anthem. This was an awful experience for the rest
of us because for some reason he loved to sing the
Shambhala anthem in a high-pitched, squeaky, and
cracked voice.
This particular event was outside. As Rinpoche
sang into a microphone and the sound traveled for
miles across the plains, Juan broke down and started
to cry. Everyone else was feeling awkward or embar-
rassed, but Juan just started to cry. Later he said he
cried because he had never seen anyone that brave.
He said, “That guy, he’s not afraid to be a fool.” That
turned out to be a major turning point in his life be-
cause he realized that he didn’t have to be afraid to be
a fool either. All that persona and chip on the shoul-
der were guarding his soft spot, and he could let them
go. Because he was so sharp and bright, he got the
message. His life turned around. Now he’s got his ed-
ucation and he’s back in L.A. helping kids.
So that’s the point, that we tend to drive all blames
into Juan because Juan is so obnoxious. We aren’t en-
couraged to get in touch with what’s underneath all
our words of hatred, craving, and jealousy. We just act
them out again and again. But if we practice this slo-
gan and drive all blames into one,the armor of our
ego clinging will weaken and the soft spot in our
hearts will appear. We may feel foolish, but we don’t
have to be afraid of that. We can make friends with
ourselves.
76 Drive All Blames into One