You are so fortunate being able to put much effort of body, speech and mind into seeking inner reality, your true nature. When you check how you have spent most of your life, you can see how fortunate you are having the chance to make this search even once. So fortunate!
I'm not just making it up, "Oh, you're so good," trying to make you feel proud. It's true. However, to really discover that all human problems, physical and mental, come from attachment, is not an easy job. It takes much time.
For example, if you're having difficulty at a meditation course, you might start thinking about home: your warm house, your comfortable bed, chocolate cake. You remember all these nice things. Then your ego and attachment get to work, "Oh, I don't know about this course. I'd be better off at home. At least there I know I can enjoy myself." But we all know what's going to happen when you get there. Still, attachment follows your ego's view, "My bed is so good, I'll be so comfortable back home; my family is there, I can relax and do whatever I feel like, I'll be free. Here I'm not free and I have to try to be serious. Anyway, my serious mind doesn't seem to be functioning, so I might as well leave." Your dualistic attachment kicks in, telling you so much stuff, convincing you until you say, "Yes, yes, yes" and leave.
So then you get home, and you're sitting in your room, and you check up. How silly! Nothing's new. There's no place on earth where you're guaranteed to find satisfactory enjoyment. Don't think Tibet must be a fantastic place, a paradise where everything is pleasure. Never! Never! Since dissatisfaction and attachment inevitably come with this body and mind, your samsaric mandala of dissatisfaction accompanies you wherever you go. Even if you leave your own country and go to a cave in the mountains, attachment comes along. You can't leave it back home.
Trying to face your problems is far more worthwhile than trying to run away from them without understanding their root. You've been that way before; it's not a new trip. It's the same old trip. You go, you change, you go, you change, on and on like that. In this life alone you've taken so many attachment tops.
With effort, everything is possible. In order to attain the realization of indestructible, everlasting peace, you have to have an indestructible mind for training. Realizations don't come without your training your mind the right way. First you have to make the determination, "For such a long time I have been servant to the two mental departments of attachment and ego, trying to please them. But in fact, they are my greatest enemy, the root of all my problems, the destroyers of my peace and enjoyment." You have to understand how these two minds occupy and control your internal world.
According to Lord Buddha's teachings, as long as you don't realize that your real enemy is within you, you will never recognize that the mind of attachment is the root of all the problems your body and mind experience. All your worries, your depression, everything comes from that. Until you do recognize that, even though you might occasionally have an hour's good concentration, it never lasts. If, however, you do see the psychological origin of your problems and understand the nature of attachment and how it works to cause aggression, desire and hatred, your mind becomes very powerful.
When you're in a peaceful environment, you think, "Oh, I'm so peaceful, my meditation is so good, I have such good realizations." But when you're out shopping in the street or in a supermarket and people bump into you, you freak out; because you're not sitting in meditation but walking around, your mind is completely uncontrolled. If, however, if you understand the psychology of attachment and how it lies at the root of your various reactions, you will not freak out easily and will really be able to control your mind, no matter where you go or who you're with.
This is not just some philosophical theory, either. It is really true, based on living experience. In fact, not only Buddhism, but all religions recognize the shortcomings of attachment. Even worldly people talk about its drawbacks. But, you know, even though we say the words, "Attachment this, attachment that," we don't really recognize it as the biggest problem on earth.
Therefore, what I'm saying is, it would be wonderful if you could recognize that your own attachment is the cause of every single problem that you experience. Problems with your husband, wife, children, society, authorities, everybody; having a bad reputation; your friends not liking you; people talking badly about you; your hating your teacher, your lama or your priest; all this truly comes from your own attachment. You really check up.
We Westerners always have to blame something external when things go wrong. "I'm not happy, so I'd better change this." We're always trying to change the world around us instead of recognizing that it's our own attachment that we have to change.
Just take a simple example. When someone hurts you by telling you that you're greedy, although you blame the person for how you feel, the hurt actually comes from your attachment. First of all, people, perhaps even your parents or your spouse, don't like your attachment-driven behavior, so they complain, "Oh, you're so greedy," hurting your ego. And then, instead of accepting their pointing out your selfish behavior, your attachment to always being right, perfect, causes you angrily to reject what they say. The fact that your ego, your wrong-conception mind, cannot accept criticism is itself a big problem: your ego wants you to be right all the time, and your attachment creates its own philosophy of never listening to advice, no matter who gives it, closing off your mind. It is very important that you learn to deal with these problems in the best possible way.

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A Brief Overview of the Lam Dre
By His Holiness Sakya Trizin

