'Connecting to the Source'

An Excerpt from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s Upcoming Book, Spontaneous Creativity

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s upcoming new book, Spontaneous Creativity: Meditations for Manifesting Your Positive Qualities, published with permission by Hay House, Inc. (www.hayhouse.com). The book will be available July 17, 2018, through amazon.com and other outlets. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied for public or private use without prior written permission of the publisher.

Creativity is the food of joy. When we are creative, we express the joy of being alive. We are all creative at the core.

But what is creativity, exactly? Is it an artist toiling in her loft, a composer hunched over his piano, your grandmother icing a cake, your neighbor planting a garden? Without doubt, these are all creative endeavors. But in the Bön Buddhist tradition creativity is far more than a display of specific skills or talents or behavior. It is an expression of our state of being—who we truly are.

Creativity is often linked to flow—energized focus, effortless expression, total immersion in what we are doing. Both creativity and flow arise from the same source—the fundamental spaciousness of being. The essence of creativity is the spontaneous outpouring of positive qualities from that open source.

The dzogchen tradition in which I practice refers to the space of being as the mother (ma), to the awareness that recognizes that space as the child (bu), and to the union of space and awareness, mother and child, as dynamic energy (tsal). We are not meant to understand this relationship conceptually but to experience it personally. Every moment can be spontaneous, effortless, beautiful, helpful, and life-changing if we are fully connected to the spaciousness of being. When we are living from that connection to the source, qualities we associate with creative activity—joy, playfulness, humor, love, generosity—just naturally arise.

Being creative is intrinsically human. Whether it is an artwork you make, a dinner you cook, or the skillful way you talk your daughter out of doing something risky, it may be creatively informed. When we are aware of and connected to the spaciousness of being that is our true nature, our actions and our expression have the potential to bring good to the world. Artistic expression—indeed, any human activity, no matter what form it takes—that arises from the source is considered sacred. In my tradition this is referred to as trinlé, or enlightened action. When what we express is enlightened action, it will have meaning and purpose and be of benefit to ourselves and others.

Traditionally, the fundamental source of being is described as an inexhaustible spring of pure water for the thirsty; the keys to the treasury of the kingdom for the impoverished; medicine for those who are ill; a home for those who wander; a best friend for the lonely; an inner refuge for those caught in samsara, the wheel of cyclic existence that binds us to suffering. This source is creative potential waiting for us to find some way to express it.  

Bön Buddhism takes the view that our nature is primordially pure. So within every living being is this pure source of creativity, which gives rise to the positive qualities and infinite possibilities that are the causes of creativity. Qualities like love, compassion, joy, and equanimity are the spontaneous expression of the source and the essence of creative flow.

Creativity is our birthright, and our nature is expressive. But how do we connect with this creative energy so that we can offer our unique gifts to the world? One of the most effective methods I have found for discovering creativity is through activating the creative potential of five energy centers in the body—what are known as chakras. Briefly, the chakras are portals to a path that begins with the unbounded sacred space that is our creative force and continues to unfold from creative potential to creative manifestation.

Unleashing our creative energy starts with the crown chakra at the top of the head. Here we uncover openness and connect with the confidence to discover our creative potential. If we don’t experience these qualities directly, we can access them through what I call the three doors: the stillness of the body, the silence of inner speech, and the spaciousness of mind.

Buoyed by a sense of openness and self-confidence we connect with the second creative potential through the energy of the throat chakra, awareness. Here we discover our innate worthiness and a sense of belonging, whether to family or community or the human community at large. Significantly, the sense of belonging comes from connecting to our true self and feeling complete just as we are. Fears like I can’t or I don’t deserve it, which block creative expression, dissolve in the warmth of our attention.

The third creative potential we discover is inspiration, the energy of the heart chakra. Here, we discover positive qualities like joy and love. Creativity thrives in a positive atmosphere, both nourished by and nourishing happiness and joy, which are integral to the creative process.

The fourth creative potential, which we discover through the energy of the navel chakra, is the quality of ripening. The focus here is on whatever within us or in our lives is almost ready for expression and just needs a little push, a little attention from us. This is a critical place on the creative path: When a project or an idea is in this state of readiness, it can go one of two ways. If we give it the light and warmth of our attention, it can go to completion, to fulfillment. But if we withdraw our attention, it can end up in the pile of uncompleted projects and abandoned dreams. If nothing blocks our energy at this point, it takes almost no effort for the project or endeavor to complete.

