Lam Rim Meditation — Cleaning the Room

by Gan Starling

References: Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, pp 131-140; Liberation in Our Hands, pp 115-123; Path to Enlightenment, pp 136-140; The Essential Nectar, pp 32; The Meditation Handbook, pp 17; Awakening the Mind, pp 47-49

Lam Rim has six preliminary practices. These are not really separate from the meditation. They are important stages integral to the whole. The first is cleaning the room and setting up images of the Buddha's body, speech and mind. Our goal is to attain Liberation. And there are two ways to accomplish this. One way is to do it all yourself by treading the path of Solitary Realization to become a Pratyekabuddha. Following this route, you would arrive owing nothing to anyone and, entering deep into blissful meditative trance, would pass utterly away from all further interaction with other sentient beings for many eons. Few succeed at this. It is exceedingly difficult. And in the end, selfish. Most Enlightening Beings press on to final realization via a far more compassionate road. They do so with the aid of countless others who have gone that way before. Then these in turn give aid to all those many more who lag yet further behind. This is the path of the Bodhisattva, true Mahayana.

Lam Rim is a map detailing this path by stages. You must tread its length yourself. But you may invoke the blessing of an infinite number of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to inspire and help propel your own efforts at every step. This is much better than plodding up that longest hill all by your lonesome. Very much better indeed. But know this, the Enlightened Ones are not at all like the Western concept of a creator god. They do not own you. Neither do they reward or punish you.

The Enlightened Ones care for your welfare. Very much. But the fact is that they simply cannot effect a surgery upon your mind. They did not make you. And so it is not possible. And even if it were, their respect for you as a potential equal is too great for that. It would be a violence. And of this they are not capable. So they will not directly interfere with your mind. At most they may seek to stimulate you by setting out potential discoveries in your path. But if you ask them, they will gladly turn their attention upon you. And this will be a great boon. You will have heard of some few special people who eminate a similar calming effect on those around them. If this can be true for ordinary humans, how much more so for fully Enlightened Buddhas? To gain such a benefit, it is necessary that we petition them directly. And in doing so you must be utterly sincere.

So, since one of the things which you are counting on is the priviledge of calling upon these noble and exalted beings for the purpose of asking their blessing, it is appropriate that you at least show them the same respect you would give to the very best of ordinary humans. If some person whom you idolized were coming to pay you a visit, what would you do in preparation? Among other things, you would surely clean and straighten up the room. True, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions have no need of anything from you or I. And earthly dirt cannot disturb them in any way. But this does not excuse us from showing them curtesy. And after all, it's you and I who are in need. We're asking something from them. Right? So it's only proper. Because if we are to come closer to Enlightenment ourselves, we must first develop unfailing admiration for the unparalelled achievement of all those who dwell so effortlessly and endlessly forever in this perfect state.

That is how we will fuel our own efforts. And in our limited awareness, the simple act of cleaning and straightening up the room is part and parcel of showing someone proper curtesy. In so doing we develop in ourselves a curteous, respectful and attentive mindset. It is the symbolism of cleaning which is important here. While you dust and straighten consider thus: Cleaning the room is a metaphor for purifying my mind. For in truth it is the mind which you're preparing to open for their blessing and inspiration. To aid in this, imagine the particles of ordinary dirt and dust to be representative of the impurities in your mind. Picture yourself polishing away desirous attachment, hostility, and benighted ignorance. Recite as follows:

Real dirt is ignorance, not dirt. The Conquerors (of self) get rid of this kind of dirt.

Repeat the above, substituting hostility and attachment in the place of ignorance. Recite it over and over, trying hard to believe it. Clean and straighten as much as you have time for. Pay particular attention to the altar area. (If you do not have a permanent altar, any small table or shelf will do so long as you can feel respectful about employing it.) Then, when you have done all you have time for, imagine that the entire space is pristine and spotless. Do not worry so much that it isn't really so. It's the mental part that is important. As my former tutor, the Ven. Geshe Lharampa Ngawang Jangchup once put it, “Just feel that way.”


Valid XHTML 1.0!