Kopan Course No. 13 (1980)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Kopan Monastery, Nepal (Archive #335)

These teachings were given by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche at the 13th Kopan Meditation Course, held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in Nov–Dec 1980. As well as discussing many essential lamrim topics, Rinpoche teaches extensively on Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga (Ganden Lha Gyäma) and Hymns of Experience, a condensed lamrim prayer composed by Lama Tsongkhapa. Lightly edited by Gordon McDougall.

Go to the Index page to view an outline of topics and click on the links to go directly to the lectures. You can also download a PDF of the entire course.

Lectures 23 to 25
Lecture 23

December 1, 1980

DEVELOPING EQUANIMITY

Start with the bodhicitta motivation, thinking, “I must achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all mother sentient beings. Therefore, I’m going to listen to the commentary of the graduated path to enlightenment.”

The subject is the way of training the mind in bodhicitta through equalizing and exchanging yourself with others. This advice has been handed down from Guru Shakyamuni Buddha to Nagarjuna to Shantideva.

The day before yesterday I started this as a motivation for the morning motivation, so I thought to do a little bit like this, spending time on the advice given by the lamas, the teachings put together on the practice of equalizing yourself with others. Since this hasn’t been done in the mornings because we are taking ordination each morning, I thought we could do this in the afternoon sessions.

In case there’s somebody who didn’t hear the beginning part, maybe it has been taped or whatever it is, and you can listen to it from that.

The way of meditating on the equanimity of yourself and others is this. You need to equalize the partial mind where anger arises toward your enemy because they have harmed you and attachment arises toward your friend because they have helped you. Because of that, you discriminate friend and enemy, between friend who is close and enemy who is distant.

The way of equalizing these discriminating thoughts of attachment and anger is to see your enemy as your closest relative. Think like this: “When my enemy has given me harm and I start to distance myself from them, when feelings of anger start to arise, I should think that among all my relatives—my cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews and so forth, and closer than all of these are my mother and father—but among all these relatives, my enemy is the closest relative. Why? At this particular time they have harmed me a little and because of that I have labeled them ‘enemy.’ Just because of that I harbor hatred in my heart toward this person. This is shameless; it is very ungenerous.

“If I do that I am no better than the wild tiger in the forest. What’s the difference between me and this very vicious tiger? Whenever another animal harms a tiger at little, it discriminates, seeing that animal as an enemy, feeling hatred for it. With that thought of anger, it retaliates as soon as it can. So, what’s the difference between me and the tiger?

“I’m supposed to be a human being! That is a tiger. It is not called a human being, but a tiger. I’m supposed to be a human being, but if I carry on like this, what’s the difference? There is no difference between me and this vicious, wild tiger, or a very vicious, harmful spirit.”

Having thought this, hook the mind inside, determining that when you act in this way there is no difference. There is no point at all in generating such an evil thought, no point at all. Thinking like this, you can cut off your anger.

Then, consider how you determine who is your friend and how you develop attachment for them, holding them close. Think, “This person has given me a little help, and because of that I have become attached to them, calling them my friend. In that way, I have discriminated friend from enemy. Because of that, there is no difference between me and the cheating cannibals.”

The story of the cannibals comes in the commentary on the Mahayana ordination. Without going into the particular story, when you first meet a cannibal, they seem very sweet, very kind, showing you a loving disposition. They tell you they love you very much. Hearing this, you begin to completely trust the cannibal, thinking that what they are saying is really true. You think they do really love you and they will always really love you. It will always be like this. You get together with this cannibal but after some time, after the children are born, the cannibal eats you!

The story goes that in a previous time there were five hundred businesspeople who together went to an island in the Atlantic to get jewels. When they reached the land of the cannibals, they lived with cannibals for a long time. The cannibals showed them much kindness and told them they loved them, and they even had children together. But after they had made babies with the cannibals, the cannibals made an enclosure of a very big iron fence and put the businesspeople in it. Then, they ate them. There were hundreds but none of them ever returned. At different times, other groups went there but they too never returned.

On special full-moon days, a skillful and wise horse went to where the cannibals held the businesspeople. Every full-moon day it flew down from the deva realm to the human realm to drink water in that area. It rolled over and rubbed its back in the sand, like dogs do, and made a special noise in space that meant anybody who wanted to go with it back to Dzambuling could do so.

