Lecture 3
DEDICATING OUR LIFE FOR OTHERS
Why are there so many problems in the world? Why is there so much unhappiness in life, in society, in the family, even in an individual person’s life? No matter how much wealth and education there is, how many friends, what seems to be missing in education, particularly in the West, what is missing is the teaching, the education of compassion and universal responsibility. Education about these two things is missing. That’s why there’s so much depression, so much suicide, so much dissatisfaction. Even if we have so much other education and wealth, all these things that we have tried and achieved on one hand, but still there is not the education on compassion and universal education, in our daily life and in the general education of our society. It’s missing for the young and for the old, for both. The most important quality of the mind is missing, the mind that is the very essence of life, the mind that really gives happiness, satisfaction, even if we live alone. It gives happiness, it gives satisfaction, it gives peace of mind, and we can enjoy it. Even if we become a slave to others, we can enjoy doing that. Even if we live with others, we can enjoy life. This is the very source of life, the very purpose of life, but this education, or this attitude, is missing. To transform the mind, to live life like that is not a common subject to practice.
People receive so much harm from each other because they lack these things, compassion and universal responsibility, not having thought of how they themselves are responsible for all sentient beings’ happiness, starting from the family, the parents, then all the rest. Feeling this. This is the great attitude, this is what gives so much peace and happiness in life. This is the purpose of life. With this attitude everything we do is dedicated for others. With this attitude all things—enjoyments and so forth—are made to live our life for others, not only for our own sake, not only for our own happiness, but it helps to make life happier for other sentient beings, to obtain happiness for all sentient beings.
What offers more happiness than this? What is there in the life that offers more peace, more satisfaction, than living our life for other sentient beings, working for other sentient beings, pacifying the sufferings of other sentient beings, and obtaining happiness for other sentient beings as much as we can? As much capacity as we have, as much intelligence as we have, as much capacity as we have, we must dedicate our own life to other sentient beings. As much as we can, whatever we can do. Each twenty-four hours or for our life, we must try to dedicate, to live our life for other sentient beings.
Of course, the best service for sentient beings, the most perfect service for every other sentient being is only when we become fully enlightened. Becoming fully enlightened is the perfect service without any mistakes toward all sentient beings. Even to one sentient being, to do perfect service without mistake, life to life, that can only happen after we become fully enlightened, only after we have achieved the perfect mind and perfect power, and completed the mind training in the compassion to all sentient beings. Only then can we do perfect service without any mistake to even to one sentient being, and then, from there, to all the sentient beings, to every sentient being.
But we should feel happy even in our day-to-day life that we can become useful for even one sentient being, that we are found useful by even one sentient being, that we become needed by one sentient being. Even if we’re taking care of an old person or looking after a baby, doing service in that way, we should feel happy that we are useful to that person, that we are needed by at least one sentient being.
Even for that, we should try to feel happy. How good, how wonderful it is, like this. That our body, speech and mind have become useful even for one sentient being. We should rejoice at how wonderful this is, that we are able to serve even one sentient being, that we have become useful to even one being. There are numberless sentient beings, but being useful even to one sentient being, how wonderful it is. How wonderful it is.
We can get satisfaction, we can enjoy life, on the basis of this attitude, thinking like this, that our life is for other sentient beings—on the basis of this attitude, and that universal responsibility and compassion. This is the purpose of life, on the basis of this attitude, thinking, “My life is not for me. This life, my life is not for me, it’s for all sentient beings, to pacify their suffering, to obtain happiness, to do this service. My life is for the enjoyment of other sentient beings. I am here to be used by the sentient beings.”
All this practice, all this attitude, all this service is completely the opposite to the ego, the self-cherishing thought. When our attitude, when our service becomes like this, completely against the self-cherishing thought, then there’s much happiness in life; there is real satisfaction in the heart. When our attitude of body, speech and mind is the opposite to the ego, when it becomes altruistic service for other sentient beings, then the sun of happiness has risen in our heart.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF SELF-CHERISHING: WORKING JUST FOR THE SELF
The problem is at present we do something for others, but our attitude doesn’t change. All the time we do work for others, in the family, in the office, in the company, in the factory, doing government work, even as a musician or singer or whatever, even making jokes, as a comedian—the one who tells jokes on and on and on—we always do work for others, but the main problem is our attitude never changes.
Even though we spend all our time working for others, our work is always related to others, still we face problems in life because our attitude is still selfish, egoistic. When the attitude is egoistic, self-cherishing, only concerned our own happiness, doing this work to make money for our happiness and comfort—when our attitude is only like this, my comfort, my happiness, constantly, day and night, day and night, this becomes the practice of the self-centered mind, the self-cherishing thought, rather than the practice of altruism or bodhicitta. Our constant concern, the main aim in our life is only happiness for ourselves.
First of all, our main concern is our own happiness, to have enjoyment, to have a good reputation and so forth. The happiness we are concerned about is not ultimate happiness, the complete cessation of the whole, entire suffering and causes. It’s not even the happiness of future lives, not even that long-term happiness. It’s the happiness of just this life, which is only a few years’, a few months’, a few days, a few hours’ happiness. It’s very short-term happiness. The happiness of the self that we are concerned about is very short-term happiness.