Virupa
Virupa was born in a royal family and from a very young age had very special qualities. Seeing
that all samsara was suffering, he renounced his station, became a monk and entered the great
monastery of Nalanda. He began by studying the Sutrayana teachings and also received and
practiced Mantrayana teachings. He became so renowned for his learning that after the passing
away of his teacher, he succeeded him as the abbot of Nalanda monastery. During the day he
gave Mahayana teachings to the monks, taught debate, and composed texts. In secret, however,
he undertook Mantrayana practices for a very long period of time. Yet, after practicing in
this way for a very long period of time, he experienced no significant signs of progress or
accomplishment. Virupa thought that perhaps he did not have the karmic connection with the
tantric practice, and so decided to devote his efforts full-time to giving Mahayana teachings.
After making this decision, on that very night, he experienced a vision of Vajra Nairatmya.
Vajra Nairatmya said to him: "What you have decided is wrong. I am your karmic link deity
and you must continue your vajrayana practices." So because of this vision, he continued
his secret practices. Shortly afterward in his pure vision, he saw the full mandala of
Vajrayogini and received the empowerment of the deity Hevajra. Every night for six nights,
one after another, he attained great realizations. On the first night he attained the great
realization of the first bhumi, realizing the ultimate truth. On the second night and on each
night after it, he obtained one bhumi or one stage of the bodhisattva path, up to the sixth
bhumi. He then became a great mahasiddha, left the monastery, performed many great
miracles, and subdued those on the wrong path. Many benefitted just by hearing his name,
and he did great service to the Buddhadharma.
Virupa had many general followers as well as Mahayana followers, but Krishnapa and
Dombipa were the two main followers of his esoteric, pith instruction. For the benefit of
Krishnapa, he gave the teaching known as "Vajra Words." This very short teaching contains
the essence of all the Tripitaka and Vajrayana. In the same way that butter is refined from
milk, the Vajra Words are the most important essence of the Buddha's sutric and tantric
teachings in the form of pith instruction. This teaching then passed to his close disciple
Krishnapa, who gave it to his disciples. In this way it was passed on to five great Indian
gurus. The fifth of these gurus was the Gayadhara who came to Tibet several times and
gave this teaching to the great translator Drogmi Lotsawa. Drogmi Lotsawa was the first
Tibetan to receive the Lam Dre teaching. He was a great master who had many male and
female disciples who had very great realizations. Drogmi Lotsawa transmitted the general
tantra explanations and the pith instructions to his disciples separately. He would not give
the general tantric explanations to the disciples who were listening for the pith instructions,
and he would not give pith instructions to those who were listening for the general
teachings. Among his disciples who received the most important teachings was Seton
Kunrik. Seton Kunrik received the Lam Dre teachings, attained high realizations, and gave
the teachings to Zhangton Chobar. Zhangton Chobar was a kind of hidden yogi: to the
general public he was an ordinary person working in other people's fields. He promised to
work in many fields, and emanated his body to many places. Zhangton Chobar gave the
teaching to the great lama Sakyapa, who was born of the Khon race.
The Lam Dre Lineage
The Khon lineage is believed to be directly descended from celestial beings dwelling in the
rupadhatu. When the time was ripe, they felt it was necessary to descend into the human
realms. Three brothers descended from the heavenly realms to the high mountains of Tibet.
One of them settled in Tibet. The first name of this lineage is known as the Clear Light race.
Later they mixed with the rakshas, which were the local spirits. When this mixture took place,
there was some disagreement between the perfect wisdom and ignorance. At that time the
name "Khon" was given, and both the name and lineage have continued to the present day.
Members of the Khon lineage were formerly Bon practitioners. Later on, Khon Nagarakshita
was a direct disciple of Padmasmbhava. Guru Padmasmbhava gave him many teachings - and
in fact, he was one of the first Tibetans to receive full Buddhist bhiksu ordination. He was one
of seven Tibetans ordained as a trial to see if the Tibetans could keep the Buddhist monastic
ordination. So, Khon Nagarakshita's monastic ordination was the beginning of a very auspicious
Buddhist monastic tradition. In any case, he was a very great disciple of Guru Padmasambhava,
and for many generations, the descendants were great Nyingmapa practitioners. During Khon
Konchog Gyalpo's time, they felt it was necessary to start a separate school, so they concealed
all the ancient teachings and started the Sakya order. The first monastery was built in 1073 by
Khon Konchog Gyalpo who was the father of the great Lama Sakyapa, Kunga Nyingpo.
Khon Konchog Gyalpo was a disciple of Drogmi Lotsawa and received the tantric teachings
from him. However, Lama Sakyapa Kunga Nyingpo received the Hevajra tantra teachings
directly from his father; but received the pith instruction from Zhangton Chobar. At first
there was some hesitation on the part of Zhangton Chobar, but later when he found out that
Kunga Nyingpo was the son of his dharma brother, Khon Gyalpo, he was more eager to
give the Lam Dre pith instructions. When he gave them to Lama Sakyapa Kunga Nyingpo,
he did so with the admonition that he should not disclose even the name of the teaching to
anybody for eighteen years. The condition was that after eighteen years, Lama Sakyapa
would be free to write the teachings down or give them to his disciples, because by then, he
would be the 'owner' of this great teaching. So for eighteen years Sachen Kunga Nyingpo
didn't mention the name of 'Lam Dre' to anybody and kept it completely secret. During this
time he studied and mastered the t eachings. Lama Sakyapa was an emanation of both
Manjushri and Avalokitesvara, a manifestation of all the Buddha's wisdom and compassion
combined. In reality he was already a fully enlightened being, but from our ordinary
perception, he appeared in human form and followed the path.
At one point during these eighteen years he became ill and actually forgot many of the
teachings, because at that time there was yet no written text. Because it was a strictly oral
teaching he was very worried because his guru had already passed away. At that time,
tantra was practiced secretly in the high mountains or in the great forests; it was not
commonly given. He thought that even if he went to India it would be very difficult to find
such a teaching. So he prayed, and in a dream, the guru Zhangton Chobar, came to him and
gave teachings. In this way Kunga Nyingpo remembered a lot of what he had forgotten. A
second time after praying in his meditation cell the Guru Zhangton Chobar came and gave
teachings, and he was able to remember the greatest part of the teachings. A third time after
praying, the great mahasiddha, the guru Virupa, founder of Lam Dre teaching who received
the teaching directly from the deity, appeared in the Sakya mountains.
In the vision, the huge mountain behind Virupa was covered with his body: he said 'this
earth belongs to me' and then gave the full Lam Dre teaching and many other pith
instructions to Kunga Nyingpo. And so, in this way, the great Lama Sakyapa Kunga
Nyingpo became the owner of all the Buddha's teachings. Kunga Nyingpo gave these
teaching to his sons and many of his disciples, and it has continued up to the present day.
This is a very brief history of how the Lam Dre teaching was started.
The famous five Sakya teachers, the Jetsuns, are members of the Khon lineage. Sonam
Tsemo was Sachen Kunga Nyingpo's son, and Sakya Pandita was Sonam Tsemo's nephew,
and Chogyal Phagpa was the son of Sakya Pandita's brother.
Overview of the Lam Dre Structure
The Lam Dre teaching is very profound and very vast. Though it is one teaching, it can be
practiced in many different ways. Those destined to follow the gradual path will start first
with the Hinayana path and then continue with the Mahayana and Vajrayana. Others may
be able to follow the direct path due to circumstances related to their state of mind and their
karmic connections. So for this reason there are many different ways to present the Lam Dre
teaching to disciples. The common way is to combine the whole of the Lam Dre teachings into
two parts: the preliminary part and the main part.
The preliminary part is included in the preliminary teaching known as the Triple Vision. The
Triple Vision consists of the base, the path, and the result. The base refers to sentient
beings. Due to karma and defilements, sentient beings have the impure vision, which is the
ordinary vision that we have right now. Yogis and practitioners who have enrolled in the
path and practice meditation have the vision of experience. After working on the path very
hard, one achieves the result, which is Buddhahood. The Buddhas have great inner qualities
and pure vision. So, the triple vision refers to the impure vision, the vision of experience,
and the pure vision. This is how the preliminary part is divided.
Preliminaries
In the Lam Dre, as in all Buddhist traditions, the very first point- the preliminary practice of
all the paths, the root of all dharma and the foundation of all vows is to take refuge in the
Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The practice of Refuge differentiates Buddhist practitioners
from practitioners of other religions. The first meditations of the preliminary part divide taking
refuge into three sections:
1. Taking refuge and creating the enlightenment thought
2. Practicing the main part of the meditation
3. Dedicating the merit
To more full understand Refuge, five additional points are used to clarify the principles:
1. the cause
2. the object
3. the way
4. the benefit
5. the rules of refuge
1-3. Regarding the cause of taking refuge: we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and
Sangha out of fear, faith and compassion. The object is the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
In the Mahayana, the word 'Buddha' is used to refer to one who possesses three kayas [or
aspects]: the dharmakaya, the nirmanakaya, and the samboghakaya. The Dharma or the
teaching points us to the realization. The Sangha refers to the great boddhisattva who has
already reached the irreversible state. We take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
with the Buddha as our guide, the Dharma as our path; and the Sangha as our spiritual
companions.
4. As it is said in the scriptures, the benefit of taking refuge is immense. If the merit we earn
in taking refuge had physical form, the whole universe would be too small to accommodate it.
5. Regarding the rules of taking refuge: there are general rules and individual rules. These
will be explained in detail at another time.
The Impure Vision
There are three preliminary meditations:
1. Suffering
2. Impermanence and the rarity of human rebirth
3. The law of cause and effect
The explanation on the impure vision is given first in order to develop renunciation. This is
connected to the first turning of the wheel of dharma by Buddha Shakyamuni, in which he
taught the four noble truths.
The first noble truth is the truth of suffering, the second truth is the cause of suffering, the
third is the truth of cessation, and the fourth is the truth of the path. In order to be free
from suffering, we must first understand the nature of suffering. For example, when we are
sick, we must first know the disease before we are able to get the proper treatment. It is for
this reason that the first noble truth- the truth of suffering, must be understood. We begin
by understanding the nature of suffering in samsara.
1. Suffering
There are three types of suffering:
1. the suffering of suffering
2. the suffering of change
3. the suffering of the conditional nature of all things.
The suffering of suffering means the visible suffering we have all experienced, such as
physical pain and mental anxiety. Beings reborn in the lower realms- the hell realm, the
hungry ghost realm, the animal realm- have an intense experience of the first suffering. In
the higher realms it appears that there is a mixture of suffering and happiness, but in reality,
there is no such mixture. The experience of suffering in the higher realms is merely different
than it is in the lower realms. First of all, we all experience the sufferings of physical pain
and mental anxiety. Also we experience the suffering of change, in that anything that is
created with cause and conditions is impermanent, and anything that is impermanent is
conditioned by suffering. In this sense, just as the outside world changes, as in the changing
of the seasons, change is also occurring in our own lives. Young ones grow older, large
families become smaller - everything is changing. The third suffering is the suffering of the
conditional nature of all things. Feelings which we normally categorize as "happy" or
"indifferent," exist only in relation to other feelings. In reality, there is no happiness in these
relative feelings. In samsara as a whole, from top to bottom, there is no essential happiness.
So although in certain ways we have less suffering and in certain ways experience more
suffering, in reality, there is not a single aspect of our experience that is worthy of
attachment. For example, when a poison is mixed with food, whether it is good food or bad
food, the poison still is harmful. Therefore, in order to arouse renunciation the first part of
the Lam Dre teaching emphasizes the meditation on suffering.
In order to fully arouse renunciation, the teachings explain the details of sufferings;
especially the hell realm and the hungry ghost realm. According to the teachings, the whole
universe is divided into six realms: three lower realms which include the hell realm, the
hungry ghost realm, and animal realm; and three higher realms: the human realm, the
demi-god realm and the god's realm. But taken together, in samsaric existence there is not a
single space that is worthy of attachment.
In order to arouse the inner urge to free ourselves from suffering, we have to concentrate
on the first step: the different conditions, and the different levels of suffering.
2. Impermanence and the rarity of human rebirth
The second preliminary practice is to meditate on the difficulties of obtaining the precious
human birth. As ordinary sentient beings we are only able to perceive the impure vision, due
to our karma and defilements. We conclude that this impure vision came from our own
actions; therefore, the only way to be free from this realm of existence is to practice the
holy Dharma. In order to practice the holy Dharma, we need to first obtain a precious
human birth.
To obtain a precious human birth is very rare. In order to be born as a human being,
generally one must have created the proper causes in advance - such as having practiced
virtuous deeds, especially pure moral conduct, supported by other good deeds such as
generosity combined with sincere prayers. It is very rare for all of these qualities to combine
together. Consider the world today, and of the many people who practice the spiritual path.
Even of those who appear to practice dharma, many of them only practice externally and
on a superficial level. Since the cause is rare, the result is very rare. So from the causal
point of view, all of these qualities are very rare. From the sheer numerical point of view,
outwardly it seems that there are so many people; however, if you think about it carefully, it
is very easy to count how many people live in one house; and yet it is impossible to count
how many different beings, including insects, are in the same house. So from point of view
of how many sentient beings exist already, human life can be understood as very rare.
From the point of view of nature, generally human life is rare, particularly those who have
been freed from all the unfavorable states of mind, or the human life that has all the right
conditions. The additional conditions for an optimal human rebirth are to be born at the time
that a Buddha has come to this universe, or in a time when a Buddha has given the teaching
and the teaching is still a living tradition, or being born with functioning sensory organs, and
with an eagerness to receive the teachings. Just from these factors we see that it is very,
very difficult to find the Dharma. Therefore, we must think that human life is very
precious, more precious than the wish-fulfilling jewel. The wish-fulfilling jewel is the most
precious thing of all material things because if one has it, it can bestow all our material
requirements such as food, medicine and clothing. However, the wish-fulfilling jewel cannot
bestow his/her rebirth, self-liberation, or enlightenment. But with the precious human body
and hard work, it is possible to achieve not only higher rebirth and personal liberation, but
even ultimate enlightenment. One must not only intellectually understand the value of the
precious body, but also feel that it is very precious and very rare because it is more valuable
than the wish-fulfilling jewel. When one possesses such a precious thing, one then
understands that there is no greater loss than losing this very rare opportunity. If one cannot
make use of this precious time, one will never know whether there will be such an
opportunity in the future. Therefore, it is very important for us to work when we have all
the right conditions, and are free from all the unfavorable states.
In other teachings, the meaning of the precious human birth and impermanence are taught
separately, but in the Lam Dre they are taught together. The precious human birth that we
have now is impermanent. Since everything is impermanent we must understand that our
precious human birth is impermanent also. In the Sutras, it is said that the best offering that
one can offer to the Buddha is to think about impermanence, because just by thinking about
impermanence will turn us away from attachments. By thinking about impermanence we
will be motivated to practice and make efforts on the spiritual path. Thinking about
impermanence is a great antidote to suffering, and will eventually help us to realize the
ultimate truth.
In this way, we must be mindful that this human existence that we enjoy now has no
definite life span. We all know people can die before birth, or soon after birth, or when they
are babies or grownups, and so forth. Moreover, even if one has a certain amount of time,
there is no actual reason that one will live up to that time because anything can happen. It is
the same as a butter lamp with oil that can be blown out at any moment due to a sudden
wind. In the same way, the precious life that we have right now, even if one is young and
healthy, can be affected by outer or inner obstacles. Anything can happen, and at any
moment one can die. Therefore, not only is it important to practice dharma, but it is very
important to practice it quickly without wasting any time.
3. The law of cause and effect
The third preliminary is the law of karma: cause and effect. It is one of the unique teachings
that the Buddha gave in order to show what one must do and what practices one must
follow. Everything we see and experience, including our current quality of life has been
created by our own actions. The teaching on cause and effect has two parts: the illusory
vision and the karmic vision.
The Illusory Vision.
The illusory vision is sometimes referred to as the "jeweled vision." Just as in a dream,
when we are dreaming the experience is as real as in our waking life, but when we awake,
nothing remains of the things that we saw and experienced. In this great illusory vision,
subject and the object appear separately. All sentient beings experience this illusory vision,
and it characterizes the world we live in now.
The Karmic Vision.
The karmic vision consists of the different perspective each sentient being has, based on
their karma. For example, some beings have less suffering, some have more suffering, and
so on. In any case, the law of karma requires that whatever action we take, the result will
follow; just as surely as our shadow follows us wherever we go. Similarly virtuous and
non-virtuous actions are like seeds which we plant. In due course, the seed will ripen and
produces the result.
There are non-virtuous, virtuous, and neutral deeds. Non-virtuous deeds are actions created
out of ignorance, desire, and hatred. If the root of a tree is poisonous, the flowers and
leaves that grow from it are also poisonous. In the same way, whatever actions that are
generated by desire, hatred and ignorance are called non-virtuous deeds which create
suffering in this life as well as in future lives.
There are three kinds of action: physical, verbal, and mental; and there are ten non-virtuous
deeds. Virtuous actions are deeds done without hatred, desire, or ignorance. Actions which
are motivated by loving kindness and compassion are called virtuous deeds. If the root of a
tree is medicinal, then whatever grows from the tree is also medicinal. Similarly, any action
that is created without the defilements is called a virtuous deed. Virtuous deeds create
happiness in this life as well as in future lives.
Finally, there are actions that are neither virtuous or non-virtuous deeds, such as walking
and sitting. Since these actions do not produce any negative results, they are greater than
the non-virtuous deeds; yet since they do not produce any positive results, they are inferior
to virtuous deeds. It is important to turn these neutral deeds into positive deeds.
If one wishes to be free from suffering, one must abstain from negative deeds. We begin by
abstaining from the cause: if we indulge in a negative cause, then we can't expect to have
happiness as the result. Therefore, we must abstain from even the tiniest negative deeds,
and we must try our best to practice even very small virtuous deeds. In the same way that
an accumulation of drops of water forms the great oceans, even tiny virtuous deeds will
gradually accumulate and produce a beneficial result. Regarding indifferent actions that are
neither virtuous nor non-virtuous, one should change one's motivations using the skillful
means of the bodhisattva's way of life. One should try to convert negative deeds through
diligent practice. This is a very brief explanation of the first part of the Lam Dre, the Impure
Vision.
Some questions and answers follow, which relate in particular to the topic of the Impure
Vision
Q: Are there factors that determine at what time during this or future lifetimes that the fruit
of a person's virtuous actions will manifest? What are the factors?
Sakya Trizin: It depends on the action itself. There are certain actions that will ripen in this
life. When the object is strong, the action is strong, and the intention is strong, then the
result ripens in this very lifetime. There are certain actions that ripen in this life after this
lifetime, or even in several lifetimes later. The law of cause and effect is such a subtle thing
that no ordinary person can fully explain it.
Q: Sakya Pandita was very critical on the use of the term "mahamudra" for anything less than
the highest completion practice. Would you comment on this in connection to the other schools
of Tibetan Buddhism?
Sakya Trizin: Actually, Sakya Pandita did not say that we couldn't use the term "mahamudra".
With any practice, not necessarily mahamudra, if we do not do it correctly, we can not achieve
the result. If we do it correctly, with the right teacher, the right path, and the right method, we
can achieve the result. What he said was that in order to attain enlightenment, we must follow
the right practices that balance method and wisdom. Mahamudra is primordial wisdom that we
experience through meditation.
Q: Please explain the concept of karma and its relationship to cause and effect and merit.
Sakya Trizin: Actually the word karma means action or activities - the work that we undertake.
The life we go through now, and all of its experiences, is the product of our own actions that we
have taken in the past. Nobody can make us suffer. Nobody can make us happy. Only through
the main cause that comes from our own actions will we be happy or suffer. The main cause is
our own action. The actions that we've taken create the effect and the result.
The Vision of Experience
The second part of the Lam Dre is the vision of experience, which consists of two
parts. The first part is the common vision of experience and the second part is the
uncommon vision of experience.
The Common Vision of Experience
The common vision of experience refers to the experience of the common Mahayana
practitioner. These practioners apply themselves to meditation on loving kindness,
compassion, and the enlightenment thought. By practicing these, one will experience the
vision of experience. First, in order to arouse this vision, one must practice loving kindness.
To practice loving kindness one must see that samsara is full of suffering. Next, one sees
that since everyone wishes to be free from suffering, one must work to be free from
suffering. One then aspires to attain personal freedom or nirvana for oneself. We must
view the impermanence of our present aggregates, understanding our situation is like a
fire without fuel which will eventually go out. Similarly, when one attains nirvana, the
aggregates, which are the base of suffering, disappear. However, this goal is only an
intermediate goal: if we carefully consider the situation we will see that this is not the
ultimate goal. Working for oneself alone is not the highest aspiration. For example, it
would not be appropriate to remain in a safe place if the other members of our family were
in great trouble. If one is a good and kind-hearted person, one would not be happy in such
a situation, but would rather go, and suffer together with the other members of one's family.
We believe that a continuum exists in our present awareness. Since our present body came
from our parents, our consciousness must have come from the same kind of mind we experience
now. From birth and continuing until old age, although our consciousness changes, the mind
continuum remains the same. In this sense, there is no gap in the continuum - the same mind
is simply taking different forms. This same example is used to prove that the mind has to exist
before the formation of our physical body. Likewise, when we die, the mind cannot be burned
or buried, but continues on in another form.
In this sense, there is no time that is considered the beginning of the individual mind. From
beginningless time until now we have continued in this realm of existence: we have taken
birth, we have died, and we have taken on another form. It is for this reason we believe that
at one time or another, every sentient being has been our dear mother, or father, or relative,
or friend. Abandoning other sentient beings in order to achieve our own salvation is not the
proper goal of spiritual practice. We must continually think of other sentient beings in our
practice.
When we begin to consider developing loving kindness, we should remember that every
sentient being, even the most fearful animal has a kind of instinctive capacity for loving
kindness. Even fearful lions love their cubs. We all have a certain level of loving kindness,
but not a full capacity for it. So, we must first cultivate kindness toward persons for whom
this is easier - such as our own mother, or relatives or friends. We begin by cultivating the
loving kindness we already have, and then work on increasing it. Next, we should try to
develop loving kindness to more difficult objects, like one's enemies. We should attempt to
transcend the superficial distinction between people we see as friends, as enemies, or those
we treat with indifference. In reality, we should see ourselves as having been related to all
three kinds of persons at one time or another. By understanding our relatedness to others,
and seeing that they have given us much love and kindness as our relatives and friends, we
can finally develop loving kindness for all sentient beings indiscriminately. It is possible for
us to wish all sentient beings to be happy and to experience the cause of happiness. In this
way we must cultivate and build up loving kindness toward all.
After we develop loving kindness we must next develop compassion. We generate
compassion by focussing on a particular sentient being that is suffering, and wishing that
they be free from the suffering and its causes. As in the meditation on loving kindness, we
start first with easier objects, and then gradually build up to more difficult objects, and
finally apply the meditation to all sentient beings.
On the basis of loving kindness and compassion, we then develop the ultimate enlightenment
thought. In order to completely free oneself from samsara, one must cut the root of samsara,
which is self-clinging. Although in ultimate reality, the "self" does not exist, due to the illusions
of the "jewelled vision," we perform actions. Through these actions we get caught up in this
realm of existence. We therefore must create bodhicitta to crush self-clinging, which is the
source of all suffering and the cause of the illusory vision. In order to crush self-clinging thoughts
one must practice the two bodhicittas - which are known as relative and absolute bodhicitta.
Relative bodhicitta suppresses self-clinging by making it inactive. Absolute bodhicitta completely
eradicates self-clinging.
Relative bodhicitta has two parts - wishing bodhicitta and entering bodhicitta. Wishing
bodhicitta means to have a sincere wish to attain perfect enlightenment for the sake of all
sentient beings. Entering bodhicitta means not only to have the wish, but to actually
undertake some kind of practice to achieve enlightenment. This implies enrolling on the path
and proceeding with practice. Efforts which are made after generating the wish to attain
enlightenment such as studying, contemplation and meditation, are considered entering
bodhicitta. From the very beginning of this practice one must see oneself on an equal level
with others. This is an important practice because we are in the habit of believing that there
is an enormous difference between ourselves and others. No matter how much we care for
others, self-clinging is a propensity we have experienced from beginningless time. Even
when we consider another person "beloved," typically one still cares more about oneself,
and self-clinging pe rsists. To change this we must cultivate the practice of loving other
beings as much as ourselves. Then gradually, as we habituate this attitude, we are able to
begin to give up our happiness, benefits, and other good things, for the sake of other beings.
Then, we begin to take the sufferings and the cause of sufferings of others onto ourselves.
If we had done this in the past, we would already be enlightened. But from beginningless
time until now, we have only cared for ourselves. We care for ourselves to the point that
every effort we make is only for our own sake, although all this achieves for us is more
suffering. It is for this reason we begin to do the exchange meditations, first for ordinary
persons, and later on with more difficult objects, like one's enemies, and finally for all
sentient beings. In this way we accumulate merit and eradicate selfish thoughts as well as
the attitude of self-clinging.
The next topic is the general bodhisattva activities. The relative bodhicitta thought only
suppresses self-clinging, so that the defilements become inactive. In this sense, the
defilements are not eradicated, but appear again in the future when the conditions are right
again. Therefore, in order to completely eradicate the attitude of self-clinging, one needs to
practice absolute bodhicitta.
Absolute bodhicitta refers to the absolute reality, the true nature of all phenomena. This is
not the sort of thing ordinary people attempt to understand. More intelligent beings try to
examine and draw conclusions from questions such as: What is our true nature? Why are
we here? Why do we have to experience this kind of life, and why do we have to have this
sort of vision? . This is the reason there are so many different philosophical schools like
Sarvastivada, Vijnanavada, and Madhyamika. And within these schools there are also
internal divisions.
Sometimes, students find it difficult to understand the concept of generating loving kindness
toward our mothers, families and friends, because of the difficulties they have experienced
with dysfunctional, addicted, and unloving families and relationships. When we give
teachings, the teachings are given to help people eliminate suffering and lead them to
enlightenment. So the presentation is given in the best possible way. It is true that it is
difficult to practice loving kindness and compassion, especially in this degenerate age. When
we teach through the pith instructions, teachings that have been passed down from one guru
to the next, they have a very special effectiveness. So by presenting these, even if one
cannot practice all of it, part of it might actually be very helpful. The Buddha's teaching is
like an ocean, very deep and wide. Whatever amount one can take, even as little as a
spoonful will be of great benefit. Moreover it is basic human nature that we all need love
and kindness. We must try to cultivate these virtues through various methods, through the
teachings, and through actual experience. We must make every effort through the various
methods.
The Pure Vision
Many of the higher tantric teachings call this ultimate reality, "the simultaneously
born primordial wisdom." "Simultaneous" means that the result and the cause arise
simultaneously - the result is not elsewhere. In this sense, the result is not something
we seek outside ourselves, but which is actually within ourselves. Because the cause
and the result are simultaneously born, Buddha Nature is within every human being.
If we make efforts, we can all attain full enlightenment. In the relative sense, we go through
different phases along the path to enlightenment; however, we must understand that there is
a continuity between the ordinary cause mind and the ultimate enlightenment mind. We
might consider the example of a copper container which is used to hold dirty things. When
such a container is used for dirty things, we consider the container itself dirty. But if the
same copper were melted down and made into ornaments which people wore proudly and
others admired, then we would consider the copper radically transformed. If again, the
ornaments were melted down and made into the image of a deity, then the copper becomes
even more precious, as people worship and pay respect to the image. The point is, of
course, that the actual nature or real quality of the copper never changes. The same copper
has been used as a dirty container, as ornaments, and as the image of a deity. The face or
the appearance of the co pper may change, but the actual quality of the copper does not
change. Similarly, the natural cause, the true state of our mind, is the Buddha nature. The
true state of all phenomena is the same everywhere.
Through our practice, the application of method and wisdom eliminates obscuration and
finally enables us to achieve results.
After the vision of experience, when obscurations have been gradually eliminated, and inner
wisdom improves, the pure vision is attained. The Buddhas or Tathagatas abandon every
possible fault or obscuration and then, through their great realizations, achieve the pure
vision. Just as a man who has awakened from sleep cannot experience his dreams, similarly,
beings who are completely awakened from illusion cannot see the impure vision. They see
the same vision that we have now, in complete pure vision, everything in form and
primordial wisdom and everything in pure vision.

