Focusing Everything on Enlightenment

Video

Focusing everything on enlightenment (2003)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Nalanda Monastery, France, 2003 (Archive #1971)

Excerpt from a talk Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave to the monks at FPMT's Nalanda Monastery, France, on April 18, 2003. Rinpoche discusses the importance of living in vows and purifying negative karma, while staying focused on the goal, enlightenment. You can view this video excerpt on our YouTube channel.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Sera Je Monastery, India, 2013. Photo by Bill Kane.

So actually the cause of shinä is pure morality, pure morality. As pure as we have, that much easier to achieve shinä. As that much more impure, then more difficult to achieve shinä. That’s the first, that’s the very first cause, the main cause, you see.

Basically it is said, in the Drepung Monastery, doing the shinä, then you should have your vows, you know, very confident, happy, very confident in your heart. The very first thing, you should have that in mind. Very, very confident to your vows. Happy in your vows, you see.

One thing I can remember; I remember one thing I was going to say.

All of this past karma, past karma influences the mind, it makes to change your mind. So that’s very frightening. The most frightening thing is this. The spirits, you know, influence. Evil spirits and your past karma, you know, the imprint, negative imprint, influence the mind. That’s very, the most frightening thing. You can lose even faith in the Dharma, Sangha. Even totally make mistake or something. That’s your negative karma in that incarnation, you see. You totally change your mind, like that.

Therefore, I think the purification is very important, every day, daily life purification. Not just a preliminary practice, some number, but every day purification. This is very important.

I have seen people completely change. Monks sometimes become something else. You have shortage of merit and not having purified much karma, negative imprint, and also, like that.

So anyway, compare. The monks doing very, very good here. Simple life, living a simple life is very, very good. Humble is very good.

I think, to think, always to think one way towards, of course, best is to always think towards objective, your goal, enlightenment, not something else. Goal in the life, enlightenment. So do whatever benefits for that. Do everything that benefits for that, and then, that means doing everything that would benefit for sentient beings.

Even you sleep, benefit for sentient beings. Whatever you do, eating, walking, doing for enlightenment, to achieve enlightenment. For that goal, which is to benefit all sentient beings.

Same, if you’re doing [with the] attitude of benefiting all sentient beings, then same, that becomes the cause to achieve enlightenment. It brings oneself to enlightenment, it directs one’s life for sentient beings. So like that.

So just one way thinking life, direction of life, only, you know, only, clear, just to enlightenment. So, like that. Then, when the attitude is like this, that itself is renunciation, the determination to be free from samsara, free from delusion, karma, you know, when the attitude is towards enlightenment.

So then your life is not directed towards samsara, not even future life samsara. Your main goal is not even future life samsara. Leave aside your goal is the pleasure of this life. Besides about that. Not even future; your goal is not future life samsara, but enlightenment.

So when your attitude or the goal is clear and direct towards that aim, always aimed towards that, then I think so much of the problem, confusion in the life, so much confusion in the life, so much delusion arising, so much confusion in life, then I think, just clears away all, clears away all.

Like clear sky, the clouds goes away, fall away. It clears away, it cuts, so the mind becomes very simple, very peaceful and very happy. Inside happy, very simple, I think. Very peaceful, very happy. Not so many thoughts, not so many this and that. Like that.