The people who had not yet been eaten by the cannibals tried to escape with the horse. The horse told them to hold its tail or the fur on its body. They had to look straight ahead as they were escaping and never look back at the cannibals. But as they were leaving, the cannibals followed, calling to them, asking them, “How dare you leave us, those you love? How can you leave the whole family, even your children? Don’t you feel any compassion for your children?” The cannibals were very skillful in deceiving them like this. Some people were deceived and were unable to pull themselves away because of their attachment. Afterwards, they were eaten. Others never looked back but held the fur of the horse or the tail, and the horse was able to carry them back to the human world.

The reason I’ve given the example of cannibals cheating, even though this is the example the lamas use to talk about attachment, the country where you live is full of examples like this. The essence is that somebody at the beginning seems very sweet, and you learn to completely trust them, but then you are completely cheated by them. In the end, because you trusted them, you drown in a quagmire of problems, completely cheated.

That’s the essence. With attachment, think, “What’s the difference between me and a pig? A pig also gets attached to the swineherd, the one who gives them food. So, what’s the differences between me and the pig? No difference.” Thinking like that, you see that there is no point at all in being attached. In that way you can cut off attachment.

The third category is sentient beings that you feel indifferent toward. If the thought of renouncing these sentient beings arises, if you feel you have no connection with these beings, you should think, “From beginningless past lives, these sentient beings have been my relatives and friends numberless times and they have given me much benefit. And it’s definite that in the future they will again be my relatives and friends and benefit to me again. Therefore, I shouldn’t give up on them.”

As Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen told me, this is the meaning of equanimity, recognizing all beings as having been your mother. By thinking like this, you are able to cut off the discriminating thoughts of anger and attachment.

To train your mind in equalizing and exchanging yourself with others, you should think well about the reasons. To obtain happiness and eliminate suffering, you need to equalize both your mind and your actions towards the enemy, the friend and the person you feel indifferent to—to all sentient beings, without any discrimination. You should think this way when you train in this great equanimity, as a preliminary for the thought training practice of equalizing and exchanging yourself with others.

THE THREE REASONS WE AND OTHERS ARE EQUAL FROM OUR SIDE

As is explained in the Guru Puja, there are various reasons why we and all sentient beings are equal: three from our own side and three from the side of others based on conventional or all-obscuring truth, and three based on ultimate or absolute truth. The three conventional reasons from our own side are:

  • we are all equal in wanting to obtain happiness and avoid suffering;
  • we are all equal in needing help;
  • we are all equal in being tormented by delusions.

The three conventional reasons from the side of others are:

  • we depend on sentient beings for all happiness;
  • we depend on sentient beings to attain liberation and enlightenment;
  • sentient beings are equal to the buddhas in the help they give us.

The three ultimate reasons are:

  • “friend,” “enemy,” and “stranger” are merely concepts conceived by our deluded mind;
  • “friend,” “enemy,” and “stranger” appear permanent, but they are not;
  • I and others are interdependent, like “here” and “there.”

The first one is that there is no difference at all between us and all other sentient beings in wanting to have happiness and satisfaction. None of us wish even the slightest suffering, even the slightest dissatisfaction at all; we are all exactly the same in that. Therefore think, “Because of that, please grant me blessings that I may be able to bring all beings comfort and happiness.”

Just as none of us ever wishes the slightest suffering, we all wish to only have happiness. Everybody only wishes for happiness—you do and so do all others, those you see as friends, those you see as enemies and those you see as strangers, those you are indifferent to.

For that reason—that we are all exactly the same in only wanting happiness—think, “How can I carelessly only look after my own happiness. That is something shameful. Just as I have a right to be happy, so do all others, in exactly the same way. It seems that to eliminate my own suffering and attain my own happiness is the most important thing and that whether others suffer or are happy is of no importance to me, but that is a shameful attitude, one I must renounce. Just like me, all others want to be free from suffering and to have happiness, and just like me they deserve this. There is not the slightest reason my happiness is any more important than theirs. It is just as important that their suffering is eliminated immediately, without delaying even a minute.”

The conclusion is that all beings—yourself and all others—are exactly equal in wanting happiness and to avoid suffering, therefore you simply cannot carelessly look to your own happiness and renounce the happiness of others. You can’t think that one beggar is very handsome, very beautiful, so polite and therefore give him a few dollars or a cup of coffee and a sandwich, but another one is really ugly, so you scold him and send him away without anything. They all came begging to you, each wanting some money from you, so there is no point at all in discriminating, seeing some as close and giving to them and seeing others as distant and refusing to give to them.

