Spiritual BRaggists

Over the last week, I have spoken to some people and reflected back on things some people have been talking about. For some strange reason, over the last week I have been meeting up Spiritual "braggists". These are people whom advertise themselves as "Vajrayana" practitioners of the Highest Order, and go about "revealing" the deities they have taken initiation in, the retreats they have done and what others they gonna obtain. Of late, I have been contemplating on one thing, if I was standing in the middle of a railway track and a 200kmh train was coming my way, who would be the Divine deity I would call upon? In my early years, Deity empowerments collecting was my thing, going for them with utmost ignorance, pride and arrogance. Thinking myself so special for taking such profound practices at such a young age... i took my first initiation when I was 13. But with the whole party of deities, in times of dire need... or at the moment of death, when confusion, fear and uncertainty floods our senses, who would I call? That is the main reason why, I think Atisha encourage devotees to devote to one deity and accomplish that one deity in order to attain all deities. No one needs to know what deities we are practicing, for example the Great Lama Tsongkapa was practising Vajrayogini Tantra for years, and even his closest disciples did not know that was his main focus, although he was a master in ALL tantras... by experience and intellectual knowldge. So.. I try to keep as mindful a tab as I can about "revealing" my deities and practices, because all braggists really care about is the Ego. Wanting others to feel respect and admiration about how "advanced" they are. I truly truly hope I am nothing like that.

The other people I have reflected upon, are those that shout out over a speaker phone or anything similarly loud audio wise or text wise, about the millions and billions of mantras they have done. And the persevering effort they had put into their most fervent of retreats... At first glance, most people will be filled with deep inspiration and gladness for that person. And on exit from the "retreat", the millions of mantras have not changed their critical nature. At every turn and every corner someone annoys them, and the worst part is NOW... because of the Spiritually powerful retreats they have done, they will use religion to hide their caustic nature. They give justice and reason to the nasty things they say about others, like " I should tell XYZ off, before he creates more bad karma and he so irritates me!!!!" So much for the billions of mantras done in retreat when I come out the same if not worse.

MAN = Protect and TRA= Mind, Mantra is meant to protect the mind by making peaceful the mind, generating loads of merit and causing to arise ANTIDOTES to poisons that we have such as Anger, Hatred, Jealousy and Impatience to state a few. SO if I were to recite tens of thousands of mantras to Tara, and making sure everyone knows how "holy and pure" I am, and I come out still mean if not meaner... more critical... and now with an added bonus... and over inflated Ego that I am now..somebody! The cherry atop the cream, non-spiritual people observing us will definitely be sure that Tara does NOT exist, and mantras do squat to change our hearts.

Beware of Speech, Beware of Ego, Beware of Vanity.... these are very sneaky and harmful faults, for they can masquerade as virtues and reason, and then... slowly slowly corrode our already minimal practices... corrupting them into Aspects of Greed and Shadow.