THE EMPTINESS OF TIME
[Question precedes lecture]

Beginningless time? I see, you want to know about beginningless time. [Rinpoche laughs]

Beginningless time. In what sense, beginningless time? Beginningless—beginningless time you are sitting there? [Rinpoche laughs] You are sitting on the Kopan gompa floor, the beginningless time of that?

How do I explain? Is there past, present? Do you accept past, present, future? Is there past, present, future? Okay. So you accept past, yes? When did the past begin? When did the past begin?

Student: At the beginning.

Rinpoche: So it had a beginning. The past had a beginning. Where did it begin? When did the past start?

Student: At the end.

Rinpoche: At the end of what?

[Response inaudible; Rinpoche laughs]

If there is always past and present, there is always present, there is always past. So if there is always present, there is always past, so there is the future. Did the past occur? Yes, the past is existing, as is a future. If there is a past, there is always a future? Yes? Do you accept that? Okay. So, any phenomenon that has past, it has future. Your being at Kopan, your existence at Kopan. Let’s see. When are you leaving? [Rinpoche laughs] December 28th. Okay, December 28th.

Let’s say you are leaving December 28th in the early morning. Early in the morning, right? So the last of your time, the last of your existence, your being at Kopan, that has passed just before you leave, just before your holy body departs, leaves this mountain, leave this monastery or whatever, leaves this place. That’s the very last of your existence at Kopan. So that has past and present. The very last minute you’re existing at Kopan. Does that have future? Does that existence, does that have future? You have future, but what I’m saying is that’s not the question. The question is, does your existence, your being at Kopan, does that have future? You know, the last minute of your being at Kopan. That is existent. That is existent, yeah? So does that also have a future? What is that future?

I am saying, still you are existing at Kopan. Still you are at Kopan. While your body’s away from Kopan, are you still at Kopan? [Rinpoche laughs] Yeah, I am planning to come to that topic. So anyway, the last minute of your being at Kopan, right? So that’s the last minute, then that means after a minute you’re not at Kopan, yeah? Because your body is away from Kopan. So that doesn’t have future, that existence. There is no continuation of that existence. So it has no future. That existence has no future. 

So the reason is that if things had a past, they don’t necessarily have a future. A particular phenomena which had past, does not necessarily have a future. Not necessarily. Agreed?

[Response inaudible]

What? You are thinking of a word, you are thinking of a word for that? You are looking for a word for that. Not beginningless. It’s like this. Without the mind labeling, without the mind labeling “beginningless,” beginningless time does not exist. So therefore, “beginningless” is not just labeled by the mind, but it’s merely labeled by the mind.

Student: So past, present, and future are merely labeled by the mind?

Rinpoche: Oh, yes, yes. So, it doesn’t make sense. The point is, it doesn’t matter. What is coming to the point is that it’s empty. Past, present and future is empty. Empty of the way we think. They’re empty, empty of the way we believe, the way we apprehend, as something real appearing from there, from its own side.

THE POWER AND BENEFITS OF BODHICITTA
I am not sure but my guess is, if you have the attitude, the motivation of the shepherd, if you have that attitude, generally in daily life you give the first priority to others, then you yourself go last. I would say living our life with this attitude itself, in reality, has the power of great purification and accumulating extensive merit, and that makes us reach enlightenment quicker. In reality, the stronger we have this thought, we become enlightened quicker than other sentient beings who do not change their attitude into bodhicitta. We become enlightened quicker than them. In reality we become enlightened before them because we have changed our attitude earlier than others. What I would say is that with this attitude, in reality, the success is there. Because we changed our attitude into bodhicitta earlier than other people did then we become enlightened first. In reality I think I would say it works. [Rinpoche laughs]

I would say that is similar to when we do tong-len, taking other sentient beings’ sufferings on ourselves and giving our own happiness, merit, our body and belongings to other sentient beings. When we have bodhicitta, we feel so kind toward mother sentient beings, we feel they are so precious, we feel it unbearable that they are suffering like that.

