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8 December, am

Eight Mahayana Precepts

The quotation from the Bodhicaryavatara that I mentioned yesterday shows how Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, by having generated bodhicitta, renouncing the self and cherishing others, offered extensive benefits for sentient beings in the past and is offering them even now. Continuously, even within one hour, one minute, one second, uncountable numbers of sentient beings are led into enlightenment, or led away from the lower realms into temporal happiness. Those who don’t have this already are led into temporal happiness, and from there they are gradually led into enlightenment. Even now, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is doing extensive benefit for sentient beings, including us. Even today, he is guiding us. Because of his five hundred prayers made for us with the virtuous thought, the motivation of bodhicitta, we are able to generate the path in our mind. By bearing much hardship we take the Mahayana ordination, purifying negative karma and accumulating merit for the sake of sentient beings. If Guru Shakyamuni had not revealed such a simple method as this—eight precepts that can be taken by those who have taken Pratimoksha ordination, or thirty-six vows, even by laypeople—we would not have this opportunity.

Even though some monks and nuns who have taken Pratimoksha vows may not normally keep their precepts well, having taken the eight Mahayana precepts, which are for one day, during that day try to observe the precepts in the best purest way. Even if one is unable to commit oneself to keeping the Pratimoksha precepts, the thirty-six, two hundred and fifty, or three hundred and sixty vows for a lifetime, and even if those who have taken them can’t live purely in the branches of those vows, by taking and keeping the eight Mahayana precepts for one day one accumulates much merit. By keeping the eight root precepts and eight branches purely one accumulates much merit.

Many laypeople can’t take these vows, so normally they don’t live even in the five precepts. By taking these eight Mahayana precepts, however, which are for one day, they have an opportunity to accumulate merit, even though they do not normally have this opportunity. Even though one doesn’t normally observe or protect one’s karma strictly by abstaining from creating negative karma, having taken the Mahayana ordination, that day one has to protect one’s view or one’s mind very strictly, one has to protect oneself from the negative karma created through disturbing thoughts. They are just a small number of precepts, taken for only one day.

If Guru Shakyamuni Buddha had not revealed and made such a method available, by now we would not have accumulated all this merit during the number of days that we have been taking the Mahayana ordination. Today we would not have accumulated all this merit, and neither would there be this opportunity in the future. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha has revealed this method, the eight Mahayana precepts, and by taking them we are protected—this is very good to think. We are protected from unbelievable sufferings even today by keeping these eight Mahayana precepts. If we were not taking them we might be doing the opposite, the eight negative karmas, such as killing. We might be doing the opposite of the four root precepts and the four branches, like drinking wine (this time not only wine, but all black food as well which pollutes body and mind), sitting on high expensive beds or thrones, or wearing ornaments with attachment, without Dharma motive.

Think of just one precept, the action of killing. The completion of the negative karma of killing has four results. We should think like this so that we feel the advantages of the precepts from the depths of our hearts, not just as the discipline of the course. By understanding and thinking in this way about how karma continues, how there is a continuation of these negative karmas, one generates the wish to take the precepts. Because of being under the control of negative karma we always circle in samsara, experiencing suffering. By thinking in this way, the wish arises to take the precepts, without any difficulty, with great happiness. No matter how hard it is to take them, the wish arises from the depths of the heart.

The completion of the negative karma of killing has four types of results. The ripening aspect result is throwing oneself into the suffering bodies of the suffering transmigrating beings, like animal, narak, or preta beings. Even when one is born in the realm of the happy transmigrating beings, as a human being, one experiences a result similar to the cause. If in the past one caused others to have a short life, in this life one experiences a short life, even though one was born as a human. If you caused someone in the past to have a short life, you have such a relationship with this sentient being and somehow the result is for oneself to receive harm from this person, which will cause you to have a short life. Even though one is born in the mother’s womb as a human being, due to having caused others to have a short life, like through abortion, one experiences death without the opportunity to live a long time. If one has caused others to have a short life one is killed by poison, with weapons, by black magic, or by being executed. One has created the result, so this is experiencing the result similar to the cause. The result is similar to whatever you have done to others. The result that you experience in this life is similar to that which you have caused to others in the past.

Because you have the impression of the habit of killing other sentient beings in the past, you continue to do so in this life. Even when one is born as a human being, one again does the action of killing. Not only killing creatures, but even human beings.

There are many people who have a strong habit of killing, even in their childhood. They like killing, hunting, and such things very much. Some people always kill, no matter how many times they have been in prison, no matter how many times they have been in trouble because of it. Somehow, uncontrollably it happens. Even though a person may think it is not right, somehow it happens uncontrollably many times in his life. Similarly with telling lies—someone has no control over lying, and is incredibly used to telling lies.

If a person in this life is creating negative karma, that in itself is creating the result similar to the cause in future lives. So again in another life one does these negative actions. Then doing that again becomes the cause of doing it in the next life. It goes on and on without end. As long as one does not change the mind, as long as we don’t subdue the mind, we create the negative karmas again and again. As we accumulate these negative karmas we repeat them again and again due to previous karma. Like this one if continuously creating the cause of samsaric suffering, it is how one continuously circles in samsara.

Another result of the completion of the negative karma of killing is that even though one is born as a human being, one is born in a place where there is a lot of fighting, where there is a lot of danger to one’s life. Much disease, much fighting, so many conditions for death. Also where there are many fears, in a kind of very dusty and ugly place.

If the negative karma of killing is done today when we have made the vow to abstain from this particular negative karma, we will have to experience the four types of suffering results. The worst thing is not the lower realms, the worst is that which keeps the continuation, creating the result similar to the cause. This continues as long as we don’t break it or as long as we don’t change the mind, diminishing or eliminating the disturbing thoughts. It is not only important to have a long life in this life, but whenever we are born as human beings we should know what the negative way to think is, and we should be able to think in a positive way. By following the negative way, the sufferings of samsara go on and on continuously, creating the result similar to the cause. But if we think in a positive way, the completed positive karma of keeping the precept of not killing has four results, opposite to the four negative ones. It causes long life. When one is born as a human being in the future, all those future lives are long lives. Also because of keeping the precept of not killing, because of living in this vow, in so many, many lifetimes one is able to enjoy the result, happiness.

If you don’t keep this one precept of abstaining from killing it makes so much difference in this life and in many other lives, while abstaining from killing makes a big difference in this life and for many, uncountable numbers of future lives. Even this one precept gives the result up to omniscient mind, accomplishing all the works for other sentient beings, leading all sentient beings into the state of enlightenment. The advantage of keeping even one precept is that in all future lives one achieves the state of omniscient mind and leads all sentient beings into that state. It makes a big difference, there is a big difference between the two. The precepts that we are taking and keeping today are not just one, but eight root precepts and eight branches. You should think of the negative side, of all the sufferings that come from not keeping these precepts and from doing negative actions. You should think of all the endless samsaric sufferings that arise from these negative karmas. Then think of the results of keeping the eight precepts, of all the happiness in uncountable numbers of future lives up to omniscient mind, accomplishing the works of leading all sentient beings into enlightenment. There are incredible differences.

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha has made the eight Mahayana precepts for one day possible. Even by our keeping these precepts just today, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha protects us from creating all four types of suffering results—like rebirth in the lower realms and the undesirable results, especially creating the result similar to the cause. Without keeping precepts we will create negative karma again and again in all coming future lives, even though we are born as humans. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is guiding and protecting us from the continual suffering results and from the cause, continuously creating negative karmas. Having made the prayer, and by revealing this method, and by guiding us in being able to keep the precepts, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is leading us from happiness to happiness. That is how he is guiding us to the state of omniscient mind. All the skillful works of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha guiding all sentient beings, including us, from suffering and leading us gradually to enlightenment, are by the power of bodhicitta, renouncing the self and cherishing others.

If one is concerned about the happiness of others, if one wants to benefit sentient beings, the best way to offer benefit is by keeping and living in the vows, living in the righteous law and doing correct actions. “Righteous law—” since we are taking these vows for the sake of sentient beings, we should not only stop harming others, but also by taking these precepts we are doing the work of offering benefit to all sentient beings. Without living in the precepts it is not possible to avoid harming others, besides not giving benefit to others.

Even if one doesn’t normally do the actions of killing, telling lies, stealing etc, if one doesn’t live in the vows, if one doesn’t take the commitment in the presence of the holy object, there is no merit. There is not the good karma of living in the vow, in the commitments. One person may make the vow to be a butcher, to kill animals or to kill human beings. One who has committed himself, who has made a vow to create negative karma, for him every day, hour, minute, month, or year the negative karma is continuously increasing. In a similar way, by living in the vow, by making a commitment in the presence of the holy object, the merit is continuously increasing. Even though one may not be doing the negative actions of body and speech in one’s everyday life anyway, still by living in the vows there is merit continuously increasing, even if one becomes unconscious, even during sleep. Even if one doesn’t meditate, or read Dharma scriptures, or create other particularly virtuous actions, still there is continuous merit. Even if one becomes unconscious just after having taken the ordination until the following morning, even if you sleep from now until tomorrow morning, continuously there is merit. There are big differences between living and not living in the vows, even though one doesn’t normally do actions like killing.

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha changed his mind, renouncing the self and cherishing others, and preserved and protected the eight Mahayana precepts for the sake of sentient beings and was able to offer extensive benefit to others. We do the same thing. If we change our mind from this selfish attitude and keep the eight precepts, we create the cause to achieve omniscient mind and to do extensive works for all sentient beings, to fulfill their every wish for happiness.

When you think of all the advantages that we are receiving you can see that we have an incredibly good opportunity to create the cause of happiness. You see, the result of these eight precepts is a happiness that we can’t imagine. Being able to create the cause of these good karmas, being able to have the opportunity of taking the eight Mahayana precepts revealed by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha—all this happened through the kindness of sentient beings. Without depending on the kindness of all sentient beings there would be no Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, no eight Mahayana precepts. There would be no opportunity for us to keep the eight Mahayana precepts today and to accumulate such an incredible amount of merit, no opportunity.

Feeling from the heart, knowing, recognizing that I have received all these incredible opportunities through the kindness of sentient beings, think that I must achieve omniscient mind to free all sentient beings from suffering and lead them into the state of omniscient mind, therefore, I am going to take the eight Mahayana precepts.

If, when you take ordination you have a problem with the limbs or the body, like a disease, then of course, there is no choice, you can’t do prostrations. But otherwise you should do them. You see, the object of the prostrations is Chenrezig.

If you believe in the good heart, believing that the good heart and patience exist, if there is a belief, a faith, then that is something you can develop in yourself. Even if you don’t meditate, even if you are not a meditator, when you see a wounded dog or a sick person you sometimes feel some compassion. You think, “What can I offer? What help can I give?” for that sentient being, for that animal, for that person. Sometimes, a little bit of compassion rises even though you are not usually a meditator of the graduated path to enlightenment, even if you haven’t met BuddhaDharma. For sure this compassion can be developed. Sometimes it decreases, sometimes it increases. By meditating on lam-rim, on bodhicitta, by thinking of the suffering of others, we generate a little bit of compassion. By thinking of the kindness of others we generate a little thought of loving kindness.