All sentient beings are like that. Leaving aside uncontaminated, undeluded happiness, for them to receive even an atom of contaminated happiness is extremely rare, like a star in the daytime. All sentient beings are exactly the same in being devoid of happiness and always seeking happiness. There is no point at all in discriminating between them, seeing some as distant and deserving happiness and some as distant and not deserving happiness. Therefore think, “I must offer happiness and benefit equally to all sentient beings, without discriminating.”

Thinking like this is very effective for the mind, because people always do the opposite. Somebody who is very sweet to you, who respects you and always says nice things seems very attractive and you easily give them help. Conversely, if there is somebody who has an ugly body and who doesn’t respect you, you simply don’t care whether they are happy or not; you certainly don’t offer to help them at all. Or even if you do give them something, it’s the worst possible quality—you save the good quality thing for the person you like the most. Even though each person has the same right to receive something suitable, you discriminate who gets what.

Not only are we all equal in wanting happiness and avoiding suffering, we are all equal in needing help. Instead of beggars, you can imagine there are ten patients, each equally pitiful, in agony, needing to be cured. There is no point from your side in being attached to some of them and angry at others, wishing to cure those you are attached to and not the others. This is a very unworthy attitude. If you do that, it is your own mistake. Therefore think, “Like me, all sentient beings are sick and in agony, under the control of delusions and karma, of the three poisonous minds, therefore all sentient beings must experience the general and particular sufferings of samsara, the three types of suffering. We are all exactly equal in that. Therefore there is no point in discriminating, offering help to some and not to others, trying to remove the suffering of some and renouncing others.”

THE THREE REASONS WE AND OTHERS ARE EQUAL FROM THE SIDE OF OTHERS

If you mistakenly think that because we are all equal then there is no use taking responsibility for anybody—let alone everybody—that it doesn’t make any difference to you, it is very good to go over the three reasons you are equal to all others from their side: we depend on sentient beings for all worldly happiness, we depend on them for the happiness of liberation and enlightenment, and sentient beings are equal to the buddhas in the help they give us.

It is impossible to have not just worldly happiness but even nirvana and enlightenment without depending on the kindness of the mother sentient beings. In that way, they are extremely kind.

Besides that, they have been incredibly kind by being your mother. From your beginningless past lives, each sentient being has been not only your mother but also your friend or relative, and they have benefited you numberless times. So, from your own side, how can you discriminate this one as enemy and this one as friend? How can you accept someone and renounce someone else?

The second point is that although they might have occasionally harmed you through those countless lives, the number of times they have benefited you is incalculable. You can check, even in this life. Check and see that sentient beings are always benefiting you, directly or indirectly. Therefore think, “When all sentient beings have benefited me so much, how can I discriminate some sentient beings as close and some as distant? How can I accept some and give up on others? Such an attitude is undeserved and unworthy.”

The third point is that it is pointless to discriminate because it is not only definite you are going to die but the actual time of death is indefinite. It could be tomorrow. Imagine a group of criminals due to be executed tomorrow. For them to spend their last day squabbling, angry at some criminals and siding with others, to show that sort of partisan attitude is extremely silly and very childish. In the same way, you and all others are in the mouth of the Lord of Death, utterly unsure when the mouth will close and consume you—it may even be today—so there is no point at all in having attachment for some beings and aversion for others, seeing some as close and others as distant.

Therefore think, “Because of this, I must equalize my thoughts and actions, working only to eliminate the suffering and attain the happiness of all sentient beings, whether they appear as friend, enemy or stranger. Therefore, without any discrimination of close and distant, of friend, enemy and stranger, I must work to eliminate all the sufferings and obtain all the happiness for my kind mother sentient beings.

“To be able to do this by myself, I must achieve the state of omniscience. Without creating the cause of omniscience, it is impossible to attain the omniscient mind. Therefore, I’m going to take the Mahayana ordination for all mother sentient beings. This is the infallible method to be able to eliminate all the sentient beings’ sufferings and to cause them to obtain every happiness.”