I’ll put it this way. Due to strong guru devotion, this positive mind, the effect of this strong guru devotion is receiving a strong blessing within our own heart. Then due to receiving this blessing of the guru within our heart, as well as having done some positive action that pleases the holy mind of the virtuous friend, depending on such things, when these things happen, we see how the mind works. Even if we don’t have such courage, such a brave heart as to voluntarily reincarnate in hell, we feel it so unbearable that sentient beings are suffering in hell, we feel so unbearable that voluntarily, willingly, from our own heart, right now we want to be born in hell and suffer in their place. We want to take on their experience of suffering in hell fully, experience the hell beings’ immeasurable sufferings, experience them on ourselves.

Right this minute, this second, we want to be born in hell and experience their suffering, experience their unbearable suffering. And at the same time we feel it unbearable that they’re suffering, and during that time our heart becomes unpressable. Unpressable? We cannot press it down. We cannot control it; we cannot press it down. It’s so unbearable, so unbearable. This compassion. And very bravely, we wish so strongly, “Right at this minute, right at this second, if I can be in the hell and take all their sufferings, and experience all their sufferings, I would rejoice and say, ‘How wonderful it all is.’” This strong determination, this decision willingly, happily, comes from our own heart.

This kind of thought purifies so many, so many unquestionable eons of negative karma. Even, possibly, even just for this thought arising, for this brave attitude, this strong unbearable compassion cherishing other sentient beings arising for even a few minutes, for even few seconds—not developing extra realizations but just experiencing such strong compassion arising for a very short time—it can purify eons of negative karma and accumulate inconceivable merit. Because of that, our time in samsara becomes shorter for that many eons, or that much duration. Our duration to be in samsara decreases, it becomes shorter. The duration experiencing the self in samsara becomes shorter. In other words, we become that much closer to enlightenment.

This is mentioned in the Bodhicaryavatara. I’ll just make it simple, not keeping very tightly with the verses, the way it is in Tibetan.

By depending on bodhicitta you get liberated in a short time
From the unbearable, unceasing very heavy negative karmas.
Like you become free from the great dangers by relying on a hero.
Why don’t mindful people rely upon this, bodhicitta?

What this says is that by having bodhicitta, by generating bodhicitta towards other sentient beings, we get liberated from even the heaviest negative karma—from even that negative karma which we have to experience for so many eons in the lower realms, such as the narak, the hell realms, and then even after that, when we are born in the human realm, we continue to again and again experience those problems, which are the result of the past karma, for incredible length of time, a length of time which is unceasing, which cannot be finished very easily. Even from all this we get liberated. Such powerful negative karma gets purified by practicing bodhicitta in a short time. That suffering which we have to experience from such heavy negative karma, suffering which would last for innumerable numbers of eons, for an incredible length of time, that gets purified in such short time.

Just like a criminal who has done something very dangerous, some very heavy act, by relying upon a very powerful person, a hero, someone who had very strong influence or someone who has great power, by depending on that person the criminal—even if he has done the heaviest thing in the world—might, in that minute, be free from all those punishment, say, from a lifetime sentence or whatever heavy punishment, or even execution. That person becomes free by relying upon that powerful person. Immediately the person became free from all these dangers.

The great bodhisattva, Shantideva, says, “Those who have mind,” in other words, those who are thoughtful, who are conscientious, who want to be careful, “why don’t they rely upon bodhicitta?” The next verse I don’t remember. Anyway, I’m using the example of the thought that we want to be born in hell and experience or take on all the hell beings’ sufferings, and let them to be free. I’m using this as an example. That thought of bodhicitta, first letting all other sentient beings be enlightened, is similar to this. Like the shepherd. First the sheep, and then we ourselves. I am just mentioning the psychology, how it works. In reality it becomes the same.

DEVELOP FAMILIARITY WITH THE WHOLE PATH IN EVERY MEDITATION
[Student asks question (inaudible)]

I think normally what I advise is first to become familiar with the whole subject from beginning to end. I think that it is important to know that from beginning to end. For example, a text such as Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. There are many complete lam-rim texts, some are shorter, some are more elaborate. The most extensive one is Lama Tsongkhapa’s, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. There are also other texts, very extensive ones. Now there is more and more happening, more and more coming, more and more getting translated into English. Whichever text you follow, for example, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, one of the elaborate ones, first make yourself familiar with the whole subject in this way. Even if you are meditating on the first meditation, guru devotion, or even the preliminary practices, or the meditation on the eight freedoms and ten richnesses of a perfect human rebirth, by knowing the rest of the subject, the whole path, through to the end, I think it gives deeper feeling. Even if you meditate on the beginning of the path, the perfect human rebirth, with this much deeper feeling, you can connect from there, you can make the meditation deeper even though it’s a meditation from the beginning of the path. So, having the background, knowing all the rest of the subject, makes a stronger feeling.