From this small experience in your daily life, you can figure out that this love and compassion definitely can be developed if one tries. It can be made greater so that it covers all sentient beings in the same way, like your compassion for that wounded dog or for that beggar. It is just a matter of understanding the sufferings of others, of those rich and worldly people, just a matter of understanding their kindness, seeing what they have done for you. Since there is a way to develop compassion there exists an ultimate, complete, great compassion that covers all sentient beings. The completion of our training should be this.

In a similar way, there is also the completion of understanding. It just depends on what method you use to increase your understanding. If the method you are using doesn’t diminish the obscurations, that method doesn’t help you to complete the understanding. If it is a method that diminishes the obscurations then it helps to complete your understanding. There is a Buddha; from this small experience you can figure out there is a Buddha and omniscient mind, infinite compassion covering all sentient beings.

The Buddhas have completed the mind training of compassion. The compassion of all the enlightened beings, the Buddhas, manifested in Chenrezig, the thousand-arm, thousand-eyed aspect of Chenrezig. (I will not mention that particular story here). We are taking the ordination in the presence of that great compassion, which has manifested in this particular form for the sake of guiding sentient beings. This is the object of prostration. In order to become like that, in order to reduce and diminish the selfish attitude, in order to develop compassion for all sentient beings, one completes the mind training of compassion and understanding, so that one can do perfect works for others; like Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, like Chenrezig. For that reason one is doing prostrations, purifying obscurations.

You should be able to figure out and develop the faith that this compassion and understanding can be developed in yourself from these experiences, since it is the nature of the mind. There is a way to increase compassion so that it becomes greater and greater, covering more and more sentient beings. Generally, it is like this: you stop creating your own merit by not doing prostrations, you stop the cause for developing the mind. Generally, it is like this. If there is no disease, or anything in particular that keeps one from doing prostrations, one should do prostrations. If there is something physically wrong, of course until one has recovered one can’t do prostrations. One should not put notes of the Dharma teachings or texts on the ground without having a cloth, something clean underneath. One should not put Dharma texts, teachings, or prayers on the ground. Without speaking in detail of the results of negative karma, you should be aware that the words written there reveal the method, the various practices of the path to enlightenment. These are the teachings revealed by Buddha explaining the path that frees one from samsaric suffering, leading one into the state of omniscient mind.

When we take refuge in the Dharma, one of the precepts of refuge is to keep Dharma books in a clean and high place. If one can’t put them in a high place one should at least have some cloth underneath them, we should show respect in this way. Showing disrespect, like putting Dharma material on cushions, or on something that you place underneath yourself, or by putting things on top of them, or by putting them on the dirty ground, pollutes the mind. Respecting the Dharma awakens the mind, disrespecting it pollutes the mind. The mind becomes more and more ignorant to understand Dharma. One can’t hear the teaching or can’t comprehend the words. Even if one is able to understand the words one can’t comprehend the meaning, can’t follow the meaning. Even though one can follow the words one can’t understand the meaning. One has difficulties in realizing the meaning. Again, that is dependent arising.

How does that work? By being respectful how dose it affect the mind? How? It is the same question as: why does that leaf fall down from the tree? If you ask that question it is the same thing. Why does this fruit fall down from the tree? Why is this light working? If you ask the question, why? Like that it is the same thing. Why are you eating food? Why should death have to happen if we stop eating? Why? That is the same thing, it is all dependent arising. Something that is not dependent arising doesn’t work, doesn’t happen in this way as I told you yesterday.

It doesn’t matter what you do after the course, but during the course this is also part of the discipline. After the course you can do whatever you want, but I don’t want to see things like this, have them in my view. That is also part of the discipline of the course. When one day the course is finished it is up to you to do what you want to do. We do some meditation, we are trying to meditate on the words while at the same time we are creating hindrances for the development of our minds. This doesn’t make sense. It is like when elephants are washing. The elephant goes onto the water, then when he comes out again he rolls his body in the dust. In one way we are trying to develop mind while in another way we are creating the causes for hindrances to the development of our minds. If you want to develop your mind, if you want mind peace, you should know all the hindrances.

If you don’t know about the hindrances you should ask somebody who knows correctly. If you don’t know, of course you have to take refuge in someone else who has more understanding, correct understanding. What to do? If you have no understanding, if you are ignorant, what can you do? There is no choice, without relying upon others there is no hope of developing your mind.

You should make the hindrances fewer and fewer. Making the hindrances list is in itself a method to develop the mind. Whether you think of mind peace or whether your concern is the realization of the graduated path to enlightenment, it is the same thing.

The Ceremony

Please dedicate all the three times merit accumulated by you, dedicate today’s merit of having taken ordination by looking at yourself as illusory, and the merit as illusory, and the action of dedication as illusory. If you don’t know how to think that then think “merely labeled.” “I,” the person who dedicates, is merely labeled, the action of dedication is merely labeled, and the merit is merely labeled, the seed that brings happiness, the virtuous thought that brings happiness is merely labeled, the sentient beings are merely labeled, enlightenment is merely labeled. By keeping constant awareness of this, dedicate the merits.

Due to all these merits may all the parents, the father and mother sentient beings, have happiness. May the realms of the suffering transmigrating beings be empty forever. When thinking that sentient beings should be happy you should think of enlightenment, not just of the temporal happiness of having possessions, or a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or something like that. You should not think of just that. The connotation of that is limited happiness, what is meant when we talk about happiness in the West, you know. Wherever there are bodhisattvas may all their prayers be swiftly fulfilled.

8 December, am

The other day I quoted what the great bodhisattva Shantideva said in the Bodhicaryavatara, “Whatever happiness there is in the world comes from wishing others to be happy. Whatever suffering there is in the world comes from wishing happiness for the self. What need is there to say more? Look at the difference between the child doing work for himself and the mighty ones doing works for others.”

This short quotation explains the shortcomings of the selfish attitude and the advantages of cherishing others. If you cherish yourself, if you seek always happiness for yourself, what happens? How has it been so far? What is happening now? What will happen in the future? If, instead of cherishing yourself, you cherish others, it becomes easy to predict. It is easy to understand. You don’t need to check, you don’t need to use astrology, observations, or clairvoyance, or whatever. It is simple. It is the way Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and Shantideva say in the teachings. How has life been so far? This is it. From birth until now, how has it been? I guess you have thought about it many times, so look back at your experiences.

The experience of this life has been so much confusion, so many problems. The three poisonous minds and all the disturbing thoughts, like jealousy and pride, have been rising uncontrollably. The mind has always been sick, all the time. Maybe the body wasn’t always sick, but the mind has always been sick with the selfish attitude and disturbing thoughts.

From understanding the nature of this life, we see how we don’t have control over the mind. From this we can guess how our past lives must have been full of suffering. If there was no true cause of suffering, if there was no selfish attitude last year, if those disturbing thoughts had been stopped, didn’t exist last year, there would be no reason that one should have to experience unhappiness today or this year. There would be no reason that one should have to experience suffering or problems. If the cause, the root of the problem, didn’t exist last year, there would be no reason that one should experience suffering this year. There would be nothing that could make the true cause of suffering come into existence again if it didn’t have continuation. There would be no cause or condition causing the root of the problems to rise. There would be no creator of the problems, no doer or creator of the root of the problem.

If the problems, the true suffering did not depend on the true cause of suffering, if they could rise without a cause one would be experiencing the result, the suffering, without having created its cause, the karma. In that case it would be possible for the types of plants that need seed and roots in order to grow without a root and without a seed. Wherever you would wish it to grow it could grow there, without depending on the seed and the root—on the tables, in space. Then it wouldn’t make sense to follow the true path. It wouldn’t make sense, because whether you were following the true path or not, when suffering came, it would come. Since it wouldn’t depend on the true cause of suffering, since it would be independent, self existent, it wouldn’t make sense to follow the true path. Those who followed and generated the path would also experience true sufferings. Even when they had achieved the true cessation of suffering it would be possible for them to experience suffering.

It would be like this: when we take medicine to stop a fever it stops it for a while, but it doesn’t mean that you won’t experience a fever ever again. It would be like that. Practicing the path wouldn’t have great meaning. Even if one achieved the cessation of suffering, it would be temporary, like the fever. It would be like temporarily stopping a disease. Then there wouldn’t be much difference between a person who does not practice Dharma, who does not follow a spiritual path at all, and a person who does. There would not be much difference since the person who practiced and generated the path and achieved the cessation of suffering would have to experience suffering again. Since the problem didn’t depend on a cause it would be possible for that attainer to experience suffering again. It would be possible since the suffering didn’t depend on the cause of the ignorance clinging to a truly existing “I” and the disturbing thoughts.

That way you have no choice when the suffering comes, it comes. It is not dependent on a cause, but independent—when it comes, it comes. You experience it. There is nothing you can do except just experience it. Just live, with go with it. That is the only method that is left. In that way it is similar to when there is a disease. Take one example, the problem of disease. If it didn’t depend on a true cause of suffering, the ignorance of the true existence, clinging to true existence, if the disease was independent, even medicine wouldn’t work. There would be no possibility at all of outside conditions, like medicine, making changes in the internal physical condition so that the disease or pain would become less. If it was independent, not depending on causes and conditions, this could not happen. Following the spiritual path or practicing the true path in order to achieve the complete, everlasting release from samsara wouldn’t have any special meaning if one still went on suffering in samsara, even after having accomplished the true path. If the true cause of suffering came back again.

This is just a rough idea. As I explained at the beginning of the course, if you want a detailed, extensive explanation you should read one of the five great treatises of sutra. If you want to understand clearly, in detail, with all the logic involved you should study the logic of the text The Clear Commentary of the Valid Mind. You should study this completely. Then with all this knowledge you can check—the way this life is, how one’s past life has been, how it has been full of suffering, under the control of karma and disturbing thoughts.

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and Shantideva have already predicted in the teachings that when one always follows the selfish attitude, from that selfish attitude problems will come. If you live with the selfish attitude all the time it shows that that is how your past life has also been. There have always been so many problems, the mind has always been so confused, so how are the future lives going to turn out? How will they be? Is there going to be greater happiness?

What Shantideva is saying is that whether the next year, the coming years, or coming lives are going to have greater happiness or greater problems is completely dependent on oneself, completely dependent on now, today, on this present moment, this present life. It depends on whether even today you are going to take the side of cherishing others; it depends on which side you are on. Which side you are going to be on in the future depends on determining today how you are going to spend this life, each hour. We are making the choice of whether life is going to be more on the side of the thought of cherishing others or more on the side of cherishing oneself, having the selfish attitude. Which way, which side do you want to follow?

Here is the thought of cherishing others and here is the thought of cherishing oneself. First, in order to make the decision you have to think, “If I follow the selfish attitude what advantages are there? Are there any advantages or not?” Think about the past. In the past we have always been dedicating our lives to the selfish attitude, we have always been taking the side of the selfish attitude.

Remember, think of how it has been since the time of birth, since beginningless rebirths in samsara. Check if there are any advantages. Compare how much advantage comes from the thought of cherishing oneself and how much from cherishing others. See how many advantages there are and how many shortcomings. Check if there is any advantage or benefit received by taking the side of and working for the selfish attitude. Think, is there any benefit that I can see from that? Do the same thing with the thought of cherishing others. Examine the benefits for yourself and the benefits for others—which attitude offers more for yourself and for other sentient beings? It is simple, which makes life happier? Think, which makes my own life and the life of others happier?