Just by keeping the eight precepts from today until tomorrow with a bodhicitta motivation becomes the cause of omniscience. This is the method to be able to do extensive and effortless work for all sentient beings. Therefore you should feel great happiness that you are following the incredible method that enables you to do work for other sentient beings.

[Rinpoche gives the eight Mahayana precepts]

GANDEN LHA GYÄMA: VISUALIZATION OF LAMA TSONGKHAPA

There is no contradiction at all between emptiness and dependent arising. Those two are unified, not separate. Achieving enlightenment is a gradual practice. It requires passing beyond the graduated path of the lower capable being and the graduated path of the middle capable being, and then completing the graduated path of the higher capable being. These three paths are signified by the three fingers standing upright in the mudra expounding the Dharma. Relating to the guru, this is the way Guru Lama Tsongkhapa guides us sentient beings who are the objects to be subdued, by revealing these three levels of the path. It’s up to us to listen to the teachings on these paths and do the meditation in order to generate all the realizations of the path.

That will gradually lead to enlightenment, the stage of the unification of wisdom and method, or the unification of the holy body, speech and mind, signified by the other two fingers, the thumb and the forefinger, touching.

While keeping his hands in this mudra, Guru Lama Tsongkhapa holds a sword and a scripture. The sword signifies cutting through our confusion, our ignorance, and the text, the scripture, signifies the complete teachings, from guru devotion to enlightenment, that the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha have already generated and that we will generate within our minds. This text, in the form of letters, makes the sound of the Dharma, as I explained in the refuge part.

There are two upali flowers, one holding the sword and one holding the text. One signifies great love, wishing all sentient beings, without discrimination, to have all the happiness, and the other signifies great compassion, wishing all sentient beings, without discrimination, to be free from all suffering. Holding the stems of these flowers at his heart signifies the great love and great compassion that Lama Tsongkhapa has for us sentient beings within his holy mind.

Lama Tsongkhapa’s holy body is adorned with three robes, signifying that he lives in all three levels of vows completely and purely: the moral conduct of keeping the pratimoksha vows, the moral conduct of keeping the bodhisattva vows and the moral conduct of keeping the tantric vows.

Lama Tsongkhapa wears a golden-colored pandit’s hat, signifying that even though in his holy mind scriptural understanding and realizations are equaling space, there is not the slightest stain of pride. It’s not like how most of us might have studied and learned one Mahamudra text or something at university, but there still is a huge gap between the teachings and the mind; they somehow never touch our mind, they never communicate.

Even though we might have memorized a few words and can talk about them from a book—even just one word—we feel such pride, greater than Mount Everest. Or we have read a few introductory Buddhist pamphlets and immediately think we know everything there is to know about the Buddhadharma. “I’ve ready everything about Tibetan Buddhism. Now what should I do?” I have some friends in America like that! It’s like, after reading those few pamphlets, there’s nothing left to do, and you kind of expect in that minute to become enlightened. All of a sudden you should have some power or levitate or something.

Even though Lama Tsongkhapa has such unimaginable qualities of understanding, power and compassion, there’s not the slightest stain of pride. That is the quality of somebody who is really learned.

The golden color of the hat signifies that Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings are like very refined gold, gold that has been checked in three ways. It has to be known to a valid consciousness; no other valid consciousness contradicts it; and no ultimate analysis contradicts it.31 
 
To come to a valid understanding of a Dharma subject, you must start from an inference, relying on a scriptural quotation, and then discover the truth through reasoning. For instance, how do you come to understand that pizza is impermanent? By using the valid reasoning that it changes within each second because it is under the control of the cause. That is the nature of the object, the power of the object. With that reasoning you discover that pizza is impermanent.

This is the first point, the common inference, something that we ordinary beings can ascertain through reasoning. And it’s the same with the other two examinations.

Then, Lama Tsongkhapa’s pandit hat is very pointed, signifying he has realized right view of emptiness only, not the wrong view. This is the incredible view that puts together emptiness only and dependent arising, seeing them as one, without separation. The view of the absolute nature that Lama Tsongkhapa realized is infallible, and from that he gave infallible teachings on the nature of emptiness only.

This is the middle way, devoid of the two extremes: the extreme of nihilism and the extreme of eternalism. Eternalism means something is permanent, that it continues forever. [Student: Are the four elements eternal? They are unchanging.] Unchanging! That’s good. We can all be eternal gods! I’m joking. The extreme of eternalism means permanent, which is the opposite of impermanence. And nihilism is nothingness. So the middle way is devoid of these two extremes. This is what Lama Tsongkhapa realized and what he taught; this is the right, perfect view. When you practice what Lama Tsongkhapa taught on right view, you are able to see and touch the nature of emptiness only, the middle way that is devoid of the two extremes.

