The Best Thing Is to Actualize the Path

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter expressing all the mistakes, what you did. My root advice is this. The great bodhisattva Shantideva said, “My karma persuaded them; that’s why I received this harm. Now, didn’t I make that sentient being fall into the hole of the hells?” [A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, chapter 6, v. 47.]

So what Shantideva is saying is this. Regarding the person who abused you, or anyone in your life who caused harm—even somebody who rolls their eyes or says bad words—none of this is permanent phenomena. They are causative phenomena, so they arise due to cause and conditions. When something bad happens, the causes were created either in this life or in past lives, in the life before this one, or it could be billions or zillions of eons ago, numberless eons ago. Even a small bad karma, if it is not purified, will eventually bring a result, even if it was created numberless eons ago.

So what that person did to you is the result of causes created in a past life. You treated them in that way and you didn’t get to purify that negative karma, so then you experienced the result this time. Also, karma becomes powerful.

What you experienced as a child means that the person who harmed you did the actions with a negative motivation and created negative karma. That means that sentient being, who is a human being now, because of doing this action, will later have to be reborn in the lower realms, in the hell realms.

Shantideva’s advice shows that it is not only the effect but also the result of your own negative karma, having treated that person in a similar way in past lives. Not only that, it will cause that sentient being to be born in the hell realms. They are human now and from there they will be reborn in the hells. From this you can see there is no need to be angry with them; actually you need to help them because when they die they will be reborn in the hell realms.

To attain liberation, you need to have a higher rebirth and to meet the Dharma, to meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru and achieve full enlightenment as quickly as possible. So now if you can, generate unbelievably strong compassion for that person and for others who harmed you in this way. As you develop more compassion, the quicker you will achieve enlightenment, and the quicker you will be able to free sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings.

My ultimate advice to you is this. If you don’t want to experience such karma, my answer is to become free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings as quickly as possible, and to never ever get reborn back in samsara again—not for few years or a few days, not like that, but forever—because you are not creating the causes of negative karma and delusion; that has totally ceased.

This is just a side talk. One time in Singapore, probably it was the first time liberating animals, so I said to buy three snakes, not only snakes but frogs and other things. When it came to releasing the snake, the snakes were sort of a little drugged, as they had been kept since the night before in a sack, so it took a little time for them to wake up. Anyway, the thought came in my mind that if I let them go, they would kill the frogs, mice and many insects. But if I don’t let them go, they will get cut in half lengthwise along their body, and will suffer so much, because this is how people eat them. So what can I do?

Then the answer came in my mind that here, I will let them go this time, but the best thing is for me to actualize the path, then become free from the oceans of samsaric suffering, by becoming free from delusion and karma. Then we don’t have to harm other sentient beings, by being born as a snake, for example. Also we can reveal the Dharma to sentient beings, then through that they can actualize path and become free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings. This is the only way to ultimately help others, to free them from the oceans of samsaric sufferings forever. It is only through practicing Dharma, actualizing the path, then also leading sentient beings to full enlightenment, sang gye, the total elimination of all the obscurations and the completion of all the realizations. Anyway, I don’t remember exactly, but it was something like this. I thought, more or less, something like this.

I hope you can understand now what I am explaining; I just want to tell you from my heart to your heart. The first hell [of the eight hot hells] is the hell of being reborn again and again. The second hell realm is the black line hell [where the being is laid out on the iron ground and its body is cut open]. The third hot hell is where the hell being is gathered and crushed between mountains which appear in the form of heads of animals and people that they have killed. Their blood comes out like a waterfall, and it goes on and on until the karma is finished.

Fourth and fifth are the hell of crying and the hell of great crying, where the beings are in total oneness with crying in pain. They are stuck in an iron house without doors or windows, where it’s unbelievably, unbelievably hot, but they are stuck there until their karma is finished. Even when they’re free from that, there is another similar house outside that with no windows and doors, where it’s unbelievably hot and they are stuck there for an unbelievable longer time. The last three hells are the hot hell, the extremely hot hell and the inexhaustible hot hell. There is unbearable suffering, where the being’s body is like a log of wood in the fire; it is oneness with fire. You can only tell that it is a sentient being by hearing the sounds of it screaming. The beings are there for one intermediate eon and if their karma is not finished, even if this world ends, they still get reborn in the hell realms in other universes until the karma is finished. We have experienced all of this numberless times, from beginningless rebirths.