How we live this life with the self-centered mind becomes the basic problem. The work that we do doesn’t get dedicated for others. The work that we do in the office, in the family, for the government—wherever—none of these things are dedicated from the heart so they don’t become service for others. For the mind it becomes work for the self; we are working for ourselves alone.
Even if we work in a hospital, looking after people, since this is the attitude, in reality it becomes work for the self. We are working for the self. That’s why there’s no happiness in life. There’s a blockage for happiness, for the enjoyment in the life. There’s always dissatisfaction. Especially when there’s a failure, we become unbelievably depressed, crazy, having a nervous breakdown—all these things, even committing suicide.
The work we do could have so much benefit, but because of our attitude we don’t enjoy life; there’s no enjoyment. It becomes a job. The work becomes a burden to us because our attitude is concerned only with our own happiness, even though the work we do gives benefit to others, because others’ happiness is dependent to us. Their success depends on us. For example, the employer. Is the one who gives the job an employee or employer? [Student: Employer.] Then, one who does the job? [Student: Employee.] So, the employer’s success, happiness, depends on the employee. Is that correct? So, even just in a very narrow way of thinking, the employer’s success and happiness depends on the employees. The employees are part of that. The employers are dependent on their work and the quality of their work.
Even though there is benefit, giving some comfort, some happiness, some success, for others; even though these things are happening, because the attitude is for our own happiness, the main aim of life becomes just our happiness, that way the work becomes simply a job. It’s just a burden.
Therefore, even if at the beginning there’s some interest, we try so hard to find a job, sooner or later it becomes boring. Sooner or later it becomes very boring. Life becomes very, very dissatisfying, very sad.
DEDICATING OUR LIFE FOR OTHERS
It’s all to do with the attitude. On the other hand, even if we don’t have all our limbs, even if we have an imperfect body, there is still something we can do. Even if it’s small, there’s still something we can do to benefit to others. So we can feel happy. Even if the benefit is very small, if our attitude is that our life is for others, to pacify their sufferings, to obtain happiness for others—even if the benefit we can offer others is small, we can have happiness.
Even if we get money from people by working, if our attitude is like this, we are working for others. We feel universal responsibility and compassion, by thinking of the meaning of the life, which is to free others from the undesirable sufferings and causes, and help them to obtain happiness. Even if we get money from others, our work becomes for others; it’s dedicated to others. The money we get from others is also basically for other sentient beings.
With this attitude, living in a comfortable apartment with every luxury—house, food, clothing, all these things—with this attitude, then all these enjoyments are used for others, all the things we do are done for others, for the sake of other sentient beings. We ourselves are able to offer service to other sentient beings, and we are able to develop our own mind to be able to continue the practice. With this attitude everything becomes dedicated to other sentient beings and so all these things become beneficial for other sentient beings. Even if we are not working, even that is for the benefit of other sentient beings.
The bodhisattva saint has completely renounced the attitude of working for the self and only has the attitude of working for others. Whatever work he does, with body, speech and mind, it becomes only the work for other sentient beings. He takes on the responsibility to work for other sentient beings. He voluntarily takes upon himself the work for other sentient beings. This being is called a bodhisattva, a saint, a holy being unstained by the self-cherishing thought, the thought of working for oneself.
The attitude of the bodhisattva, the saint, is that whatever he possesses—food, clothing, place, whatever enjoyment, whether the saint is a king, a millionaire or a beggar—in the mind of the bodhisattva, everything is for others, everything belongs to other sentient beings. Everything is others’, including his own body, speech and mind. Everything is others’, for the use for others. He uses things solely for others. He takes care of them as a servant, like other sentient beings are the master and he is the servant. The other sentient beings are the ones from whom he receives all success and happiness.
It’s very important on the basis of this attitude, which is the meaning of life, to dedicate our own life for others, thinking, “My life is for others, to pacify their suffering, for them to obtain happiness.” We use our life for others, like the four elements—water, fire, earth, wind—are used by the sentient beings for their happiness. It’s up to the sentient beings how they use them. However they want to use the elements for their happiness is up to them. In exactly the same way as the four elements, our life is the basis of the means of living for other sentient beings. We should think and pray this way in our everyday life, to be used like the four elements, completely used by the sentient beings for their happiness, to obtain temporary and ultimate happiness. That’s how our life should be, to become the basis of the means of living for other sentient beings, to be beneficial for other sentient beings in our everyday life. We should pray like this and try as much as possible to live our life with this attitude.
With this attitude then, whether other sentient beings are able to use us for their happiness, and when we able to do work for other sentient beings, to offer service, we can feel happiness. Without this attitude in our life, however hard we work, we can’t feel happiness, because the work becomes for the self, because the attitude becomes the self-centered mind, the self-cherishing thought.