I mentioned in yesterday’s lecture, and this morning’s motivation of the ordination, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s work for sentient beings, the unbelievable benefits that Guru Shakyamuni Buddha offers. All this that he has done for sentient beings is the advantage, the benefit of cherishing others. All of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s incredible works, the completion of all realizations, the cessation of all obscurations, and the incredible benefits for other sentient beings came from cherishing others. That is one way of thinking and meditating.

It is also very good to read Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s biography, the holy deeds of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. It is extremely beneficial for the mind, and it helps to generate bodhicitta. In order to understand how to accomplish peace of mind, how to practice Dharma, just look Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. One way of getting the answer is by trying to understand the biography of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, reading about his holy actions, about the bodhisattva’s ten thousand incredible practices of renouncing the self and cherishing others. Also by reading about the great yogi, Milarepa, and other enlightened beings who have given extensive benefits to sentient beings, who have done extensive works for sentient beings. Those biographies you can read and then use as an example. That is it—that is how to practice Dharma. That is how to accomplish peace of mind, the everlasting peace of mind, if one is concerned about this. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and Milarepa’s biographies show that they did incredibly extensive works for sentient beings, which all came from cherishing others. That is one way to understand and to realize the benefits of cherishing others.

There are also the ten benefits of Bodhicitta that are explained in the lam-rim, in the outlines of the graduated path to enlightenment.

If one has the thought of cherishing others and renouncing oneself, one enters the Mahayana path, one has entered the door of the path to enlightenment. Even if one generated bodhicitta just an hour ago, renouncing oneself and cherishing others, one can overshadow the arhats through one’s caste. This is not the physical caste but the quality of mind. With bodhicitta you surpass the arhats as, for instance, a king surpasses his ministers and everybody else. One becomes the best, the sublime object of offerings for other sentient beings by having bodhicitta, by having this realization of renouncing oneself and cherishing others. Sentient beings accumulate much more merit by making offerings to you, incredible merit. The higher the realizations you have, the more merits others accumulate. It gives them the opportunity to accumulate more merits. Just by that realization existing in yourself, even without your giving teachings it benefits others incredibly.

In the lam-rim outline, in the commentary on lam-rim it is said like this (first I’ll mention the negative karma): the karma that arises from looking at a bodhisattvas in a bad, disrespectful manner, with disrespect, looking with evil eyes, is much heavier than the karma that arises from taking out the eyes of all the creatures on this earth. Because of the realizations there is the power of the object. It is similar with Buddha. Looking at a bodhisattva with a calm and peaceful mind brings much more merit than making charity of your eyes to all human beings and creatures on this earth. Like this there are big differences.

Just having the realization of bodhicitta gives an incredible opportunity for others to accumulate the cause of happiness. There are about ten benefits—quickly finishing the accumulation of merits, purifying the obscurations, and quickly becoming enlightened. There are about ten. Those are also among the advantages of renouncing oneself and cherishing others.

Even when a person doesn’t have bodhicitta, but just a good heart and a generous mind, he has incredible peace in his relationship with others, in getting along with others. There is much happiness in his relationships with others. Wherever the person goes he has a happy mind, he is always happy. The more generous he is, the more good heart and concern for others he has, the less people harm him, the fewer enemies there will be. Everybody likes him. The more good heart he has the more friends he will have, the more people there will be to help him. Even though he doesn’t need help, people want to help him, and even though he doesn’t want reputation people offer reputation—even though he renounces reputation, people will offer it. All those examples that worldly people normally talk about. Not a bodhisattva, just an ordinary being. Those are also the benefits of cherishing others.

8 December, pm

You should examine in different ways the benefits of the thought of cherishing others, trying to understand the benefits of taking the side of the thought of cherishing others. As Shantideva said in the quotation that I mentioned from the Bodhicaryavatara, by generating the thought of cherishing others one is able to achieve all those incredible qualities, psychic powers, and understanding of the bodhisattvas, and the infinite qualities of the Buddha’s holy mind, the understandings, the holy speech, and the holy body. One is able to do extensive works for sentient beings—all this arises from the thought of cherishing others, from having the realization of bodhicitta.

All one’s three time happiness has come from virtue. Virtue, the Dharma, which is the holy actions of Buddha, came from Buddha. Buddha came from the root, the thought, came from bodhisattva. Bodhisattva came from the root, the bodhicitta, cherishing others. So all one’s three time happiness, all the happiness of all sentient beings, came from the root, bodhicitta. Because of all these incredible advantages of the thought of cherishing others one should cherish them, sentient beings.

Bodhicitta, renouncing self and cherishing others, is received by depending on the kindness, on the existence of each of the suffering sentient beings. In this way, one can see that one’s own three times happiness, temporal and ultimate happiness, completely came from and was received by depending on each of sentient being. All this three times’ happiness, all the perfections that one has, are received completely by depending on this enemy, the one who dislikes me—all is received by depending on each of sentient being. As I mentioned before, we accomplish the three great purposes by depending on sentient beings, by depending on each of the sentient beings, on their kindness.

Even today’s enjoyment, one grain of rice, one plate of rice, for example, we received through the kindness of others. For this one grain of rice on one’s plate an unbelievable number of creatures suffered when the fields were plowed and fertilized by human beings with animals or machines. The human beings and animals who fertilized the land had to kill all these creatures. When the stems were growing, when they put water, when they transplanted and moved the plants to different places—at different stages of growth, again and again, there was work to produce grain. Both animals and humans had to bear much hardship of heat and cold. Humans created much negative karma by harming and torturing the animals. In primitive places people are torturing animals to plow and fertilize the land. In the West, human beings are using machines that kill billions and billions of creatures, worms, ants, and so forth. Entire anthills get destroyed and burnt when they start to make fields, when the forest is burnt down. For even one grain of rice, that many sentient beings suffered and that many sentient beings created negative karma, harming and killing others—so many unbelievable sufferings came from this one grain of rice.

This one grain of rice came from another grain of rice and again, so many sentient beings suffered or created negative karma. That rice grain came from another—many uncountable numbers suffered or created negative karma. If you think of the whole continuation like this, if you go back you see that so many creatures suffered or created negative karma for that. Billions and billions. It becomes unbearable to eat, unbearable to chew. There is not just one grain of rice in the plate, there are so many. If you eat three plates of rice, then more.

After so many billions and billions suffered so much and even died, others still created negative karma for this. In this country people take the husk off by threshing in a wooden pot, with sticks. After the rice is ripe the human beings collect it, they make it ready for you to buy. Especially in the supermarket, there is no dust, not even dirt, it is already cleaned, the fruit, everything, there is not even old fruit. Already so many human beings worked for that.

However, the person who eats it—who is this? One person, that is oneself. It is similar with a piece of vegetable, the same thing. At the beginning, the middle, and at the end, as it is fertilized and so forth, at so many times so many orators got killed, by things such as spraying. Without spraying, the creatures eat the plants so that you don’t get them. The whole thing gets eaten by different insects. When the farmers spray so many insects die. If you eat this with a selfish attitude what happens?

When you think like that you are unable to eat even one grain of rice. How dare one eat with a selfish attitude, especially with the attitude that is concerned only for one’s own happiness, never concerned about all those who suffered, those who died, those who created negative karma. One can’t survive without eating, so when eating even today’s lunch one should think how it is received by depending on the kindness of all sentient beings. There is no way that you can relax after eating this—how can you? How can you sit without doing something that benefits them? Even if you can’t benefit all sentient beings you have got to do something at least for those from whom you have received your lunch today, your means of living, your comfort, and your enjoyments. You can’t just relax, you can’t just live life having no thought for sentient beings, having no thought except the selfish attitude. “When can I be happy? Oh, now I am comfortable, now I am happy!” You are satisfied if you are happy, then it is okay. That’s it. If you have comfort, that’s it. That is unbelievable, incredible, it is like not having mind. Having body, but not having mind. It is an incredibly poor and upsetting attitude, incredibly selfish, it makes tears come out, you know.

In the winter time we have to wear warm coats, or cloth made of silk. Many of the clothes that one wears came from silkworms. I heard that they have to put the silkworms in boiling water in order to get the very long threads. If they cut the outside cover the threads get very short, if they take the worm out and cut it. All this beautiful cloth that we decorate the house with or that we wear for our comfort to protect out body, those woolen coats that we wear, all this we got by torturing animals, by taking their skins without choice when the animal is hunted or killed.

If there is one tiny thorn going inside our flesh, how painful it is! When one tiny thorn goes inside the flesh, under the feet or into the hands, how painful it is! We can’t stand not taking it out. We can’t relax. As quickly as possible we try to find a tool, something to take it out. You can’t imagine what it must be like when an animal is killed. Other sentient beings, human beings are creating negative karma by making the animals experience much pain in order to get those warm coats that we wear in the winter, and all the leather clothes that are used for our comfort.

Also the water. Now that they have developed machines to see those tiny creatures in the water, it is easy to believe in them, easy to understand, because you see them through the machines, even though you can’t see them with the physical eye. By depending on these machines you can see so many tiny creatures. Even to make one cup of tea so many tiny creatures have to die.

So many people worked for our material possessions, those enjoyments such as clothes and machines. Different companies are put together by sentient beings, it is kind of endless. If you think back on how all these comforts and the happiness that you have now are dependent on the kindness of so many sentient beings, it is incredible. These comforts are dependent on so many human beings, so many sentient beings. In many places this animal who has a long neck, the camel, the donkeys or the horses are tortured day after day through having to transport many things. Even if things are transported by machines still people put these machines together with so much hardship. If you think in detail like this, if you think of the evolution, of the enjoyments and all the comforts that you have in the house, the chairs, tables, machines, the whole thing, if you think back you see how all this comfort and all these things are dependent on so many. The more you think back, the more you see how everything is dependent on the kindness of sentient beings.

Somebody put together a shop. Somebody bought it from a company, then put it together, arranged it well and made it into a supermarket, so that you don’t use extra expense, effort, and time: you get everything in putting together these ideas. Finally, it was all put together, was made available for oneself.

It should be easier to remember the kindness of sentient beings in the West, because there are more enjoyments there. This is what I think. It looks like realizing the kindness of sentient beings is easier in the East, but the comforts are more in the West. It looks like the other way around. There is more enjoyment in the West. There are so many machines, even escalators so that you don’t need to walk. So many things, sentient beings made it so easy for you. The cars, airplanes, all these things help to fulfill your wish quickly, whatever comforts or happiness you are seeking you can get them easily, more quickly. All this happened by the kindness of sentient beings. The house that one lives in warm and comfortably and where one’s life is protected from danger and harm, where one is protected from danger and harm, where one is protected form the autumn cold and the rain, even for one to have this so many creatures suffered. With much hardship people built that house. It is even good to think of the whole evolution of a chocolate, like of its cover, even just one small piece is so beautifully made for our comfort and enjoyment, as good as possible. Even just thinking of that whole evolution you see how many people worked on the cover and on the chocolate inside.

