VIRTUE AND REALITY

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VVirtue and Reality

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VVen. Lama Zopa
en. Lama Zopaen. Lama Zopa
Edited by Nicholas Ribush
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Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e' +irtue and reality
Virtue and Reality
,ethod and )isdom in the practice o- Dharma
by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Edited by Nicholas Ribush
pa.e /
Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e
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pa.e 7
Editor?s $ntroduction .
=ul-illin. Li-e?s 0urpose .
Li+in. *ith Bodhicitta ..
0atience and the :ompassionate Heart ..
,editation on Emptiness ..
0racticin. the @ood Heart ..
Dedication ..
About the Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e ..
0ublisher?s Ac;no*led.ments ..
pa.e 2
n
by Nicholas Ribush
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he entire Dharma5 the teachin.s o- the Buddha5 can be di+ided into t*o cate.ories&
e1tensi+e method and pro-ound *isdom. The method linea.e passed -rom !ha;yamuni
Buddha to ,aitreya and do*n throu.h the .reat $ndian pundits such as Asan.a5
Vasubandhu5 Haribhadra and !u+arnad+ipi to the .reat Atisha5 *ho brou.ht them to Tibet. !imilarly5
the *isdom linea.e passed -rom the Buddha to ,anAushri and a.ain do*n to Atisha throu.h pundits
such as Na.arAuna and :handra;irti.
$n Tibet5 Atisha arran.ed the Buddha?s teachin.s into a .raded seBuence that became ;no*n as the
steps o- the path to enli.htenment Clam&rimD5 the essence o- *hich is method and *isdom. E1plicitly5
this path has three principal aspects&renunciation5 bodhicitta and ri.ht +ie*. The #adampa tradition5
-ounded by Atisha5 became the basis o- the @elu. school o- Tibetan Buddhism5 *hich itsel- *as
-ounded in the -i-teenth century by the enli.htened scholar and yo.i5 Lama Ee Tson. #hapa. This
tradition li+es today in the minds and teachin.s o- .reat masters such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and other *onder-ul teachers in the @elu. tradition5 o- *hom Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche5 the
author o- this boo;5 is one o- the best ;no*n. He is the spiritual director o- the =oundation -or the
0reser+ation o- the ,ahayana Tradition C=0,TD and the .uide5 re-u.e and protector o- thousands o-
students all o+er the *orld.
$n the conte1t o- the teachin.s presented here5 method is the lo+in.5 compassionate bodhicitta and
*isdom is the realiFation o- ultimate reality5 the ri.ht +ie* o- emptiness. $t *ould be hard to -ind a
simpler5 clearer5 more practical e1planation o- these t*o -undamental paths than the one Lama Zopa
o--ers us here. Throu.h practicin. method5 *e attain the holy body o- a BuddhaG throu.h de+elopin.
pa.e 8
Based on a -our&day course .i+en at an American =0,T center5 Tilopa :enter5 Decatur5 $llinois5 in
Au.ust5 /99H5 the teachin.s presented here detail methods -or de+elopin. compassion and *isdom in
our e+eryday li+es. Reco.niFin. the *or;aday *orld reality in *hich most o- his students li+e5
Rinpoche sho*s us ho* to thin; and act so that e+ery moment o- our li+es *ill be o- ma1imum
bene-it to both oursel+es and others. )hat more do *e needI
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o* can *e ma;e best use o- this per-ect human rebirth5 the precious human body that
*e ha+e recei+ed Aust this onceI Ho* can *e ma;e it most bene-icial5 not only -or
oursel+es but -or those other5 most precious5 e1tremely important li+in. bein.sI Eust
li;e us5 numberless other li+in. bein.s5 each o- *hom is as eBually precious as *e -eel oursel+es to be5
see; only happiness and disli;e any su--erin.. Ho* can *e ma;e our li+es producti+e -or their sa;eI
This is the main thin. *e should be as;in. oursel+es.
$- *e ta;e care o- others5 *or; -or their happiness5 *e are automatically ta;in. care o- oursel+es.
