When the Heart Opens

An Edited Excerpt from Oral Teachings Given by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Spring 2018

We always talk about being open with each other. This is something important. When we talk about being open or not being open, or the importance of being open to someone, when we use this word openness, we recognize a very common, although not particularly clear, secular meaning. But if we think about it in terms of the teachings, openness relates exactly to opening the eye of the wisdom of emptiness. 

Experiencing openness is directly related to being more free of your pain identity. If you are more free of your pain identity, then your sense of self is bigger, wider and more indestructible. When you feel that broader sense of self, then you're able to see more; you're able to see through those things that would otherwise limit you. Specific circumstances that you face do not interfere; you go beyond the circumstances. A particular difficult moment doesn't interfere; you are able to go beyond it. A conflict that arises between you and another person doesn't matter; you see beyond the conflict. The eye of the wisdom of emptiness sees that conflict, and these teachings say that you are able to see the essential essence, the Bön essence. Bön essence refers to the essential nature, or what is. You are perhaps able to see that particular person as just a person.

The question is: how often do we see just a person? How many people do we see as just a person? How often do we see just a being? We see white, black, brown, good, bad, educated, not; we project all those things. We label everyone. We just see the labels. That label is not who they are. If you begin to see people as who they are, even just a glimpse, it's beautiful. We know that sometimes when people look at us as just a person, just human, it feels good.

I'm always amazed looking at my puppy. There is so much depth in the eyes. I don't know what they're seeing or not, but it looks profound. You know? The same way, you can see another person. When you see another person beyond the skin, beyond wrinkles, beyond the projection of pain, when you really see the person, it's fun. It's enlightening. It's awakening. You open your heart. The heart opens when you really see someone.

I was just thinking during lunchtime about humanness. What is humanness? Not human-this or human-that, not humanity either – just humanness. I think that it's similar to saying the nature of mind. There is some sense of humanness; in some sense it's essential. That essential humanness can then appear in so many different ways. There should be a place in the world for each and every way that it appears. However, I don't see that in today's society.

In today's society I feel like there's not a place for many, many things. The heart is getting more closed, views are getting more closed, opinions are getting more limited, and the law is getting more strict. There needs to be a place for everything. In Tibet, there is a place for the crazy person – it's in the family. They don't whisk them off to an institution right away. There is a place for old people – they stay at home. There is a place for disabled people. There are places for everyone else. People are not isolated away from society and labeled because of some physical or psychological disability. We all have problems, and we are all labeled as samsaric beings, which is not the best-built being. Everyone has to have someplace to be able to be.

In the teachings, kunzhi means the base of all, and it means a place for everybody. That is suchness. And knowing suchness is a wisdom. The base of all is referring to the essence; it is referring to suchness – like humanness. Humanness itself can not be wrong, but humans can appear to be wrong. Do you see the difference? This is what I believe: that in the ness, no one is wrong, though they appear to be wrong – they sometimes play the wrong roles. Even so, you don't punish them too much for that. Rather, you hold the space for others. Whether it's in the family, in a relationship, in the society, in the country – when there is a place for others, I think it's healthy. We have to learn how to create more space for others. Conflicts arise when there's not a place for everybody.

As a humanness, everyone should have a place in the world – an equal place, an equal opportunity. The pain eye does not see the deep sense of humanness, is-ness, suchness – Bön essense – what is. The pain eye sees only what the pain has projected. The “what is” – the essence – is only able to be seen when your pain identity is cleared. When you're free from the pain identity, you discover the wisdom of emptiness. And with the opening of that wisdom eye, you have a fresh sense of who you are. In the teachings, it is what we call Bön-ku, the eternal body. You can think about it as a fresh sense of you, a new you, a free you, an open you. That open you has a new eye. It sees the world differently. That eye is called the eye of Bön essence. The eye which sees the suchness, the humanness. With that, your heart opens.

Through this opening of your heart that comes when you clear your self-identity, clear your pain identity, you will be able to help or serve others more. When you have the wisdom of emptiness, the teachings say that the opening of your heart plays a vital role in helping others. It is not necessarily through your doing things – that's different. Some people will serve more through their actions; that's how it will manifest. Other people, though, won't necessarily do so much, but their heart will serve more; the openness of their heart serves others more. In some, their speech serves more. For others, their qualities will serve more. These are all different, but they are all service, and in the teachings they are all called trinlé – enlightened activities or enlightened service.

Enlightened here means two things: that one is free of one's own pain body, and that one is fully connected to the potentiality of one's awareness. One is able to change one's role, to have a role or not have a role. One is free from that sense of serving from any one specific door. There is a sense of total flexibility. Flexible conduct is a result of boundless view and infinite awareness. The identity is not stuck in one thing. Be free.