Some time had passed and all of Jesus’ apostles had died except John.  John was hiding in a prison on an island, sending out letters to all of the Churches under a false name to hide his identity.  The Roman emperor declared himself a God and demanded that all Christians in the Empire take him as their sole god or die.  The son of a Roman general who was acting as a spy in a Christian village heard rumors that John was still alive, so he went to his father in Rome to tell the Emperor the news.  The Emperor installed the general as governor of the area where the Christians were with orders to kill John and all of the Christians.  The general then sent his son under cover as a prisoner to the same prison John was hiding at.  While there, John impressed the son and eventually won him over.  During this time John received a series of visions about how Jesus’ story ends.  He was transported to heaven, shown the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but with Jesus eventually prevailing over all evil forever.  They then try a prison break for John before they all are to be killed, and in the process the general’s son becomes a believer in Jesus and stops the Roman commander who was about to kill John.  Then, the general arrived, said that the Emperor was assassinated and that the new Emperor declared an amnesty for all Christians.  John then went back to the mainland and preached for a few years before he died.  So just as John was the last to stay with Jesus when he died, so too he was the last to live to spread the word of Jesus.

As a Kadampa, what does this story teach me?

1. It was very hard to be a Christian in the early days, but because they never lost their faith despite their persecution their religion flourished.  There is something inspiring about somebody who is willing to sacrifice everything for their faith, especially when that faith seems to teach only love.  While believers will be persecuted, those who watch the persecution will be won over, and ultimately the persecutors as well will change their hearts.  As Kadampa’s we can admire and rejoice in such faith, and we can develop gratitude for those who suffered and died to keep the Kadampa lineage alive in this world.  In particular, Jangchub O.
2. John was shown the end so that the followers of Christ would not lose hope and faith.  In Revelation, after horrific sufferings of war and fire, Jesus emerged triumphant, love emerged triumphant and in the end all were saved in the silence of heaven.  This is not unlike the story of Buddha’s enlightenment where all of the maras attacked him but he overcame them all with love.  The Christians were shown that love conquerors all evil through revelation, and knowing this gives them faith to follow the path of love all the way until the end.

I have learned a tremendous amount by considering each of the stories of the Bible through the lens of the Kadampa teachings.  We need to make a very clear distinction between mixing religions and appreciating all religions while following our own purely without mixing.  One extreme is sectarianism thinking that we alone have a monopoly on the truth and that only the Kadampa is correct.  This extreme is wrong because Buddhas reveal themselves in different ways to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.  The other extreme is mixing together all religions into a hodge podge of our own creation.  This transforms our ordinary self into our own spiritual guide thinking that we are somehow qualified to put together a spiritual path that is superior to the ones laid out by the holiest beings to have walked this earth.  The middle way is to follow one’s own tradition purely without mixing while appreciating all other traditions as valid for those who follow them.

There are close to 2 billion people on this earth who are Christians.  In particular, Modern Kadampa Buddhism has initially emerged in a Western, Christian cultural context.  Therefore, if we are to learn how to transmit the essential meaning of Kadampa Buddhism in such a cultural context, we must strive to possess the wisdom that can realize how the Kadampa path is revealed through the stories of the Bible.  These stories have shaped this civilization.  If we can see the Dharma in these stories, we will be able to see the Dharma in this civilization, and as such be much more capable of transmitting this wisdom perfectly.  It is with that intention that I have engaged in this project.  It is part of my appreciating other religions, but my appreciation arises out of how they reveal the truth of the Kadampa path or how the Kadampa path explains these stories and this religion.  Realizing this appreciation of the Judeo-Christian world through the lens of the Kadampa helps us eliminate the grasping at any tension between the cultural context we inhabit and the teachings of the Kadampa.  Therefore it helps us accomplish our mission of achieving the union of modern life and Kadampa Buddhism.    Just as it is not mixing to derive Kadampa lessons from the stories of our everyday life, so too it is not mixing to derive Kadampa lessons from what so many consider “the greatest stories ever told.”