This is important. If a beggar asks—if even one sentient being asks—for food or something, or money, then to be able to give even that little help, giving food or money or whatever, even to give that little service, that little help, we should feel happy that we have found this opportunity, that we have been in any way useful to others. We should think that other sentient beings have needed us and have found us useful.
It’s very important to know, as I mentioned before, that the most perfect, the most complete service—even for one sentient being—is only when we become fully enlightened. We must be enlightened to be able to do perfect service without the slightest mistake, even for one sentient being, from life to life, to lead sentient beings to peerless happiness, to full enlightenment, which is the cessation of all the mistakes of the mind, having completed all the qualities of the realizations.
Even so, we should feel happy with whatever service we are able to do for others in our day-to-day life. Whatever we’re able to do we should feel happy. We should think, “Even this much I’m able to do. Even this much I’m able to benefit others. Even this much service I’m able to offer to others, or that others have found me that much useful, how wonderful it is. How good it is.” So we should rejoice. We should rejoice. This way, there’s satisfaction. Even this is very good. Even this much we’re able to do is very good. This way we give ourselves satisfaction.
Otherwise, we don’t see our qualities, we don’t see the good things we’re doing in life. We only see the suffering. We only see the suffering life, only the negative part of life. This helps to encourage us, to give us courage, to give strength within ourselves. To rejoice in the benefit we are able to offer others, even if it is tiny, is wonderful because it gives strength, encouragement within our mind. We are able to see our own potential.
And so, no question about taking care of many people, serving many people, many other sentient beings, no question serving the country or society, a great number, no question. But even if it’s not like that, even if we’re working to take care of just one person or one animal, even taking care of a baby, we can think, “How wonderful it is that my five limbs have become beneficial for one sentient being. How wonderful that I’ve become needed by one sentient being for their happiness.”
BODHICITTA: THE BENEFITS FOR OURSELVES AND FOR OTHERS
The basic thing to know is that this is the purpose of life. This change of attitude is the most important one; it’s the source of all happiness in life. It’s also the door that stops depression. It’s the solution to stop depression and loneliness, these things. Because loneliness, depression and such things basically come from the self-centered mind, the ego, the self-cherishing thought, therefore, when we change our attitude, that is the best solution to close the door on depression and loneliness and all those emotional, mental problems that lead to physical problems.
As I also mentioned yesterday, this change of attitude, living our life with this positive attitude, is a new mind. The other attitude is not new; it’s very old. It’s from beginningless lifetimes. This old attitude is not only from this rebirth, not only from this present life’s rebirth, but from beginningless rebirths.
This new attitude becomes the best way. This way, the mind become very healthy, it becomes the healthiest mind, not having the chronic disease of the self-cherishing thought, this uptight mind whose continuation has had no beginning. This mind becomes the healthiest mind, which then becomes a great support for the physical body. It’s also the best way to be physically healthy.
As I mentioned, this altruistic attitude is the meaning of life. The other thing is how other sentient beings are so precious and so kind. The more we realize how other sentient beings are so precious and so kind, the more we are happy to serve them, naturally, without feeling it’s a burden. Then, we’re so happy to do even a small help for others, and even a big responsibility, even a big job, even some work that’s very hard, we’re so happy to do for others. Something that is a very heavy job, very hard work, very difficult to succeed in, even that we are so happy to do for others. No matter how hard it is, the more we realize how others are so precious and so kind, the happier we are to do whatever they need. That’s another one. Again there’s enjoyment, happiness in the life, the more we realize how they are so kind and precious.
The purpose of the life is to pacify others’ suffering, to free everyone from all the suffering and causes and to obtain happiness for them, to benefit for other sentient beings. That’s the purpose of life.
Now in regards to benefiting other sentient beings. One way to benefit other sentient beings is by giving them material support, giving them the comfort of this life, the happiness of this life. That is one way. More important than that is long-term happiness. I might repeat that again. One way is giving food, clothing, medicine and such things. This external help gives others comfort, happiness, like for example, giving a lot of external support for the people in Ethiopia and so forth. Another way is causing them to have the long-term happiness of future lives, not just for this one. That becomes more important because it’s long-term happiness. Even though it’s temporary happiness, it’s long-term happiness. It’s like comparing the importance of one day’s happiness and many years’ happiness. The difference is like that. There are big differences between this life’s happiness and the happiness of many future lifetimes. There are big differences. The second one becomes more important than the first one, short-term happiness.
Then, the third way is more important still. It is of greater benefit than the second one. This way is to completely eliminate the cause of the suffering that is within their minds, to completely eliminate the action and the disturbing thoughts, the all-arising truth. By completely eliminating this in their minds is the only way that they can be completely free forever from the suffering of death, rebirth, old age, sicknesses and so forth, from all the problems.
As regards the problems, there are different types of problems, such as the suffering of suffering and the suffering of change, that suffering which appears as pleasure but which is still a suffering, a problem, only called pleasure because it’s unnoticeable. Then, the third problem is [pervasive compounding suffering], which means that the association of the body and mind, that which is called the aggregates, is defiled. The aggregates are not free, not pure; they are defiled.