This is what having a very high and pointed hat signifies. By studying Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings on emptiness, you are able to reach the very pinnacle of the right view.

Lama Tsongkhapa sits cross-legged in the vajra posture, signifying he has actualized the unification, through the practice of the four vajras. This refers to the completion stage practice of Highest Yoga Tantra. The four vajra postures are the posture of the drop, the posture of the wind, the posture of the channel and the posture of the body. Lama Tsongkhapa had actualized the unification of clear light and illusory body using these four vajra postures. This is what sitting in the vajra posture signifies.

Lecture 24

December 2, 1980

GANDEN LHA GYÄMA: VISUALIZATION OF THE THREE STACKS

Think, “I must achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all mother sentient beings. Therefore I’m going to listen to the commentary on the guru yoga of the Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy.”

Please listen to the teaching well by generating bodhicitta as your motivation as well as observing right conduct while listening to the teachings.

I think I mentioned three stacks before. This is a particular advice given by Lama Atisha to Lama Tsongkhapa on guru yoga.

Visualize Lama Tsongkhapa. At his heart is Manjushri, and at Manjushri’s heart is the syllable DHI. Lama Tsongkhapa is the samaya being, Manjushri is the transcendental wisdom being and the syllable DHI is the concentration being. These are the three powerful beings.

On Lama Tsongkhapa’s right side is his main disciple Gyaltsab-je. At his heart is Chenrezig and at Chenrezig’s heart is the syllable HRIH. On Lama Tsongkhapa’s left side is his other main disciple Khedrub-je. At his heart is Vajrapani, and at Vajrapani’s heart is the syllable HUM.

You own root guru is in this aspect, as Lama Tsongkhapa and his two disciples. This was Manjushri’s particular advice when he explained how to realize your own root guru is the essence of all the buddha’s omniscience, power and compassion.

If you meditate like this and you are able to feel that your own guru is the essence of all the buddhas’ omniscience, power and compassion you will be able to see your root guru as Manjushri, Vajrapani and Chenrezig. In this way, you see your guru as the embodiment of all the buddhas. This is the main reason why Manjushri gave this advice to Lama Tsongkhapa. This goes with the visualization of the guru practice prayer we recited yesterday.

Don’t think that Lama Tsongkhapa is something separate from your root guru. Don’t think there is no contact at all between your guru and Lama Tsongkhapa. Seeing your own guru in the aspect of Lama Tsongkhapa is the main meditation. Then, on the basis of this meditation, you think of all the amazing qualities of the holy body, holy speech and holy mind, and it becomes a guru yoga meditation.

Then you recite the Migtsema to Lama Tsongkhapa, whose essence is your root guru,

Chenrezig, great treasure of non-objectifying compassion;
Manjushri, master of stainless wisdom;
Vajrapani, destroyer of the entire host of maras;
Tsongkhapa, crown jewel of the sages of the Land of Snow,
To Losang Dragpa, at your feet I make requests.

Although the prayer says “Land of Snow” meaning Tibet, you can think of this whole earth, of the three realms. Lama Tsongkhapa, who is one with your guru, has all these qualities, as does Chenrezig, the essence of all the buddhas’ compassion, and Manjushri, the essence of all the buddhas’ wisdom, and Vajrapani, able to destroy the multitudes of maras. These are not only the external maras that interfere with the practice of the Dharma, but also the maras that are the 84,000 delusions, the mara of grasping onto the I as real, as well as the rest of the unsubdued minds that arise from that. There are the six root delusions and the twenty secondary delusions—all of which arise from the ignorance that grasps onto the sense of a truly existing I.

The unsubdued mind has two types of obscuration: the disturbing-thought obscurations, that block you from liberation, and the obscurations to knowledge, that block you from enlightenment. These maras are the conceptions of true existence and the dualistic view. These are the multitudes of maras that Vajrapani, the essence of all the buddhas’ power, can destroy.