I dedicate any merit I may have collected by doing this series of posts so that Dorje Shugden will bless the minds of all those who read these words and bestow upon them correct Kadampa understandings regardless of whether what I wrote was correct or non-sense.  Sometimes reading non-sense helps us realize wisdom, and so may whatever mistakes I have made ripen only as pure wisdom in the minds of those who read these posts.  May all Kadampas unite seamlessly their modern lives with Kadampa Buddhism in such a way that, like a magic crystal,it  functions to transform this ordinary impure world into a pure land in which all beings are free forevermore.

The Persian empire conquered Judea, and the Jews were taken to Babylon.  Over time, while there, they prospered and rose to high positions.  Esther was an orphaned Jewish girl taken in and raised, like a daughter, by her cousin Mordecai.  In a drunken state, the Persian king Ahasuerus (also known as Xerxes) ordered his queen to appear before the court so that he could show her off as his most precious possession.  Not wanting to be considered an object she refused.  The king then banished her for disobeying a direct command of the king.  To find a new wife, he ordered all of the virgins be rounded up for him.  Mordecai told Esther to hide that she was Jewish so she could get better treatment.  Due to her courage, integrity and beauty, the king fell in love with Esther and made her his new Queen.  Mordecai overheard two conspirators who wanted to kill the king, and so he told Esther who told the king.  The king felt gratitude for Mordecai saving his life.  Later, Haman, a prominent prince in the area, became the king’s Chamberlain (much like a Prime Minister).  Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, viewing him as corrupt, and this infuriated Haman.  He then told the king that there is a group of people within the realm who refused to acknowledge the supremacy of Persian law and that they were a threat, and so therefore should be exterminated completely.  Haman did not say it was the Jews, just some random tribe in the empire.  The king agreed, and Haman set in motion his plans declaring that on a given day all Jews in the empire would be killed.  When Mordecai informed Esther of this, she understood why God had elevated her to be Queen of Persia.  She then went to the king, told him that it was the Jews who were to be killed, which included both herself and Mordecai, and the king was furious at Haman and had him hung.  But the king could not undo the royal decree established by Haman that all the Jews were to be killed.  The king then made Mordecai the Chamberlain and asked Mordecai and Esther to come up with a solution.  The solution they came to was granting the Jews the right to defend themselves by force.  When the day came, many died, but the Jews succeeded in defending themselves and as such were saved from extermination.  To remember this, Jews now celebrate every year a special holiday called Purim.  Some of the Jews decided to leave Babylon to go back to Jerusalem where they could be safe.  They were led by Ezra, who had the temple of Solomon rebuilt and became their spiritual leader.

As a Kadampa, what does this story mean to me?