Tryin. to ma;e others happy is the best *ay o- lo+in. oursel+es. !imilarly5 i- *e harm others5 *e harm
oursel+es. Harmin. others does not brin. us peace and happiness5 only misery and .rie-5 no* and in
the -uture. Brin.in. happiness to others is the best *ay o- brin.in. happiness to oursel+esG it -ollo*s
naturally. $t happens by the *ay. Thin.s *e do that brin. happiness to others ha+e a bene-icial e--ect
on our o*n minds.
:on+ersely5 i- *e act to*ard others *ith ne.ati+e moti+ation and .i+e them harm5 such actions
lea+e ne.ati+e imprints on our mental continuum. These imprints later mani-est as undesirable
appearances. )hen our senses come into contact *ith these5 unpleasant -eelin.s arise. This is the
e+olution o- our li-e?s problemsG this is ho* they start. Their ori.in is in our o*n minds5 *ith our
ne.ati+e thou.hts. The end result is the su--erin. *e e1perience5 in this li-e or in -uture ones.
Healthy actions J positi+e actions5 actions that bene-it others5 actions done *ith compassion5 *ith
sincerity5 *hich brin. happiness to others J lea+e positi+e imprints on our mental continuum.
These mani-est as desirable appearances. )hen our senses contact these5 pleasant -eelin.s5 com-ort5
pa.e 4
That?s *hy the Buddha o- :ompassion5 His Holiness the Dalai Lama5 o-ten says that cherishin.
others is the best *ay o- cherishin. oursel+es. His Holiness calls this *ise5 or intelli.ent5 sel-ishness
because5 as $ mentioned abo+e5 by cherishin. others5 re-rainin. -rom .i+in. them harm5 o--erin. them
all bene-it5 all our *ishes -or happiness5 both no* and in the -uture5 *ill be -ul-illed. E1perience has
pro+ed that not only temporary happiness5 but e+en enli.htenment5 the ultimate state o- e+erlastin.
happiness5 the hi.hest5 complete attainment o- peace and bliss5 results -rom ser+in. others. $n -act5
the more *e dedicate oursel+es to others5 the Buic;er and easier our o*n happiness arises. This is the
natural e+olution o- happiness.
This means li+in. a li-e o- compassion. There-ore5 the ans*er to the Buestion o- ho* to ma;e best
use o- our li-e is by li+in. *ith compassion and *isdom. :ompassion alone is not enou.h. )e also
need to de+elop *isdom. Ho* do *e de+elop *isdomI )e don?t .et *isdom -rom pills or a special
diet or by transplantin. somebody else?s brain into our head or someone?s heart into our chest.
)e can de+elop *isdom only throu.h our o*n e--ort5 our o*n meditation practice. )isdom comes
-rom listenin. to the ri.ht teachin.s and re-lectin. and meditatin. on them.
There-ore5 *e need to recei+e unmista;en teachin.s5 .ain unmista;en understandin.5 per-orm
unmista;en practice and thus attain unmista;en realiFations. This is e1tremely important. $n this *ay
*e do not *aste our li+es5 don?t .et led alon. the *ron. path5 and can realiFe the potential o- our
li+es5 *hich is as limitless as the s;y. All li+in. bein.s *ish only happiness and complete -reedom -rom
su--erin.. The purpose o- our li+es is to bene-it them all5 as e1tensi+ely as possible.
=urthermore5 *e must learn ho* to analyFe and meditate. As simply readin. a prescription cannot
cure a disease J one needs to ta;e the medicine J mere intellectual understandin. o- the teachin.s
is not enou.h. )e ha+e to practice.