Similarly, there are eight cold hells. The first cold hell is the hell of blisters, and the second is the hell of bursting blisters, which has four thousand kinds of suffering. It is much, much colder than the first one; the suffering of cold is so much more, it’s double the previous one. There are four thousand kinds of suffering, each one greater than the last, and lasting longer than the previous ones. It is so heavy, heavy, heavy. We have experienced each one of these numberless times since beginningless rebirth, but our mind cannot even see the beginning; it’s happened from beginningless rebirths.

The preta beings [hungry ghosts], too, have unimaginable suffering. There are the outer obscurations, the food obscurations, and the inner obscurations, all those details that are in the lamrim. We have experienced this numberless times from beginningless rebirths, hundreds of thousand times, even tens of thousands of times, like that. We don’t die, and we experience the heaviest suffering of hunger and thirst numberless times.

Those born as animals are extremely foolish; they may be eaten by another animals, they always live in fear and they eat other sentient beings. So we have experienced this numberless times from beginningless rebirths. We have eaten all sentient beings numberless times and all sentient beings have eaten us numberless times without a beginning. There’s also the suffering of heat and cold, hunger and thirst, or being used by human beings, for example, being killed for skin, killed for hair, killed for meat, killed for medicine, heavily tortured by human beings for food or for money. It is unbelievable, unbelievable, most unbelievable suffering, and we have experienced this numberless times without a beginning. The big problem is that we don’t remember this, due to pollution and ignorance.

Also, there are all the different human sufferings—the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death; the suffering of meeting undesirable objects and not meeting desirable objects; or even finding them but not finding satisfaction. Especially in the West, this is such a big problem and so many people commit suicide, so many people die or kill themselves because they don’t feel satisfaction. Even if they have a billion, zillion, trillion dollars, they still can’t live for many lifetimes. Then there are the sufferings of the five aggregates. This is all explained in Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings, the Lamrim Chenmo or the Middle-Length Lamrim. We have experienced all this numberless times from beginningless rebirths.

There is the suffering of the asuras [demigods], who are always getting killed, always at war with the suras [gods] and getting killed. Their wives watch everything on the [surface] of the lake; they can see all the fighting and all the wars, all that is happening, so they get very worried. The asuras are jealous of the suras’ wealth and so many other things.

The suras’ main suffering is being totally unaware that their whole life is misused, distracted by great desire, great sensual desire. It is said that they have incredible sensual pleasures and desires. The billionaires, zillionaires and trillionaires in this world, these people are supposed to have everything, but they are the poorest compared to the suras and asuras. The suras have no opportunity to generate renunciation of samsara, which means they have no opportunity to generate bodhicitta and it is extremely rare for them to realize emptiness. Their life is totally distracted by desire and so much pleasure.

It is said in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand that hell beings have greater physical suffering, but mentally, the suras’ suffering is fourteen times more. You can also understand this relating to human beings. A person may have a billion or zillion dollars and be so rich in the world, but their life becomes full of so much fear and worry. They are worried to even go out because they could be killed or kidnapped. There are so many dangers, so then they stay in their house because of their wealth and their mind is never happy. They cannot get satisfaction and they want more wealth. They have so much wealth, but they are not satisfied, they cannot find happiness, they’re so miserable and their mind is upset, so unhappy. The beggars who live outside on the street and eat whatever food they can find don’t have as many worries as rich people. They have less worries. So you can get the idea from this simple example.

The great suffering of suras is having the five signs of death and the five signs of approaching death. They are put in the corner and all their friends, those who accompanied them for a long time, don’t come to see them. The other suras pass some flowers to the dying suras with a long stick, so they don’t have to be close. Normally the suras don’t sweat, but at that time they sweat and start to smell and get dirty. They realize they are going to die and they see that they have to go down, that they will have a lower rebirth because they have used up all their good karma. Knowing that the next rebirth will be lower is incredible suffering for them. It’s unbelievable, unbelievable. Even the richest human being is the poorest compared to those in the deva realms.