1. Very often on the Kadampa path we will be put into certain circumstances that at first seem very bad but later we come to realize there is a deeper purpose.  What started out as severe misfortune, is later understood to be our greatest blessing.  Esther was initially kidnapped, but then became the Queen.  Mordecai was to be hung, but later became Chamberlain.  The Jews were to be exterminated, but were saved and became respected within the empire.  In the same way, if we rely upon Dorje Shugden there will be various times in our life where it seems like we are experiencing great misfortune and we don’t understand what is going on.  At such times, like the Jews did, we can feel that the holy beings have abandoned us.  But if we maintain our faith and reliance, then over time it will be revealed to us how what seemed like misfortune was in fact our greatest blessing.  It may not always be a great blessing from an external worldly perspective, but it always will be from an internal, spiritual perspective.
2. If there is no harm to it, we need to sometimes act in accordance with local convention.  It may be true that Haman did not merit being bowed down to, but unnecessarily provoking him prompted him to want to kill all the Jews.  I understand that Jews are to bow down only to God, but bowing in this context is not declaring Haman a God (as would have been the case with Joseph and the Pharaoh), rather it is just recognizing his position within society and respecting local conventions.  As Kadampas, we are to act in accordance with local conventions and to not engage in extreme behavior.  Of course we should never abandon our refuge, even at the cost of our life, but refuge is an internal thing and sometimes we need to be skillful in how we express externally our convictions.  Esther, for example, hid the fact that she was Jewish and respected local customs.  As a result, she rose to be Queen and actually did more to break down the stereotypes because all were able to appreciate her good qualities without getting bogged down with religious labels.  Sometimes this is also necessary for us Kadampas, though in general we should not hide things because we are not doing anything wrong.  But there is a difference between not hiding and being intentionally provocative or flaunting our beliefs when we know it could upset others.  We need to be skillful.
3. Wherever the Jews go, they thrive on the merit of their actions.  There is something about Jewish culture that causes them to thrive in all domains, political, economic, social and spiritual.  They are usually a minority religious community wherever they are, but absent persecution, they generally thrive.  The Mormans are similar.  I think as Kadampas we can learn from these two communities and emulate their merit based success in all that they do.  Nothing is ever given to them, but through the force of their own efforts and merit, they rise.  We should be the same, learning to be successful in all aspects of life.  We do so not because we seek worldly success, but because we seek excellence in all that we do, and all of our actions are motivated by wisdom, compassion and faith.  Since our actions are good, it is natural that we will come to enjoy great success in all endeavors.  But we must be careful with this success to not provoke persecution against us.  One of the reasons why the Jews are so often persecuted is precisely because they are such a small minority yet still manage to be so influential and successful.  If as Kadampas we gain in power and influence, we need to be vigilant to always use our power and influence for the good of others and we should make an effort to integrate fully into the societies we find ourselves.  This will help protect against unnecessary persecution.
4. Some Jews decide to stay where they are a minority, others choose to go to Israel, their homeland, where they can be the majority.  This notion of a promised land is a big part of the Judeo-Christian narrative.  Within Kadampa Buddhism, we have no such notions.  Some people confuse the political cause of Tibet with the narrative of the promised land within the Judeo-Christian world.  But this is a false analogy.  According to Kadampa Buddhism, the Dharma is like a yoke on the surface of the ocean that goes from place to place depending upon the karma at the time.  It has no fixed geographical location.  Confusing the political cause of occupying and controlling certain geographical locations with the spiritual path of Buddhism, some people are willing to sacrifice the Dharma for the sake of the political cause of Tibet.  As Kadampa Buddhists, we never do this.  Of course we wish Tibetans to be free, as we wish this for all peoples, but there is no particular spiritual significance to worldly lands in and of themselves.  In any case, we would never sacrifice our spiritual beliefs for political purposes.

The story of Samson takes place at a time when God is punishing the Israelites for not following God’s laws.  They are living under occupation by the Philistines.  The Israelites long to be free, but nobody is strong enough to lead a rebellion.  God then came to a couple that was too old to conceive and said that they would have a child who would free the Israelites – he would have superhuman strength, but should not drink alcohol or cut his hair.  He was born and grew up without any further signs.  Everyone knew he was strong and they wanted him to lead a revolt, but Samson knew if he did so they would just all die.  At one point, a Philistine patrol attacked his quasi-girlfriend and he defeated them.  At another point, he wrestled a lion and won. His myth grew and so the Philistines feared him, so they tried to capture him.  But he killed them all with a bone.  Seeing that his people did not help them, he gave up on them and went out wandering.  He came upon a kind Philistine family, fell in love with the daughter and wanted to marry her.  Samson’s mother thought this was terrible because she was not an Israelite, but Samson married her anyways.  At the party after the wedding, the Philistine army pressured the father of the bride to ask his daughter for the answer to the riddle that Samson posed to everyone.  Under pressure she did so, and when the army captain solved the riddle Samson realized what had happened, became enraged and killed all of the Philistine soldiers who were there. Later the Philistines killed his wife, and then Samson started a Rambo-like solitary war against the Philistines.  The Philistines didn’t know how to stop him through force, but they identified his weakness was beautiful women.  So they sent a princess, Delilah, to him.  She tricked him into falling in love with her, and she got him to reveal that his strength depended upon his hair not being cut.  She then cut his hair, he lost his strength and was captured and blinded.  The Philistines then proceeded to crush the Israelite rebellion.  Samson then went to work as a slave in the Philistine iron mines, where he labored and regained his strength.  At a party celebrating the Philistine victory, they brought Samson and tied him to some pillars to show off as a prize of war.  Samson, though blind, requested God’s blessings for strength again and he tore the pillars down causing the entire temple to collapse, killing all of the Philistine noble court.  This then turned the tide of the war and the Israelites were free of the Philistine occupation.