$n order to put an end to all our su--erin.5 the cycle o- old a.e5 sic;ness5 death and rebirth and the
problems o- the intermediate state as *ell5 *e need to cure our sic; minds5 to ma;e a complete
reco+ery -rom the mental illness J the disturbin. emotional thou.hts5 the delusions J that causes
pa.e H
)e ha+e enAoyed temporary happiness numberless times. There?s not a sin.le ne* temporary
happiness le-t -or us to e1perience. )hat is ne*5 *hat *e ha+e ne+er be-ore e1perienced5 is the .reat
peace that results -rom cessation o- all su--erin.5 death and rebirthG the ultimate happiness that arises
throu.h complete cessation o- the true cause o- su--erin.K i.norance5 the disturbin.5 emotional
thou.hts and the actions moti+ated by these unhealthy minds. )e ha+e ne+er e1perienced this be-ore.
!ince be.innin.less time *e ha+e been -orced to circle throu.h the realms o- death and rebirth
a.ain and a.ain5 repeatedly e1periencin. the *hole samsaric pac;a.e o- li-e problems5 the entire
collection5 o+er and o+er a.ain. )e ha+e ne+er e1perienced the end o- this5 ultimate5 e+erlastin.
happiness5 the complete cessation o- all problems and their cause5 our o*n disturbin. thou.hts and
the actions that they moti+ate5 ;arma.
And achie+in. this .reat result5 *hich *e attain by actualiFin. the steps o- the path5 is Aust a onetime
Aob. "nce *e realiFe e+erlastin. happiness5 the cessation o- all su--erin.5 *e can ne+er su--er
a.ain5 because the seed o- li-e?s problems5 *hich *e ha+e planted in our mental continuum5 has been
totally eradicated5 completely puri-ied. There-ore5 it?s impossible to e+er su--er a.ain J there?s no
reason5 no cause. "nce *e ha+e -ollo*ed the path to its end5 *e *on?t e+er ha+e to do it a.ain5 *e
*on?t ha+e to ;eep on practicin.. "nce *e attain the .oal5 it lasts -or e+er. :onseBuently5 dedicatin.
your li-e to this is e1tremely important. $t is the most *orth*hile thin. you can do *ith your li-e.
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here?s a Tibetan te1t5 The Three 0rincipal Aspects o- the 0ath5 *ritten by the .reat teacher
Lama Tson. #hapa5 *hich encapsulates the three essential aspects o- the path to
enli.htenment as tau.ht by the Buddha' renunciation5 bodhicitta and ri.ht +ie*. These
paths lead to liberation5 e+erlastin. happiness5 complete -reedom -rom the su--erin. realms o- cyclic
e1istence5 samsara. Their practice cuts the root o- all su--erin.5 i.norance5 the un;no*in. mind5 and
brin.s the peerless bliss o- enli.htenment.
Lama Tson. #hapa *as a .reat enli.htened bein.5 a mani-estation o- ,anAushri5 the Buddha o-
)isdom5 the embodiment o- the *isdom o- all buddhas. His ocean o- .ood Bualities *as as limitless
pa.e >
"ral transmission
$t is .ood to recei+e the oral transmission o- te1ts such as The Three 0rincipal Aspects5 *hich
contains the Buintessential teachin.s o- @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha. )hen you do5 you recei+e the
blessin.s o- an unbro;en linea.e o- teachin.s that reaches bac; to the .reat Lama Tson. #hapa
himsel-5 and imprint your mind *ith the steps o- the entire path to enli.htenment. $ mysel- ha+e
recei+ed it -rom many o- my o*n .urus5 such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his o*n teachers5
*ho themsel+es are enli.htened bein.s5 accomplished scholars5 and5 e+en to the ordinary +ie*5 .reat
yo.is. Because o- these blessin.s5 *hen you read5 study and meditate on te1ts *hose oral transmission
you ha+e recei+ed5 these acti+ities become much more e--ecti+e5 much more bene-icial -or your mind.
Also5 *hen you teach them to others5 your teachin.s are more bene-icial -or their minds.