Usually the advice is to first become familiar with the entire path. What is the Japanese kung fu? Karate, huh? What? [Student replies] Karate, yes. So anyway, kung fu or karate. First we see that there is somebody who is famous, who is well trained. Then we practice, practice, practice, and then after some time, we think we have enough training that we can possibly, maybe, defeat that well-trained person. We have done much training and now we feel, maybe, we can match, can compete with this person. So like that, first we generate a familiarity with all the path, from beginning to the end. We become familiar with the whole subject, going from beginning to end, back and forth, and then we may feel, “Now if I really try to meditate, it seems that I can have the realization. I can achieve the realization.” We get some feeling from your own experience, some confident feeling, “If I really try, really put effort into it, then I can have the realization.” It’s like example that I gave before. We have enough training, enough skills and now we have confidence that we can now defeat that well-trained, famous person.

EFFORTFUL EXPERIENCE AND EFFORTLESS EXPERIENCE
Then, at that time, we starts to recognize that all the previous practices, what we have been doing, is effortful experience, all beneficial, working together. There is no spontaneous, naturally rising devotion, seeing the virtuous friend as a buddha. Without thinking of the reasons, the quotations, day and night, there is no spontaneously, naturally rising very strong and stable devotion. Only when we remember the quotations, what the Buddha said, what Buddha explained, what Vajradhara explained, their promise to guide ourselves and all sentient beings, those stories, quotations, and so forth, only after remembering and then thinking about the reasons, the logic, then devotion arises. Only then do we see the virtuous friend as a buddha. When we don’t remember the quotations and the reasoning, then no true, strong devotion arises.

Similarly, the thought of something like impermanence only arises with effort, by thinking of the reasons, by reflecting on impermanence, by doing the nine-round death meditation, doing the meditation on the aspect of dying or death—visualizing that we are dying and contemplating what happens with the mind, what happens to the body, what’s happening with the surrounding people, what’s happening with possessions, thinking body being carried to the cemetery, the body put on the firewood and burned, or put in the coffin then brought to the graveyard and so forth—only by thinking of the reasons, then the thought of impermanence arises. Only then do we see that the appearance of this life is very short, very short. Therefore, all the work that we do for this life doesn’t make sense; it has no meaning. It’s nonsense, the work for this life; it has no meaning, like child’s play, like babies’ play. No meaning. Only by thinking of these reasons, then we understand impermanence and then we feel that what is most important in our heart is to achieve happiness beyond this life. Then somebody who has a more developed good heart, more compassion, more loving kindness, then the important thing is to work for other sentient beings.

These experiences are happening. We see that the appearance of this life is very short and realize that the work done for this life, to achieve the happiness of this life, is meaningless. Discovering this, seeing that this is meaningless, we generate anger towards the enemy and try to destroy the enemy, our attachment and desire towards our relatives and friends, having discriminating thoughts toward all these activities, the works that are done for our own happiness, for the happiness of this life. The work we do for this and the discriminating thoughts that arise because of it, are completely meaningless. When we don’t think of the reasons—impermanence and death, how that actual time of death is uncertain and it can happen any time, all these reasons—when we don’t think of the reasons, this experience is not there, this experience doesn’t happen. Only when we think of the reasons then this experience comes.

Similarly, by thinking of all the reasons why sentient beings are so kind, so precious, and how they are suffering, only then are we able to generate the thoughts of loving kindness and compassion. But when we don’t think of the reasons, the thought is not very strong; it doesn’t arise spontaneously, very strongly, arising from the heart, day and night. The thoughts of loving kindness and compassion towards others, the thought of causing all sentient beings happiness by ourselves and freeing all sentient beings from suffering and its causes by ourselves, this is not spontaneous. When we do not think of the reasons why they are kind and so precious and how they are suffering, compassion and the thought of loving kindness then arise. We only experience these by thinking of the reasons. This is called “effortful experience.”