As a Kadampa, what does this story teach me about the Dharma?

1. When we are confronting suffering, it is good to draw the connection between our suffering and our own past wrong deeds.  The Israelites felt that the suffering of the Philistine occupation was God punishing them for their wrong deeds. The conclusion of this view is to accept the suffering as atonement and to redouble one’s efforts to follow moral discipline.  While in Kadampa terms we would never say that Buddha’s punish us for our wrong deeds, we would say that our past wrong deeds are the cause of all of our own present suffering.  This brings us to the same conclusion of the need to purify and redouble our efforts at moral discipline.
2. Holy beings have the power to transform even our own uncontrolled delusions into something useful if we never abandon our reliance.  This is actually a very profound point which can easily be misunderstood.  Samson had three main minds:  faith in God, lust for women and a burning desire for revenge.  The latter two are obviously deluded minds.  But because he had faith, and the people of Israel had faith in him and God, God was able to channel Samson’s uncontrolled deluded actions skilfully towards a higher good of freeing the Israelites from oppression.  Thus, God was able to take even the impure and contaminated and use it for good because the power of faith of all those involved was greater than the delusions.  In exactly the same way, we are still deluded beings.  Even if we are still highly deluded beings, uncontrolledly forced to follow their deceptive advice, if we rely sincerely upon Dorje Shugden he can transform even our negative karma and delusions into our spiritual path – such is his power!  Our negative karma may ripen, but our faith opens our mind to view our suffering with wisdom and therefore learn spiritual lessons.  Our delusions may push us to engage in all sorts of stupid, deluded actions, but through our reliance on Dorje Shugden the mess that emerges from our wrong actions will still be what is perfect for our own and other’s swiftest possible enlightenment.  Disasters may strike us due to our own deluded and negative actions, but through the power of the Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden, he can transform these disasters into a perfect condition for our enlightenment.  We may not realize how at first, but over time it will become revealed to us how our past disasters were in fact our greatest blessings.  It will be revealed to us how our own past mistakes are our greatest teachers.  This does not mean delusions and negativities are good and are not to be abandoned, rather it means even if we are still deluded and negative, if we nonetheless maintain our faith the holy beings have the power to keep us moving forward on the path.  Such is their power.
3. The Israelites always believed in a messiah, somebody who could come and deliver them from their suffering and oppression.  They believed this while under Philistine occupation, they believed Samson was sent to deliver them.  They believed that with Jesus as well.  As a Kadampa, how can we understand this?  We can understand this through faith in the laws of karma.  If you believe in a messiah, then you realize he will only come if you merit him coming through your atoning for your wrong deeds and by training in virtuous deeds.  By purifying and practicing moral discipline in this way, you create the karmic causes for a higher rebirth free from oppression and gross forms of suffering.  Higher rebirth does not just happen when one dies and is reborn, but it can happen many times even within a single human life.  So by believing in a messiah and acting accordingly, you create causes for the situation to change and for you to become more free.  Sometimes this may take many generations as the society as a whole accumulates the collective karma for their situation to change, but if people perservere with this course it is just a question of time before the “messiah” will come (will karmically appear).  The messiah might not always be a person and the messiah may not always liberate us in the way we think, but the effect will definitely be accomplished.  This is true due to the infallibility of the laws of karma.  Understanding this, when we find ourselves in a very difficult or unfree situation, if we strongly believe in the “messiah” of pure deeds, we will be delivered from bondage.  It is guaranteed!