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Free and Easy
A Spontaneous Vajra Song
by Venerable Gendun Rinpoche

Happiness cannot be found through great effort and willpower,
but is already present in open relaxation and letting go.
Don't strain yourself, there is nothing to do nor undo.
Whatever momentarily arises in the body mind
has no real importance at all, has little reality whatsoever.
Why identify with and become attached to it,
passing judgement upon it and ourselves.
Far better to simply let the entire game happen on its own,
springing up and falling back like waves
- without changing or manipulating anything -
and notice how everything vanishes and reappears magically
again and again, time without end.

Only our searching for happiness prevents us from seeing it.
It is like a vivid rainbow which you pursue without ever catching,
or a dog chasing its own tail.
Although peace and happiness do not exist as an actual thing or place,
it is always available and accompanies you every instant.
Don't believe in the reality of good and bad experiences;
they are like today's ephemeral weather, like rainbows in the sky.
Wanting to grasp the ungraspable, you exhaust yourself in vain.
As soon as you open and relax this fist of grasping,
infinite space is there - open, inviting and comfortable.
Make use of this spaciousness, this freedom and natural ease.
Don't search any further. Don't go into the tangled jungle
looking for the great awakened elephant who is already resting
quietly at home in front of your own hearth.

Nothing to do or undo. Nothing to force. Nothing to want.

Emaho! Marvelous! Everything happens by itself.