=or e1ample5 @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha once .a+e teachin.s to 366 s*ans in a -ield. As a result o-
Aust hearin. the *ords5 they *ere all reborn human in their ne1t li-e5 became -ully ordained san.ha
and attained superior status as arya bein.s. They actualiFed the transcendent path that directly
realiFes the ultimate nature5 thereby ceasin. all delusions5 all emotional thou.hts5 and brou.ht to an
end all su--erin. and its cause. Thus5 simply hearin. Dharma teachin.s can ha+e an e1tremely
bene-icial e--ect on the mental continuum5 e+en that o- an animal5 such that one is not only reborn
human5 but is able to achie+e hi.h realiFations o- the path5 such as those o- the ri.ht&seein. path.
The .reat $ndian pundit5 Vasubandhu5 *ho composed the important te1t5 the Abhidharma;osha5
*ould recite it aloud e+ery day. A pi.eon that nested on the roo- o- his house used to hear him5 and
*hen it died5 Vasubandhu used his clair+oyance to see *here the pi.eon *as reborn. He disco+ered
that it had ta;en rebirth as a baby boy to a -amily do*n the road5 and they a.reed to put their son in
the hi.hly respected pundit?s care. The child J later ;no*n as LobpLn Loden MAcharya !thiramatiG
LodrL DenpaN J too; ordination as a mon;5 became a .reat e1pert in the Abhidharma;osha5 *hich
he had heard so many times in his pre+ious li-e as a pi.eon5 and *rote se+eral commentaries on it.
This is another e1ample o- the .reat bene-it than simply hearin. Dharma teachin.s can brin..
pa.e 9
Uni+ersal responsibility
The purpose o- our li-e is not simply to sol+e our o*n problems5 to .ain happiness -or oursel+es.
The purpose o- our li-e is to be o- use to others5 to bene-it other sentient bein.s5 *hether it be one or
many. Ho*e+er5 the real reason *e?re ali+e is to -ree the numberless other sentient bein.s -rom
su--erin. and lead them to the unsurpassed happiness o- -ull enli.htenment. That is the meanin.
o- our li-e. Each o- us has this uni+ersal responsibility to brin. the .reatest happiness to all
sentient bein.s.
Ho* is it that *e ha+e this responsibilityI $- you .enerate compassion in your mind5 you *ill not
harm others. 0eace and happiness is the absence o- harm. By not harmin. others5 you are o--erin.
them happiness and peace. Not only that5 but by ha+in. compassion5 you also bene-it them in a more
acti+e *ay. The .reater your compassion5 the more you help other sentient bein.s. !o all this peace
and happiness that others e1perience as a result o- your compassion has come -rom you5 depends
upon you. $t is in your hands5 because it is up to you *hether or not you .enerate compassion
to*ards others. $- you do not5 they do not recei+e the peace and happiness you ha+e to o--erG i- you
do5 they recei+e all this peace and happiness -rom you. There-ore5 you ha+e the uni+ersal
responsibility o- brin.in. peace and happiness to each and e+ery sentient bein..
0ause here -or a moment5 stop readin.5 and meditate on the -eelin. o- uni+ersal responsibility as
$?+e Aust e1plained it' that i- you ha+e compassion -or all li+in. bein.s5 each one recei+es .reat peace
and happiness -rom youG each one recei+es no harm. Thin;5 Oall this peace and happiness that they
e1perience and enAoy depends upon me.P Thin; o- the reasons -or this and ;eep them in mind as you
pa.e /6
,editate on the thou.ht5 O$ am responsible -or all sentient bein.s? peace and happiness.P
$t *ould be *onder-ul i- you could practice mind-ulness o- this in your e+eryday li-e. E+en i- you
cannot do many other practices J mantra recitation5 sadhanas o- deities5 +arious other preliminary
practices J i- you can Aust ;eep in mind that the purpose o- li-e is to brin. happiness to all sentient
bein.s and -eel responsible -or this5 i- you can maintain this attitude5 rememberin. it a.ain and a.ain5
you *ill .i+e your li-e .reat meanin. and naturally5 automatically5 bene-it others in this *ay.