It is very important to understand this. We experienced all of this numberless times and not only that, if we don’t get to practice Dharma in this life, if we don’t get to actualize the true suffering, the true cause of suffering, the true cessation of suffering and the true path, directly seeing emptiness, and [ceasing] the delusions and karma and cutting the oceans of samsaric suffering, if not, then we have to again suffer and experience all the sufferings of the six realms. We will endlessly, endlessly suffer in samsara.

I don’t have much advice, but my main advice to you is this. You have to be aware of the situation, which you have not been aware of, how you are. This is the reality. You have to remember this in your daily life, morning and night, in your daily life and then the conclusion is to practice Dharma, as I said.

Here we have met the Dharma. It’s like an impossible thing that has happened—we have received a perfect human rebirth with eight freedoms and ten richnesses, we have been able to practice Dharma and we have met the Buddhadharma, the Hinayana teachings, the Lesser Vehicle teachings, and the Greater Vehicle teachings, the Mahayana teachings. Not only have we met the Greater Vehicle teachings of sutra, through which we can achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, buddhahood—this is besides having met the Lesser Vehicle teachings, where we can be free from the oceans of samsaric sufferings forever—not only this, but we have also met the Greater Vehicle teachings of [Buddhist] tantra, not Hindu tantra.

When we only practice the Greater Vehicle teachings of sutra, it takes three countless great eons to complete the merits of virtue and the merits of wisdom to achieve the dharmakaya and rupakaya. Here, with the Greater Vehicle teachings of tantra, we can achieve enlightenment and we are able to achieve the dharmakaya and rupakaya in one lifetime. We have met the Mahayana Yoga Tantra, where we can achieve full enlightenment in a brief lifetime of this degenerate time. We are able to complete the merit of wisdom and the merit of virtue in a brief lifetime, just within a few number of years. We have received all these initiations which plant the seed of the four kayas and make it ripen on the mind. We can actualize the path-time three kayas that purify the ordinary base time of death, intermediate stage and rebirth, then the path-time three kayas make the mind ripen and plant the seed of the ultimate three kayas. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!

We are fortunate, so fortunate, so fortunate. Our life is not long and we can die at any time. This is a most precious human life, which is so difficult to find again and it can stop at any time, at any moment, therefore there is nothing else in the life that is more important than practicing Dharma.

Practicing Dharma is the quickest way to achieve enlightenment and also to please the holy mind of the virtuous friend. For example, when you are talking to the guru, even joking or whatever, making them laugh or making the guru’s mind happy, even in that second you can purify the negative karma to be reborn in the lower realms. You can totally change your rebirth within that hour, minute or second, to be reborn as a human being, or as a monk or nun, or even in a pure land. Things can change so quickly, just like that, because the guru is the most powerful holy object.

First are this life’s parents, who are more powerful for us than outside people. Next are the ordained people, the monks and nuns, who are more powerful than our parents of this life. Then come the arhats, who have achieved arhatship and are free from samsara; they are more powerful than numberless ordained Sangha. One bodhisattva is more powerful than numberless arhats, and one buddha is more powerful than numberless bodhisattvas.

Now, our guru, the one with whom we have made the decision that we are the disciple and that person is our guru. From this guru we may have received even only one teaching on OM AH HUM mantra or only a few verses of teachings, but we have a Dharma connection, so that guru is more powerful than numberless buddhas. I’m not talking about just any guru in the world; I mean your own guru.

You should remember that even looking at one bodhisattva with a calm mind, in a respectful manner, you collect more merit than having made charity to all the three-realm sentient beings. Looking at a bodhisattva by rolling your eyes, showing the whites of your eyes, looking at them in a disrespectful way, in a negative way, is the same or worse than taking out the eyeballs of all the three-realm sentient beings. This is just talking about one bodhisattva, so if this is a buddha or our guru—wow, wow, wow!