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Introduction to Bodhicaryavatara

Shangpa Rinpoche
Santideva, a very great master of India, composed many texts and commentaries, among which "Bodhicaryavatara is die most profound. Santideva composed these teachings without any pride or ego. He wrote them just for the benefit of all beings.

Therefore, this text is most effective for everybody. If a person writes with pride of intelligence, his explanations will not be suitable for every level of people.

BRIEF HISTORY OF SANTIDEVA'S LIFE

To begin with the teaching, it is good to understand a little background of Santideva's life story. Santideva was a prince born in Bengal. He renounced his position and sought many masters. He studied, practised and completed all his education at the Nalanda Buddhist College, the most famous Buddhist College during Ins time. He attained perfect realisation.

He was usually very humble and lived as simply as possible. Therefore, people usually did not see him as a very special and realised person. No one thought that he was a great Siddha. Most of those at Nalanda felt that he was wasting the Sangha's food. They could not see him as what the other masters do. What they saw was that he just ate and slept, without doing anything.

At that time the whole Sangha had a meeting. They thought: "The sangha's food and facilities were to be used for good purposes but this monk does nothing but eat and sleep. As such, he has been accumulating bad karma and misleading others. They wanted to expel him

Each month they had a ceremony to restore broken vows. During that ceremony, each master took turns to read the Sutras. They did not know Santideva's understanding and realisation from his outlook. So they thought, "If we invite him to read the Sutra, he would go off by himself if he doesn't know how to read.

Wanting to embarrass Santideva further, they put up a very high throne and invited him to sit on it and read the sutra. Santideva accepted the invitation.

He touched the throne by his hand and the throne went down. He sat on the throne and asked, "Do you want to hear the existing Sutras or something new?" The monks were very curious but did not know that he had the knowledge, so they asked him to explain his own commentary.

That was how the teaching of Bodhicaryavatara started. When the teaching reached the Wisdom chapter, he floated in the air, went higher and higher then became invisible. Later, all the sanghas regretted treating him in such a manner. They tried to find him but failed.

At last, at a mountain retreat, some people saw him. They observed that each day, a deer would go into his cave but they never came out. Everybody thought, "This master has been taking deer meat for such a long time." They carried weapons and went into his cave to beat him up; not knowing that he had already became a yogi, whose actions are not fixed like ordinary people. When they reached die cave, all the deer came out first; he came out last. To their surprise, the deer were very well dressed.

Actually, he was giving dharma talk to the deer. All the people regretted and confessed to him. All the sanghas also regretted what they had done and went to confess to him.

All the masters and great Arhants noted down all his teachings without leaving out anything. His teachings explained entirely the development of Bodhicitta. Even though it is now very famous throughout the Buddhist world, it was never heard of by anybody at that time. However, his teachings were not new.

It was still part of Buddha's teachings, although it was his commentary based on his own knowledge and practices.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

In the introductory chapter of the Text, Santideva said, "These commentaries may not be beneficial for others but they are very beneficial for myself and my mind stream".

This is a humble way of expression. Great masters always try to put down self and put up others. They try to get rid of their pride and ego in this way.

This teaching contains ten chapters or categories of explanation.

CHAPTER I - PRECIOUS HUMAN BODY

The first chapter talks about the precious human body and how we should make proper use of it. It also introduces Bodhicitta.

The commentary states that the precious human body, with all the right conditions is very difficult to obtain. Once it is fortunately obtained, if not properly used, it is not easy to obtain again in future. When obtained, the precious human body has lots of negative actions most of the time. So much so that the chances of reflecting positive thoughts are very slim

Sometimes, we do have good thoughts. This comes either through the blessings from the Buddha or the result of one's own good karma. Such good thoughts are like a dark night without moonlight or stars. Suddenly lightning comes. Instantly one can see things for just one second and it goes off again. Our daily life is just like that. We tend to have negative thoughts. It is so difficult for good thoughts to arise, just like the lightning that appears for only a second.

Once we have reflected positive thoughts, we have to combine it with good action and attitude. This will be the turning point of oneself. The accumulation of negative actions is so great that they are not so easy to purify or to get rid off. We have accumulated these negative actions since the beginning of time. Our accumulations of good actions are just like lightning. They come suddenly and go off in a second. So, it is very difficult to clear away our negative actions.

However, because of the compassion and skilful means of the Buddha, any amount of negative actions can be purified. This is done through the development of Bodhicitta to purify all our defilements in a short time. It is just like the burning of bushes that are as huge as a mountain with lust one matchstick 40 burn the whole thing effortlessly. No accumulation of merits can do this.

Our accumulation of negative actions is so much that we need eons to purify them. But if we use this profound method, we do not need so much effort. This Bodhicitta or Enlightened Attitude is able to turn one's ordinary state to the Enlightenment State, just like a formula that turns metal into gold. It can turn our body, which is so dirty and imperfect, into Enlightenment. So, the development of Bodhicitta is a very perfect method.

Compared with Bodhicitta, the other methods of accumulation of merits, such as doing good deeds, are very mild and very poor They are just like banana trees, once the fruits are grown, their trunks have to be chopped down as they cannot bear fruit again. The development of Bodhicitta is like other fruit trees. They keep producing fruits throughout their whole lifetime. The accumulations of merits do not have an end.

Bodhicitta has two parts: Aspiration Bodhicitta and Application Bodhicitta. Aspiration Bodhicitta is just like our Intention to go on a journey. For example, I want to go to the United States. Firstly, I must have the intention to go there. Next, I decide to go there. When I have decided to go there, that is Aspiration Bodhicitta. In practice we say, "For the benefits of all sentient beings, I must achieve Enlightenment".

Application Bodhicitta is like I have bought an air ticket and boarded the plane. Each moment of the time when the plane flies towards the destination, I am getting closer and closer to Enlightenment. In practice, we go through the path of purification, accumulation of merits and wisdom, etc, until we reach the Enlightenment State. This is Application Bodhicitta.

CHAPTER 2 - CONFESSION

In order to absorb this Bodhicitta, we do certain actions, i.e. offering, prostration, taking refuge and confession. These start with the offering of one's own body, speech and mind to the Buddha. It also includes whatever good things we have, such as the mandala offering, and whatever things we feel good, in order to get rid of attachment.

In order to absorb the qualities of the Buddha, we do prostrations and take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Buddhahood is the final destination we have to reach. We have to realize Buddhahood; therefore we take refuge in the Buddha. We have to rely on the Buddha.

Taking refuge in the Dharma, the teachings of Buddha is the Path to enable us to achieve our final destination. So, we also rely on the teachings of the Buddha.

The Sangha is the guidance. To follow the path securely, we need spiritual guidance from spiritual friends, that is, taking refuge in the Sangha.

The final part of this chapter is on confession. Whenever we examine our actions and ourselves in the past and present, we find a lot of actions, which are not favourable and are not according to the Dharma, or they are bad actions. If we don't recognise them as bad, we cannot abandon them. If we recognise, we can heal.

We should think, "I should not do this. Wrong actions will lead to sufferings." So, recognise our wrong actions and feel regret, and think, "I should stop doing this in future, since I know this is not good". We also rely on Buddha for forgiveness.

CHAPTER 3 - TAKING BODHICITTA VOWS

The third chapter is on taking the Bodhicitta Vows. We take the Bodhicitta Vows as all those great beings had done previously. They had treasured Bodhicitta, taken the Bodhicitta Vows, attained Enlightenment and benefited all sentient beings unconditionally. We say, "Likewise, today, I also want to follow their way of actions, so I take the Bodhicitta Vows. Henceforth, I will do all the actions which benefit sentient beings." This is the meaning of Bodhicitta Vows.

CHAPTER 4 - BEHAVIOUR

The fourth chapter is on correcting one's behaviour, such as morality. Once we have taken the Bodhicitta Vows, we are to observe the Vows and benefit the sentient beings. We have to engage. Once we study the qualities of Bodhicitta, we appreciate the Bodhicitta and how it is good, then we decide to take the Bodhisattva Vows and invoke the Bodhicitta. Then we are to observe the Path of a Bodhisattva. This is through your own wisdom, to understand the qualities and truly examine and check and find its perfection.

Once you engage, then you are not supposed to break the Vows, It is very stupid if you take the Vows when you feel like and break them when you don't feel like it. I mean, without using your own wisdom to understand the qualities, just blindly following the words of others those sons of very foolish things. Therefore, the commentary tries to explain that those who have wisdom and use their wisdom to decide certain things will never reverse their decision. They will go forward. That is the important point. Take the Vows and go forward. That means, we should not give up.

If we are not satisfied, then before we engage, we should study further and try to understand better. Once you go forward, try not to reverse. Once we have decided to attain Enlightenment for the benefit of sentient beings and we give up this attitude that means we have broken the Vows. When we break the Vows, we have betrayed all sentient beings. We have cheated all the sentient beings because we had promised to protect and liberate them from all sufferings. If you just give up half way, you have just ignored the sufferings of the sentient beings. That is considered as betrayal and cheating all sentient beings.

If, because of just one person whom you dislike, you think, "I want to save all sentient beings except this person, who is most irritating," then it is also considered as breaking the Vows. We have to liberate all sentient beings unconditionally.

The behaviour of a Bodhisattva, i.e. after you have taken the Bodhicitta Vows, must be always ready to help sentient beings for whatever is the need. If they need advice, use your best wisdom to give them advice. If they need shelter, try to provide shelter. Those who are already in the great path of a Bodhisattva even sacrifice their lives to the needs of others, but this is not at our level. Within our capacity, we try to benefit others as much as we can and totally avoid being harmful to others.

CHAPTER 5 - MINDFULNESS

When we observe the Vows of a Bodhisattva, we have to be very careful. We have to observe our mind consciously. If we do not observe our mind, then we cannot observe the Vows of a Bodhisattva. The mind plays a very important role. It is the first one to start, and then the action follows up with the mind. Therefore, observing the mind is very important.
The mind is just like a wild elephant. It can be very destructive but through mindfulness, we can train that mind. We can tame it until it becomes like a domesticated elephant. Our awareness or subconsciousness is just like a trainer. With patience, we can tame our mind. Once our mind is tamed, the environment or others do not affect it.
Like the sufferings in hell and the sufferings of hungry ghosts, they do not actually exist in a solid form somewhere. Are somebody punishing and somebody suffering continuously? It is not so. Santideva said, "Who makes the Burning Iron Ground and who creates all the beings and the person in the hell who is punishing everybody? There is no one who makes or creates these. These are the manifestations of our own confused mind. The suffering of hell is not somewhere else but is within the mind. Enlightenment is also not somewhere else, it is within the mind."

Therefore, in the whole world, there is nothing more destructive than the mind. The mind can manifest hell and the mind can manifest Enlightenment. So, the most important thing is observing our own mind. We have to be mindful. If we observe our mind, the rest of the actions will be naturally corrected.

Just like the ground that is covered with stones and thorns which cannot be stepped on. In order to make it safe, you cannot cover the whole ground with leather because that would be too much and you will never have enough to cover the whole world. You can just wear shoes and walk. That is very safe.

We do not have to tackle each and every negative action or consequence one by one. We try to tame our own mind, then we have tamed the rest of the defilements, the rest of the causes and conditions.

Without mindfulness, whatever good actions we do, It is not safe or secure. It can be very easily destroyed, once we don't have the mindfulness. Defilements are just like a thief without knowing it can take all our accumulation of good merits.

That means, when we don't have mindfulness, we become careless. When we become careless, unknowingly we may do a lot of wrong things. Without realising that which is wrong, we will go towards the wrong path and the wrong direction. In that way, all our accumulation of merits will vanish or be destroyed.