$- you can maintain mind-ulness o- uni+ersal responsibility5 e+erythin. you do J *al;in.5 sittin.5
sleepin.5 *or;in.5 tal;in.5 eatin.5 *hate+er actions you en.a.e in J *ill be trans-ormed by this
positi+e attitude. E+ery action o- your body5 speech and mind *ill immediately become ser+ice -or
other sentient bein.s. )hen you sleep5 you sleep -or othersG *hen you eat5 you eat -or othersG *hen
you *or;5 you *or; -or othersG *hen you tal;5 you are tal;in. to bene-it others5 to brin. them
happiness. The moment your attitude chan.es in this *ay5 *hate+er you do becomes an action that
bene-its others.
An hour5 a minute be-ore you chan.ed5 you *ere actin. out o- e.o and sel-&centeredness5 and
*hate+er you *ere doin. *as impure and not a cause o- achie+in. enli.htenment. Because you *ere
moti+ated by e.o5 attachment ruled your mind and your actions did not become a cause -or
e+erlastin. happiness5 liberation -rom samsara5 the si1 realms o- su--erin. and their cause. They did
not e+en become a cause -or a .ood rebirth or happiness beyond this li-e. !ince your actions *ere
done out o- e.o and attachment5 clin.in. to this li-e5 they became only the cause o- su--erin..
But as soon as you .enerate the thou.ht5 O$?m responsible -or all sentient bein.s? happinessG this is
*hat my li-e?s about5P and -eel this uni+ersal responsibility5 suddenly5 *hate+er you?re doin.
completely trans-orms. $t becomes *or; -or others. $t becomes healthy. $t becomes a pure action
unstained by e.o. $t becomes Dharma. %our actions become DharmaG this is the best meditation you
can do. )hile you are *or;in.5 you are meditatin.. )hile you are studyin.5 you are meditatin..
No matter *hat you are doin.5 you are meditatin.. There?s no separation bet*een your li-e and
meditationG your *hole li-e becomes your practice o- meditation.
$- you can Aust ;eep your mind -ocused in this *ay5 e+en thou.h you cannot do many other
pa.e //
$- there?s no compassion in your heart5 *hat you?re le-t *ith is e.o5 the sel-&centered mind. That
means your entire li-e is dedicated to your o*n happiness. But *hat about othersI They also *ant to
be happy. %ou?re not the only one *ho needs happinessG others also need happiness. There-ore5 *hen
you?re under the in-luence o- e.o5 it?s +ery easy to clash *ith others in your daily li-e. %ou can see ho*
the sel-&centered mind causes problems5 di--iculty .ettin. alon. *ith others5 disharmony and so -orth.
The stron.er your e.o5 the more problems in your li-e. "ther people -ind it di--icult to be *ith you.
E+en i- you -ind a -riend5 sooner or later J as your e.o .enerates attachment and that causes an.er to
a&rise J your e.o and those other emotions *ill ma;e your -riend an enemy.
As lon. as you act out o- e.o5 you harm others5 because your e.o is intent on achie+in. happiness
-or yoursel- at the e1pense o- others. Because o- e.o5 other discriminatin. thou.hts5 such as an.er and
Aealousy5 arise. They produce ne.ati+e actions5 *hich cause you to harm other sentient bein.s. As you
.o -rom li-e to li-e *ith e.o and the other emotional discriminatin. thou.hts5 you continually hurt
others5 and all sentient bein.s recei+e harm -rom the one person5 you.
But i- you .enerate compassion5 all sentient bein.s recei+e peace and happiness -rom the same one
person5 you. $- all sentient bein.s .et an.ry at you and harm or e+en ;ill you5 you are Aust one person.
But i- that one person5 you5 doesn?t practice compassion5 the .ood heart5 numberless other sentient
bein.s are at ris; o- bein. harmed by youG there?s the .reat ris; that the one person5 you5 *ill harm
numberless others. There-ore5 *hether other people practice compassion or not5 -irst you should
do so. De+elop the .ood heart.
pa.e /7
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.ain5 ta;e a brea; -rom readin. and meditate on the meanin. o- li-e5 the purpose o- bein.
ali+e. Thin;5 OThe purpose o- my li-e is not simply to .et happiness -or mysel-5 not Aust to
sol+e my o*n problems. The meanin. o- my li-e is to -ree all sentient bein.s -rom
su--erin. and lead them to all happiness because it is -rom the numberless5 precious sentient bein.s
that $ recei+e all my past5 present and -uture happiness5 temporary and ultimate5 -rom each e+eryday
com-ort and pleasure up to the hi.hest enli.htenment.P =eel this in your heart.