We have suffered in the oceans of the six realms numberless times from beginningless rebirths, so if we don’t practice Dharma now, we will experience the six-realm sufferings without end. Exactly like this, there are numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asuras and numberless intermediate state beings who have been experiencing the oceans of suffering of each realm from beginningless time. Those who have met the Buddhadharma, especially the Mahayana teachings, where they can achieve enlightenment, and especially the Mahayana tantra, the number is nothing compared to those who haven’t met the Buddhadharma. They are numberless, numberless, numberless. Of course, there are numberless sentient beings suffering in each realm now and they will have to suffer again.

Also, it is from every sentient being that we have received happiness from beginningless rebirths, that we receive it now and also in the future, liberation from samsara and full enlightenment. This all comes from the numberless sentient beings. We receive this happiness due to the kindness of numberless sentient beings, so we can see they are most precious, most kind, most dear, our wish-fulfilling ones. Not only that, they have been our mother from beginningless rebirths, having been kind in four ways. Each of them has given us a human body, especially, for example, this present life’s mother who gave us a human body, which has the benefit of being able to practice Dharma, and being able to learn, read and write—wow, wow, wow—not just having met the Dharma but up to Mahayana tantra. Wow, wow, wow, amazing, amazing! Like that, all sentient beings have been kind. They gave us our body from beginningless time, numberless times; they protected our life from hundreds of dangers every day, not only during the nine months in the womb, but after that they protected us for many years.

For example, if our mother had an abortion then we wouldn’t be in the human realm, we wouldn’t have met the Dharma, besides actually practicing Dharma. No way. Then also they bore hardships numberless times for us, like during the pregnancy and after the birth, they worried day and night about us. All the hardships that our mother has endured—she could not do many things during the pregnancy, and also she worked so hard, bearing so many hardships, day and night, many things, then she gave us education.

This is not the first time; it has been happening from beginningless rebirths. Every sentient being has done this numberless times. They are so unbelievably, unbelievably kind, but they are not enlightened, they don’t have realizations of bodhicitta and they haven’t renounced the self-cherishing thought; it is only with [bodhicitta] that everything becomes the cause of enlightenment. Also, they don’t have realizations of emptiness. With that, everything they do would become the remedy to cut the root of samsara, ignorance, but [without that realization] everything they do, every action, becomes the cause of samsara, because whatever they do is done with attachment to samsaric happiness, attachment to this life.

This shows the unbelievable kindness of all sentient beings, but all their actions are done with anger or attachment, mostly attachment and ignorance, so all their actions become the cause of samsara and the cause of the lower realms, so again they have to suffer. Wow, wow, wow. They have suffered for us from beginningless time. Can you imagine that? Can’t bear what they have to suffer for us—the general suffering of samsara and in particular, the suffering of the lower realms numberless times from beginningless rebirths. Wow, wow, wow.

Therefore, as it is said by the great yogi Heruka, Kyabje Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo in Calling the Guru from Afar:

Thinking of the plight of my pitiful old mothers, pervasive as space,
Fallen amidst the fearful ocean of samsara and tormented there – reminds me of you, guru.
Therefore, guru, please bless me to generate in my mental continuum
Effortless experience of the profound three principles of the path and the two stages.

So now you can see that practicing Dharma is the most important thing, to try and help every single sentient being, to repay [their kindness]. As well as that, to actualize the lamrim; that is the best solution. Please come to this conclusion and understand this, then you can see how your life becomes most beneficial.

Thank you very much. Please read this letter again and again, not just quickly one time. Also, please read Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, the section on correctly following the guru, the shortcomings of not following the guru correctly, making mistakes in regards to following the guru, etc. Think about these points and read about them and use them in your meditation, to come to the realization that however many gurus you have, from your side seeing them as a buddha, as all the numberless buddhas. Seeing each guru is all the numberless buddhas and each buddha is all the gurus, from your side.

I am not telling you I am Buddha, I am just saying from your side to see each guru as all the buddhas and each buddha as all the gurus.

Thank you very much.

With much love and prayers ...