Mindfulness applies to any action we do. Even when I have to talk to somebody, I have to examine whether this kind of speech will cause negativeness or not, and whether it will affect someone badly or not. Not only speech, in whatever action we do, we must always examine first. We must always be aware, through our own investigation, that this is the right thing I should say or do. This is mindfulness.

If we just say whatever we think without any check, this is without mindfulness. If you say it just because you want to say it, without going through any examination, without going through any right or wrong check, this is without mindfulness. This can be very destructive to oneself and others.
CHAPTER 6 - PATIENCE
The sixth chapter is on Patience or Tolerance. This is also very important in order to develop Bodhicitta. Santideva said, "For thousands of eons, one has accumulated merits, generosity and offerings to the Tathagatas (Buddhas). Whatever good actions one has accumulated can be destroyed by one chance of hatred. Therefore, hatred is the most destructive and leads oneself to the lower realms. There is no greater sin than hatred.
This means hatred is the worst negative action and has the heaviest consequences that one has to experience, such as being in the hell.
Patience is the greatest merit and greatest practice. With patience, one can able to absorb all the qualities. Therefore, Buddha, in this teaching, emphasised tolerance or patience as the very important part.

Hatred does not only lead one to the hell or lower realms, or sufferings in the next life, it has also the immediate effect that you can experience the sufferings. Once a person is angry with someone, it is impossible for this person to have happiness or peace of mind. This person will suffer very deep confusion. That means he is suffering tremendously from mental disturbances. Even within an instance, one can also experience that kind of suffering.

With relevance to the next life, or that, which accumulates the habitual tendency, according to many Sutras and Tantras, hatred directly leads to sufferings in the hell. This atmosphere of confusion becomes real when a person is undergoing the next rebirth so that he will constantly experience the consequences of hatred as if he suffering in the hell.
Even though hatred is the greatest sin, it doesn't mean it is not unavoidable. It can be changed because there is nothing that cannot be corrected or changed in this world. Everything can be improved.

Therefore, Santideva advised: Try to develop patience when faced with very mild and very small harmful acts, move gradually to the more harmful ones, and then to the broader and most harmful ones. In this way, you can develop patience. Even though one may be very temperamental in the past, one can be tamed into a very patient person.

Whatever unfavourable things come your way from another party, one should not blame that person directly, because all these kinds of harm are done without intention and do not completely involve the individual himself. This is very much dependent on the conditions.

When causes and conditions are unfavourable, the person has no choice; he has to do it. Then comes the unfavourable result. One should not always blame that person. Rather, oneself should take part of the blame also, because oneself is also a condition to the effect. This is also a method of practice.

Normally, when these kinds of things happened, one always think oneself is perfectly faultless and the other is full of faults. When one tries to defend himself, it becomes worse. There is a method to contemplate in a way, not to blame the individuals. The example given is of a person who is possessed.

When a person is possessed, lie or she can be very violent and very destructive. But still the physician, or the one who treats will not care about this violence. He understands the cause of the violence and therefore does not react in anger. He knows exactly what is happening.

Actually, this is the same in our daily life. Hatred is the defilement and a very powerful defilement. Once one is possessed, he has not a single choice. He has to act violently. As long as you understand the teaching, the cause and condition, then you should not take it seriously. You should have more understanding, just like a physician who understands his patient. This is a very profound method of application during our daily life.

CHAPTER 7 - DILIGENCE

The 7th Chapter is on Diligence. Diligence is always an important goal because without effort one cannot go forward towards the Path. It is just like without wind, a boat does not move. Therefore, we have to develop diligence in order to progress in our development more rapidly.

How do we recognise diligence? A practitioner who has diligence is one who has a certain kind of joy towards the Path. That is the recognition of diligence. Once you have the joy, once you are clear and once you know that this is a very good thing towards the Path, diligence will naturally come. We don't have to put so much effort to do it. But once you have the joy, once you have that interest, then you will develop it accordingly. Joy towards the path is the meaning of Diligence.

In other words, diligence does not mean that you have to force yourself to work harden This is not perfect diligence as you will have the tendency to give up very easily. In order to develop this perfect diligence, you have to understand more things - understand the suffering of Samsara, understand the quality of Bodhicitta and understand the qualities of Enlightenment. So once you understand all these factors, then diligence will come effortlessly. You don't have to force yourself to do it. It will come spontaneously. That is the perfect Diligence.

To understand the suffering of Samsara and the qualities of Enlightenment, it does not mean that we must always think of the bad side of samsara. We can also think of the good side of samsara - certain limits of happiness and pleasure that one can also experience in samsara. But we must check what such happiness is. Such happiness Is part of certain good karma but the good karma is not perfect because it does not last long. This kind of happiness in the Samsara is just like licking honey on a razor You try to taste the honey, so you lick the razor and it cuts your tongue. So, you experience the good taste and sufferings as well. The Samsaric or worldly happiness is just like this kind of happiness.

Therefore, in Samsara, happiness is not perfect happiness and suffering is unbearable suffering. Even with such kind of imperfect happiness, we struggle and sacrifice our lives for it. What about Enlightenment, which is perfect happiness, permanent happiness and faultless? With these kinds of qualities, how should we contemplate?

We should not contemplate what worldly happiness offers. We should try to strive for more than the worldly happiness, that is, the Enlightenment State. This is all about Diligence.

CHAPTER 8 - MEDITATION

The next chapter is on Meditation or Meditative Concentration. In order to develop Wisdom, we need to have a stable mind. Therefore, we need to develop Meditation. Once an individual's mind is not controlled or is distracted, then that person is always in the risk of defilement, just like a person caught between the jaws of a crocodile. If our mind is distracted, then negative thoughts will come. We may follow the negative thoughts and do negative actions, and go towards the wrong direction and path. So, all our accumulation if merits can vanish or be destroyed. Therefore, if we don't have a stable mind, we are always at the risk of being attacked by defilements.

In order to subdue or pacify all these negative thoughts and negative actions, physically, we try to abandon all kinds of unnecessary actions. Mentally, we try to avoid unnecessary planning and unnecessary thinking of the future and past. Try to avoid the distractions caused by the body and the distractions caused by the mind.

The main obstacle of meditation Is attachment. Meditators try to subdue their attachment. Within one's capacity, one will try to subdue or reduce as much as one can. Only then will one be more successful when one tries to meditate.

The next is on meditation subjects. According to most Mahayana Sutras or teachings, they advise us to meditate on subduing one's own defilements first. Whatever defilement we have more aggressively, we put an antidote to subdue that defilement first.

If a person has more hatred, he should put every means of practice to develop loving kindness and compassion. That is the antidote of hatred.

If a person has more desire, then practise meditation on the imperfection of samsara and imperfection of the subject of the desire. In that way, one will be able to understand the nature of it and one able to reduce that particular defilement.

If a person has more Ignorance, contemplate on the twelve interdependent links, i.e. every suffering, every samsara experience is caused by ignorance. That ignorance, the confused mind, produces all the kinds of links. Therefore, try to reverse it.

If we try not to be confused, if we try to cut off this ignorance, then we will be able to cut off the rest of the confusions, the rest of the links. If we have more confusions or ignorance, then we should contemplate more on the twelve interdependent links.

Any kind of Samantha meditation is also applicable at this stage. Any method of Samantha meditation can also be practised.

CHAPTER 9 - WISDOM

The 9th Chapter is on Wisdom. We have to develop the perfect Wisdom in order to pacify our sufferings and in order to pacify our ignorance. Therefore we need to develop Wisdom.

Wisdom has two aspects: The Wisdom to understand the Relative Truth and the Wisdom to understand the Ultimate Truth.

Any wisdom that involves concepts is under the Relative Truth. Any wisdom that does not involve concepts is under the Ultimate Truth. There are many different views and different philosophy points, so this is a very difficult subject. Next time, if we have opportunity to explain then we can elaborate on it. I leave it here because it is too difficult.

CHAPTER 10 - DEDICATION

The last chapter is on Dedication. For every good deed or action that we do or complete, we must dedicate it to the good cause. We dedicate for both ultimate and temporary benefit.

Ultimate dedication is to dedicate to oneself for the attainment of Enlightenment so as to benefit all sentient beings.

Temporary dedication is this: "By this merit of my development of wisdom and so on, for a person, any being who is suffering, may they purify their suffering. Those who do not have food to eat, may they obtain food. Those who have no clothes, may they obtain clothes. Those who are in the hot hell, may they have cool showers to make them cool, and those who are in the cold hell, may they have heaters to make them warm.

You can dedicate as broad as you possibly can, for a small amount of merit. This can be very effective and can multiply up to a great extent. Dedication is very important according to the Mahayana Practice.

CONCLUSION

That completes the "Bodhicaryavatara", which covers the qualities of Bodhicitta, the activities of the Bodhisattvas and how to purify ourselves of gross and subtle defilements.

Geshe Palsang Gyaltso, a Gelupa scholar, gave the commentary of the Bodhicaryavatara". 'The actual "Bodhicaryavatara", without commentary, a direct translation of the Tibetan text, is known as "Entering the Path of Bodhisattvas' Action". In English, it could be written as "The Bodhisattvas' Way of Life". This text, without commentary is quite easy to understand but if you don't understand, you can find a text with commentary. I think there is one.

Let's dedication the merits accumulated through the teaching and listening of this talk to all sentient beings to attain Enlightenment.

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Interview with Topga Yulgyal Rinpoche
KIBI, December 1994