)hen you meditate on all sentient bein.s5 start *ith the precious sentient bein.s around you ri.ht
no*. !tart *ith the ones you encounter in e+eryday li-e J those in the same room5 in the same
buildin.5 your -amily5 your *or; mates J and slo*ly e1tend your a*areness beyond them to
.radually encompass all sentient bein.s throu.hout in-inite space. @enerate the *ish to -ree them
-rom all su--erin. and its cause and brin. them all happiness5 *ithout discrimination or e1ception.
)ith all this in mind5 thin;5 OThis is the meanin. o- my li-eG this is the reason $?m ali+e.P =eel it.
No* thin;5 O$5 mysel- alone5 am responsible -or brin.in. happiness to all sentient bein.s and
-reein. them -rom all su--erin. and its cause. $ am personally responsible -or the happiness o- each
and e+ery sentient bein..P D*ell *ith your mind in this state o- uni+ersal responsibility.
Remember5 too5 that this responsibility e1tends -ar beyond only human bein.s. There are many
di--erent ;inds o- li+in. bein.. There are numberless animals that are su--erin.G numberless hell
bein.s that are su--erin.G numberless hun.ry .hosts that are su--erin.. There are numberless suras
and asuras5 those *orldly .ods5 that are su--erin.. There are numberless intermediate state bein.s that
are su--erin.5 e1periencin. much -ear bet*een death and rebirth because o- the terri-yin.
pa.e /2
No* thin;5 OThe happiness o- all these sentient bein.s J temporary5 ultimate and the peerless
happiness o- -ull enli.htenment J depends on *hether or not $ ha+e compassion5 lo+in. ;indness5
the .ood heart. There-ore5 $ need to de+elop the method o- compassion5 the .ood heart5 *ithin me.
$ also need to de+elop *isdom. There-ore5 $ am .oin. to puri-y my mind5 accumulate merit and plant
the seed o- enli.htenment by meditatin. on the path to enli.htenment J not Aust -or my o*n sa;e
but -or the sole purpose o- brin.in. all happiness to the most precious5 numberless sentient bein.s5
*hose +alue -ar e1ceeds that o- countless *ish&-ul-illin. Ae*els.P
%ou can use this meditation to set your moti+ation be-ore any +irtuous acti+ity J readin. Dharma
boo;s5 practicin. meditation5 listenin. to teachin.s J ta;in. the abo+e para.raph as an e1ample.
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o* brin. your attention to the reality o- your li-e5 *hich is impermanent in nature and
rapidly approachin. death. Then thin; about the nature o- phenomena5 *hich
althou.h appearin. to e1ist -rom their o*n side are5 in -act5 completely empty o-
e1istence -rom their o*n side. Not e+en a sin.le atom e1ists -rom its o*n side. E+erythin. is empty J
your sel-5 actions5 obAects J nothin. e1ists -rom its o*n side. They do e1ist5 but not -rom their o*n
side. )hate+er e1ists is merely labelled by the mind. )hate+er -unctions does so merely in name.
=ocus your attention on this empty nature o- phenomena.
$- you can practice mind-ulness o- the -acts o- li-e J impermanence5 impendin. death5 emptiness
and so -orth J in your daily li-e5 i- you can maintain constant a*areness o- the basic nature o-
phenomena5 you *ill be able to stop disturbin.5 emotional thou.hts -rom arisin.. Normally5 these
disturbin. thou.hts control our li+es5 torture us daily5 al*ays .i+e us trouble and pre+ent our minds
-rom e1periencin. any peace. $nstead o- peace5 happiness and satis-action5 all *e .et -rom them is
dissatis-action5 unhappiness and problems J not only in this li-e but5 throu.h the ;arma they -orce
us to create5 in many -uture li+es to come.
