Bodhisattva Warrior Program
The Way of Enlightened Service
“Awakening can happen on your own, but it is very unlikely. What is the use of your awakening if its true purpose is not to be of service to others? You cannot become fully enlightened without having respect, love, and compassion for all other living beings. Your true path must always be about sharing with others. Service to humanity (and all other living beings) is what will truly drive your awakening. Don’t think that you must be enlightened before you serve others. Rather you must serve first before you can possibly become fully awakened. Make your goal in life the service of others by sharing with them a boundless and unconditioned love as you come to know it for yourself. In this way your awakening will become an automatic byproduct of the dismantling of your selfish concerns and the entire world will become enlightened with you.”
-Burgs
Our Bodhisattva Warrior Program successfully ran through 2009, 2010 and 2011. Below are some of the details about the program and information about its ethos.
If you think you might like to join the programme, here are a few pointers to help you decide if this is for you.
Firstly we are not expecting all of you to become Bodhisattvas, the course is thus named to give a hint of the kind of ethic we are trying to instill. It is the ethic of joyful service to others as both part of the daily life and our spiritual path. The first year course is designed to open up the participant to a way of life that sees ones own cultivation as a means to make us more able and functional at every level of life. Yet this is not done merely as a selfish endeavor but with a heart set on the aspiration to become someone able to contribute to the wellbeing and happiness of others. It is a noble aspiration to be able to offer some part of life to the service of others, yet the aspiration alone does not mean we are equipped to do so. In order to serve in a potent and effective way we need to be of few wants and able to find our own joy in life without taking too much from others and the world around us. Though to engage in a course such as this will inevitably bring a powerful healing transformation about we do not embark on the journey with a view to our own healing. This is NOT the Bodhisattva ethos. We embark knowing that we have attended to our most pressing personal needs, and are able and fit to contribute to society and those around us in a meaningful way. Many people are drawn to the path of spiritual enquiry seeking healing for the wounds and suffering we have encountered in our lives. But there comes a time when the heart turns away from our own needs and in our gratitude and appreciation of life, we look to offering something of ourselves to others. This is the of the Bodhisattva heart-essence. This is the essence of the programme.
The program seeks to firm up and hone the spiritual faculties and both physical & energetic systems with a view to optimal performance and wellbeing. Only when we have reclaimed our vast field of potentiality can we serve in a meaningful way. The work will be a step on from the Usada idea of healing through spiritual practice, to the one of raising up our vibration to higher levels so that we can access our previously untapped potential.
The practices will be more challenging and rigorous and demand a commitment and determination so that we might begin to glimpse what we are truly capable of. Please be honest with yourself when considering this programme and if you are still predominantly seeking your own healing you should continue for now on the Usada/Just let Go program.
The Boddhisattva Warrior Program will guide you through the transformation from a well and functional being into an inspired and inspirational yogi capable of setting an example to others through your way of life and conduct. Many are the tales of old of the lone warrior or traveller, who while going about his own life adventure, from time to time travels into a village or town to settle a dispute or take on the suffering of others. Such work is done by one who is confident in the knowledge that they can act on behalf of others in ways they themselves feel unable to. Such a person knows they have cultivated themselves sufficiently to be able to hold the energy on behalf of others. The Samurai was once such an expression of this ethos. Those who stand for the weak in their journey out of suffering. Every culture has some such expression in its history, even if buried in the fog of modern times, and this is the mindset that this program we will seek to instill gradually and systematically in its participants, hoping that you will all, in turn, find your own expression of it.
Joining Pre-requisites
Only those who have sat at least one Usada retreat and shown an ongoing commitment to their practice are eligible to join. This is especially so the BWP acts as a vehicle for people to share and discuss their lived experience of the path and the practices that we do together.
The Programme
Module 1. Dhamma Study Group. A series of on line teachings, free talks and reading as a basis to understanding. A foundation in Right Livelihood, and Right Understanding. Generating the altruistic attitude and a strong commitment to virtue and impeccability as the basis to our lives and service. Also introduction on how we can use the accumulation of merit in strengthening our virtue and paving the way for our spiritual path. This shall be done in a number of ways and continue throughout the year: We will have a monthly 2 hour evening session where we shall meet and do Dhamma studies as well as looking at other relevant material. As a part of this there will also be a written assignment to hand in some months showing that you have undertaken what we have asked you to cover, or possibly an online discussion group.
As a further part of this module Burgs will be setting a monthly task that he will ask everyone to undertake as part of their cultivation of their character. This could be anything from helping a stranger out every day for a month in some small way, to getting up every morning before work to sit for an hour for one month, to spending an hour outside every day come rain or sun, or making a commitment for one month to not undertake anything that you do not assume full responsibility for, or for one month sticking and completing everything that you say you do. You will have to renew your commitment to these activities daily. You will be asked to join discussion group online where we can all feedback our experiences or possibly give a personal account of these experiences to Burgs in written form.
Module 2. Purification. Cleansing, Detox and Healing of the Body at a physical level. A series of Cleansing and Detox protocols as well as regular healing work. We will offer a week long cleansing week to help everyone cultivate their physical bodies. The time and location of this is yet to be decided, but much of this work will be up to you once you have been given the appropriate guidance.
Module 3. Energy Work. Cultivating the body’s energy systems. Removing blockages and opening the channels. Chi Kung, Yoga and body work as a basis. This will not be geared towards healing yourself if you are weak but strengthening and developing and healthy and stable system capable of holding energy and responsibility.
Module 4. Meditation and Mental cultivation. Stabilising, Clearing and strengthening the base of mind. Cultivating strong concentration, mindfulness and wisdom. Again this is to open the way to higher knowledge and spiritual discipline.
It is upto the student to decide how much or how little they engage with the course over the year. Some may decide to simply read the lessons and follow the online discussions quietly, and others will fully participate and engage with each lesson as they are sent out. It is clear from the last time the course ran, the more you engage with the process, the more you will get out of it. But the choice is yours.
Sila – Our commitment to virtue
Virtue is the basis of all spiritual and character development. As such you will be expected to keep the code of conduct for lay yogis as follows. It is upto the individual to decide at what level you adhere to this sila. The more closely you guard your sila, the better the results will be upon your practice.
- To abstain from taking life or deliberately harming other beings.
- To not take from another what is not given freely to you.
- To refrain from sexual misconduct. This means to engage in any sexual relationship with others already in a relationship still under the guardianship of parents or under the age of consent. To remain faithful if already in a relationship with another.
- To refrain from all intoxicants for the year, which includes alcohol and tobacco. This is to guard our mindfulness and avoid falling into negligence.
- To be honest and truthful and avoid speaking falsely or inconsiderately about others.
Much of the program will be about integrating the lessons you learn and the experiences you go through directly into your daily life. There will be a commitment to join certain group workshops throughout the year but much of the training will be done out in the arena of your daily lives which eventually will be the field in which we come to serve.
This work will run parallel to the existing work I do introducing people to meditation and healing. The Bodhisattva Warrior Program is designed predominantly for those who have good Paramis and strong aspiration to spiritual practice and service. It is hoped that this group will over time, help to further the work of bringing the Dharma to more people, as well as providing a strong and reliable pool of energy workers for service in the community at large.