There is nothing, no enjoyment, place, food, clothing, there is not one single comfort, there is not one single enjoyment that you have received without other sentient beings suffering. Without depending on other beings creating negative karma there would be not one single enjoyment, not one single comfort. We should meditate like this concerning our food and the cooks and workers who put it together here in such a short time. Think how it came from Katmandu, from the shops, and how people put it together there, and before that it came from the various mountains and farmers who work so hard. We should think like this.

What can you do? You want to benefit all these sentient beings from whom you have received all these enjoyments, so now, what can you do for them? How can you benefit them? What benefit can you offer from your side? You should think what benefit you can offer them. Are you concerned about doing something in turn to benefit all these beings? Think from the heart. This is no particular religious belief, you can see with your eyes how everything, all your comforts, came from the kindness of all sentient beings. That should be very clear. Are you able to ignore them, their kindness and their suffering? Ignore, or do something.

The conclusion is: because of all these reasons, because all the happiness and comforts are received by the kindness of sentient beings, one should cherish them. Your reason for cherishing others should not only be the incredible advantages of bodhicitta, you should also cherish others because of the reasons that I just mentioned. One should realize how precious sentient beings are.

What is called “I” is one person. Now there are two other people who are called “you.” Who is more important, this one person? Or are these two people are more important? Is it more important to work to obtain happiness and to eliminate the suffering of this one person, or is it more important to obtain the happiness and eliminate the suffering of these two people, these two sentient beings? Which is more important, which are you going to choose, for whom are you going to work from now on?

Of course, even in the world when they vote for president, if there is one more person who voted for one candidate, one more person who wants him to become president then he wins. Let’s say one candidate has one hundred votes, while the other has ninety-nine votes. There are ninety-nine people who want one candidate and one hundred people who want the other. So he who has one hundred votes becomes president. Where there is the greatest number that becomes the most important group. That group has most power, so the power, the right is given to them.

So if there are one hundred people in one group and on the other side there is only one person, for whom are you going to work? For the one hundred sentient beings or that one person, even if that one person is you, not some other sentient being, but yourself? Of course the hundred sentient beings are more important, no comparison. If the number is a billion, no question. Actually the others are uncountable in numbers. Even just the human beings on this planet, on this particular earth, and in other universes are uncountable. The animals are uncountable, the beings in the six realms are uncountable. Now you can see that, of course, without doubt, without any question if it is most important for them, the uncountable numbers of sentient beings, to be happy and free from suffering. They are much more important than this person who is you. Even if this one sentient being is a separate being and not yourself, it is still more important to work for the rest, the billions, the uncountable numbers of sentient beings. It is more important to work to obtain happiness for them than for just this one sentient being, it is much more worthwhile to give up this one sentient being than give up a billion.

If you compare this one sentient being that is yourself to a hundred sentient beings, or even just two, there is no question. You get completely lost. You are like an atom. This earth is made of numberless atoms, one atom is nothing. When we say “others,” when we consider other sentient beings, this one person, the self, the “I” becomes insignificant, gets completely lost, nothing. Since the “I” the self is only one person, no matter how greatly happy one is, it is not a surprise, it is nothing to rejoice in, because that is just one person, just oneself. There is nothing to be excited about. Even if you have thousands of problems, it is just one person, oneself. There is nothing to be that much shocked about, nothing to be that much worried about. It is just one person, this “I” that is lost when you think of others, completely insignificant, completely unimportant.

Even without thinking how all sufferings and problems come from the selfish attitude, from following the selfish attitude, just by considering the numbers one sees that working for oneself is worthless. Without any other type of reasoning, just by thinking of the number of others you see that there is no worth at all in working for the self. To work for oneself has not the slightest worth. You see the value and the importance of working for other sentient beings, eliminating their suffering and obtaining happiness for them.

How are you going to benefit sentient beings? What are you going to do to benefit the beings from whom you have received all comforts, food, and enjoyments? How are you going to benefit all those who died or created negative karma? The best benefit one can offer is to help all sentient beings be free from suffering forever and be in happiness forever, which is what they wish. The only way to free them from all suffering and lead them into sublime happiness is through Dharma. There is no way except the holy Dharma through which one can help all sentient beings and benefit them in this way—no way other than the holy Dharma. The only way is for oneself to achieve omniscient mind in order to guide them and to reveal the path.

Check if there is any other way you can help them, besides practicing the holy Dharma? Is there any other way by which you can give this benefit, the ultimate benefit? Check, think. Besides practicing the holy Dharma, what is there for you to offer of the highest benefit for sentient beings? What else? Is there anything greater than that? Check. Anything better than practicing the holy Dharma, subduing one’s own mind? Check.

The most learned and skillful person gives up the lesser number and does the work for the greatest number of people. If there has to be a choice, give up the lesser number and do the work for the greater number of sentient beings. Give up the small, meaningful actions and do the greatest meaningful actions. This is the intelligent person, this is the skillful person.

9 December, pm

I thought I would mention how to transform the actions of eating and drinking into virtue.

If, during the breaktime, one does the actions of eating and drinking with attachment, that itself is the cause of samsara, a cause to be born as a preta whose main suffering is hunger and thirst. For hundreds and thousands of years you live with that body, experiencing these sufferings.

When one, as a practitioner of the lesser vehicle, uses these enjoyments, one uses them as medicine to protect one’s body in order to be able to practice Dharma. Not to beautify the body, not for the purpose of becoming fat. (I think that to try very much to become fat is not so much a problem in the West.) Anyway, Nagarjuna advised, “Take the food as medicine without attachment or hatred and not for the purpose of becoming fat or flexible.” (I think the last one means in order to look beautiful. I am not a hundred percent sure.) One should eat just so that the body is able to survive, in order to practice the holy Dharma. One should take the enjoyments of food and drink without the attitude of attachment and disturbing thought. That is the fundamental practice.

As a practitioner of the Mahayana teachings one uses these enjoyments, received by the kindness of sentient beings, without a selfish attitude. Without a selfish attitude one enjoys the temporal pleasures, like food, drink, clothes, and other enjoyments. The previous one, that of the Lesser Vehicle, tries as much as possible to avoid the attitudes of attachment and hatred, the attitude of disturbing thoughts.

Then there is a much more skillful, profound method wherein you use the actions, the enjoyments of eating, drinking, clothes, and place as a quick path to enlightenment. The body that uses these enjoyments becomes other than this ordinary body. One has to make completely stop the impure, ordinary view, the conception of oneself as an ordinary person, the ordinary view that sees the “I” as ordinary—the conception that clings to that as well as the body has to be completely and perfectly emptied. Then you create a pure base. You empty the impure aggregates and generate pure aggregates. You create a pure base, the unification of the pure mind and body, the pure holy mind and holy body of the deity, that particular aspect of Buddha. Then all twenty-four hours, day and night, all the time you do the practice of the deity that you are trying to become, the particular aspect of Buddha with whom you have a closer karmic contact, with whom you are trying to become oneness. So the “I” that is imputed is the pure one, the pure “I” which is labeled on the pure aggregates. Not the previous impure one, one can’t use the enjoyments with the impure “I.” Even the food is not the ordinary food, not this food that appears to the ordinary mind, that the ordinary mind clings to, not that one, the other one. There is a particular, very profound, very secret and skillful meditation in the mahaanuttara yoga tantra. You make the ordinary food empty and then you transform it into nectar, as it is explained in the mahaanuttara yoga tantra teachings, the highest yoga, the yoga practice of that deity, that particular aspect of Buddha.

Even this blessing of the food contains the whole explanation of the tantra path, the mahaanuttara tantra path, which grants enlightenment in one brief lifetime. The whole path is signified in this meditation of blessing the food. Similarly, you utilize the place, clothes, everything in the path to achieve the two kayas, the Dharmakaya and the rupakaya.

It is also a precept, it is also a tantric vow that one who has taken mahaanuttara yoga tantra initiation and the bodhisattva vows should completely dedicate to all sentient beings his three doors of body, speech, and mind, all enjoyments of place and possessions, everything, no matter how many billion, trillion dollars he has in the bank. There is a practice called the Six Session Yoga Practice, which has to do with a prayer made in order not to forget the practice of the bodhisattva’s holy deeds and the practices of tantra. There should always be the thought, there should be the continual awareness that the whole thing belongs to others, it is not mine, it belongs to others. All the time, constantly one should be aware that the whole thing, the whole progression, all the three time’s merits, even the merit of one’s body, speech, and mind belong to others, there is not the slightest atom possessed by the self, that is for the self first to use. This is the bodhisattva’s path. Even if one doesn’t have the realization of bodhicitta one should practice this awareness. One should practice never to let oneself be possessed by the selfish attitude, and then use all these, the merit, possessions, and the three doors, for others.

In one section of the Bodhicaryavatara it is said (I don’t remember it word by word), that all these things, one’s body and possessions, have already been dedicated, have already been given to sentient beings, so how dare one use them for oneself? How dare one possess these things? When one recites the words of the prayer of the Six Session Yoga, one is dedicating, three times in the morning and three times at night. As one recites this prayer, saying the words, one has to dedicate the whole thing to sentient beings, one has to give up everything for sentient beings.

According to the tantra vows, as a tantric practitioner one always has to practice the pure view, always trying not to separate oneself from the pure view. With a pure view and pure thoughts, oneself has the pure form of the deity while the place is the mandala. One has to practice like this even if one has not got the stability of concentration, even if one has not generated the realization of the graduated path of generation, the first stage of the mahaanuttara yoga tantra path. In order to practice awareness, remembering the practice of the bodhisattva’s actions and the fundamental practice of tantra this prayer, the Six Session Yoga is recited three times in the morning and three times at night.

All the profound tantra practices are done on the basis of the bodhisattva’s practices, the practices of the bodhisattva’s holy actions. As you wish to achieve the state of omniscient mind in order to offer extensive benefit to all sentient beings, as you wish to train your mind in bodhicitta, it is very good to remember first, as I mentioned yesterday, where your enjoyments came from. They were received through so many mother sentient beings suffering or creating much negative karma. Remember their kindness and think that the sublime, greatest benefit for these sentient beings from whom I have received these enjoyments, and the greatest benefit for all other sentient beings, is nothing but the holy Dharma. Then generate the motivation of bodhicitta, thinking, “I must achieve the state of omniscient mind for these sentient beings and for everybody else, therefore I am going to make this food offering to the Buddha.”

I think I have mentioned once or twice the recent lineage lama of the teachings of the graduated path to enlightenment, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, the root guru of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s root gurus. One disciple was a certain Rinpoche. One day this lama came to make offerings of realizations to Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. I don’t remember if it was the first time this lama cane to see him, or if it was after having taken teachings from Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. I don’t remember exactly. However, when this lama came to see him, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo was having his meal. He was eating a particular, special Tibetan food, called pak. It is barley flour, or tsampa, mixed with Tibetan tea in a bowl. Rinpoche was having his meal and that other lama came to explain his achievements. He said, “I have achieved single-pointed concentration, I have accomplished this.” Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo answered, “Even if you have the realization of single-pointed concentration which lasts without any distractions for eons, there is no comparison between your realization and my eating one ball of tsampa.” (The way of eating this food is to mix the tsampa and tea together in your bowl, then roll it into small balls with your hands and eat it like that.) Rinpoche said, “The advantage of your realizations can’t compare to my one action of eating one ball of tsampa.”