Chenrezig is the essence of all the buddhas’ compassion, the perfect compassion that feels the unbearable suffering of the non-truly existent sentient beings. Like that, Guru Lama Tsongkhapa is also essence of all the buddhas’ perfect compassion, perfect understanding and perfect power. So, you meditate on Guru Lama Tsongkhapa having these qualities.

In this way, you see that Guru Lama Tsongkhapa is the special meditational deity, that he is Chenrezig, he is Manjushri, he is Vajrapani. Indirectly, this makes you feel that Guru Lama Tsongkhapa is the embodiment of all the buddhas. You can visualize Manjushri, Chenrezig and Vajrapani as decorating Lama Tsongkhapa’s holy body. 

Generally, when you recite Migtsema, you can meditate in this way. Then, with the last line, “To Losang Dragpa, at your feet I make requests,” what are you requesting? You are asking Losang Dragpa, another name for Lama Tsongkhapa, to have those perfect qualities of compassion, wisdom and power, in order to do perfect work for other sentient beings.

As you visualize Lama Tsongkhapa and his two disciples, the essence of these three is your own root guru, and you can see that they are the embodiment of all the buddhas.

After this, visualize Maitreya Buddha at the heart of Manjushri, and say the prayer: 

You who emanate from the heart of the savior of the hundred devas’ Joyful Realm,
On the peak of a cloud (water holder) resembling clumps of extremely fresh white curd,
The king of Dharma, omniscient Losang Dragpa, with your sons:
I request you to come to this place.

There are different invocations, invocating from dharmakaya, from pure realms or from sambhogakaya. The father and sons (Lama Tsongkhapa and his disciples) descend on an extremely white cloud and absorb into the three you have visualized before. If you can always remember the significance of this, it is very effective for the mind.

Lama Tsongkhapa’s holy body is white shaded with red, which signifies the unification of method and wisdom. This is similar to the visualization you do of tantric deities in union—the father and mother embracing—that also signifies the unification of method and wisdom, of bliss and voidness.

Lama Tsongkhapa’s mudra is the mudra of turning the Dharma wheel, both palms turned out like this, [Rinpoche shows mudra] which signifies there being no contradiction between the causal vehicle, Mahayana Paramitayana, and the resultant vehicle, the Vajrayana.

Today is Lama Tsongkhapa day. It celebrates the day the crown jewel of the sages of the Land of Snow—as well as the Dharma king of the three realms—reached the highest attainment. What we are listening to, studying and meditating on are his teachings; it is his advice that has the power to transform our minds.

Today also commemorates the day Lama Tsongkhapa passed away in Ganden monastery. So tonight we are remembering the kindness of Lama Tsongkhapa, how he is still guiding us through his teachings. Whatever benefits we have received have been from understanding Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings.

Lecture 25

December 4, 1980 (morning)

THE FOUR IMMEASURABLE THOUGHTS

To do a meditation on the four immeasurable thoughts, visualize all sentient beings around you: your family, your friends, your enemies and all other sentient beings in their own forms. Or you can do it like in the refuge practice where you visualize them in human form and all having the nature of suffering—whichever is more effective for you.

It is good while you are generating each of the immeasurable thoughts to feel like you are writing a letter to them: to your parents, to your friends and so forth. In the teachings it says to place your friend in front and your enemy behind you, but you can do it whichever way is most effective, such as having the enemy in front and your friend behind. As I say, here you generally visualize the beings of the other realms in their own forms, as opposed to the refuge practice, but again, it’s up to you.

First is the thought of immeasurable equanimity. Think, “How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were to live in equanimity, free of hatred and attachment.” Think about your parents, friends and enemies.

On the whole, you should think this. “May they always remain in equanimity.” Think this from the very depths of the heart. [Then, “I will cause them to remain in equanimity.”]

Then, remembering the object of refuge, the merit field, request them, “Please Guru-Deity, bless me to be able to do this.”

Think of how wonderful it would be if all these different kinds of beings, not just human beings, were to live in equanimity—not just the human beings on this earth, the human beings who are always fighting each other, harming each other, destroying billions of creatures, and not just destroying their lives but destroying their perfections as well.

For example, in one city, human beings and animals together work so hard to create a whole city and then a whole country, putting so much effort, energy, expense into actualizing these perfections, just to have it completely destroyed in an hour by either one person or another country. Just think about this.