Thus5 practicin. mind-ulness o- impermanence5 death and emptiness J the -undamental nature o-
pa.e /8
$
$
n the pre+ious chapter $ mentioned some o- the bene-its o- recei+in. oral transmissions o-
lam&rim5 or steps o- the path5 te1ts5 *here you imprint your mind *ith the entire path to
enli.htenment. Another +ery important te1t is the Heart !utra5 or the Essence o- )isdom5
*hich is the heart5 or essence5 o- the entire sutra and tantra teachin.s o- the Buddha. This te1t
e1plains transcendent *isdom5 the *isdom .one beyond. The subAect is emptiness5 the ultimate
nature o- the $5 the a..re.ates and all other phenomena. $t is the essential teachin.5 or meditation
practice5 -or cuttin. the root o- samsara and attainin. liberation -rom su--erin.. By recei+in. the
blessin.s o- the oral transmission o- this te1t5 you plant in your mental continuum the seeds to
understand and realiFe this crucial topic5 emptiness5 the only direct remedy to the cause o- all
su--erin. J delusion and ;arma.
)hen you recei+e an oral transmission5 it is important to thin;5 O,ay $ immediately be able to
actualiFe in my mental continuum the meanin. o- e+ery *ord that $ hear5 may e+ery *ord $ hear
bene-it all sentient bein.s5 and *hen $ repeat these *ords mysel-5 may the path that they contain
actualiFe immediately in the mind o- any sentient bein. that hears me say them.P By .eneratin. this
;ind o- moti+ation and listenin. intently to the transmission5 e+ery sin.le *ord you hear *ill .reatly
bene-it both yoursel- and all other sentient bein.s.
The Three 0rincipal Aspects o- the 0ath
No* $?m .oin. to read an En.lish translation o- Lama Tson. #hapa?s Three 0rincipal
Aspects o- the 0ath to Enli.htenment in order to plant the seeds o- the entire path to enli.htenment in
our mental continuum. !hort lam&rim te1ts li;e this are +ery important. $t doesn?t ta;e lon. to
read them5 but they lea+e an imprint o- the *hole path5 and these imprints become the -oundation
-or the de+elopment o- our mind to its ultimate potential. )hen you read such te1ts mind-ully or
listen care-ully to them bein. read strai.ht throu.h5 it becomes *hat is called direct meditation
pa.e /3
0rostration to the Venerable @urus.
$ *ill e1plain to the e1tent that $ am able
The essence o- all the teachin.s o- the :onBueror5
The path praised by the :onBueror?s holy children5
The entrance -or the -ortunate ones *ho desire liberation.
Listen *ith clear minds5 you -ortunate ones5
)ho rely on the path that pleases the :onBueror5
!tri+e to ma;e your -reedoms and endo*ments meanin.-ul5
And are unattached to the pleasures o- cyclic e1istence.
Embodied bein.s are bound by the lon.in. -or e1istence.
)ithout pure renunciation5 there are no means to paci-y
The aspiration -or pleasant results in the ocean o- e1istence.
There-ore5 at the be.innin.5 see; renunciation.
:ounteract clin.in. to this li-e by -amiliariFin. your mind
)ith the di--iculty o- -indin. the -reedoms and endo*ments
And *ith the -leetin. nature o- this li-e.
:ounteract clin.in. to -uture li+es by repeatedly contemplatin.
The in-allibility o- action and result
And the su--erin.s o- cyclic e1istence.
By -amiliariFin. yoursel- in this *ay5
)hen you do not desire the per-ections o- samsara -or e+en an instant
And continually aspire -or liberation5 day and ni.ht5
At that time5 you ha+e de+eloped renunciation.
pa.e /4
a
:annot result in the per-ect happiness
"- unsurpassed enli.htenment.
There-ore5 the *ise .enerate the supreme mind o- enli.htenment.