This was Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo expressing his having the realization of bodhicitta. For beings such as bodhisattvas, even each single act of breathing, each movement of the body, each action of eating is done purely for others, without the slightest stain of the selfish attitude. Every single action becomes a cause to benefit and to free each and every sentient being from suffering and to lead them to omniscient mind. The bodhisattvas themselves also accumulate infinite merit equaling infinite space.

That other lama had the realization of single-pointed concentration, but there was no bodhicitta, so even if he does single-pointed concentration for one eon without any hindrances, he can’t even accomplish the merit that a bodhisattva achieves when he drinks one mouthful of tea that a bodhisattva accumulates by taking one drop of tea or one ball of tsampa. The amount of merit that a bodhisattva accumulates through just one action, another person, because of not having bodhicitta, can’t accomplish in a thousand eons, even though he has incredible realizations, like the five types of clairvoyance. It is also said in the sutra teachings that even if one makes offerings amounting to three thousand galaxies or worlds filled up with seven types of jewels to the buddhas equaling the number of sand grains of the river Ganges, for eons equaling the number of sand grains in the oceans, the merit that one has accumulated by making such offerings for such a number of eons to that many buddhas is much smaller than when a person simply puts his palms together at the heart thinking in his mind, “I will generate bodhicitta for the sake of all sentient beings.” The merit that this person accumulates in such a short time is so much greater than the merit received by the person who for so many eons made guru offerings, made offerings to the buddhas.

Before one starts making offerings to buddhas one should generate the motivation: at any rate, I must achieve the state of omniscient mind for the benefit of all the kind mother sentient beings, therefore I am going to make this food-offering to Buddha. Just by thinking this one accumulates unimaginable causes for happiness in such a short time. The merit would take up all space if it could be put into form. If the benefits, the merit materialized there would not be any space left.

Then you visualize according to whichever particular tantra practice you are doing, whether it is the particular method of the mahaanuttara yoga tantra practice or the kriya tantra practice. Those who do not do those particular practices can choose whichever deity, whichever aspect of Buddha that you feel closer to or that you want to practice. You practice that and then you visualize Chenrezig at your heart. Not as a statue, however. If you think that you have a statue of Chenrezig inside your heart you might get pain, besides “lung” or wind disease. If you visualize a statue inside your heart, instead of feeling bliss, you might feel discomfort. So, the omniscient mind of all the Buddhas or the great compassion of all the Buddhas has manifested in such an aspect, the holy body in the nature of light. Then in order to accumulate more merit one can visualize the plate or bowl as a jeweled pot and as big as this valley, as big as this earth. The food you visualize as nectar, as an ocean of nectar. If the food has a bad taste you don’t need to say, “I am offering this bad-tasting food.” The taste is nectar, the best, most delicious sweet taste, whatever is the best you can think of.

In the practice of offering it is best if one can practice awareness all the time while one is drinking or as one takes a spoonful of food, not just at the beginning. You are generating the motivation of bodhicitta: maybe you make offerings of one or two spoonfuls of food and then the rest is completely for the selfish attitude. At the beginning one or two spoonfuls for others, then the rest for me, most of the food for me. If possible one shouldn’t do it like that, but practice continuous awareness as much as possible in one’s meditation of offering. Each time you take the food you remember Chenrezig, thinking, “I am making offerings.” By doing it this way, even if you do the action of eating one thousand times, each spoonful becomes, first of all, the cause of happiness and virtue, and secondly, since it possesses the motivation of Bodhicitta each of these actions accumulates infinite merit, infinite luck or fortune.

If the food is delicious you eat as much as possible. If it is not delicious, then leave it. Eat a few spoonfuls and then leave it. I am joking.

For a person who is doing retreat, who is practicing meditation, and for those who are living in the Pratimoksha ordination, like monks or nuns, the quantity of food is explained in the Vinaya or the lam-rim teachings. If one overeats, taking much more than what is needed, it becomes the cause of disease and also one can’t do one’s practices. It causes sleep, sinking thoughts, and fogginess, which are the distractions of meditation. The conclusion is that during the breaks one should do whatever is most beneficial for the meditation session, and that which keeps one from generating realizations during the meditation sessions should be given up. The space in the stomach should be three quarters full. If you divide the stomach into four, then one quarter of the space should be left empty. Like that it is very comfortable and it causes less distraction of one’s meditation. Do the practices that are beneficial for generating realizations during the meditation sessions.

After having eaten you do the dedication. Again the dedication should not be done with the selfish attitude: If I don’t dedicate the merit it will be destroyed leaving me no happiness. If we use the words, “.... to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings,” it is extremely important that our attitude be as close to the words as possible, as sincere as possible. It is very good to think, “Whatever merit I have accumulated by making food offering, as well as all my three times merit and the merit of all sentient beings, I dedicate to others.” Each time we dedicate we think, “All this merit, every single happiness and its cause, every single temporal or ultimate happiness, including omniscient mind, however many good results there may be, may I not experience them. May the sentient beings receive this experience.” You completely give it, without the slightest expectation, to each narak being, each preta being, each animal being, each human being and each deva, to each of the sentient beings. Think, completely decide: They have got it, each of them has got it. Each of them has received the complete cause and the whole, complete result—happiness, perfection, whatever it is.

Then there is one dedication to achieve enlightenment for the sake of others. Don’t think that your first concern is for you to become enlightened, while the sentient beings are a secondary concern. Not like that. We may use the words, “.... to achieve the state of omniscient mind for the sake of others,” but if the attitude is to be first concerned about oneself and one’s own happiness thinking, “If I become enlightened I will have achieved my sublime happiness,” then again, that is a sign of cherishing oneself, and the dedication is done with more of a thought of cherishing oneself. The very first concern in the depth of one’s heart, the first thing to worry about should of course, all the time, be the welfare of others. The best is when in everyday life, all the time, one’s first, main concern is sentient beings. No matter what work or actions one is doing, the most important, the most urgent thoughts is the thoughts of others, the most precious ones are the sentient beings. Then yourself achieving enlightenment becomes a method to lead them into sublime happiness, the state of omniscient mind.

It is like this: a mother has ten children and the children are very weak because of not having enough food. The mother is also very weak and unable to work to support her children. So she eats more food so that when she gets healthy and strong she can work providing food for them. With an attitude like this one dedicates the merit to achieve the state of omniscient mind for the sake of all the kind mother sentient beings.

If possible you should also practice the unification of emptiness and dependent arising with such actions as eating food during break times; if one can’t do that then at least dependent arising. When you make offerings, you, yourself are merely labeled, the offering of food is also merely labeled, Buddha is merely labeled, the action of offering is merely labeled, and the dedication is also merely labeled, as I explained during the ordination. In this way, it doesn’t get stained. In this way, the practice doesn’t become the cause of enlightenment only through the motivation of bodhicitta but the action of eating food becomes a cause, a remedy to eliminate the root of samsara, the ignorance holding the “I” as truly existent. In this way, no matter how many hours one spends eating food, or drinking tea, one’s life becomes very rich, meaningful, and benefits all sentient beings. One has taken much essence in such a short time. This is my usual food offering prayer: “May I and all the surrounding beings never be separated from the triple gem in all our lifetimes, and may we always make offerings to the triple gem. May the blessings of the triple gem enter, flow into our minds.”

“All surrounding beings” means first of all the closer ones around us, those who worked for the food, the cooks and so forth, those who offered the food, if it is an organization or a center, then whoever offered that and all other sentient beings from whom this food came. Then come all the rest of the sentient beings, so the word “surrounding” includes everybody. “To never separate from the Triple Gem and to receive blessings.” “Blessings” doesn’t mean just water or something to eat. This “blessing” means the realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment. The blessings of the triple gem refers to all the qualities that the absolute Sangha has. “Absolute Sangha” means the whole path, that is, the Sangha of the Lesser Vehicle path and the Sangha of the Mahayana path—all the qualities of the bodhisattvas as well as the buddhas, the whole lam-rim from guru devotion up to enlightenment.

In order for us, the cooks, benefactors, and organizing people, all those who suffered and all other sentient beings to generate realizations, we depend on creating the cause. Without creating the cause all these realizations can’t happen—this is dependent on creating the cause. The cause of the realizations is making offerings to the Triple Gem. That is why the second prayer says, “May I and all others always be able to make offerings to the Triple Gem.” Praying for this opportunity to create the cause is an extremely important prayer. To have the opportunity to make offerings to the Triple Gem all the time depends on not separating from the Triple Gem; if one separates from the Triple Gem there is no such opportunity. Even on this earth, on this southern continent where there is BuddhaDharma, many human beings are separated from the Triple Gem, so there is no opportunity for them to accumulate merit or create the cause for realizations, namely making offerings.

Therefore, it is so important to have the opportunity to always be able to make offerings, for the sake of sentient beings, to the Triple Gem.

Whenever food is eaten, each time I consider saying this prayer is a great puja for the success of all sentient beings, the benefactors as well as all other sentient beings. In this way something gets done. There is less debt in this way, fewer karmic bills, at least.

After this comes a prayer which contains the whole practice of guru yoga, but there is no need to explain that one.

There are many other offering prayers that people do, but this is kind of my permanent prayer. My virtuous friend Geshe Sopa Rinpoche, who is professor at the University of Wisconsin, was saying this prayer quite often. In the beginning I didn’t think about the meaning. This is not a new prayer, but Geshe-la was saying it so somehow, later on I thought about the meaning. I thought it was very important because it involved other sentient beings, you see. The more I tried to imitate what Geshe-la said, the deeper I thought and saw more deeply how important each of the prayers is.

I think I stop here.

10 December, pm

Generally, when you do the offering practices, like making food offerings, or any kind of offering practice, the nature of the offering is generating bliss in the holy minds of the merit field, the buddhas. The guru-buddhas have the greatest bliss, there is no greater bliss to be experienced. The highest bliss that can be experienced they, the merit field, the guru-buddhas have, because they have completed the work of accumulating merit and purifying obscurations. There is no greater bliss left to be experienced for them. If we meditate like this, each time we do the practice of offering, it creates the cause to generate swiftly the profound, secret path, the shortcut path to enlightenment, within one’s mind. It creates the cause to realize the most skillful, profound mahaanuttara yoga tantra path, which grants enlightenment in one brief lifetime during these degenerate times. Without much difficulty, without taking much time one is able to become like the merit fields, the guru- buddhas, achieving the unified state of no more learning, the state of enlightenment. One’s mind can become of that nature.

Especially when one does tantra practices, the offering is a very essential part, a most important part of the meditation. It may not be revealing secrets to mention this. I think it is very important to remember whenever one does the practice of offering, whether one has taken initiations or not, whether one practices tantra or not. Each time you do the practice of offering food think that Chenrezig, who is abiding at your heart, generates unimaginable bliss.