Because of disturbing thoughts, wrong conceptions, we apprehend things—the I and the aggregates and all things—not according to reality, but completely the opposite to reality, which is a hallucination. It’s a wrong conception. Ignorance apprehends the I and aggregates and phenomena not according to reality, but completely hallucinated, that which do not exist at all.
So, this association of body and mind which is defiled by this wrong concept—disturbing thoughts and the seed of these disturbing thoughts—because of that, these aggregates compound another suffering realm, another samsara. It creates, it compounds, another association of body and mind, which again is defiled, which again joins to, circles to another life, to another samsara, the suffering realm.
This is the third problem, and this is the fundamental problem. Because of this third problem, then the suffering of suffering comes with rebirth, death, all these things, and then the suffering of change and all those other problems arise. By completely eliminating the cause of suffering which is within the mind of sentient beings, and then bringing them to the ultimate happiness, ultimate liberation, so that they are forever free from all the entire sufferings and problems, this benefit is much more important than even the previous one, the second one.
An even greater benefit than this third one, an even bigger benefit, is to bring everyone to enlightenment, to make their mental continuum completely free from even from the subtle imprints left by the disturbing thoughts and dualistic view. This benefit is to cause their mental continuum to be completely free from all these subtle obscurations. Then, when their mental continuum becomes completely free from these stains, even from these subtle stains of mind, then all the qualities of the mind, all the qualities of the realizations, are completed. Their enjoyment is completed; there’s no higher enjoyment to experience. This is peerless happiness, full enlightenment. To bring all sentient beings to this state is the greatest benefit we can offer all sentient beings. This is the greatest benefit for all sentient beings and this is what we should offer.
I thought we might talk a little bit about reincarnation, since we talked about future lives. And about the mind a little bit. Just something to think about.
So I think I’ll stop here anyway.
Lecture 4
THE REALIZATION OF IMPERMANENCE AND DEATH IS THE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS IN LIFE
All causative phenomena are changing within every second, within every second, by cause and conditions. Just pay attention, just practice awareness, on this subtle impermanence, on the nature of these subtle transitory causative phenomena, on their subtle impermanence. Just concentrate on this point. That it doesn’t last, that these things do not last even within a second, that these things do not last even within a second.
Because of this, these things can be stopped at any time—either the object of anger, the object of attachment, the object of any of the three poisonous minds, and those beings who are separate from us. Even ourselves, our own life, our own body, all these things, there is nothing definite in anything; it can all be stopped any time.
This is the reality. Because these things are in the nature of change, they cannot last, cannot stay, cannot exist, without changing even within a second, because they are under the control of cause and conditions. The person we are angry with or attached to, that person, that object does not last forever; it can be stopped at any time. And also we ourselves who get angry, who get dissatisfied, who develop the dissatisfied mind of attachment, who have these disturbing thoughts arise about the objects, this can also perish, as death can happen at any time. This is the nature of phenomena; this can happen any time.
In the same way, material objects can be stopped any time. This is the reality of how they are. We should just concentrate a little bit on this.
By reflecting on the reality of these things, immediately it gives peace in the heart; it releases our mind from the prison of attachment. It releases us out of the prison of the dissatisfied mind, attachment. When we reflect on this, suddenly there is no point in getting angry at the object. Suddenly we don’t find any purpose, any point in becoming angry. Then it also frees us from the concept of permanence; it breaks the concept of permanence.
One of the fundamental problems in our life is the concept of permanence, apprehending these phenomena—which are in the nature of impermanence—as permanent. We ourselves, our own life, our body, enemy, friend and stranger, the sense objects and so forth—all these things are in the nature of perishing, in the nature of changing within every second and can be stopped at any time. However, we apprehend them all the time as permanent, as unchangeable. We apprehend that they will last, that they will be like this all the time. They are like this now and they will be always like this, forever. By incorrectly apprehending how they exist, we think, “I will have these things forever. I will have these possessions, I will have these friends, I will have this and that.” We think that they will continue to exist, that they’re going to be like this all the time, as it is now.
We live our life with this concept of permanence, looking at these things in a way that is not true, believing in it. Looking at these things in the wrong way, seeing things that don’t exist as existent, is a hallucination; this is not reality.
Therefore, when we discover the gross changes, when we come to understand the gross changes when these things get stopped, when they cease to exist, it becomes a great shock. It becomes a great shock. Suddenly life becomes a great shock and we have great fear. When these things happen, when we discover these things, which are opposite to our concept of permanence, we see they don’t exist in reality. Suddenly life becomes kind of depressed or crazy. We are unable to cope with the situation, unable to handle it. When these gross changes happen, when we see them, these problems arise.
This concept of permanence becomes the basis for the dissatisfied mind, attachment, anger and so forth to arise. This concept of permanence becomes the basis of life’s problems, the basis of life’s pain. It’s the basis of relationship problems, loneliness and so forth, all these problems that constantly cause people to ring up, day and nighttime, to talk about their problems. What’s it called where people ring up? Social service? Talk-back radio? Talk-back radio program.
