Ekãyano we do exactly this; give the person the opportunity to have all the time for his trial. Every person is different, everyone experiences the process differently and therefore our guidance is different per person. We therefore always work in small groups with an individual approach.
Sources
We used 4 different Dutch translations of the Satipatthãna sutta, namely:
  • Bhikkhu Analayo
  • Jan de Breet and Rob Janssen
  • Fritz Koster
  • Dhammajoti