If we consider number, what are called “others” are uncountable. Even by that reasoning one must cherish others. What is called “I,” that is just one, that is oneself, so it becomes insignificant when compared to others, it gets completely lost. No matter how many great problems one has or how happy one is, it is nothing. No matter how many problems there are for oneself, like not having found a job for months and months, even for years, or having problems with relationships, like separation, no matter how hard one’s life is, no matter how many great problems there are, even if one is in mortal danger; or no matter how much happiness one has, still, what is called “I” is only one, it gets completely lost. When you think of the need for happiness for uncountable others, and the sufferings of all these uncountable others, oneself is nothing, it is nothing important, it gets completely lost.

Even if there are billion sentient beings who are happy, it is too little. Even if there are a billion, a trillion sentient beings who are happy, the number is too small, there is the fault of the number being too small. Likewise, even if there are one or two who are suffering, there is that fault, in regard to others, of being too many. Concerning others, that is too many.

Now we can look at how many shortcomings there are in taking the side of the selfish attitude. How much advantage and profit there is and how many shortcomings there are, what the advantages are that one can receive by taking the side of the selfish attitude. In regard to the shortcomings, the harm that the selfish attitude gives oneself is to destroy one’s happiness. The selfish attitude is like a butcher who takes the life of liberation. By following the selfish attitude anger rises. If somebody acts against your selfish attitude, turns out to be against your selfish attitude and the happiness that it is seeking, anger arises. Like this the selfish attitude cuts off the life of liberation, it doesn’t let oneself generate the path to liberation. The selfish attitude is like a thief, stealing, taking away all the merit that one accumulated with much effort.

What causes one to be reborn in the six realms, experiencing the various, particular sufferings of each realm, is the selfish attitude. What in the human realm causes us to experience the sufferings of rebirth, disease, old age death, and what causes us to experience the particular sufferings of each of the other realms, is the selfish attitude. All this is caused by the karma accumulated through disturbing thoughts that came from the selfish attitude. All the particular sufferings of the six realms came from this selfish attitude.

Then, the problems of this life. For example, even though one has accumulated wealth, having properties, money, and material possessions, one is without the opportunity to enjoy it all. As soon as you receive it you lose it. Then there is the poverty of the means of living, of material possessions. One’s life is always full of hardships, all the time. No matter how much one tries to do business, to become rich and comfortable, one never succeeds. One is always in great debt, which doubles and triples. There are many people living like that in many different countries—their whole life, day and night, is like that. You may have thousands and thousands of ideas of your own, and also ask others people, or look in books to get ideas for obtaining your means of living, for the happiness of this life. But somehow, no matter how much you try, nothing works. You always fall flat on your face. Life is so hard. Your wishes are never fulfilled even though in regard to having ideas one is really smart, having so many billions of good ideas. These kinds of experiences are again the shortcoming of the selfish attitude that one had in the past, the selfish attitude of being concerned only for the happiness of oneself.

One’s misfortunes of this life are due to one’s disturbing thoughts, such as covetousness and ill-will, disturbing others, and not allowing others’ wishes to be fulfilled. They are due to oneself not having given help to others, or having kept others from accomplishing their works.

Some people always get robbed wherever they go, so many times their things like visas, passports, or money get stolen. This is experiencing the result similar to the cause. The completion of the negative karma of stealing has four results, and this is that of experiencing the result similar to the cause. Some people always steal. No matter how many times during his life such a person may get beaten up, no matter how many times he gets into trouble, is caught by the police, still he can’t control himself. So many times this thought to steal somehow comes and he just runs after it, it is so difficult to control. It is giving him trouble again and again, without any purpose. Life becomes expensive.

Another result of the negative karma of stealing is living in places where there is no water. One has to live in a place where there are many hardships, much drought and famine, much scarcity of food, where life is very hard. One way of saying it is that this is the possessed result of the negative karma of stealing. There will also be much fighting, many dangers to one’s life. All these troubles and hardships are the results of the negative karma of stealing done with the selfish attitude. This is just one example related to the result of one particular negative karma that was done in the past with a selfish attitude.

If the actions of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, telling lies, slandering, gossiping, and speaking harshly are done with bodhicitta they are not negative karma, but virtuous karma. They give the complete opposite result. We cannot comprehend the result or the advantages of these actions done with bodhicitta, without the slightest expectation of happiness for oneself, actually done purely for the sake of others, with incredible dedication. The bodhisattva thinks: I will do this even if I have to be in the heaviest, unceasing suffering state, the hot naraks, being oneness with fire for eons equaling the number of drops in the Atlantic Ocean. Even if, for the sake of others, for uncountable numbers of eons one doesn’t experience the slightest happiness, only the greatest sufferings that exist in samsara, one gladly accepts these sufferings in order to able to guide others from the sufferings of the lower realms, to guide them from samsara.

A bodhisattva has a hundred thousand times greater compassion for the person who is creating negative karma than does that person for himself. The bodhisattva’s compassion for that person is a hundred thousand times greater than the compassion the person who is creating negative karma by harming others for the sake of his happiness has for himself. The bodhisattva has an incredible amount of love and compassion toward that evil-doer, that sentient being who is creating so much negative karma through harming others.

One of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s biographies tells how, when he was bodhisattva, he was the leader of a group of five hundred traders who were traveling by ship. There was one man among them called “Short human body” who was having bad ideas. (Many times on television and in the movies they show a group of people traveling by train or by ship. Then they show one person having bad ideas of harming the people inside the train or ship.) This person was planning to kill all the other traders. The leader of the traders, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha in a past life as a bodhisattva, knew about those bad intentions to kill all these people, knew what he was thinking. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha thought that if he let him kill all these people, that person would have to suffer in the lower realms for an incredible number of eons. It would also cause the others to have short lives and much suffering. By seeing the negative karma this person was going to create and by thinking of all the suffering he would be causing others, unbelievable compassion was generated in Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s holy mind. He couldn’t stand it that this person was going to create such negative karma. He thought, “I will experience the negative karma, whatever it is, I will experience all that, and may he be freed from all those negative karmas and their results of sufferings.” Then, with unbelievable bodhicitta, renouncing himself, and cherishing others, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha killed this person called “Short Human Body.” What happened as a result of having exchanged himself for others, of having killed that person, besides not being reborn in the lower realms for even a second—was that it caused the bodhisattva to stay in samsara a shorter time by one hundred thousand eons. It only became the cause to achieve enlightenment more quickly.

So there is a big difference. If actions such as these are done with this attitude, with such incredibly strong bodhicitta, exchanging oneself for others, it only causes one to be free from samsara sooner instead of being the cause to remain in samsara longer. If we develop the mind it becomes better and better. After some time we can transform the mind that is in the indifferent state. Even though it is difficult to transform this state into virtue now, later we’ll have more control in transforming the indifferent thoughts into virtue. And after some time even those negative actions that are so difficult now to transform into virtue, even those become virtue through the graduated progression of the good heart.

One should think of the shortcomings of the selfish attitude and of the problems that are the results of the ten non-virtuous actions. It will become clear to one’s understanding that each particular problem we have now came from a particular negative karma that was accumulated with a selfish attitude even in this life.

You have meditated several times on the shortcomings of the selfish attitude, but now without thinking of the past, without relating to past lives’ selfish attitude, see how the problems are coming from the very close selfish attitude. Today’s problems are coming from today’s selfish attitude, each everyday problem is coming from each day’s selfish attitude, from the very close one that you can see.

During these times, in this era, all over the world everybody is in fear because of atomic danger. They have much fear and worry, and a lot of meetings, whether they are beneficial or not. For thousands of years countries have been fighting so much and still they are continuing those stories, still kind of going on and on, back and forth. However, all these world problems, even the problems between teachers and students in the colleges and universities, between different parties or different districts within one’s country, are caused by the selfish attitude. There are many places where due to much disharmony, there is fighting between two areas, two villages, between two families, two people, or even between two tiny ants. The whole thing, the whole problem is caused by the selfish attitude. There is always much fighting between the employees and the workers and also between the top people in the government and in the rest of the population. There are so many strikes, bombings, and killings. Banks, shopping centers, and bridges that were built by sentient beings with much hardship are all destroyed in one minute. It is very clear how all these problems came completely from selfish attitude.

Take, for example, a couple who are always fighting, ten, fifteen times a day. Every five minutes there is something happening. That amount of disharmony is so much dependent on the selfish attitude—the fighting and all their problems are dependent on this. If either the husband or the wife develops a less selfish attitude, sacrificing more for the other, there will be more peace. If one of them, say the husband, gives up, renounces himself more in favor of the other person, giving up his happiness for her happiness, there will be that much harmony. If he gives up his selfish attitude, how he likes things, how he wants to travel, how he wants to keep the house, how he wants the food to be cooked—the more he gives them up for the other person the more harmony there will be. Even if the other person’s mind doesn’t change, even if her selfish attitude is getting bigger, still his attitude is changing. If one wants harmony, if one wants to live together, if one wants to have peace in that relationship and happiness in this life, one should sacrifice oneself for that person—it is dependent on that. As much as one is able to sacrifice for that person one has that much happiness. It is dependent. For the husband who has made the sacrifice there is that much happiness; also for her, even though her selfish attitude doesn’t change.

Of course, there is no question if both practice subduing their minds, sacrificing for each other. As long as the selfish attitude becomes more and more solid from both sides there will be no peace, not even for a minute. It is like living in the naraks on the red-hot burning iron ground or in the red hot burning house. No matter how beautiful the house, no matter how much luxury and comfort there is, how many bedrooms, showers or swimming-pools there are, life is like living among thorns. You put many thorns inside a hole and then you live inside that.

If you are concerned about helping your friends or your parents, the best way is to change your selfish attitude. This is the best way to benefit them, to bring happiness into their lives. For all sentient beings this is of utmost importance.

11 December, am

Eight Mahayana Precepts

So many of the people who were born on this earth on the same day that I was born, who were born on my birthday, have already died. I am fortunate not to have died quickly, like them. I should think that I am highly fortunate because of having been able to meet the BuddhaDharma. Actually the most special time, the day of the greatest celebration is the day that one meets the Dharma, the day that one hears the BuddhaDharma for the very first time in this life. That is the greatest festival day. So far, from birth until now the most important, the most auspicious, special day in one’s life was the day one started to hear the infallible teachings of Buddha, started to open one’s Dharma wisdom that discriminates between what to practice and what to renounce and avoid.

Think that for the number of minutes, hours, days, months, or years that are left I must make this life and this body, qualified with eight freedoms and ten richnesses, highly meaningful but not separate from the practice of the two bodhicittas: the bodhicitta of the obscuring truth and wisdom of shunyata, the absolute bodhicitta.

From the time of birth until now my life has been in danger many times, so many times I almost died. At such and such a time, in such and such a place I almost died. Many times my life was in danger through disease or through living in dangerous places and so forth, but I did not completely die.

My life is so fragile. If it was a machine it could be repaired, it could be fixed even if it was broken down and stopped doing its functions. It could be repaired, could be made to work again. But not so with the body. The body is so delicate, so fragile, it is incredibly easy for death to happen. When we say, “I am alive, I am well,” what we call being alive and being able to work and to practice the holy Dharma is just referring to having this breath coming inside the body and going out again. It is only because of the breath doing this function that we call ourselves “healthy” or “alive.” There is nothing solid, just this air or breath going out and coming in. If you think how our lives, our being alive or not, is dependent on this fragile breath doing its function, you can see there is no freedom to choose how long your life is going to last. We don’t have power over the breath and its function of going out and coming in. We can’t say, “I want to have my breath doing its function for a thousand years, for a billion, trillion years, for hundreds of eons.” How long one is going to live is not up to oneself, it is up to the breath and how long it is going to do its function. It is completely dependent on this breath which is nothing solid, which is very weak. The function of the breath going out and coming in can stop any minute. Even though we believe this life to be permanent and independent, even though we believe that it is going to last for many years, it is in fact so fragile, so very uncertain. Just by thinking of this very weak breath we see that life is nothing definite.