I listened to a little bit of that in Sydney, where people rang up with their various problems. In the nighttime, you go to one place and then people ring up constantly to talk about their problems, while one person listens. They want to express their problems to somebody; they need to talk to somebody.
All these things are based on this, the wrong conception, the concept of permanence, apprehending these causative phenomena as permanent. Looking at these things in the wrong way, in a way that doesn’t exist.
First of all, if we live our life with the concept of permanence, having the concept of permanence, that mind under the control of the concept of permanence is itself a painful mind. When the mind is controlled by the concept of permanence, life becomes confused, and that brings suffering into our life. Then those other, different disturbing thoughts arise and that brings our life more problems.
On the other hand, practicing awareness, living our life with awareness, with right understanding, brings freedom. Seeing causative phenomena—the self, our own possessions, our body, the surrounding people and so forth—seeing these causative phenomena are in the nature of impermanence, we see them as they are. Seeing them in the nature of impermanence, we see them as they are in reality. This gives us freedom. This way of seeing gives freedom to us. The other one doesn’t give us freedom. The other one ties us into the prison of anger, attachment and so forth. It keeps our life in suffering, with problems.
Now here, with this awareness, with the thought of impermanence and death, it gives freedom. It releases us from the confused mind, the afflicted mind, from the discriminating thought, anger, attachment, ignorance and the concept of permanence. Because it frees us from the cause of suffering it frees us from life’s problems. This comes as soon as we pay attention to, as soon as we meditate or reflect on the impermanent nature of these phenomena, how they are in the nature of changing within every second, and how they can be stopped at any time. As soon as we reflect on this, desire, the dissatisfied mind, stops immediately. Immediately it stops that. Immediately it stops that. Because of that, immediately there’s peace in our heart. Immediately there’s peace in our heart, there’s happiness or relaxation in our heart.
What is peace? What is happiness in life? Real happiness in life, peace of mind? That is the absence of the dissatisfaction, of desire. Real peace of mind is that. Real happiness is that—the absence of dissatisfaction, the absence of the desire. Therefore, when we reflect on the nature of impermanence and death, the nature of the life, the nature of the causative phenomena, impermanence—that these things can be stopped any time—the dissatisfied mind of desire, attachment, immediately gets stopped. There’s no place in the mind for it.
That’s why the meditation on, or the realization of, impermanence and death is the source of happiness in life. That is the fundamental method or source that gives us great freedom in life. If we really want freedom, if we really want liberation, we need to practice the awareness of this. We should achieve the realization of the impermanence and death if we really want real peace of mind in life, real happiness.
FOLLOWING THE DISSATISFIED MIND BRINGS PROBLEMS
This is the point. It will come more later in the different parts of the lamrim when there will be more detail. However, the point is that following the dissatisfied mind, desire, the mind seeking suffering, is not the method to seek happiness. The way of seeking happiness in life is not following the dissatisfied mind, desire. This is the basic thing. It’s like if there’s a wire, for example, where electricity comes from in order to have light and that wire is burned or something, not connected, then the light doesn’t come. Or if the pump is broken or something, then there’s no water. Some mechanism we need for something is broken, it doesn’t function, bringing only obstacles, the opposite to what we wish.
It’s like that. Since the practice of not following the dissatisfied mind, desire, is not there, it’s not happening, there are constant problems in life, there’s constant unhappiness in life. Because that practice is not happening, there is constant unhappiness. No matter how much wealth we have, no matter how many friends we have, no matter where we travel—in the water or in the sky, to the highest mountain or the lowest place or whatever, to the countryside or inside a city—there are problems.
When the wire is connected there’s no obstacle to having electricity; when the pump works there is plenty of water. We use all these machines to get what we want, to go where we want to go. That’s their function. Similarly, if there is the practice of not following the dissatisfied mind, desire, then there’s happiness, there’s peace of mind.
As I often say, as soon as we stop following the dissatisfied mind, desire, attachment, immediately there is peace. Wherever we are—in the office, in the family, even in the prison, in the place where we get punished—the minute before when we were following the dissatisfied mind, desire, there were unbelievable problems. We saw only problems in our life, like gloomy, bad weather, with the sky completely filled with dark clouds. Like those days when it is completely dark, very dark, kind of very depressed weather. We can’t see one positive thing in life; we don’t feel there is any peace. We are so miserable, so unhappy, with our mind thinking there are only problems. The minute before, when we are following the dissatisfied mind, it’s like this. We’ve either failed in business, we’ve lost a big amount of money, or particularly we have relationship problems, a friend we expected so much from suddenly changes and starts disliking us. That person doesn’t love us anymore, maybe they have left us or something.
We are not born in hell yet, but it’s like being born in hell. What comes out in the mind is nothing positive. No positive thought comes. There seems no possible solution and so the thought comes that it is better to die, to commit suicide. First we can kill the other person and then kill ourselves. If we are unable to kill the other person, then we kill ourselves.
