On Initiation

Another concept that needs to be clarified is initiation. No initiation is conferred from the outside in – that is, by a mentor upon a student. No mentor can grant power to a student – no mentor can make a student enlightened. Mentors are guides – those who have walked the path and mapped the territory of life in its entirety.

Initiations are breakthroughs in consciousness – that is, when consciousness is refined, we become capable of experiencing the subtleties of our minds, the fact of inclusivity, and ultimately, enlightenment. Initiations in consciousness are like graduations into new grades in school. When we enter a new grade, we literally have never been there before, so, by definition, we don’t know how to solve the new problems we will face. It’s like entering uncharted territory – we literally have no idea what exists or what to do there. This is again why qualified mentors are precious. Mentors help us learn to adjust to and integrate the experiences of the subtleties of the path.

There are three major initiations, as well as many minor shifts that accompany them – the taste of peace, the taste of inclusivity, and the full consummation of enlightenment. The taste of inclusivity is what traditionally distinguishes or defines Bodhisattvahood, and consummation Buddhahood.

It is the inclusivity initiation that is the true point of no return on the path – that is, once a student becomes a Bodhisattva in experience, not just in wish, new dimensions of insight, efficiency, and urgency are accessed, rooted in the direct experience of the fact that “the sacred” permeates, interpenetrates, and contains everything, forever. 

This experience reveals that “inclusivity” is not something to aspire to or something that we can choose to act out – that some actions are inclusive and that others are not. By definition, “inclusivity” means that we are already performing inclusive actions, because every action is an inclusive action. There is nothing that exists outside or beyond – no thing or idea or state that is not included in the inclusivity itself. Realizing this, we realize that every action we take will impact everything else forever. Therefore, inclusivity isn’t moral; it’s just a fact. The question is whether or not the action is “constructive”.

“Constructive” actions are traditionally defined as actions taken that will offer the maximum evolutionary benefit to others, even if it means saying “no” sometimes – or saying “no” often. Obviously, to be able to discern, in every moment, what actions will produce the maximum evolutionary benefit for all beings requires the cultivation of a deep sensitivity to others. Only Buddhas can do this. So, just because a Bodhisattva has tasted inclusivity, that initiation experience must be cultivated and nurtured. The Bodhisattva initiation experience is the seed that later produces Buddhahood.

When we undergo either the first or second initiation in consciousness, it’s like our world flips upside-down. It’s totally confusing. An ocean of questions arise – questions we never even knew to ask before, like What does this mean? What am I supposed to do now?, and so on. At this point, seeking the guidance of a qualified mentor is critical.

An authentic mentor will remind us that now, we must become scientists – true scientists, who are able to inquire and experiment with an open heart and an open mind. We will be asked to test everything, and we will be reminded over and over again that blind faith is not allowed on the path. We will be asked to find patterns and probabilities. We will be encouraged to consistently make the most informed, mature decisions we can. We will also be reminded that no student is ever asked to give anything up – no authentic mentor ever requires any form of payment from the student. As our appreciation for the path and for our mentors grows, we willingly give up our nonsense.

At either the first or second major initiation, a lot of nonsense will surface. This is necessary. It’s like cleaning your bathroom. We have to acknowledge that the bathroom is dirty before we clean it. So, when the nonsense surfaces, we are offered the opportunity to rid ourselves of it once and for all. Again, this is very difficult to do constructively without a mentor who herself or himself has been mentored through the same process of evolution. 

With respect to initiations in general, our motives determine our stage – that is, our motives determine what is possible for us to experience. The path is qualitative, not quantitative. Every moment, we are either moving closer to the direct experience of inclusivity – or farther away from it. In order to discern which direction we are moving, we have to pay constant attention – we have to try to constantly measure ourselves. Like bodybuilders who pay very special attention to how much weight they are using and in what patterns, our compassion is also a muscle, basically. It is the strength of our compassion that determines our proximity to Bodhisattvahood. 

Compassion is not empathy. Technically, compassion is “mutual identification”. Again, only we can determine our “degree” of compassion. And in so doing, only we decide our own readiness to enter the more advanced stages of practice. When we begin to care about the suffering of others as deeply and naturally as we do for ourselves, we are moving qualitatively in the right direction.

As we work to strengthen our compassion muscles, sincere prayer is a priceless tool. Sincere prayer “lightens the heart” – that is, helps us to purify our motivations. The “lighter the heart”, the more a student is able to constructively respond to and ground higher voltages of “spiritual electricity”. Initiations in consciousness are truly shocking – that is, eye-opening.