A mountain peak is something that climbers strive to attain, and when they make it to the top, the view is breathtaking. They climb in order to see the view, and on the way, they pit themselves against the elements and face physical and mental hardships, so when they achieve their goal, their sense of satisfaction and relief is huge. Sogyal Rinpoche in his book, ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying,’ (p55) tells the story of the thick headed disciple who, even after many teachings on meditation, did not experience the true nature of his mind—the purpose of meditation. His teacher told him to take a bag of barley and, without stopping, climb to the top of a mountain. The disciple trusted his teacher, so he took the heavy bag and climbed. As he walked, the bag seemed to get heavier but, following his teacher’s instructions, he didn’t stop. He kept going, and finally, after a long time, he reached the top and dropped the bag. As Sogyal Rinpoche tells it: “He slumped to the ground, … [Read more...]