About the Author
Maticintin has had memories of being a Buddhist monk in a former life, beginning at age 5 when a monk in a brown robe began to frequently appear to her, giving her spiritual instruction and encouragement. At one time the monk gave a small tan book of Milarepa’s poems and life, which later inspired her to write the Golden Dream (Shaman of Tibet), the story of Milarepa’s early life. Maticintin has been a formal student of Buddhism for more than 30 years. In 1970 she lived in various Buddhist temples across Japan where she studied both Nichiren and Zen. It was also in Japan that she contributed to the English translations of both the Heart and Lotus Sutras. Afterwards, stirred by feelings of remembering her ancient past and her monk mentor as a child, her attention was drawn to an extensive study of Dzogchen and Bon, Vajrayana and Mahayana. The greatest spiritual event in her life came about through a series of visions and instructions with Padmasambhava, whom she realized was her former Teacher. Following these experiences, the terma (spiritual treasure) of the Wish-Fullfilling Gem Mantra was revealed to her.
In addition, Maticintin studied with the Sioux Shaman Alana Spirit Changer who combined her Teachings with the knowledge of Dzogchen and Bon with the strict discipline necessary for a student to "walk their talk". The Shaman named her student Winged Wolf.Maticintin began her tutelage as a spiritual teacher in April of 1992. She has several thousand followers, and several hundred personal students and apprentices, most of whom are achieving rapid spiritual advancement.
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"Spiritually, however, there is a place beyond dualities. There still exists a front and a back to things, but the front and the back are not separated. They become one with the whole of what you are looking at. The front and the back of the mountain are still the mountain. It is not the front or the back of the mountain, it is the mountain itself.
"If you were to go down to the lake and dip your hand into the water, you would pull up many droplets. Each droplet is a part of the lake. It is still the whole. There is this side and that side. There is the top of the lake and the bottom of the lake. It is still the lake.
"When we view difficulties in life, we study different sides of a situation. There is this side and there is that side; so, dualities in life seem to come in many packages.
"We are not concerned with compartmentalizing life as Soul. As Soul, there is only One. One everything! That does not mean that both sides aren’t seen. They are seen as varying energy. It is the energy of each that is perceived.
"In other words, when you look at something, you perceive the energy of it, rather than inspecting this side versus that side. When you compare this side to that side, there is the danger of getting hooked into observing differences, instead of seeing the whole, where you become aware of both sides and view each as an energy of the whole.
"When one is coming from a mental viewpoint, they look at one side versus the other side and they compare. As Soul, since there are no dualities, there is no comparison. You see life as a whole. As a whole, one thing equals another. You and I may be individuals, but you and I are both Soul. It is not your Soul, or my Soul. It is Soul! So you see, as Soul, we are really ONE.
"As Soul, we live beyond dualities. This does not mean that one gives up their individual reality. We are here in this world to experience life so we develop a personality and develop viewpoints to do this. One person becomes a doctor; another a lawyer; another a merchant; another a teacher; another delivers newspapers. Do you see? These are expressions of personality as it is learning to perceive life through expression. But still, life is all the same, a whole. There is only one, the all of it...