To achieve bodhicitta we need to develop the special attitude, the attitude to do all these works by ourselves alone. To work for other sentient beings by ourselves, this is an additional thing that wasn’t there during the great compassion and loving kindness—to do it by ourselves alone. To do the works for other sentient beings by ourselves, and on top of that, alone. The “alone,” wasn’t there during those times. So this special attitude, the bodhicitta, the thought to achieve enlightenment ourselves in order to benefit other sentient beings, feeling these things only when we think of the reasons, this goes step by step like this. Through this, we generate the cause, practicing the preliminary meditations which are the cause of bodhicitta. Only after going through this, we feel inspired to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. But when we don’t think of the reasons, when we don’t meditate on those paths, when we don’t think of those reasons then the thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings doesn’t arise. Only by thinking of the reason, then we feel this, then the thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings arises. All of these experiences are called “effortful experience.”

This generally leads, directs, guides the mind towards the realizations, to the path to enlightenment. You should do this for some time every day. My idea is that even when you are not attending a particular place for a meditation course, a retreat or whatever, but just generally in daily life, while you are working in the day time, then whatever time each day you can make, whatever length of time—an hour or a half hour, or even fifteen minutes—whatever time you can make, it needs to be used to meditate on the lam-rim. The first thing to do in order to generate effortless experience is to produce the effortful experience by meditating, even if you haven’t memorized the outlines of the lam-rim.

Normally, after having studied the commentary, lam-rim practitioners memorize the outline of the lam-rim, then they use the outline to hold onto as a guideline, a structure, like a map for travelling to different countries. You make a guideline like an architect makes a sketch for a building. On the basis of that, then you expand on it. By memorizing the outline of whatever text, like Pabongka Rinpoche’s Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand or Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, then you meditate on the basis of that outline. You put together those different commentaries of the lam-rim that you have studied. Any subject that is very effective, that you find is very effective—let’s say, bodhicitta—you put there. Then, that makes it very effective for your own mind to quickly generate the realization of bodhicitta. And the same thing with emptiness, the same thing with renunciation. If you don’t use an outline, then you can use one of the short lam-rim texts, like The Essential Nectar, or like this lam-rim called Happy Path, that short one. Normally, those short lam-rim texts are memorized and then you meditate on that.

Even if we haven’t memorized the texts or we’re unable to memorize them, whatever, we can still use them. We can read them. If we haven’t memorized them we can just read them in whatever time we have. The most important thing is this, though. When we read a newspaper, it’s just, generally, to understand what’s happening in the world, just to learn, you know, but here—and this is important—when we read Dharma books, the way to read the Dharma books is to relate them to ourselves, relating them to our own mind. This way the whole teaching is used, and it becomes like taking medicine that cures the disease. With this way of reading Dharma books, of studying and listening to Dharma, doesn’t turn our mind outward but rather turns it inward one itself. This method is used to benefit our own mind. Relating to our own life, to our own mind, it becomes beneficial to our own mind. Then we can change, we can transform this mind. This way, we can develop our own mind on the path to enlightenment. That’s the main thing. So, it’s in that way that we read Dharma books, general Dharma books and especially here when we meditate on the lam-rim by reading lam-rim texts.

Whatever we don’t finish in one meditation session, if there is time, we can do it in the evening or otherwise the next day. Then whatever is left, we can do the next subjects on the next day. We can do it a few times like this until we become very familiar with the subject, until we have basically covered the three principle aspects of the path a few times, three or four times, like this. Meditating like this can produce effortful experience.

As I mentioned before, when we have the thought, "If I really try hard, it seems that I might have a realization,” when we feel this, when there is some confidence like this, then in Tibetan this is called nyemo [unclear]chupa, meaning that we have some confidence that we can actualize the path. Put it this way, now it’s time to produce the effortless experience of the path. That is the actual realization.

Generally speaking, it is very difficult to actualize this effortless experience and the realization. Feeling the realization, the effortless experience that all sentient beings are our own mother and have been our own mother numberless times, these two realizations are generally speaking more difficult to actualize.

