Summary of talk by H. E. Khabje Kalu Rimpoche August 22nd University of Hawaii at Manoa

On a beautiful balmy Monday evening in Honolulu, I had the great pleasure of attending a talk by Kalu Rimpoche. Having rarely attended Buddhist events I had no idea what to expect. All I knew from the person who had mentioned the talk to me, was that Kalu Rimpoche was a 20 year old man who was offering the world a new perspective on Buddhism and indeed life itself.

As this handsome tall young man walked down the aisle beside me, I was delighted to notice that he was wearing a tshirt and casual jacket. With no airs and graces, he sat down and thanked us all for taking the time to come and meet him. He told us that he hoped we would not be disappointed if we expected to hear him tell us about teachings from the previous Rimpoche, as he ha no memory of any such things, nor did he even know, if he is indeed his reincarnation!

Throughout this magical evening, Kalu reminded us of the importance of being ourselves, through laughing at himself as a human being, rather than a demi god or guru who requires a throne, special robes or an entourage. With an unassuming and delightful manner, Kalu offered us his humble profound and yet simple thoughts about life, illustrated with very human and often hilarious examples from his own life.

The core of these thoughts were as follows:

Be ourselves at all times
All we need to do in life is to be a good human being, which entails not harming ourselves or others
Find balance in life, including between the material and spiritual. We suffer when we are out of balance. Recognise why we are suffering - what is out of balance in our life?
Don't be afraid to be happy
Heaven and earth are both here - they are not somewhere above or below us
Don't complain to ourself - tell ourself that everything is fine, all is good
We are constantly creating images in our mind so visualise brightness which calms our mind down and makes it  easier to meditate
Make everything simpler - be happy - don't mix everything up. When it is time to be with family, be with family, when it is time to rest, rest
Be happy with what we have been through in life - it's important to have good and bad times - we tend to forget the good times - accept things and move on - don't get stuck
No need to prove ourselves right - bring meditation tools into our daily life - stay in our own mind whatever is going on with someone else
Possibility is the key of our life
We don't need to be so serious!
Permanence is boring, (like playing the same video game over and over - Kalu's example!) Impermanence is beautiful and entertaining. Be open to possibilities.
Be totally honest in our relationships - that is a key to happiness
It is the quality of everything that matters
Bring peace and happiness into our mind through stillness and relax into our heart
We feel crazy when we don't know how to handle our life - this is our challenge - handling life
Every ascended being is our family - take care of ourselves and our family - that is all we need to do
We can't make everyone happy - we can offer them a possibility, but it is not about giving everything away

Kalu Rinpoche finished the evening with a gentle meditation. Although I was unfamiliar with the mantra, the beauty, peace and light in the room were palpable during these 5 minutes. I was reminded of how many great tools are available to assist us to still our chattering mind and refocus on our heart center.

As I listened and laughed at Kalu's stories throughout the evening, I thought once more of the amazing times we live in. On a collective consciousness level, we are being increasingly offered reminders from a variety of sources of how wonderful we all are, just by being ourselves and how easily we can co-create an amazing universe, through consciousness and simplicity. It also brought back memories of a poem I read long ago entitled 'All I really need to know I learnt in kindergarten' http://www.peace.ca/kindergarten.htm 

As this wonderful evening drew to a close, I thought about the gifts offered to us by this powerful generation of young people in their teens and twenties. Many of them who are in the public eye, like Kalu and the UK royals William and Kate, are openly engaging with life in a heartfelt authentic way, reminding us that through accessing happiness and joy, as well as stillness of mind, we can truly contribute to an expanded, joyful universe. (There is a wonderful free exercise on this site related to creating a peaceful universe, should you wish to try it out: http://ascension101.com/en/ascension-tools.htmlhttp://ascension101.com/en/ascension-tools.html

Many thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read the above. Feel free to send me your comments or thoughts at info@diamondheadwellness.com.

Warm wishes
Margaret Gray
August 23/2011


Disclaimer: the above is solely my opinion. No payment has been exchanged.