I met a man at Singapore airport—not the new one, but the one before. He was a very, very old man and he said he had an incredibly important thing to tell me. He said he was not sure whether he would survive today. He could not say why. He asked to meet, so after one or two days, I think we met. Then he said that he had taken care of his wife for so many years, but then she went away with somebody for quite a long time. She wrote she was coming back. He told me that he had promised in front of the Buddha that he would kill himself and he would take her also. He said, “I will also take her with me.” What I think he meant was he would kill her also, then kill himself. I think, in some ways he thought that he would be able to take her with him, something like that, by killing her. Because he promised in front of the Buddha to do that he said that his life was not sure any day. Later I rang him to try to talk about how precious life is and so forth, but I don’t know what happened after that.
So anyway, the minute before it was like this, when we are following the dissatisfied mind, desire, but as soon as we stop following the dissatisfied mind, desire, wherever we are, at that moment, immediately on the same seat, immediately, there is great peace. As soon as we stop, by knowing this is the problem, this is the main suffering and this is the main creator of the problems. This happens as soon as we stop following the dissatisfied mind, desire, looking at it as poison, not looking at it as a quality of mind, not thinking that this is what we are. Not looking at it and identifying it as ourselves. “What I am is this dissatisfied mind, desire.” We see it as poison rather than identifying ourselves as that mind, thinking this dissatisfied mind, desire, is what we are and without that we don’t exist.
Rather than using it as our own identification, as the definition of our existence, we look at is as the creator of all problems, as the fundamental suffering. We look at it as poison, as a disease of the mind, the chronic disease of the mind, which is much worse than cancer, AIDS or any other thing called disease by people in the world.
THE DISSATISFIED MIND CAUSES ILLNESS
This dissatisfied mind, desire, is a much more severe disease. It is much more serious than all those other physical diseases because all those other physical diseases are based on this, they come from the dissatisfied mind, desire, attachment. Diseases such as cancer, AIDS and so forth that are regarded as frightening by the people in the world are based on this; they come from this.
Actually, the dissatisfied mind, desire, is a much more severe disease, a much more dangerous disease, than all those other diseases. By having this we then experience those other diseases again and again. Even if we recover, we have to experience them again and again even in this life. They come back again and again because we create the cause out of having this dissatisfied mind, desire. Even if we recover in this life, as this cause of the disease, this dissatisfied mind, desire, is not eliminated, is not changed, we create action, karma, and that brings the disease again and again, from life to life.
I myself don’t remember seeing the term cancer in Tibetan medical texts. Probably that exact name wouldn’t be there. It might have a different name or different symptoms might be given, but with all those different things, it’s possible to call it cancer. This was explained by an educated doctor who studied with His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, who is my root guru, from whom I received the first teachings on the graduated path to enlightenment, at Sarnath, which is the place where the Buddha turned the first Wheel of Dharma, the four noble truths. This man was a well-educated doctor. He explained that the female spirits called mamo breathed poisonous breath into people who had degenerated samayas,2 who had done unrighteous actions, which means having done certain heavy, harmful actions toward other sentient beings. As they breathe, the poisonous breath goes into them. Then that breath somehow becomes the condition for tiny, tiny germs or tiny worms to develop. These tiny worms then go through the blood or through the body and eat the cells; they go through the body.
This is what he said but it’s related to cancer. I think I saw a description in the text explaining about some of the conditions of the disease. After that comes the medicine, the remedy. It’s something related with Vajrapani, but I don’t remember that part a hundred percent clearly. However, it’s like when we talk about a disease such as TB, tuberculosis. When people who have TB breathe, the breath goes into somebody else’s lung, then they catch the contagious disease, TB. In the text there are those descriptions that are similar to other conditions of cancer. It is explained like that.
In the West, karma—having done some harmful action toward others—as the cause of disease is not discussed. That part—the mind and the motivation, the attitude and the action—is not talked about, guilt as a cause is talked about. Western texts talk about somebody having guilt and then getting cancer. Somebody feels guilty, or has the thought of having done something wrong in life, and then cancer results. Still, the texts don’t talk about the cause. There’s still something missing. Guilt is a result not the cause.
The motivation and the action that cause the guilt are not talked about. Whereas, understanding the cause gives us the chance to change the root, the cause—wrong motivation and wrong action—because the real cause is not explained there is no chance to change. The real cause is not explained, and even if there is an explanation, only conditions are explained, only the conditions of cancer, only the secondary things, the conditions of the disease. The conditions are explained as if they are the main cause. Wrong attitude and wrong action, which are the main cause of cancer, the main cause of disease, unwholesome action, that part is not described, not explained.
THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN BEINGS AND SKIN CANCER
There are many conditions, but if we don’t know the real cause we don’t know how to change, and we don’t stop. We constantly create the conditions. Because the cause is there, once we have the cause, then there are the conditions for the disease to happen. We constantly create the conditions for the disease. If there’s no cause of the disease, if there’s no cause of cancer in the mind, if there’s no cause within us, there is no possibility to have the conditions for the disease. To have the conditions for disease, there has to be a creator. For skin cancer, for instance, something has to make the hot sun become a condition. It has to have a creator. Something has to make the hot sun become a condition for skin cancer. Whatever those other conditions are, something has to make them become the conditions for that disease.