Since guru devotion is the root of the path to enlightenment, until we have this realization, there is still discrimination in our own mind; there is the discriminating mind that sees a gap, a separation between our own virtuous friend, from whom we have received Dharma contact on the basis of recognition guru-disciple, a gap between this and the numberless buddhas, the numberless buddhas complete. We need to work to transform our mind until this thought is completely changed into not just a feeling but a very stable seeing, from our own side, that the virtuous friend is all the buddhas, and all the buddhas are the virtuous friend; that they are inseparable. Seeing this oneness, this inseparability, with devotion, even if this experience happens for just few hours and then disappears, or even for just a few minutes very strongly—that’s still good, it’s positive. It’s a good sign of receiving the blessing of the guru in our own mental continuum, but it’s not like this stable experience, this strong devotion, seeing it this strong and stable way. When we have stable devotion like this, spontaneously arising day and night, at that time then we have the realization of guru devotion, the effortless experience of guru devotion. This is not complete, though; it’s not the end, the final realization of renunciation, of samsara, of bodhicitta, of emptiness. Even when we have achieved the realization, we need to stabilize it. To do this we don’t need to think so much about the reasons and quotations, not so much like before, but still a little bit is needed to stabilize it.

We should stay on one meditation subject each day. First as much as we can on guru devotion until we have this stable realization, then after that, meditating as much as we can on the perfect human body, the usefulness of the eight freedoms and the ten richnesses, then the difficulty of finding such a perfect human body again, then the nine-round meditation on impermanence and death—on the aspect of death by thinking of the three reasons that death is definite, the actual time of death is uncertain and at the time death nothing can benefit except only the holy Dharma, and then, because of this, the only conclusion is to practice Dharma in this life. Then, after meditating on impermanence and death, meditating on the combined sufferings of the lower realms and on karma.

TRAINING ON THE LOWER SCOPE
However by training the mind in the graduated path of the lower capable being, our mind is completely transformed. Before, and now, we have the thought that working for the happiness of future lives, obtaining the happiness of future lives is not so important. We don’t care so much; we don’t feel it’s so important. At the bottom of our heart, what we feel is that between the two—the happiness of this life and the happiness of future lives—the happiness of this life is the most important, even though in reality, in the long run, we [logically know] that future lives’ happiness is so crucial, so important, much more important than the happiness and comfort of the very short duration of this life. Meditating like this completely transforms the mind from this attitude into the attitude feeling that this life is very short and that the works for the happiness of this life are not important. We begin seeing that this is meaningless. As I mentioned before, doing work for this life with this discriminating thought, with anger and attachment, doing activities that harm the enemy or help through attachment to relatives and friends and so forth, all these things have no meaning. And then we don’t care even when somebody praises us and when somebody criticizes us; neither bothers us. We don’t mind, it doesn’t bother us whether somebody praises or criticizes us, whether somebody gives us a present or doesn’t give us a present. Either way, our mind is not troubled. We don’t feel any of these things are important.

Whatever happens, whether material things are given to us or not, it doesn’t bother us; it’s not important to our mind. Even if somebody praises us or doesn’t praise us, it’s not important. Our mind is detached. This mind is free; it’s a healthy mind. And so even if in our heart we still don’t feel that other sentient beings are more are precious than us and that other sentient beings’ happiness is more important than ours—even though we don’t feel that at this time in our own heart, at least we are thinking about our future lives’ happiness as more important. We are feeling that the happiness of future lives is more important than of this life; we have this in the heart. “In this life, whether there is comfort or no comfort, it is not important. Whatever happens is no big deal. Whether the happiness of this life happens or doesn’t happen, it’s not a big deal.” Feeling it’s not important to our mind, this is very good. When we feel like this—not seeking the happiness for this life, detached from the happiness of this life—our attitude has completely changed. It is not saying that we can’t experience the happiness in this life, it’s not saying that, but that we are detached. The problem is being attached. Being attached is a nonvirtuous thought, so then any activity we do with body, speech and mind everything becomes negative karma, which results only in suffering. Nothing becomes Dharma.

Whether we have a good reputation and receive praise or not, whether we receive materials or not, whether we experience comfort or not—whether we have any of these things or not, it doesn’t matter because the mind is free, the mind is detached. What we are seeking is only the happiness beyond this life. So the attitude is completely transformed into this and it’s stable. This is the realization of the graduate path of lower capable being. Until we achieve this realization we continue the meditations. The first meditation we do is on guru devotion, then the other meditations on this small scope path. In the same day if we can do another meditation besides guru devotion, then we should do the graduated path of lower capable being, especially, the most important one here is impermanence and death. That’s the main one and it is very good to do, related to the karma and lower realms.