Our happiness beyond this life up to enlightenment is dependent on each life, which again is dependent on each breath coming in and going out. All happiness beyond this life up to omniscient mind is completely dependent on what we do, how we live our lives, while breathing in and breathing out. Think, “During each breath I am going to practice the two bodhicittas without wasting my time.”

The great, highly attained, learned Lama Kuntansang gives this advice regarding the nature of life— impermanence and death. If, while one has the freedom one does not seize the everlasting happiness, if one is unable to make it, then it is going to be extremely difficult for the mind to be happy at the time when the breath stops going out and coming in. When this happens it is so difficult for the mind to be happy. This means that if one can’t make it to nirvana, cannot approach the ultimate happiness, the state of omniscient mind, while there is freedom, while one’s breath is doing its function, it is going to be difficult to be happy at the time of death. One should at least catch up a little bit, begin to see, have one’s mind approach the beginning of the path to nirvana, the bodhisattva’s path to omniscient mind. If one doesn’t try to prepare to generate the path to omniscient mind while one has the freedom, while one is still breathing, then once the breath stops, when the time comes that the breath went out and is not coming back in again, it is finished, the time or opportunity of this life is finished. At that time no matter how much the thought rises, no matter how much repentance there is about not having practiced Dharma during one’s life, no matter how much repentance there is about having accumulated negative karma, it is too late. At death time, due to karma, fear naturally arises because of various fearful karmic visions, even though one may not have accepted karma during one’s life.

A disciple of one of the Kadampa geshes caused disharmony among the Sangha of his monastery, and had heresy towards his guru, something or other that he did not purify before he dies. When he was dying, the whole monastery caught on fire and fell on top of his body. He had the fearful karmic vision of the whole monastery being on fire falling on top of him, and he screamed so much about what he was suffering.

One man from Katmandu died not so long ago, maybe two or three years ago. He lived his life making a business of selling holy objects, statues and texts. He became wealthy from doing business with holy objects. His food, clothes, and house he obtained with the money that he made from his business. Just before he died, during his last months in hospital, the doctors couldn’t do anything for him. His stomach was huge, exactly as is explained in the teachings about the shape of the pretas, huge. He couldn’t eat any food the whole day, but every twenty minutes he would have a tiny drop of water. He had so much thirst, feeling so thirsty. Although he was so wealthy, able to afford whatever food or drink he could wish for, now he had no choice—only water, and even the water he couldn’t drink freely, just one tiny drop. He would ask for food and get one tiny drop of water in his mouth, and this he’d swallow very slowly. Of course it wouldn’t help, couldn’t do anything—his stomach was huge, this tiny drop couldn’t quench his thirst. Then after some minutes again he’d ask for more water. He had just enough fortune to have water coming, he was at least fortunate enough to get one drop of water. No doctors could do anything except come to the hospital and put their hands on his stomach, I think nothing else. When he returned to his house and tried to climb the stairs it took him one hour, and he was in such incredible pain that people had to support him. Just before he died he saw many ants coming through the windows and doors. Wherever there was a hole, crowds of ants were coming from all over and onto his bed. His bed was full of ants. No matter how much he shouted, no matter how much he screamed to the servants that he was being bitten by ants, no matter how much the people surrounding him tried to shake the bed, his sheets and covers, it didn’t help. Because they didn’t have the karmic view to see the ants, for them there was not one single ant on his bed, but for him the bed was full of ants—all over his body he was being bitten by ants. The servants had to keep the doors and windows closed and the room completely dark. In the end he couldn’t speak and was living in a completely dark room. He died in a hospital in Delhi.

Last year so many human beings on this earth died. If I had died last year, maybe by now I would have been reborn as an animal, as those long worms that are left half eaten by birds. If it was like that what could one do? There would be no opportunity at all to practice Dharma. Many human beings died last night and are by now suffering in the naraks, experiencing the cold or hot sufferings, oneness with the ice or oneness with the fire on the hot, burning iron-ground—experiencing their own karmic vision. If I had died last night I could have been reborn like those who are in the cold naraks, in the suffering state of the narak realms. Even the cold here in the human realm I cannot bear. Now I am trying to avoid worldly works, to practice the holy Dharma and to achieve the state of omniscient mind for the benefit of sentient beings. If I am born in this suffering realm, what can I do? I shall have no freedom to practice Dharma.

Death could happen this year. Think that death is definitely going to happen this year, this month, this week—think that death is definitely going to happen even today. As Lama Tsongkhapa said in the lam-rim teachings, “By thinking that I am going to die today, if one does die today it is extremely good because one will have done some preparation for the happiness of future lives. And if death does not happen today, it is also good.”

Think, “My death is definite to happen even today, so the rest of the hours, minutes or seconds that are left I shall use to practice the two truths of bodhicitta. In this way I am going to make my life meaningful and highly beneficial for all sentient beings.” Think, “As Guru Shakyamuni Buddha did, I am going to take the Mahayana ordination in order to lead each and every sentient being into the path to enlightenment.”

The Ceremony

At the end of the third repetition, please generate great rejoicing within your heart because of having the opportunity to receive the ordination, understanding and recognizing the incredible opportunity you have to create incredible merit during these twenty-four hours until sunrise. These are unimaginable causes for both temporal and ultimate happiness and perfection. “For the sake of all that lives—” When we say this we should particularly remember the enemy, the person who dislikes, criticizes, and treats us badly. Remember all those who are sick with cancer, heart attack, leprosy, and so forth. So many sick people don’t have any medicine, they have to live with pain. Remember all the sufferings of sentient beings, and also their future sufferings from mental or physical sicknesses.

Oneself, the person who dedicates, is merely labeled, the merit is merely labeled, the enlightenment for which we dedicate the merit is merely labeled, and the sentient beings for whom we dedicate the merit are also merely labeled. With this practice of awareness, please dedicate the merits by thinking of the meaning of the prayer.

11 December, pm

As the great bodhisattva Shantideva said in the Bodhicaryavatara, “If one does not exchange oneself for others, one can’t achieve the state of omniscient mind, and even while living in samsara there is no pleasure.”

Leaving aside life beyond this, even the works of this life don’t get accomplished, because the servants don’t work and the masters don’t pay the wages. What the great bodhisattva Shantideva is saying is that as long as we don’t change the mind, exchanging the mind of cherishing ourselves with the mind of cherishing others, it is impossible to achieve enlightenment. As long as this mind is not changed there is no hope. Even if one practices the most secret, most profound, quick path, the path of the secret mantra, even if one is practicing the fourth tantra, the mahaanuttara yoga tantra, for uncountable eons, even if one understands and practices the complete teachings, still there is no hope of achieving enlightenment. As long as this mind is not changed there is no hope of achieving enlightenment, there is no hope of accomplishing extensive works for other sentient beings. Let alone achieving enlightenment, even while one is in samsara there is no happiness.

If one does not make some change in the mind, if one does not change the selfish attitude but always follows it, then even while one is in samsara one can’t accomplish the temporal pleasures that one is seeking. The laborers or servants, by following the selfish attitude, don’t do their work and their employers or masters, by following the selfish attitude, don’t give wages. They have dissatisfied minds that are under the control of the selfish attitude. The dissatisfied mind rises, wanting more and more, but the workers do not receive their wages, no matter how much they appeal. Also the other way around. The employer, or the master, by being under the control of the selfish attitude, is not paying the wages, so then the servants are not working either. Their wishes don’t get fulfilled, so they have many problems. Their wishes don’t get fulfilled because of their selfish attitude. The employers and the laborers, or servants, because of their selfish attitude, don’t even accomplish the temporal pleasures they are seeking.

These are not the only problems that come from the selfish attitude of this life. All the problems of strikes, of human beings killing each other, criticizing each other, experiencing much unhappiness and no happiness in the mind, as well as no comfort of the body—all are due to the past karma accumulated from the selfish attitude.

I think this is extremely important. When one works for others, doing a job for others, one’s attitude makes a big difference to the happiness of the mind each day. Maybe one does the work and lives one’s life like this: in the morning one gets up with the selfish attitude thinking only, “... my happiness, when shall I be happy?” When one washes, again, “My happiness. If I don’t wash I will be uncomfortable, I will be unhappy.” By thinking “my happiness,” even when washing the body you do it for the sake of the self. When eating breakfast again one is thinking “my happiness,” keeping one’s happiness in the depths of the heart, in the very inside of the depths of the heart. Then one gets dressed thinking again “my happiness” from the depths of the heart. One gets into the car thinking, “My happiness. If I am late, if I lose my job, I lose my happiness.” Thinking “I, I, I” all the time, constantly cherishing the self. Like this one is keeping busy all morning, completely following this selfish attitude. There is nothing except “my happiness,” kept in the depths of one’s heart.

While one is working in the office, again it is the same thing, one completely follows the selfish attitude. No matter how many hours the work takes, five or eight hours, whether one is translating or writing letters sitting on the chair with machines like calculators or computers in front, whether one is teaching languages or whatever the work is, it is done purely and completely by following the selfish attitude. One goes home by car with the selfish attitude of going to rest, or going to a party, or to see a movie, or whatever. One goes home with a completely selfish attitude. After one reaches the house, whatever enjoyments one has in the evening, eating dinner or whatever, are done completely following, completely according to the selfish attitude. If one cooks a meal, it is done purely with a selfish attitude. Whatever actions one does during one day—eating, walking, sleeping—the whole twenty-four hours all are done completely with a selfish attitude. The whole thing, the main, principal good is “My happiness. May I be happy!” This is in the very depths of the heart, nothing else is more important than this.

As you have recognized, so far your whole life has been a complete slave of the selfish attitude, of the mara, the selfish attitude. Unceasingly, one has been experiencing problems, one after another because of this. You should try to understand all these problems.

When there are no more jobs, aggression, depression, and nervous breakdowns happen. When there is no more income, when the master, the employer loses his funds, or when his business collapses and he can no longer pay the wages, there is no more money coming in. Nobody forces you to have a nervous breakdown or go crazy, but because of following the selfish attitude one makes oneself depressed. One makes one’s life expensive. One has to go to see psychiatrists or psychologists, paying twenty-six dollars, seventy-six, or even one hundred dollars for a few minutes, whether it is beneficial or not, whether it is worthwhile or not, whether the psychiatrist’s words are beneficial and solve any problems or not. One has to keep many bottles of medicine around one’s bed or in the bathroom in case a heart attack comes, for the comfort of ones’ body and for one’s peace of mind. One makes one’s life very costly, very expensive. All this is the mistake of following the selfish attitude.