The external things becoming conditions for disease depends on having the internal cause. It depends on having the cause within the person. As I often say, if the hot sun is the main cause of skin cancer, then everybody who lies down in the sun should have skin cancer. Everybody whose body is exposed to the sun should get skin cancer. If that is the main cause, how many eons, how many centuries has it been since human beings happened on this earth?
Whether human beings happened from the monkeys or whether the original human beings happened on this earth; for the majority of the original human beings, their consciousness came from the higher realms, from the form realm. After the earth evolved, their consciousnesses took place on light, on sparks of light, and then they had a light body. The original human beings had a light body.
Then, gradually because of the imprints from past, [they lost their light body.] Even though they were born in the higher realms, with their past lives born in the form or formless realms, still they were not free. They were unable to completely remove disturbing thoughts, ignorance, anger, attachment, karma. They were unable to abandon, to remove the imprint, the seed. Much later, they saw an object, some earth, and by seeing those certain objects, because the imprint of attachment was not removed from past lives, attachment for it arose. Even though they had such a body in the nature of light, by meeting these certain objects, like humidity or certain other things, such as the earth, then attachment arose.
Then, by eating those impure substances, their bodies became gross. This is similar to us today. Even though we don’t have a body in the nature of light, we have a gross body, but depending on what kind of diet we eat, with some diets our body feels very light, and our mind feels very fresh, very aware, very clear. Our body kind of feels very light and healthy. But due to some heavy diet, such as eating some black food, [meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic and so forth] then our body can feel very heavy and our mind can also be kind of unclear. So, the kind of food affects our body and mind.
Because the gods’ past lives’ imprints of attachment were not removed, by meeting certain objects attachment arose, and then, having taken those impure substances, their light body degenerated and became an ordinary body. Their body became gross.
Before, there was no sex organ, but then after that, the sex organ developed due to past karma, due to past action. Then again, the same thing. Because of the past habit or imprint, by seeing the object then attachment arose for each other. Then, after having sex, these things happened. Because of that, they needed to build a house, kind of for privacy. This just happened.
The main point is that whether human beings started from monkeys or from consciousnesses that came from the higher realms, gradually they degenerated and their bodies became gross.
How many centuries ago has it been since human beings started on this earth? [If the sun is the cause of cancer] then there should have been skin cancer from very beginning. From the time that the body has been exposed to the sun, there should be skin cancer from the very beginning. If the sun is the main cause of cancer, if there’s no other cause for skin cancer, if the sun is the only cause, there’s no other evolution before that, then skin cancer should have been there from the beginning.
The conclusion is that everybody who exposes their body to the sun doesn’t get skin cancer. Only some people get skin cancer. That proves that the hot sun is not the main cause, it’s a condition. It’s not the main cause. Those who have the causes to get cancer within them will get it. For them, the hot sun becomes a condition to experience cancer. For those who don’t have the cause within them, the hot sun doesn’t become a condition of cancer.
By having the very root cause within us—the ignorance not knowing the ultimate nature of the I, phenomena and so forth—our hallucinated mind apprehends things completely the wrong way. Even though everything is empty of inherent existence, we apprehend all phenomena, all existence, as inherently existent. This ignorance is the very root then, the cause of the dissatisfied mind, attachment. This is the basic cause of diseases such cancer.
It’s explained in the Tibetan medical texts that all diseases are based on the three diseases: phlegm disease, bile disease and wind disease. Those three diseases have mental causes, caused by ignorance, anger and attachment. It’s explained like this in the scriptures, the medical texts, about the evolution of disease. So, basically there’s ignorance and then, on the basis of that, attachment rises, and then, having done some heavy nonvirtuous action, this disease happens. That’s the cause.
It seems that there are holy beings who are completely free, by having actualized the very highest path of tantra, the Secret Mantra. They have complete control over the elements: the inner elements and the outer ones. Those who have complete control over the inner elements of inner fire, water, air, earth, in this way also have control over the outer elements. Those who are free, who have completed the whole path and who have ceased all the mistakes of mind, all the cause of the sufferings, they’re different. How those enlightened beings appear to have such a thing [as disease] is only the appearance according to the minds of sentient beings. For the sake of us ordinary sentient beings, there’s usually some story that relates to some nonvirtuous action. We hear a story, how something happened and then this thing happened.
For instance, there is a story about arthritis. The great yogi, the enlightened being, Padmasambhava, who was the one that who purified the land of Tibet, who first spread the Buddhadharma in Tibet, was invited by the king of Tibet. During that time, when Padmasambhava was at Samye, the first monastery to be built in Tibet, there was a queen who had a child with one of the ministers. I think the child was buried in the wrong place. Due to this pollution, many people in that area got sick, and the king also got sick, not having a clear mind, feeling very polluted. The ministers checked with the astrologists who said the king had become polluted. Then they checked with the doctors who said the same thing. The queen herself got arthritis. All her limbs were completely deformed with arthritis. She was very scared that the king might kick her out or torture her or punish her.
