RESPECT: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTUREIn one of Juniper’s meetings this week, Segyu Rinpoche was talking about lineage. We will have much to say about lineage in the future, because establishing an authentic teaching lineage for training the mind is at the heart of what Juniper is all about. In this discussion, the focus was respect.

Respect means holding another in high esteem, honoring them, and demonstrating this in our thoughts and actions. If we respect someone, it influences how we act toward them and how we speak of them to others.

In the context of a lineage, we take this idea of respect one step further. We, of course, respect those who are part of the lineage today. This may be our teachers or peers with whom we share our experience of learning and inner development. We also respect the roots of the lineage that has come before us. In our case, this means the Tibetan and Indian heritage from which this tradition came. It does not matter that we might deviate from some of its cultural traditions and practices. To be different does not imply a lack of respect. It is not unlike how we might respect our grandparents even though we have a different lifestyle from them.

We also respect the future of the lineage. It may seem funny to respect something that does not even exist yet. However, respecting what the lineage will be in the future influences our actions today. It is a little like how respecting the future health of our planet makes us environmentally conscious today.

At Juniper, we feel this respect deeply, and we work on it. We respect the teachers and holders of the tradition, even when the work is challenging. We respect the Tibetan and Indian heritage of our tradition, even as we separate the essence from the cultural aspects. And we respect those who will hold the lineage in the future, even though we don’t know who they are yet.

In short, in the context of lineage it is important to have respect—for the past, the present, and the future.