Then think how wonderful it would be if, in this world, human beings could remain in the state of equanimity, with neither attraction nor anger and repulsion, holding some close and some distant. It would be so incredible, so fantastic, if all human beings could be like this and live in equanimity. Then problems of the world would be stopped. Having their minds abide in equanimity is like no longer having the creator of the problem, anger and attachment. The creator of the problem would no longer exist.

Even if you cannot think about all the sentient beings in the six realms, if you can get a feeling of the human beings on this earth, you can see how wonderful it would be if their minds were in equanimity. Try to feel that very strongly from the heart. Remembering this meditation becomes very effective for the mind. That includes your enemy. Think, “May they always remain in equanimity.”

Think of somebody you dislike. If it’s somebody who is in China or Tibet, it’s very easy to find them. But you can think that way, thinking about somebody who has shown that aspect to you, who has given that bad vibration to you. If they are actually sitting in front of you, that is very kind of them. You can then request them to sit on your crown!

Then, think of the object of refuge, the merit field, and make the request, “Please Guru-Deity, bless me to be able to do this.”

In daily life people often turn a small irritation into a big anger; dwelling on it so that it becomes bigger and bigger. If you do like this, it becomes the opposite of the prayer, the opposite of meditation. It shouldn’t be like this. How you live your life and the prayers you say and the subject you meditate on should be as similar as possible. How you think and your conduct should accord as much as possible with what you pray about and meditate on. Then it’s very good, it’s very practical. “Please Guru-Deity, bless me to be able to do this.”

If even half of the human beings living on this earth could live in equanimity, think of how few problems there would be. If more than half, say three quarters, could live in equanimity, there would so much more peace; there would be the greatest peace, instead of always killing each other, fighting each other, discriminating white and black, hating somebody because they have another religion—all those things. For thousands of years this thought of discrimination—discriminating friend and enemy—has led to attachment and anger, to people fighting each other, causing their minds to become more and more unsubdued.

This happens between countries and between two people—attachment, anger, fighting each other. If they could live in equanimity, their minds would become subdued and they would live in peace.

Next, generate immeasurable love. “How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the causes of happiness.”

The practice of the worldly person, their view, is to harm the enemy as much as possible, to destroy them if possible. You certainly don’t offer them any benefit. However, the Kadampa geshes’ advice is that you should do exactly the opposite. They say that if you act according to the way of worldly people, that is not the holy Dharma. On the other hand, if you act in the opposite way to how worldly people act, that is the holy Dharma. Speaking from their hearts, this is what the Kadampa geshes explained.

Therefore, if it is the view of worldly people that you harm your enemy as much as possible, the Dharma view is that you help them as much as possible. This is also the advice of the kind founder, Shakyamuni Buddha. Offer your enemy as much happiness and benefit as you can, with all the power and knowledge you have. This advice from Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is very effective for the mind because there is not one sentient being who doesn’t need happiness and benefit, who doesn’t seek happiness and benefit.

So, think, “May they have happiness and its causes. I will cause them to have these. Please, Guru-Deity, bless me to be able to do this.”

You should think like this about all sentient beings, including your parents, your friends and enemies. You should dedicate any merits for all sentient beings to meet the teachings and actualize the path and achieve enlightenment. That is very good.

Think of those you have a blood relationship with, your parents or children, those who are at home, those who don’t have a Dharma wisdom eye. Think how they are under the control of mara, how because of ignorance, they don’t appreciate the difference between right and wrong, what to practice and what to avoid. They are ignorant about the path to enlightenment.

One of the best things you can offer them is to introduce them to the infallible path of Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings, which are the unification of sutra and tantra, to become the cause for them to enjoy the Dharma.

HYMNS OF EXPERIENCE COMMENTARY: THE IMMINENCE OF DEATH

Think, “May I continue the stainless work of the teaching of Lama Tsongkhapa in order benefit all the kind mother sentient beings. Therefore, I’m going to listen to the commentary on the graduated path to enlightenment.”

Please listen to the teachings well by generating the good heart, a bodhicitta motivation, and remembering the right methods for listening to the teachings. The subject is Lama Tsongkhapa’s Hymns of Experience of the Graduated Path to Enlightenment.

This life of leisure is even more precious than a wish-granting jewel;
That I have found such an existence is only this once;
So hard to find yet like a flash of lightning it is easy to vanish.32 

Our lifespan is very short, like lightning in the sky, and not only that, death will definitely occur. Even when life happens, it is so brief and it can be stopped at any moment. You have life and then [Rinpoche snaps his fingers] it is stopped, just like that. You are living your life, seeing so many people, possessions and things, but then life stops—it can happen any time. The actual time of death is indefinite.