Question: Can you tell what is the main principle of Buddhism, and the Vajrayana (the Diamond Way) in particular?
Topga Rinpoche: The main idea of Buddhism is to see the cause of suffering, to put an end to that suffering and to stop it for others as well.
Vajrayana is a method. Basically it has the same goal [as the Mahayana] but the way is different. The Vajrayana has a more direct approach. It is said that the Vajrayana path is shorter than the other Buddhist paths. I would say Vajrayana does not have a special way, but rather it has a different way than other yanas. This does not mean that you do not have to go through the Mahayana process in order to practice Vajrayana. They are very much related to each other. Vajrayana puts more emphasis on initiations, rituals and meditations, which focus not only on the mind, but also involve physical practices such as yogas and so on. Once you have a proper knowledge about Mahayana you can ask a qualified teacher how to approach Vajrayana. It is something one cannot just explain in a minute.
Q: What is the Karma Kagyu Tradition?
TR: The Karma Kagyu tradition started with the first Karmapa. Actually, it is named after him and there is not much difference compared to any other Buddhist school. The main practice in this tradition is Mahamudra(1). One of the texts which describes the basis for the Mahamudra and the Ngondro(2) is The Torch of Certainty by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye. Another main text is The Supreme Path, the Necklace of Jewels by Gampopa.
There is also a short text by Gampopa called The Four Dharmas of Gampopa which includes everything:
" How to direct one's mind toward the Dharma
" How to apply the Dharma as one's path
" How to remove illusions
" How to transform illusions into wisdom
No matter how many books you may read on Buddhism they are always concerned with these four points. So, why should we meditate? Without meditation you cannot rely on your own mind. Without meditation you cannot see the cause for suffering. Having understood this, you develop compassion and Bodhicitta (3), but you have to practice. First you have to know that countless beings suffer and really need help. They are sort of at the edge of a cliff which is several thousand feet high, and down below is a very dark sea. So everybody is in danger of falling. If you know that they need help you will have compassion, there is no choice.
Q: What is the main philosophical school in the Karma Kagyu tradition?
TR: The Madhyamaka (4). Within that school the 3rd, 5th and 7th Karmapa emphasized the Shentong (6) view. The 8th Karmapa, emphasized the Prasangika-Madhyamaka(5) school, but Shentong as well, thus embracing both schools. The 16th Karmapa emphasized the Shentong view.
Q: Which methods of practice are used in the Karma Kagyu school?
TR: This depends on the person and his guru. If the guru is in a position to know what kind of student or disciple he has and how his mind works then he can immediately guide him accordingly. Either through a direct approach which will make him understand the Mahamudra view, or by leading him on a longer way through, for example, The Six Yogas of Naropa (7). Both ways are valuable and belong to the Karma Kagyu Tradition, but it depends very much on the guru, it is a very personal thing.
Q: What kind of illusion should be removed?
TR: Any kind of illusion. First, it is good to know what illusion is. Any kind of imagination, any destructive thought is not good for meditation. Through meditation these illusions subside automatically. You don't have to do a particular meditation for the purpose of cutting through illusions and thoughts. Meditation in itself means cutting through them. So there is no difference between cutting through the illusion and meditating. It happens simultaneously.
Q: How does one integrate the Dharma into one's ordinary life?
TR: Most of us have families, friends and responsibilities. I don't think we can avoid that. We cannot just leave families and friends behind, go somewhere and say, "Now I am becoming a Buddha." This probably does not work, but you can meditate while you have family and friends around. We say that all sentient beings are our parents. Maybe you don't accept everybody as your parents, but at least you can accept your own family as your parents. So, out of all countless beings, at least you can take the 5 to 10 people around you and try to help them. This is a practice. Teach them how to meditate, show them the right path, if possible. This is very good, and you have a direct contact with human beings. Theoretically, we can say, "Today I'm doing this or that particular practice and I am going to lead all sentient beings to the Buddhafields tomorrow and the day after tomorrow all of them will be Buddhas and Bodhisattvas". This does not make much sense. But in dealing with your family and friends you are really doing something for people, physically, emotionally and spiritually. This is very good.
Q: Sometimes we have problems in our families because they don't accept us as Buddhist practitioners. What advice can you give?
TR: Maybe they don't accept you because for them you seem to be a kind of fanatic. Maybe they are conservative, they might have different ideas, they might be very materialistic. That's fine, they can have their own view, but you should try to show them that you are not just following a belief, but that you know what you are doing. Communicate this in a nice way, don't fight, don't disapprove and don't be aggressive.
Q: When some people become Buddhist they just want to leave everything behind in order to meditate. But there are many possibilities in life. Others are not sure if they should aim for a career or avoid it. What is your opinion about this?
TR: You should neither leave your job nor your meditation, you can do both together. Treat these two equally at different times. In the morning you may concentrate more on your work, in the evening you may concentrate more on your meditation. I think it will work beautifully. Because whatever you do, it is somehow associated with your meditation, and therefore you won't do negative things like many other people do. It is a very good thing. If you think, "I want to leave the whole world and go somewhere to meditate," then this day will never come. So close that chapter. Do whatever you can, here and now. Of course it depends on one's personality. Concerning yourself, once you know what you are doing then why should you stop? Just go on. But if you don't know what you are doing, then take a break.
Q: Is it possible to cultivate the highest view in one's ordinary life. How does one do this?
TR: Yes, it is possible. You should have a correct view first! The view for Mahamudra is something like Madhyamaka. Through meditation it will develop. The view is intellectually understandable, but since you have not experienced it yet, it is something you have to develop. To experience the view, you go through practices, then you realize it. Finally, one reaches the highest level. However, one cannot point to where the highest level is, because there is no form which indicates it. But, when you reach that level through your own meditation, you will be sort of shocked. You will wonder, "How come I never saw it before, it is within me. It is not that I received it from Russia, China or India, but it is within me, how can it be?"
Q: How can one deal with attachment to wealth, particular principles, pride, and spiritual activity?
TR: When you develop your spiritual power, bad characteristics subside. What is spiritual development? It is mind training through which the ego subsides by itself. When you develop your spiritual mind your unwanted qualities disappear naturally.
________
(1)Mahamudra: The great seal of reality. Buddha gave this as the ulti-mate/final teaching. It leads to a direct experience of the mind.
(2)Ngondro (Tib.) The four preliminary practices are a collection of four meritorious practices which have to be repeated 100000 times. They create enumerable good impressions in the subconsciousness, and work deeply in one's mind. They are the foundation for Mahamudra practice.
(3)Bodhicitta: Awakened mind. Mental attitude having two aspects. The relative aspect means to perfect oneself for the benefit of all sentient beings. The ultimate aspect is the recognition of the inseparability of emptiness and compassion.
(4)Madhyamaka: The highest philosophical school in Buddhism. Its viewpoint is that ultimate reality is beyond any concept. Phenomena are beyond all pairs of opposites, beyond all extremes.
(5)Prasangika-Madhyamikas: Lit. Those who show the consequence. By showing the consequence of all wrong conceptual ideas they approach ultimate truth.
(6)Shentong: The teachings of the Shentong relate to the third turning of the Wheel of Dharma, where the ultimate reality is called the Buddhanature, which is present within all sentient beings.
(7)Six Yogas of Naropa: Very effective methods of the Kagyu lineage. Their goal is the recognition of the nature of mind. The following meditations are included: inner heat, clear light, dream yoga, illusory body, intermediate state and transference of consciousness.

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Lama Gendyn Rinpoche
on PROSTRATIONS