Solomon was David’s son who God said would build God’s temple and home.  Prior to David’s death, fulfilling the prophecy again of evil rising up in his own house, one of David’s other sons plotted to become King instead of David’s wish that it be Solomon.  After thwarting the coup, David said he would spare his other son who plotted the coup since he did not want to kill his own son.  But he said that Solomon would have to decide what to do.  On David’s death bed, he told Solomon that if the other son plotted again to take the crown after David died that Solomon should kill him.  After David died, the other son plotted again, but failed.  Fearing for his life, he took refuge in front of the Arc of the Covenant.  Solomon had him killed anyway as a show of his strength and seeing it as David’s will.  After Solomon became king, God said he would grant him one gift.  Solomon asked for the wisdom to rule over his people justly.  God granted him wisdom and Solomon was to build the temple for God.  To do so, Solomon had to have high taxes and use forced labor, but the people accepted this because they understood the purpose was good, namely to build the temple.  Foreign architects and engineers were brought in to oversee construction, but eventually they were trained and replaced with Israelites managed by Jeriboham.  Solomon eventually completed the temple and the people were very happy.  But then Solomon felt like his life had no purpose, he was adrift.  He then wandered out into the desert, and God spoke to him saying if Solomon remained true to the one true God then God would remain with him for the rest of his days, but if he started mixing with other Gods then God would take his kingdom away.  News of Solomon’s wisdom and activities spread far and wide, and the Queen of Sheeba came to Jerusalem.  David fell madly in love with her, and got her to agree to stay and be his queen.  She became pregnant and Solomon said that this child would be his heir.  After the child was born and Solomon announced his plans, the priests said it was against the law for somebody born of a non-Israelite to become king.  Jeriboham counselled him that if he goes against the priests he will provoke a revolution since the people would never follow.  So the Queen of Sheeba proposed that Solomon’s son go with her back to her land in Africa and become king of her people.  Solomon agreed and sent learned people and lots of gold with her.  The people resented that their taxes were going to fund the Queen of Sheeba’s kingdom.  After she left, David fell into a deep depression.  He then went out amongst some foreigners who were in Israel and began worshiping other gods.  The priests warned Solomon not to continue, Jeriboham warned him not to continue, but Solomon continued anyways.  It eventually got so bad that Jeriboham resigned in protest.  On his way back to his tribe, Jeriboham was met by a prophet of God who told him that when Solomon died, God would give Solomon’s son one chance, but if he did not use it well then God would take the kingdom away and give 11 of the tribes to Jeriboham.  The tribe of Judea would remain loyal to Solomon’s son.  When Solomon heard of this, he ordered Jeriboham killed.  Jeriboham fled to Egypt until he heard of Solomon’s passing.  He then returned and demanded that Solomon’s son end the forced labor and reduce the taxes.  Not wanting to look weak, Solomon’s son said he would raise the taxes and use even more forced labor.  Jeriboham then asked the people who they would follow, and all but the tribe of Judea chose to follow Jeriboham.

As Kadampa’s, what can we learn from this story:

1. If you receive an extremely difficult task from your spiritual guide (internally or externally), if you rely sincerely you will accomplish the task you have been given.  Solomon was asked to build a temple, and in those days that took an entire nation to do.  But through his reliance, Solomon succeeded.    Ancient Israel had a temple project.   We have the International Temples Project.  Venerable Geshe-la wants us to bring the Kadam Dharma to the whole world and build a temple in every major city of the world.  This is the external project he has given us, and like Solomon if we rely upon our Spiritual Guide, we will be led to complete his vision for Kadampa temples in this world.  He also wants Kadampa schools all over the world.  Until this vision is accomplished, like Solomon we should dedicate ourselves to the project of building these temples.
2. After we complete major tasks, our job remains to serve the divine.  After the temple was completed, Solomon’s job was to rule wisely over the kingdom.  In the same way, at various points in our spiritual path we will be called on to complete certain external tasks, such as build up a Dharma center or even build a temple at a KMC.  Once these physical tasks are complete, our job is to to then manage the spiritual community we have built wisely in accordance with the teachings of our tradition.
3. Societies are best ruled by wisdom, not force.  Everybody knows wisdom when they hear it, and the renown of wise communities spreads naturally.  Those who have administrative power should be very mindful to use their power with wisdom, and to not try bring about outcomes through the force of their position.  Instead, they should take the time to explain the wisdom of their decisions to those in the community so that the people of the community can come to appreciate the wisdom and assent to the decision as wise.  With the assent of the community, force is never necessary.  If we are an Administrative Director or Resident Teacher of a center, we can ask ourselves whether or not we use the force of our position to get our way?  Sometimes this may be necessary in small doses on important issues that there is simply not time for everyone in the community to come to understand, but it is rare that this happens.  At certain existential times, Venerable Geshe-la has had to be wrathful to make it clear to those in the tradition that sometimes we just need to go along with his wishes even if we don’t immediately understand why.  But this happens only rarely and we accept it only because for all other times we are governed by seeing the wisdom of the rules we abide by.
4. One of the most difficult parts of “ruling wisely” is managing the relationship with other traditions.  Israel was a trading nation, so Solomon allowed foreigners to worship their Gods in Israel.  But from his side, he only followed his own.  This was a perfect example, he followed one tradition purely without mixing, but he respected all other traditions as valid for others.  But in his depression at the departure of the Queen of Sheeba, he started to mix religions together, practicing several different ones simultaneously.  He did this because he thought it was a deeper form of wisdom and a higher form of spiritual tolerance.  But because he did so, it triggered sectarianism and fundamentalist attitudes within the Israelites, and they started no longer tolerating other religions in Israel.  Then, because he continued to do so even more after this, he lost the love and support of his people and lost his kingdom.  If we check, this is exactly the story of the Dalai Lama/Dorje Shugden issue.  In the old days, everybody followed their own tradition purely without mixing while respecting all of the other traditions.  After the Tibetans were kicked out of Tibet, the Dalai Lama tried to mix together all of the different traditions, practicing from each and calling all those who did not follow his way as being intolerant.  This provoked sectarian attitudes amongst some of his followers who then persecuted those who did not follow his new way.  As a result, he engaged in all sorts of harmful actions and wound up creating a schism in the Sangha.  The correct way of approaching the relationship with other traditions is to in our own practice follow one tradition purely without mixing while respecting all other paths as being valid for those who follow them.  This is a fundamental point within our tradition, and one that often gives rise to much confusion.  It is beyond the scope of this blog post to discuss this topic in detail, so instead I include a link to a document I once wrote explaining the rationale for why we follow one tradition purely without mixing while respecting all other traditions.  Following one tradition purely without mixing.
5. Attachment can blind us to what is important and even cause us to abandon the path.  Solomon was extremely attached to the Queen of Sheeba.  The depression that followed her departure made him lose his path and he started mixing many different traditions together, even though he received some clear warnings directly from his priests, his closest advisor Jeriboham and even God himself.  There are many many examples across all sorts of spiritual traditions where sexual attachment causes even the highest spiritual leaders to fall.  Within our own tradition, we too have several very high profile examples of this.  Gen-la Dekyong said at the Summer Festival last year that it looks like within our tradition that there is positive discrimination towards women since women occupy all of the most important posts within the tradition.  She asked rhetorically, “what happened to all of the guys?  Come on guys, you can do it.”  Now she was trying to make a joke, and everybody did laugh, but for those who know the history this was a joke with double meaning.  Sexual attachment kills more spiritual lives than probably any other delusion, or at least it does so in the most dramatic of ways.

Of course there is much additional meaning, but these are the main conclusions that I draw from the story.