Life is like a brief flash of lightning. You have this vision of this life; you are eating, sleeping, traveling, meditating, studying, reading, all that is as if within a flash of lightning. You are doing all these things and then, while you are in the middle of doing them, your life is stopped. It could be at any moment. After the flash of lightning, it becomes completely dark. Similarly, the vision of life can stop in any second.

Reflecting well on Lama Tsongkhapa’s advice, you can see how pointless it is to be involved in the works of this life, to be completely distracted by them. It is utterly childish. It’s like there is a huge dam in front of your house, about to bust, about to tear your house off its foundations and sweep it away. Although you are aware of this, you still cling to your house, your property, your possessions. Even when the flood waters are about to destroy all this, you are still planning where to build your new swimming pool and how to make a new garden around the house. You are so absorbed in this, so distracted by these plans, clinging to all this, that you have no concern for the danger that will happen at any time.

The water is rushing toward your house, but you are still unaware of it. You plan your development of the house, you invite friends around for coffee and tea. Once the water inundates your home, you will have no place to run. You and all your possessions will be destroyed.

Meanwhile, others around you are aware of what is about to happen and have cut off their clinging and are completely ready to run away. Having checked ahead of time and seen the danger, they have made preparations, carrying their possessions to a safe place—their clothes in a suitcase, their money in a pocket, they leave with enough time to escape. That is recognized as a skillful, wise person.

When you are completely occupied with the works of this life, when you never make preparations for the happiness of future lives, when you completely cling to this life, you never think of impermanence and death. Then, suddenly, there is no time. When you are possessed by death, when the karmic vision of death appears and you have to experience the pain and suffering of dying, even if you think of death then, no matter how much fear there is, it’s too late.

You must make preparations before death happens. You must practice the Dharma, especially remembering impermanence and death frequently. This protects the mind, keeping it in the Dharma. By remembering impermanence and death, your mind will continuously reside in the Dharma no matter what happens. It’s like a trained rider who can keep their horse on course. If it starts to run in the wrong direction, they can whip it and correct its direction. If later on it again goes the wrong way, again they can whip it and correct its course. Like this, before death happens, as much as possible, while you have freedom to practice the Dharma, just as the rider whips the horse, you whip the lazy mind by continuously thinking about impermanence and death, filling the mind continuously with the Dharma. In that way, you persuade the mind to practice the Dharma.

Unless you do that, whether you are a king or a beggar, when death comes you take nothing with you. Unaware of death, you are like a child who has built a sand house, unaware that a huge wave is coming, about to completely wash it away. It’s coming nearer and nearer but you only become terrified when it’s right above you and you see it. At that time, there is nothing you can do. You cling to the house, thinking it is the source of your happiness, but when the wave goes over it and washes it away, it’s of no use to you at all. No matter how much fear you have, it’s of no use.

It’s the same thing with your life. Before death, when your body and mind are well, you can do whatever Dharma practice you want to, you can do a practice of purification or whatever. When you are well, if you do nothing, if you completely waste your time through being distracted in obtaining the meaningless perfections of this life, one after another, day after day, one day, when death unexpectedly comes, you are overwhelmed with fear, but no matter how much fear and worry you have, it is completely useless.

The wise thing to do, the skillful thing to do, is to make preparations. Just as a child might run away before the wave hits because they have seen it coming, if you have made preparations for the happiness of future lives, taking the essence of this precious human body, if you have prepared for death by remembering impermanence and death, that is a highly skillful thing to do. 

By understanding impermanence and death, by knowing that death is definitely going to happen, and by fearing it now, without ignoring it, and because of that, protecting your mind with the Dharma, when the actual time of death arrives, you won’t have any fears or worries. You will have complete confidence that you won’t be going to the lower realms. Actually, you will have complete confidence that you will be going to a pure realm for sure; there will be signs of that. You will at least be able to attain the body of a happy transmigratory being and not be reborn in the lower realms. There will not be the slightest fear or worry in your mind. You will be a most confident, most skillful person.

I’ll stop here.


Notes

31 Tsongkhapa, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. 3, p. 178. [Return to text]

32 V. 13. [Return to text]

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