Why do we do Prostrations?
1.The Purification of Pride
First of all, we should know why we do prostrations. We do not do them to endear ourselves to somebody else. We do not do them for the Buddha. Such concepts are completely wrong. The Buddha is not a god of this world. We bow down to purify all situations from the past where we did not respect others. Being interested in our own satisfaction and ourselves we did many negative actions.
Prostrations help us realize that there is something more meaningful than ourselves. In this way we purify the pride that we have accumulated through countless lifetimes thinking: "I am right," "I am better than others," or "I am the most important one." During countless lifetimes we have developed pride that is the cause of our actions and have accumulated the karma that is a source of our suffering and problems. The goal of prostrations is to purify this karma and to change our mind set. Prostrations help us rely on something more meaningful than our pride and ego clinging. In this way, through full confidence and devotion, we get rid of everything we have gathered because of pride.
2.The Purification of Body, Speech, and Mind
When we do prostrations we act on the level of body, speech, and mind. The result of doing them is a very powerful and thorough purification. This practice dissolves all impurities, regardless of their kind, because they were all accumulated through our body, speech, and mind. Prostrations purify on all three levels. Through the physical aspect of prostrating we purify our body. We offer our body to the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) and to all sentient beings, wishing that all their wishes are fulfilled. Through the repetition of the refuge mantra and the meaning we ascribe to it, we purify our speech. Through confidence in the Three Jewels we develop enlightened attitude and devotion. As we are aware of the perfect qualities of the refuge and offer everything to it, the veils in our minds dissolve. When our body, speech, and mind are being purified we realize that what we initially thought of as our body is actually a manifestation of enlightenment as active compassion. What we initially thought of as our speech is the expression of enlightenment on the level of joy; our mind is the truth level of enlightenment. We are able to see the enlightened reality of our body, speech, and mind - their full of wisdom truth that we initially were not aware of. We realize that this practice can lead us to our goal, enlightenment, because the three levels expressing the state of a Buddha appear immediately after the three levels of our existence - body, speech, and mind - are purified. We do not have to look for enlightenment anywhere else. We do not have to chase any perfect realizations. The three levels of enlightenment are true inherent qualities of our own body, speech, and mind. We did not see it before. Prostrations help us discover it.
3.Physical Benefits of Prostrations
Prostrations strongly influence the balance and harmony in our body. Blocks in its energy channels gradually dissolve. This helps us avoid diseases, lack of energy, and other problems. Our mind becomes clearer. Our ability to understand increases.
The State of Mind During Prostrations
We should do prostrations with full confidence, joy and motivation to benefit others.
1.Confidence
We should have confidence in the perfect qualities of the Three Jewels and be sure that their blessing can remove the veils from our minds. The blessing can appear and the purification is effective when our confidence in body, speech, and mind meets the transforming qualities of the enlightened body, enlightened speech and enlightened mind - the sources of the refuge. If we do not have confidence and cannot open up to the Three Jewels prostrations will only be like a play.
2.Motivation to Benefit Others
When we do prostrations we should understand that good actions are the source of happiness of all sentient beings. Prostrations are a good example of this fact. When we do the practice using our body, speech, and mind, we offer our energy to others wishing that it brings them happiness. We should be happy about this fact and do prostrations with joy.
The Proper Practice
1.Visualization of the Refuge TreeIn front of us in space we imagine the whole refuge tree. First, we imagine Dorje Chang - the lama who represents all sources of the refuge. We imagine the lama as the center of the refuge tree. We should be fully aware that Dorje Chang is our teacher and that he is the mind of our lama. We think about Dorje Chang to make sure that the manifestation of the nature of mind is not stained by our habitual thoughts. To help us keep the pure view, the view of wisdom, we imagine this perfectly pure form. At the same time we keep awareness that Dorje Chang is the mind of our lama. Everything that appears in front of us in space is like a rainbow or a reflection in a mirror; it is not a thing. If we have difficulties visualizing the whole refuge tree we should have confidence that all objects of the refuge are really in front of us even if we cannot hold them in our mind.
2.Awareness of Ourselves and Others
We are not alone in our practice. We are surrounded by all beings that fill the whole universe. We imagine our father on our right side and our mother on our left. When we stand between our parents from this life we realize that each and every being without exception has been our parent in some previous life. This helps us remember the goodness of all our parents, all sentient beings, who were helping us during countless lifetimes.
We imagine the ones we consider our enemies in front of us, between the refuge tree and ourselves. We think of the people who cause us problems and obstruct the realization of our plans. All these people are very important because they help us develop such qualities as patience and compassion. We usually want to avoid such people. We try to stay away from them. We do not want to think about them. Putting them in front of us helps us not to forget them. Treating enemies in such a way protects us against disrespecting them.
We focus our attention on the refuge tree. We are confident that the refuge can free all sentient beings from the suffering of samsara and it can protect us against the anxiety that this suffering causes. In such a mind-set, surrounded by all sentient beings, we start to repeat the refuge mantra. Everything around us starts to vibrate. We experience strong light from the refuge tree. The light shines on us because of our own devotion. This makes us open up even more. Then we start to bow down. We are the masters of the ceremony and lead the whole practice. Our prostrations immediately inspire all beings to begin doing the same practice. We hear all beings repeating mantras and doing prostrations. These vibrations fill the whole universe.
Holding such a vision rather than concentrating only on ourselves widens our activity. On the one hand it gives us strength, on the other hand it gives us motivation to practice. All beings doing prostrations with us give us encouragement. Experiencing great amounts of energy from all beings doing prostrations, we feel even more confidence in and devotion to the Three Jewels. The feeling of "riding with the crowd" helps us finish prostrations quickly and experience great happiness during the practice.
3.The Symbolic Meaning of Each Element in the Act of Bowing Down
To give the ultimate dimension to our practice we should be aware of the symbolic meaning of a prostration. Touching our forehead with clasped hands, we ask the objects of the refuge for the blessing of their bodies. At the same time we imagine that the blessing of their enlightened bodies radiates on us, goes through our body and dissolves all its obscurations. Then our clasped hands touch our throat. We ask for the blessing of speech. At the same time we think that the blessing of their enlightened speech emanates from the objects of the refuge and purifies all obscurations that we have accumulated through our speech. In such a way we free ourselves from these obscurations. When we touch our heart with clasped hands we ask the refuge for the blessing of their enlightened mind. It helps us get rid of all veils and wrong views in our minds. We are confident that all evil wishes we have been filling our minds with since beginningless time are completely purified. We should think that we are getting the full blessing of enlightened body, speech, and mind from the Three Jewels. Through the power of this blessing, all veils, bad karma, and negative tendencies in our body, speech, and mind are purified. We are completely pure and inseparable from the body, speech, and mind of the lama and the Three Jewels.
When our body touches the ground with its five points (knees, hands, forehead) we should realize that five disturbing emotions - anger, attachment, ignorance, pride, and jealousy - leave our body and disappear in the earth. In such a way we experience complete purification.
The two aspects of prostrations, dissolving the mind's poisons and getting the blessing from the Three Jewels, cause the transformation of pride, attachment, jealousy, anger, and ignorance into the five corresponding wisdoms. We should be confident that the transformation is actually taking place, that we have the natural, inherent ability to develop these wisdoms.
This symbolic aspect of prostrations will work only if we have confidence. Our confidence can give us this big purification. Practicing without confidence is just like aerobic exercise.
4.The Significance of Devotion
Our devotion will grow the more prostrations we do. Finally, we will reach the level where we will no longer think that our body, speech, and mind are any different from the body, speech, and mind of the Three Jewels. Prostrations give a wonderful result; they are the source of a very powerful blessing and a great purification. We should not think that prostrations consist only of an activity of our body. The blessing and purification appear mainly because of our devotion.
5.Increasing the Strength of Our Practice
We practice with an open mind. We should not think that we are the only person doing prostrations. All beings are doing them with us. We do not have to limit our thinking only to ourselves. We should not assert ourselves by thinking, "I am bowing down." If we think like that we accumulate good potential that corresponds to the act of doing one prostration. If we think of all sentient beings doing prostrations with us, the good potential we accumulate is much bigger. When we are doing prostrations we should think that a hundred of our emanations are doing them with us. If we are able to imagine that our practice will be much stronger. We should not count more prostrations if we imagine more beings doing them with us. This is only one of the special Vajrayana methods that help us strengthen our practice.
6.Linking the Prostrations with Calming the Mind
After a while our body will be tired. This is a useful moment to practice calming the mind. When the body and mind are tired, attachment decreases. If we stop doing prostrations for a moment our mind will naturally calm down by itself without any additional help on our side. When after a while our body and mind feel rested again, our mind becomes agitated. This is the sign to start prostrations again. When we alternate doing prostrations with calming the mind we can practice ceaselessly.
The Approach to Suffering
Sometimes we might experience difficulties doing prostrations. Pain and fatigue will be in our way. There is always some concern: pain in our knees, elbows, lower back, everywhere. There is no reason to be discouraged by it or lose confidence in our practice. Neither should we strengthen the feeling by saying to ourselves, "I suffer so much, I feel so weak." By doing this we completely block ourselves. We lose the ability to act. When the pain is allowed to "have a say," it can become a real obstacle on the path of our further practice. We should use every unpleasant experience, whether physical or mental, as a means to get enlightened. Such experiences should mobilize us toward greater effort on our path.
Everything we experience depends on the state of mind we are in. If we want to experience things differently we must change the state of our mind. If we manage to efficiently transform suffering into a positive and beneficial experience, the suffering will disappear completely without a trace. This will give us more happiness and joy.
Prostrations are a way of accumulating truly good potential. They are an easy and effective way to purify negative actions from our past. On the other hand, if - due to pain and fatigue - we continue prostrations being depressed, true purification does not take place.
The Techniques of Working with Unpleasant Experiences
1.Depletion of Karma
We should not think of suffering as something very serious. We should remember that suffering is just karma, that it is impermanent like everything else. Suffering has its end. When our karma ripens we should remain relaxed and observe this natural flow of things. If we manage to infuse our practice with the understanding of the impermanence of karma, it will dissolve by itself. Karma is not something we have to accept or reject. It is like the obligation to pay our bills which appears automatically. When we have paid our debts karma dissolves by itself and there is nothing to reject.
2.Purification of Karma through Physical Indisposition
Dharma practice eliminates veils and stains that are results of our former actions. We should perceive the physical indisposition that we experience during the practice as the result of the compassion of the Three Jewels. This relatively small suffering dissolves future karma which will not ripen. For this reason we should experience this suffering with joy and confidence. Such unpleasant experiences indicate that the practice works. The use of purifying methods may result in many unpleasant experiences on the level of body, speech, and mind. At the same time, we are getting rid of difficulties and veils in our minds. As we experience purification as a result of our practice, our confidence in the Three Jewels increases. We feel deep gratitude because these relatively small nuisances help free us from conditions that would otherwise ripen as much greater suffering.
3.Noticing Ego-Clinging through Suffering
We should regard every suffering as an antidote to ego clinging. Experiencing one's own suffering is in itself a proof of our egocentric attitude towards all phenomena. At the same time, such situations (where we experience suffering) give us the possibility to get rid of our ego clinging. If we have no ego-illusion we can experience no suffering. We should also understand the cause of our suffering: we experience it because of our former actions which resulted from our ego clinging. Being so focused on ourselves, we have sown many karmic seeds which have now ripened as suffering. We can treat suffering as a teaching showing us the results of actions that result from being focused on oneself. From beginningless time this ego clinging has been the cause of us being caught in the cycle of existence (samsara).
4.Observing Our Ego
Ego wants to be satisfied all the time. As long as everything is all right our ego is content and tries to keep this state. Our "self" clings to this contentment and our mind is distressed with desire - the poison of attachment. When nice circumstances are gone, ego still clings to them because it wants to be content. More attachment and desire appear in our mind. In the cases of unpleasant situations the ego reacts with anger and hatred. It tries to avoid them and replace them with pleasant experiences. In this way our mind is anxious and unhappy. We can recognize the continuous influence of ego in every situation. It ceaselessly categorizes experiences as pleasant or unpleasant. If we follow our ego we accumulate karma which will sooner or later ripen as different kinds of suffering.
5.Unpleasant Experiences as a Test of Our Perseverance
We should remember about our promise to use our body, speech, and mind for the benefit of others. Knowing that we work for the benefit of all beings we should keep our promise, subdue our internal difficulties, and continue our practice.
Translation from the Polish magazine Diamentowa Droga (Diamond Way) by Peter Piasecki and Susan Bixby from Calgary, Canada.

BUDDHISM TODAY, Vol.5, 1998
Copyright ©1998 Kamtsang Choling USA

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Lama Ole Nydahl talks about Death, Rebirth and the Power of Phowa
An Interview

The following interview was conducted by Tony Dylan Davis in March 1994 in Calgary, Canada
Tony: One of the greatest fascinations of mankind is death and what survives death. All kinds of religions have been founded upon insurance policies for the afterlife. One of your topics in Calgary was death and rebirth in Tibetan Buddhism and I know it's an enormous subject and we can't hope to cover the whole thing, but perhaps a capsule view for the relatively uninitiated would help.
Ole: It's all based on an understanding of the nature of the mind itself. If we look at mind, it clearly has two sides. There is an experiencer and something which is experienced, an ocean and many waves, a mirror and its pictures. One finds both awareness and that of which one is aware. Mind is both. An examination of what looks through our eyes and listens through our ears shows the observer to be of the nature of space. As it has neither color, weight, smell, size nor form, mind is definitely not a thing. At the same time, there is a clarity which can know and understand, having no limit or end.
An essence which is open, clear, and limitless must be beyond birth or death. As it has never been assembled, it can never fall apart. Though mind is all-pervading and indestructible, very rarely do people notice their underlying nature. Non-meditators mainly know it from their moments of greatest joy, like in love-making, during the free fall in bungee jumping, or before the parachute opens and makes things ordinary again. The rest of the time, people are lost among their changing experiences. Their life is the feelings and thoughts inside and the world outside, both of which of course change constantly. All think that they are a "me," or a "person," that they have a "self," an "ego," an "atman" or something else which their habitual mind perceives as real, but if they look for it, it cannot be found. There's no particle in the body which stays and neither do any conditioned thoughts or feelings. Only the clear light of awareness lasts, which is the same in you, me, and everybody else. Although this is evident, until enlightenment people experience the pictures in the mirror, not its reflective power. They lose themselves among their experiences, and have little awareness of the experiencer.
The understanding that everything conditioned is transient, however, doesn't mean that it has no relative value. Causality functions, creating inner and outer worlds and though nothing stays the same, there is a continuity. Nothing physical or mental remains from the time one was a child through to the time one is later a man, but without the former there would be no latter. One event conditions the next and when the body dies, the sense-basis and object of identification for this flow of experience is lost.
Though quick or slow deaths may appear to be very different, exactly the same process occurs. First, awareness recedes from the skin and other outer sense organs, into the central inner energy channel or magnetic plus-minus axis in the body. While consciousness diminishes, one loses control of the solid and fluid parts of the body, its heat and breath. Then, gradually, the energies from the crown and bottom centers come together at the heart center while the mind has strong experiences of clarity and joy. About twenty to thirty minutes after having breathed out the last time, there is total blackness after which a very clear light appears in the heart center. At that time, people have a unique chance. If they have meditated a lot, have kept their Buddhist bonds and have stayed honest to themselves, there is a chance to recognize and hold this light, making them in fact enlightened. Then, there's no separation between space and awareness inside and outside and one is boundless. All personal limitations have fallen away and one can take countless rebirths in countless universes with many amazing powers to help others.
If, however, beings become unconscious because the light is too strong - as is mostly the case - this unconscious condition lasts for about three days and upon reawakening, one usually neither knows nor wants to know that one is dead. For about a week, mind remains in the continuation of one's most recent life. One goes to places and people one knew but of course they cannot see one. It is also very confusing that due to the lack of a body, one immediately appears at whichever place one thinks of.
Ten days after death, after a week in this situation, one finally recognizes that one is dead. This experience is such a shock that one faints again, and when mind surfaces from this second bout of unconsciousness, the habitual world is gone and one's subconscious comes alive. Deeply stored impressions appear, and within not more than five and a half weeks they mature into a fixed psychological structure, expressing the strongest mental tendency developed during one's last life.
Whether this may be pride or jealousy, attachment or anger, greed or confusion, it colors the mind and at the same time draws it to beings and places which correspond to its content. Thus good actions produce pleasant rebirths in favorable countries and harmful ones bring about the suffering so prevalent in most of the world today.
It has always been like that. Mind moves ceaselessly after death until finding the right slot brings it to a passing but unconscious state of peace. Then it awakens and starts projecting again, as it has since beginningless time. It produces both the countless universes and beings' varying mental states, and mind will remain attached to what is actually its own free play until it recognizes itself to be unborn clear light. When awareness is experienced whether it has any objects or not, the timeless goal has been reached.
Tony:I suppose the question that springs to mind is: how do you know this?
Ole: I know it for several reasons, both personal and general. Shall I give some details? OK. First, I belong to the group of people who have independent proof of memories from their former lives. I am not saying I was an angel but I had great friends, exquisite women and much fun in my past lives. I was mainly fighting Chinese soldiers to protect the civilian population of Eastern Tibet. Already at an age of 2-3 years in Denmark during the war, I had recurrent dreams of fighting soldiers with round faces and protecting men in gowns. This is how I then interpreted the monks robes I saw. I had never seen mountains, they don't exist in Denmark at all, but I still drew pictures detailing how to take out snipers on the steep rocky slopes. My own Lama, the 16th Karmapa called me Mahakala (a Buddhist protector) and Dharma-General and I was born with some signs on my body which are supposed to signify former protective deeds. In 1986, on a secret tour across Eastern Tibet to places where no white man has ever been, my lovely wife Hannah and myself recognized places we knew from our last life, like the village where our main Lama, the 16th Karmapa, was born and where we must have spent time with him. In Bhutan, I had similar experiences. Among other things, I must have helped repulse the Mongolian troops during a great battle in 1642. Actually, I'm more a program than a person and hardly have any private or complicated stuff in my life. I seem to have deeply promised to express certain activities when I'm in this world and these I joyfully fulfill. Protecting and developing beings on all levels, is constantly on my mind.
Secondly, there are other, less personal reasons. Several people have come to me after they died. Real ones - spirits, spooks or whatever we call them in the West. Though some appeared hours earlier than the Tibetan Book of the Dead describes, whatever else happened to them fits completely with its teachings.