The ministers couldn’t figure out how it happened so one went to check with Padmasambhava. He said, “I have the solution. I’m the yogi who sees everything, who sees everything is empty. I’m the yogi who has these realizations, and I have the solution.” So Padmasambhava told her she didn’t have to worry. He told the king not to torture her, not to punish her. He advised them to collect many different types of incense that stop pollution being received from different beings. He told them to take it all on the next morning to Hepori, a mountain near Samye.
Then Padmasambhava wrote a meditation text, a puja to eliminate all the pollution, the harms, done by different beings, by offering incense first to the Three Jewels, then to the protectors who are beyond samsara, then to the worldly protectors, the landlords, the nagas and so forth. Because of the pollution those different beings received, the place became polluted and, due to that, many people in the whole area became diseased.
Padmasambhava wrote this text with the story about how the disease happened from the queen’s sexual misconduct and the baby being buried in the wrong place. Due to these things, it happened that the queen herself got arthritis in the limbs and was deformed. Due to this puja, the king, the queen and the people in the area all recovered.
Stories like this show that even things like arthritis, diseases that are so difficult to cure, are based on, are related to, attachment, the dissatisfied mind of desire. The conclusion is that.
Life’s problems, including diseases such as these, don’t come from the outside. Life’s problems come from the mind, they come from our own mind. Similarly, happiness doesn’t come from outside but from our own mind. Where happiness comes from is our own mind.
Therefore, as long as we put the blame for our suffering on external things, as long as we point to the outside, seeing suffering as coming is from outside, and happiness coming from outside, there’s always a problem.
RENOUNCING DESIRE FREES US FROM PROBLEMS
Therefore, because happiness and suffering come from within our own mind, since we dislike problems, we should eliminate the problem from our own mind and we should seek happiness from within our own mind.
As I mentioned before, following the dissatisfied mind, attachment, only causes endless suffering. It is not the method for real peace of mind, for life’s happiness. It’s the method or the cause of life’s problems. As soon as we stop following this dissatisfied mind, attachment, immediately, right at that second, immediately, there’s tranquility. There’s inner peace, there’s happiness in life, happiness in the heart. There’s relaxation, there’s rest. There’s rest in the mind, rest in life. When we are free from the dissatisfied mind, desire, there’s real rest, a real holiday. That is the real holiday! When the mind is in a state of peace, free from the dissatisfied mind, desire, that is the real holiday. That time you’re having the real holiday, the best holiday. Otherwise, even if it’s called a holiday, it’s still suffering.
So much expense, all done for that suffering. But here, wherever we simply free ourselves from problems, from the dissatisfied mind, desire, attachment, that is the best holiday. Even if we live in a grass hut or a ruined house—even if we are homeless, without shelter—if our mind is in such a peaceful state, we are free from the problems.
This happens immediately, as soon as we stop following the dissatisfied mind, desire. Before, there were relationship problems, unbelievable problems. Before, we lost our business or our company broke down or whatever, all these things, there was so much unhappiness, so much unhappiness. What came into our mind was only problems, driving us to the point of committing suicide to finish our life.
We don’t need to do that. As soon as we stop following the dissatisfied mind, that is the key, like changing channels on the TV. The key to happiness and suffering is our mind. We choose, like we choose which channel to watch. Whether we want to see fighting, people killing each other, or whether we want to see musicians singing and entertaining us, that depends on which channel we choose. Similarly, whether life is happiness or suffering depends on which channel we choose in our mind. With one way of thinking we see suffering in life, we create suffering, problems, in life; with the other way of thinking we create happiness in life.
As soon as we stop following the dissatisfied mind, desire, immediately there’s peace. There’s freedom, peace, within our heart, within our own life. Therefore, immediately the problem is stopped, there’s no longer any problem in life. We don’t see a problem in life. Therefore, this is what practicing Dharma really means. This is what meditation, Dharma, really means. That’s why there’s so much happiness practicing Dharma.
What happens in our life if we don’t practice Dharma? What happens in our life if we practice Dharma? There are big differences in our life between the two, like between the sky and the earth. There are big differences. The other way is suffering; this way is peace. The other way there are problems; this way there are no problems. There are huge differences.
I didn’t get to continue the other subject!
This morning, the main point of the subject is that everything—happiness, suffering—is dependent on our own mind, the way we think, what we do with our own mind, how we treat our own mind. I gave the example of the TV channel, which we turn this way or turn that way.
The point to understand is that we have great freedom. We have great freedom, we have great freedom. Therefore, there’s no reason to despair. It’s not hopeless; life is not hopeless. Life is not hopeless, it’s full of opportunities, full of hope, full of potential. Therefore, we should strengthen our mind to practice, to develop our mind.
So, I’ll stop here.
Notes
2 The pledges made by disciples during a tantric initiation to keep tantric vows or to do certain activities, such as a daily sadhana for the rest of their lives. [Return to text]