Without relating it to the karma, just thinking about death itself, just reflecting on death, doesn’t have much meaning. But it’s important if we relate it with the karma, because then it makes us think about the rebirth, of the body of the happy migratory being and body of suffering migratory being and, since we have to migrate, what one we will have. After thinking about and reflecting on death the conclusion is that it causes us to abandon negative karma and practice virtuous actions. We abandon negative karma, such as the basic example, the ten nonvirtuous actions and so forth, and create good karma, to live in morality, to protect our morality by living in the ten virtuous ways and so forth.

In this way we not only purify past negative karma that we have already created, we also stop creating new negative karma, the cause of the lower realms. And by creating good karma through practicing morality and so forth, we create the cause of the body of the happy migratory being. Not only this, we also develop the fundamental path of the liberation from samsara, the three higher trainings, the higher training of morality, of concentration and of wisdom. Then by practicing bodhicitta we can achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. All these practices are happening, we are engaging in all these practices, persuaded by reflecting on impermanence and death.

So in this way, by doing these practices, we are able to stop rebirth in the lower realms and we are able to receive the body of happy migratory being, able to achieve liberation from samsara and able to achieve full enlightenment for the sake of all kind mother sentient beings. We are able to cease all obscurations, both the disturbing-thought obscurations and the subtle obscurations, and we are able to complete the qualities of cessation and able to complete the qualities of realization. All these things that happen, all these are the benefits of meditating on impermanence and death; they are the results of remembering impermanence and death. In this way it becomes meaningful to think of death, of impermanence and death. Then it has meaning. As I mentioned before, after we trains our mind in the graduated path of the lower capable being, after our attitude is completely transformed into this, after the mind is completely detached to the happiness of this life and only seeking the happiness of future lives, even after we have achieved this realization, then we still need to stabilize.

TRAINING ON THE MEDIUM SCOPE
Then we work to renounce all samsara, the desire realm, the form realm and the formless realm. We can’t find the least attraction in any of the realms, not just the desire realm or the form realm but even the formless realm. The formless realm is the highest realm in samsara and it has four levels. The last one is the tip of samsara, so including even this, the highest point in samsara, the tip of samsara, including even this we can find not even the slightest attraction, not even in a dream. With all of this samsara, the desire realm, form realm, formless realm, including the very last one, tip of the samsara, we can’t find any attraction for even one second, even in a dream.

We realize that all samsara is like being in the center of a fire, like we are caught in the center of a fire or being in a nest of the poisonous snakes. Like we are sitting on the tip of a needle, the whole samsara is only in the nature of suffering. We are completely renounced, detached from all of this samsara, feeling like being caught in the center of a fire, like being in a prison, that it’s only in the nature of suffering. Then, day and night, as Lama Tsongkhapa explained, the wish, the strong determination spontaneously arises to be free, to be liberated from the whole entire samsara. This spontaneously arises, without effort, without the need to think much about the reasons why, about the evolution of samsara and how the samsara is only in the nature of suffering, but naturally, spontaneously arising very strongly day and night—this is the realization of the renunciation of the samsara. Then again we need to stabilize it. Even if we have achieved this realization, we still have to stabilize it.

Until we achieve this realization, we have to meditate on the truth of suffering and the truth of the cause of suffering, how samsara is in the nature of suffering, particularly the suffering realms and the general suffering of samsara.

TRAINING ON THE GREAT SCOPE
If there is a mother who has a beloved child who fell down into a hole where there is fire, when the mother hears this, when the mother discovers this, whatever she doing—if she is eating, walking, whatever she is doing—spontaneously, constantly, the thought that rises is a feeling which is unbearable, that her beloved child has fallen in the fire and she wants to save that child by herself. Feeling like this, how the mother feels with her beloved child, if we are able to feel the same thing, if we are able to feel like this, exactly the same as this towards every sentient being that we see, to all those beings whose minds are obscured and suffering, experiencing suffering of samsara, without putting effort into thinking so much about the reasons—if we are able to naturally have that unbearable feeling to free all sentient beings from all the suffering by ourselves, at that time we have realization of the great compassion. We are similar to the mother who goes down herself, no matter how difficult it is, to save her child by herself alone from the suffering, from being caught in the fire. She takes the whole responsibility on herself, doing all these things by herself alone. If we have this special attitude to free all sentient beings from all the suffering and to cause them happiness, to lead them to enlightenment by ourselves alone, if we have this feeling without effort, without the need to think of the reasons, arising spontaneously day and night, then at that time we have realization of the special attitude of bodhicitta.

Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo has explained it similarly, as spontaneously generating the thought to achieve enlightenment, without effort, so strongly arising, spontaneously day and night arising by seeing each sentient being, the thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. Like the realization of the renunciation of samsara, our own samsara, day and night constantly, the strong wish to be free from samsara. Now here, day, night, however we constantly have the thought seeking to work for other sentient beings, to free them from all the suffering and to lead them to happiness. There is the thought, there is bodhicitta, the thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, arising constantly without effort. At that time, then, we have achieved the realization of bodhicitta. Until our own mind reaches this level, until our own mind is completely transformed into this experience, the realization of bodhicitta, no matter how many years it takes, we have to do all the meditations, meditating on the common path, having guru devotion and the three principle aspects of path to enlightenment. No matter how many years it takes, how many lifetimes, how many eons it takes, we have to plan to meditate on the path, to meditate on the lam-rim until we achieve these realizations.

TRAINING ON THE TANTRIC PATH
It is on the basis of this common path that we practice the higher tantra in order to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. By receiving the four initiations, which have the full characteristics, from the perfectly qualified right vajra master, this causes our own mind to be ripened to meditate on the Maha-anuttara Yoga tantra path. We meditate on the generation stage, which has two levels, the gross and subtle generation stages and then on the completion stage, the graduated completion stage, which has five stages. One way of counting them is the (1) isolation of body, (2) isolation of speech, (3) isolation of mind, (4) clear light and (5) the illusory body and the unification. If a person is able to actualize the clear light in this life, which is the direct cause of the holy mind dharmakaya, then that meditator can achieve enlightenment in this body in this one brief lifetime of these degenerated times. Within some number of years that meditator, that practitioner of the Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra path, who has actualized the clear light, can achieve enlightenment.

We complete the generation stage that is preliminary to the graduated completion path, and then by completing this completion path we achieve full enlightenment, the unification of the holy body and holy mind, that which is no more learning. Then after having achieved this enlightenment, which has seven qualities, the limbs, which is the state of Vajradhara, by having achieved this then until every single numberless sentient being is brought to enlightenment, we manifest spontaneously without any effort, with holy body, holy speech and holy mind, in billions of billions, numberless, forms, according to the karma, to the level of mind of the sentient beings perceiving them, and then we lead them from suffering to happiness, then to liberation, then to enlightenment. Not only the actions of the holy mind, but also doing the actions of the body and speech—even with this body, we are doing the actions of holy mind and the holy speech. It’s the same thing with the speech: the speech can also do the function of the body as there are many manifestations of the holy speech. This is not like our current body, speech and mind. Our body cannot do the function of the mind; our mind cannot do the function of the body; it is very limited. It’s not like this.

Generally in life the first meditation to train in, until we achieve the realization, is guru devotion. Then, on top of that, if we have time to practice another meditation on the same day, we can do the graduated path of the lower capable being. Then, if we can still meditate, on the basis of those two, the other thing to establish is one-pointed concentration, either with tantra practice such as generation stage or the completion state, or tum-mo, using the tum-mo fire as the object to achieve one-pointed concentration, shamatha, calm abiding, either the actual one or the similar one. Or, we can do this with the generation stage.

In this way, by relating to tantra practice, with one effort two achievements are possible. One effort, at one time, and we have the possibility to have two achievements, two realizations. One is the realization of the generation stage from the Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra path. The other is shamatha, calm-abiding, either the actual one or the similar one, whichever way one achieves one-pointed concentration. It’s the same thing with the six yogas of Naropa, where there is the possibility to achieve all the realizations, or at least one—trying to achieve one-pointed concentration, calm abiding, or the other meditation is emptiness. We can try to have the realization of emptiness without relating to the tantra path, without combining it with the tantra path, or the other way is to meditate on emptiness by combining it with the tantra path. My root guru, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, explained that doing the meditation on emptiness, when we do that sadhana of the deity, when we do the practice of the generation stage by doing the sadhana, when we meditates on the dharmakaya, then at that time we meditate on emptiness. So in this way it is integrated with meditating on emptiness. The time when spending to meditate on emptiness is integrated with the practice of tantra like this.

