Be Natural. Be Wise. Be Juicy.
As you can probably tell, I listen to a lot of dharma talks. Sometimes I listen to talks by a lot of different teachers, but mostly I listen to my same old favorites — which is great because I feel like I’m really getting to know them, but also not so great because, frankly, there’s a lot of repetition.
But every so often, even one my “same old favorites” will tell a new story ….usually just when I think I’ve heard every one of their stories, several times over.
Which is what happened when I listened to a talk by Guy Armstrong on The Power of Lovingkindness. The new part was a story about the advice given by a Tibetan teacher at the end of a retreat Guy once attended. It was guidance on taking the teachings back out into the world. The advice was:
1. Be Natural. (Don’t put on “spiritual airs”.)
2. Be Wise. (Be careful with your conduct. Don’t harm people.)
3. Be Juicy. (!!!!)
So, Guy says, the immediate way to manifest the benefits of your practice is to behave in ways that includes the qualities of:
Love
Reverence
Joy
Compassion
Faith
Humility
Devotion
Humor
Awe
Wonder
***
Sounds pretty juicy to me!