Also, Hannah and I received many explanations from living teachers of amazing insight like Karmapa, whose seventeenth incarnation Thaye Dorje was introduced to the public in Delhi in March 1994. His sixteenth rebirth was highly visionary. For no conceivable reasons, he would often know things and frequently simply state who was now driving away from their home and when they would arrive. He always knew what people were thinking and would frequently recognize former incarnations. He confirmed me as a Buddhist protector and stated after my father died that he was in a pure land. He is a major reason I feel I am an expert on death and rebirth.
The place this certainty touches many is through the hundreds of Phowa courses, where people learn how to die consciously. I've taught the practice since 1987, mainly in Western countries but also in Singapore and Japan. About 22,000 people - all but a handful of those who took part - had the full result. In a four to five day intensive meditation seminar, the Buddha of Limitless Light (Amitabha) blesses the practitioners and they receive outer, inner and secret signs of success, proof that they will reach a pure land at death. The signs are very convincing. One receives a small opening through the skull which produces a visible sign on the top of one's head, strong experiences of joy and purification and a growing understanding of what really matters in life and death. People agree that life after Phowa is both different and much better. A high percentage experience leaving their bodies and most reach states of great bliss. To the best of my knowledge, this meditation only exists in Tibetan Buddhism.
Tony: How did you gain the authority to do this kind of work?
Ole: Several conditions came together and especially it was the wish of the Karmapa, the first incarnate Lama of Tibet. He first connected us to a Lama from a closely affiliated lineage, a true expert on the subject. Since 1987, important teachers of our lineage like Kunzig Shamarpa, Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche, Tenga Rinpoche and recently also the 17th Karmapa, Thaye Dorje, asked me to transmit it to all with a wish to learn, and the results have been extraordinary.
Tony: When I took courses in Buddhism at a University, I think one of the areas which people had the most difficulty with was the idea of personality.....
Ole: Not having it!
Tony: Right.
Ole: You've got to trust space! If you discover personality to be an illusion, your only chance is trusting the richness of space. You can't rely on anything in the past or the future.
Tony: Then a Westerner would turn around and ask, who's doing the trusting?
Ole: Mind has all kinds of qualities, including the feeling of confidence. Such powers don't need to be anything personal, however. Mind has radiance, compassion, feeling and energy. It can remember, hope, dream and invent. One may compare it to a jewel with many shiny sides all of which are fantastic. The problem is when some of these qualities - always the emotionally charged ones - try to control everything else. Things get very tight when an illusory self behaves like a colonel in a banana republic, and forces some sentimental program or pride program to be enacted. Such a situation is totally different from the open condition where the inherent qualities of mind spontaneously unfold. When conditions are natural, sometimes mind feels, then it creates, then it remembers, then it's artistic. Without the fat rider of ego holding it down, all things will be perfect as they come.
Tony: Don't you think people for the most part associate who they are, for example, what will survive death, with the ego?
Ole: Adherents of faith-religions think they need an ego because they've been told they cannot trust their minds. That's the brainwash about original sin. It makes people unable to simply be. They think they have to keep control because otherwise they might find themselves with some child on their bayonet, or stealing something, or looking into the girl's locker room or saying something strange. Faith-religions manipulate people to distrust their deepest nature, while Buddhism as a religion of experience, teaches the complete opposite. It says, "Truth is all-pervading and you are all buddhas, who haven't discovered it yet. Your timeless essence is fearlessness and joyful compassion." That's the difference between working with faith and with experience. Religions that employ pressure from outer entities and work with fear and sin, instill a disturbed relationship to one's basic nature. Where the goal is fulfillment of mind's potential, however, things are easy. Living one's greatness is the way to benefit all beings.
Tony: The word that never pops into these discussions is the term "God," which is central in virtually every other religion.
Ole: We don't use it. It creates an unnecessary duality which one would have to dismantle later. We see gods as conditioned beings, who are not enlightened and though Buddhism knows of many gods, we prefer to keep a safe distance. We wish them everything good, of course, but do not get involved unless they might come to learn. To understand why, one needs only to examine their words. Gods are pompous, humorless, and some, like Allah, are clearly unfit for civilized societies. Most have character problems. Some are jealous; some are vengeful, none have found peace in their own essence. They all have visible egos and frequently display irrational behavior. They want beings to do this, and not to do that. They're frequently very difficult customers and if one wouldn't want bearers of such qualities as our neighbors, it would be unwise to take them as gods. I know that many people don't like to be confronted with such views and given the mental levels of their followers and the political situations at their times, the gods should also be given the benefits of any doubt. There is no way to ignore their statements in their ancient but still authorized texts; however, the way they still motivate the behavior of their followers today brings so much suffering. As any reader of intelligent newspapers will know, they suppress the greater part of the world's women and regularly erupt into strange and harmful actions even when kept under constant surveillance.
Mind's full development, on the other hand, its clear light and radiant awareness, its consciousness endowed with every freedom to feel, question and do - this is perfect. Rest in that and avoid the personal, difficult, and unclear. Go straight to the radiant, compassionate joy which is always satisfactory.
Tony: How do you do that?
Ole: First, find your nearest Buddhist center from the directory or one of my books. Or call the San Francisco center (415-661 6467). Ask my noble idealistic students for the teachings and meditations used, put forth your bright questions and try to take part whenever you can. This constitutes a broad, powerful way to grow.
Then one will gradually evaluate things less and rest more in the clear space of one's mind. To utilize even a few free moments, one may think of a Buddha sitting above one's head, falling into one's heart and shining from there to benefit all beings. Also, other near-instantaneous meditations will produce a state of surplus to be shared with others. The important thing, at least in Diamond Way Buddhism, is to "behave like a Buddha until you become a Buddha." Be the best you can until it's second nature, and then act from there.
Tony: So there's no sense of getting control of anything that you are talking about here. When we talk about looking at the mind and examining the mind, there's always a gnawing suspicion that what you are doing is going in there to control what happens.
Ole: No. Conscious living is about KNOWING inner processes, it's not about controlling them. As we already agreed, the experience of mind is fearlessness, joy, and active compassion, so nothing can disturb our true essence. What most surprises new students is that one's advance towards enlightenment is not so much characterized by the fact that good thoughts become more and bad thoughts become less. As mind is a feedback-mechanism, this may happen simply through positive thinking or pleasant surroundings. The important thing is that thoughts don't matter very much. As the radiance of the mirror increases, its pictures become less important. Attachment, both positive and negative, to the objects of awareness decreases as mind's timeless power is felt. In the here-and-now state of co-emergent wisdom all experience arises fresh, joyful, and true in its deepest essence.
Tony: How do we do this? How do we live this way?
Ole: Be spontaneous and effortless. Feel at home in life. Consider the best in beings their true essence while not overestimating what they can handle right now. Of course, it's a gradual process. We'll probably always need jails for the heavy cases. We'll still need policemen, but it would be nice to see more in the ghettos and less on the roads, where traffic regulates itself, anyway. Important is the view that people can be perfected. If people would train themselves to experience space more as a container we are all inside of and less as nothingness or something lacking, which separates us, much would be gained.
Tony: In a few words, what is your goal?
Ole: What I really want is to make as many people as possible recognize that their mind is clear light, help them understand that feeling fear is a complete mistake because their essence can never be harmed. I would dearly like to start a landslide of robust, humorous and critical awareness of life's potential. To lead ever more people to find real confidence, truth and happiness in themselves and empower them to share it. That's why I write my books; that's what I have done every evening for the last 24 years at my lectures. That's why we've started 180 groups for Diamond Way Buddhism so far around the world and the reason I've been in a new town every day since then. In increasing numbers, year by year, more and more close friends of mine work for that vision. We know Karma Kagyu Buddhism brings results, that the methods recently brought from Tibet are highly effective. They work with causes and not effects, are neither sentimental nor stiff. The lineage has a wide variety of methods and our success at shaking off Communist Chinese strangleholds and freeing Thaye Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, has even increased its taste of freedom. He is developing amazingly and it is a great joy.
Tony: And when will we be visibly closer to that goal?
Ole: The day people will say a hundred OM MANI PEME HUNG or KARMAPA CHENNO mantras as naturally as they now pop an aspirin. The more we put in, the more we get out. Everything needed is there. If we choose to join the independent intelligence of Western countries with the unbroken power of the lineage, there will be amazing developments and much good will appear in the world!

BUDDHISM TODAY, Vol.2, 1996
Copyright ©1996 Kamtsang Choling USA

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Learning to See
An Interview with Shamar Rinpoche, Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, France
The KKÖ-INFO is a quarterly magazine of Karma Kagyu Austria.

Kkö-info: What is important to Dharma practitioners in the West?
Rinpoche: In order to practice Buddhism it is most important to learn for yourself. There are different ways of approaching the Dharma. If a worldly person occupied with his profession or family wants a simple daily practice, then a limited understanding of Buddhism is sufficient. But if you want to get into it with some depth and to practice extensively, then you should become quite familiar with the teachings. After having studied intensively and analyzed Buddha's teachings, you must connect what you have learned with meditation, so it becomes real experience. Buddhism is a vast and rich field of knowledge. It is not just a religion of belief. Therefore to learn the Dharma properly takes a long time.
Kkö-info: Many people don't have the time for intensive studies or long retreat. How can people best study and practice in normal daily life?
Rinpoche: Concerning study, one should gain a basic knowledge of Madhyamaka, and about the empowerments and their significance. Concerning meditation, it is always good to practice as much as possible. There were and still are successful practitioners who meditate at home, without going into long retreat.
First learn as much as you can about basic Dharma in order to be able to meditate properly. If you proceed this way, especially in the West where people tend to be more secure in old age, you could have the opportunity to practice intensively later on in life, because you will have created the basis for it over your lifetime.
Kkö-info:In order to gain knowledge we need teachers we can have faith in. How does this faith develop?
Rinpoche: Faith comes from knowledge. If you have no knowledge of the path, it is impossible to have real faith. Faith means knowing the way, having faith in your own knowledge. If you study intensively, faith appears spontaneously.
For example, a blind person needs a guide whom he must trust completely. If you prefer to be blind you will always need a guide. But if you do not want to be blind, you should learn to see. Gradually you can open your eyes and learn to trust your way of seeing and walking along the path. To need a teacher does not mean that you have to hang onto him like a blind person to his seeing-eye dog.
Kkö-info: What do you really mean by this example?
Rinpoche: I am talking about people who when they meet the Dharma become extremists and turn into groupies. They run around in tee shirts printed with OM MANI PEME HUNG man