I remember very clearly what Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen said in the teaching, The Admiration of Bodhicitta. He said that in our everyday life, from the early morning, we should try to do the practice of the five powers, which contains all the essential practices of the Mahayana path. All the practices of the Mahayana teachings are abbreviated and summarized in the five powers. With the first power, the attitude is to make determination about one’s life, about the way to live or to dedicate one’s life. Right after one wakes up from sleep one makes a determination about one’s life. “From this moment until I achieve enlightenment or until death time, especially in this life, especially this year, especially this month, especially today I will remember to keep bodhicitta in my heart. In the same way that we harbor harms given by enemies, keeping them in our hearts and always remembering them, like that I will keep bodhicitta in my heart.”

When we point to somebody as an enemy, we recognize him as an interferer who disturbs and harms our life. There is no use in harboring the harms given by the outside enemy in our hearts. There is no use in this, only harm. This harboring is only harmful to oneself, there is no single benefit. Instead of this, what we should harbor, what we should keep in the mind, always remembering and always being aware of, are all the harms and shortcomings that the selfish attitude has given us from beginningless rebirths until now, from our birth until now. Even now it harms us, never giving any peace, any relaxation. By remembering that all the previous problems that you can see clearly came from the selfish attitude think, “If I follow the selfish attitude in the future it will continuously give me problems, it will continuously torture me.” Those are the shortcomings of the selfish attitude that are explained in the teachings.

In everyday life one can do the practice of exchanging oneself for others. In everyday life according to what degree one is able to feel the selfish attitude as unbearable, according to what degree one is able to see the shortcomings of the selfish attitude, how it is continuously torturing oneself and not giving oneself any peace, one can see the advantages of cherishing others. To be able to do this is so dependent on to what extent one sees others as precious, important, or kind. Each day of one’s life all the actions that are dedicated for other sentient beings become a cause for achieving the state of omniscient mind. The more one realizes things the more one’s actions of everyday life will possess bodhicitta.

When one does a job one should know that it is extremely important to think of the happiness of others rather than harboring thoughts of happiness for oneself. Even if one doesn’t think of all sentient beings, at least one should think of the company or organization for whom one is working. “As I need happiness, they also need happiness. As I do not wish suffering neither do they, exactly the same.” Remember the shortcomings and problems of the selfish attitude and the benefits of cherishing others. Remember the kindness of the employers who gave you the job, from whom you get money and your enjoyments. Thinking the usual thought, “I am working so hard for them,” thinking that I am kind to them, sort of, is a wrong attitude. It is of no use. You should think the other way around—that by their giving me a job I have all this physical comfort and happiness of mind. I have these enjoyments through their kindness. Like this, remember the kindness of others. Motivate to achieve enlightenment for the sake of these people for whom you are working as well as for the sake of all other sentient beings.

These sentient beings are also among the sentient beings for whom I have generated bodhicitta. Instead of running with the thought of “my happiness!” when you get up from bed or when you leave the house to go to work, instead of going with that thought, go with the thought from the heart to obtain happiness for them. Even if one can’t generate the extensive thought for all sentient beings, one should keep in mind the people for whom one is going to work. Think, “I am going to obtain happiness for these sentient beings.” While one is working in the office one should remember again and again, “I am working to obtain happiness and perfection for these sentient beings.” Feel happiness in the heart. “How fortunate I am! How lucky I am to be able to benefit them and to make myself useful, to make my body, speech, and mind that useful.” If your business or job is talking, when you are making your speech, think at least whatever skill you possess is being used to dedicate for the happiness of sentient beings. If your job is to create ideas you should think in a similar way. Remember again and again that you are working to obtain happiness for them, and feel happy that your body, speech, and mind are able to offer at least that much benefit and happiness. “How wonderful it is to have the opportunity to be even that useful to them. Even if I am unable to bring them into the sublime happiness now, into the state of omniscient mind, at least I am able to offer them service and benefit them so that they obtain at least this small comfort and pleasure. How good it is!” In this way there is great peace in the mind all the time since you don’t think of your own happiness so much, since you think more of the happiness of others. Even if one can’t make a complete exchange of oneself with others, one doesn’t have the slightest selfish attitude.

Concerning the thought of the happiness of oneself and the happiness of others, in one’s heart one should be thinking that the happiness of others is more important than one’s own happiness. If one lives life and does one’s job with at least this attitude, there is great peace in the mind, relaxation, the nature of the mind is very tranquil and calm, never solid, painful, and uncomfortable. If we cherish others with this kind of attitude we are very happy. Even in the morning one is getting up with a very happy mind, a very relaxed mind. Also while one is working, all the time there is great relaxation, there is much happiness in one’s life and one has a good outward manifestation. As the mind is happy, one’s appearance also becomes happy. When the mind is completely overwhelmed by the selfish attitude generating these various disturbing thoughts, even the external form turns ugly, upsetting people in the family or in the office, even people in the road. Even if one is well-dressed, even if physically one usually has a beautiful body, because of one’s strong selfish attitude and arising disturbing thoughts, one’s body looks ugly. Anybody who sees your face notices that you are very aggressive, they can see it. Just seeing such a person’s body while passing him on the road shows you what his life is like. He may be driving an expensive car and receiving a high salary, but still from that person’s appearance you can see that he is kind of living in the naraks. People who see him become upset and unhappy.

If one lives one’s life doing one’s work with the attitude to benefit others, with the mind that is happy to be able to benefit others, even from the outside one looks kind of very peaceful with a smiling, happy aspect so that it makes the people around you also happy—in the family, in the office or wherever, it gives others pleasure.

When you benefit others then pray, dedicating the merits. “Now I have worked to obtain temporal pleasures for them, may doing this become the cause for me as quickly as possible to be able to reveal the path of omniscient mind to sentient beings and bring them to the state of omniscient mind.”

If one is working for the family, taking care of the wife and ten, fifteen children as well as the animals—cows and dogs—one’s attitude in everyday life should be the same as I explained, like the attitude you have when you go to work for others outside the home. Even if one has a hard time, experiencing many hardships while working to take care of one’s family, it should be with the same attitude. During times of personal problems, since there is no other alternative, since these are the results of past karma created by oneself, since there is no other way to manage, instead of thinking, “I have to work so hard, no time to meditate, no time to do this or that practice,” one should feel happy. If one has a particular problem and there is no alternative, no other way to manage, instead of living one’s life depressed about one’s work and lifestyle, making oneself suffer, torturing oneself, one should make oneself happy. One should feel oneself lucky, as it is in fact true, when seeing that we have that much capability to benefit that many sentient beings. Depending on how many people there are in the family, one is able to benefit that many sentient beings.

It is extremely beneficial for the mind again and again to remember this quotation from the Bodhicaryavatara, especially when one is leading a life of working for the organization, working for the centers, whether the work is Dharma or physical work, whatever the work may be, in one’s family or whatever. These words are very effective, very useful—they are real medicine to relieve the diseases of the mind, the worries and fears, depressions, aggressions and all dissatisfactory minds. I’ll just explain this quotation and then I’ll stop.

“Like the accomplished mantra, the wish-granting vase, and the wish-granting tree: like the great elements, the earth and so on, as well as the sky, my I become forever the foundation of the means of living for sentient beings.”

“The accomplished mantra.” Someone who has accomplished a mantra, maybe Chenrezig’s mantra, who has recited one hundred million of this mantra, can do so many actions, such as pacifying actions. One can pacify disease in oneself and others and one can pacify hindrances. One can do the actions of controlling. Whatever one needs one has the control over it to be able to receive it. When practicing Dharma, doing the works for sentient beings, one can do the actions of increasing life and fortune, many such things. One can also do wrathful actions. One can accomplish these various actions by reciting mantras. The bodhisattvas pray to become beneficial for sentient beings, eliminating their sufferings, obtaining happiness for them in the same way as the accomplished mantra is powerful and accomplished.

“Like a wish-granting vase.” You might have seen a movie of this yogi, Sai Baba, who takes white dust or powder from a pot. Like he does, by putting one's hand into a wish-granting vase, one is able to extract whatever material possessions one may wish for. One prays to become beneficial in the way a wish-granting vase is beneficial, granting sentient beings whatever they need. Like a mantra, like a wish-granting vase. It is the same thing with the wish-granting tree. By praying to it sentient beings can receive any enjoyment, whatever they need. One prays to be able to offer them enjoyments in the same way.

Then earth. Earth is used in many different ways. The four elements are completely in the hands of, completely under the control of sentient beings. Whatever way they want to use them is completely up to them. The earth is used by human beings as a foundation to live on and to build their houses from. We make roads on the earth and we make the earth into many different shapes. Earth is made round or square, in different shapes according to what sentient beings wish. The shape it is going to take is completely in the hands of sentient beings. The earth is used as material for sentient beings’ houses and for many other different purposes. One prays that one’s own life, one’s own three doors, can become beneficial for others in exactly the same way that the earth is beneficial for sentient beings. In the same way that earth is utilized by sentient beings for their means of living and their happiness, for them to grow food or build factories, being the foundation for so many perfections, exactly like earth oneself becomes beneficial—to be utilized, to be completely used by sentient beings. It is not up to oneself how one is going to be used, it is up to the sentient beings, in the same way that they use earth and other elements. Like that, one’s life doesn’t belong to oneself, but to others, to be used according to their wants; how he or she, how they, the sentient beings, want to use it for their happiness and their means of living. It is not up to oneself, but up to the sentient beings. Completely dedicate like this.

Similar to earth, water helps sentient beings survive. It is utilized to eliminate hunger and thirst, to hinder those sufferings and to obtain happiness. It is used for their survival. Water is used in many different ways and it is up to sentient beings to decide how it is going to be used—if it is going to be brought up or down or whatever. Like the water, oneself is dedicated completely to be used by sentient beings. One becomes like fire, being completely used by sentient beings to obtain happiness in many different ways. Like air. The air is used in so many different ways, it is used by sentient beings to survive. In a similar way, one completely becomes an object to be used by sentient beings. Then sky. It is also used by sentient beings to obtain their happiness, for traveling, for movement in many different ways.

One should pray to become an object to be used by sentient beings for their every comfort, for whatever they need. And that is not just for one day, not just one minute, not just one hour, not just one year, not just for one life, but for all times, forever. The self becomes an object to be completely used by sentient beings forever. This is how the great bodhisattva Shantideva prayed, and this is also how the bodhisattvas of all times have dedicated their lives to sentient beings. It is how they feel and how they wish to dedicate. Even though one doesn’t become earth, doesn’t become water, doesn’t become fire, the wish is this incredible dedication or will, the will of the brave mind to suffer for others; the prayer or wish is like this.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama all the time emphasizes, “This is what I pray all the time and this is also what I practice.” Often when His Holiness gives teachings, or even when giving public talks for Tibetan people, His Holiness says this. We should imitate this even if we don’t feel that great a dedication from the heart now. We should at least train in the words, at least pray with the words, try to imitate them; then gradually through this, by dedicating the merits our minds gradually, sooner or later become able to transform into bodhicitta, exchanging oneself for others. One acquires the brave mind of the bodhisattvas.

This Bodhicaryavatara quotation is the main thing to think about when there is no other alternative. Since one has to do this job, since one’s lifestyle is such, with a family, or center, or whatever, it is something to think many times, again and again, especially when one has many problems.

Yes, I stop here.

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