This is how to guide our own mind on the path to enlightenment, how to develop our own mind in the lam-rim. First we begin by becoming familiar with the all of the lam-rim subjects and the outline, as I mentioned before.

The question at the beginning, as Robert mentioned, about dividing lam-rim subject in the retreat, that doesn’t matter. [Rinpoche laughs] In the past, many years ago, after the course, doing the lam-rim retreat, the whole lam-rim meditation was completed within three days. The whole lam-rim meditation, the graduated path of the lower capable being, the middle capable being and the higher capable being, the whole meditation was completed within three days. Then again, you carry on like this during the one month retreat. It was carried on like that. In this way, people had a choice depending on how much time they had. Even if somebody only had three days he or she could complete the whole path’s outline, leaving an imprint of the whole path to enlightenment by doing three days of retreat. It can be done like this, or the graduated path of the lower capable being in one week, then the next week the graduated path of the middle capable being and on the third week the graduated path of higher capable being. It can also be done like this. Or you can even do one month on the graduated path of the lower capable being, another month on the graduated path of the middle capable being and the last month on the graduated path of high capable being. You can also do it like this. This can be planned. You can do it either way, depending on how much time you have for retreat.

The last thing, as Manjushri, who is embodiment of all the buddhas’ wisdom, advised Lama Tsongkhapa, is to the question of how to quickly achieve enlightenment. Manjushri explained integrating the practice like this. Accumulating merit, which means mandala offerings and so forth, then the practice of purifying the obstacles, reciting the Vajrasattva mantra so forth, then one-pointedly requesting to guru in order to receive blessings. With this, then mind training on the lam-rim, which is the actual body of the practice. The three others are often seen as the preliminaries. In this sense, it maybe not correct. It can be said this way also, that these three other practices and then the mind training on the lam-rim, this is the actual body of the practice. By integrating it like this, we achieve enlightenment quickly. This is what Manjushri, the buddha of wisdom, advised in answer to Lama Tsongkhapa’s question. How to be successful in developing the mind on the path to enlightenment is contained in Manjushri’s advice.

The whole rest of the path, from the beginning of the path, the perfect human body, up until enlightenment, actualizing the whole path, the whole success—all these practices depend on the very root, correctly devoting ourselves to the virtuous friend with our thoughts and actions. It all depends on knowing the teaching, knowing what the Buddha taught, what Lama Tsongkhapa taught, what those pandits, those yogis have explained, by knowing the teaching of how to correctly devote to the virtuous friend. The whole success, up to enlightenment, depends on this way, which is the root of the path to enlightenment.

So anyway, I’ll stop here.

[Chanting]

Due to all the past, present and future merits accumulated by myself, by bodhisattvas and sentient beings, may the bodhicitta be generated within my own mind and in the mind of all sentient beings without delay, not even a second. Those who have it, may it be developed.

Due to all the past, present and future merits accumulated by myself, the buddhas, bodhisattvas and sentient beings, due to all these merits, may myself, my family and all sentient beings in all lifetimes be able to meet only perfectly qualified Mahayana virtuous friends, and may each of us from their own side be able to see only enlightened beings, those virtuous friends, and then do only actions that are the most pleasing to the holy mind of the virtuous friend, and be able to fulfill the holy wishes of the virtuous friend immediately and by myself alone.

Due to all the three times’ merits accumulated by myself, by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and sentient beings, may all the father, mother sentient beings have happiness. May the three lower realms be empty and may all the bodhisattvas’ prayers succeed immediately. May I able to cause all these by myself alone.

As the three times’ buddhas and bodhisattvas have dedicated their merits and as the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Manjughosha have realized, I dedicate all the merits, past, present and future, all the merits, in the best way, to quickly enlighten all sentient beings.

Due to all the past, present and future merits accumulated by myself, by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and sentient beings, while these merits are existing at the same time they are empty. Due to these merits may the I, which while it is existing is empty, that which is empty, achieve enlightenment, which while it is existing is empty, for the benefit of all sentient beings, who while existing are empty, by myself alone.