At the fifth chakra, the chakra of manifestation, we go the distance and bring our creative endeavors to fruition. Our creativity is no longer mere potential but is actualized in some form. Its expression can delight and serve others.

So how do we access our creative energy when we feel stuck? How can we rekindle inspiration? Even though we are inherently rich with positive qualities at our core, we may fail to recognize our inner resources. How do we reconnect with the source? Awareness is the key. That means knowing ourselves intimately. Knowledge of our inner essence is not acquired through formal learning. It is not the accumulation of skill or facts. It consists of recognizing openness and being aware of it in any given moment. The open source of being becomes our refuge—support that is always available to us.

The path to accessing creativity and manifesting our positive qualities always comes back to openness. It is the ground, the beginning—not a step we can avoid. Since the natural openness of being is the source of creativity, whatever blocks us from experiencing a feeling of openness blocks our creativity and also our joy. In fact, it blocks all our positive qualities from arising. If you reflect on what is blocking your creativity at any given moment, you are likely to come up with a long list of obstacles: I don’t have enough time to do everything I’m supposed to do, never mind doing something creative. I’m too scattered. I have no privacy. I have bills to pay. After I get off work I don’t have any energy. There are a few people I know who repeat like a mantra, I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I can’t do it. Send yourself a message like that often enough, and creativity doesn’t stand a chance.

There are so many possible blocks to living creatively, so many excuses for not taking action. Resolve one block and clear it off your list, and chances are, you will find another to replace it. Our lists are never-ending in this way. But the items on our lists are not the problem. The question to ask is not what is blocking you, but who. Who is the one who is suffering? How you experience yourself, the identity you create, is the number-one block to accessing the source of creativity within.

Holding on to the sense of an I that is fixed and solid—and will be with you always—is one of the fundamental errors identified in the Bön and Buddhist traditions. We suffer not because of what is happening to us, but because of this I we identify with and cling to so tenaciously. This is the source of our suffering. This I is busy making up a story about how life is, and since human beings tend to have a negative bias, our stories seldom have a happy ending.

There is a way out, however. Through meditation practice we can look inward and explore the fixed I who suffers. When we do that, we come to see that this sense of I can only continue to exist because we maintain it with our thoughts and imagination. When we stop building up I in this way, it loosens its grip. We begin to feel a sense of openness. That narrowly focused self no longer controls our thoughts, no longer blocks access to inner space, to the creative source.

The hitch is that this false I is often hidden, driving our reactivity from just beneath our awareness. We are so used to identifying with it that we act as if it is real. When we expose this I, we may react with attachment or aversion, either clinging to it, unable to imagine life without it, or searching for ways to get rid of it. The world is full of well-meaning advice on how to improve yourself, and many people meditate in an attempt to replace the undesirable self with another, more positive self. But those efforts are fruitless and miss the point. The fundamental issue that is not being addressed is holding on to the ego’s insistence that we have a solid, unchanging identity. Discovering the truth of egolessness or selflessness is a core teaching in my tradition and an essential step on the path to manifesting your positive qualities.

Rather than bypassing or avoiding pain or trying to get rid of it, we need to open fully to our pain and discomfort. Whatever form this I takes—and it can be as changeable as your mood—it is, without doubt, pain of some sort. I call this a pain identity or pain body. Perhaps you meet the I who is insecure, uncertain, or afraid to be noticed. Perhaps you are carrying around an I who isn’t getting the recognition she deserves. Whether your fear or insecurity appears as a critical voice or a quiet feeling of unhappiness, it has probably lived with you for a long time. But if you recognize pain—even entrenched pain—directly, your attention will have the force of an acupuncture needle hitting with precision the right point to release blocked energy. A moment of fear or insecurity, properly encountered, can lead you to the discovery of your true nature.

To bring your awareness to a painful experience, pay attention to the feelings in your body, the emotions that are arising, the thoughts that are coming to mind. Touch your experience directly with unbiased awareness as you open to it. Don’t move away from any part of your experience. Show up. Be there. Don’t abandon yourself or your discomfort.

I often suggest treating pain or fear as you would treat a close friend who came to you fearful and trembling. What would you do? You would be fully open to that person, right? You would not divide your attention at the moment, cell phone in hand, and say, “Oh, wait a minute, I’m getting a text. But go ahead. I’m still listening.” No, you would focus your full attention on your friend. You would be there for her. When you are fully present to someone’s pain, a deep sense of caring and warmth naturally emerges. It is the same with your own discomfort. If you are fully present with it, it will begin to shift. As the pain releases, warmth spontaneously arises from the space of being.