!*ept a*ay by the -our torrential ri+ers5
Bound by the ti.ht bonds o- actions5 so di--icult to escape5
:au.ht in the iron net o- sel-&.raspin.5
Totally en+eloped by the thic; dar;ness o- i.norance5
Born and reborn in boundless e1istence5
$ncessantly tormented by the three su--erin.s J
Re-lectin. upon this state o- all bein.s5 your mothers5
@enerate the supreme mind o- enli.htenment.
E+en thou.h you -amiliariFe yoursel- *ith renunciation
And the mind o- enli.htenment5
)ithout the *isdom realiFin. emptiness5
%ou cannot cut the root o- e1istence.
There-ore5 stri+e to realiFe dependent arisin..
)hosoe+er sees the in-allibility o- cause and result
"- all phenomena in samsara and nir+ana
And destroys all modes o- apprehension
Enters the path that pleases the Buddha.
Appearances are in-allible dependent arisin.sG
Emptiness is -ree -rom assertions J
As lon. as these t*o are understood as separate5
%ou ha+e not yet realiFed the thou.ht o- the :onBueror.
pa.e /H
5
The mere si.ht o- in-allible dependent arisin.
Brin.s the certainty that destroys all modes o- apprehendin. obAects.
Then5 your analysis o- the pro-ound +ie* is complete.
=urthermore5 appearances eliminate the e1treme o- e1istence
And emptiness eliminates the e1treme o- non&e1istence.
)hen you understand the *ay emptiness appears as cause and result5
%ou *ill not be carried a*ay by e1treme +ie*s.
)hen you ha+e realiFed the essentials
"- the three principal aspects o- the path5
Rely upon solitude and po*er-ul e--ort
And s*i-tly accomplish your eternal .oal5 my childQ
The importance o- compassion
There are many di--erent ;inds o- Dharma practice J hundreds o- di--erent mantras to recite5 all
;inds o- meditation J but the most important o- them all is the practice o- compassion. !ince each
o- us has ta;en personal responsibility -or the happiness o- each and e+ery sentient bein.5 our
de+elopment o- compassion becomes e+en more crucial.
$- the practice o- compassion5 the .ood heart5 is missin. -rom your li-e5 then no matter *hat other
practices you do J e+en the pro-ound5 esoteric ones -rom the hi.hest yo.a tantra di+ision o-
,ahayana secret mantra5 *hich is underta;en -or the e1press purpose o- attainin. buddhahood as
Buic;ly as possible -or the sa;e o- all sentient bein.s J they don?t become the Buic; path to
enli.htenment that they?re supposed to be. )ithout compassion5 no practice can lead to
enli.htenment and can e+en become a cause o- not only samsara in .eneral but rebirth in the lo*er
realms J the hell5 hun.ry .host or animal realms. There-ore5 no matter ho* pro-ound or ad+anced a
practice mi.ht be considered J dFo.&chen5 the natural .reat per-ection5 or dFo.&rim5 the completion
pa.e />
$- the practices you do J prayers5 mantra recitation5 meditation J are moti+ated by compassion
to*ards all sentient bein.s5 they become an incredibly s;ill-ul means o- collectin. +ast amounts o-
merit and puri-yin. the mind o- eons o- obscurations and ne.ati+e ;arma.
This applies not only to -ormal practice. $- e+erythin. you do in the course o- a t*enty&-our hour
day is done *ith the .ood heart J *al;in.5 sittin.5 sleepin.5 *or;in.5 tal;in.5 eatin.5 *hate+er J
*ith an attitude o- compassion to*ards all sentient bein.s5 then e+en i- you don?t ha+e much time to
do sittin. meditation or other -ormal practices5 all these re.ular daily acti+ities are trans-ormed into
ser+ice -or other sentient bein.s. E+en i- your li-e is -ully occupied by *or; and -amily obli.ations5 i-
you brin. the essential practice5 compassion5 the thou.ht o- bene-itin. others5 into e+erythin. you do5
it becomes the best ;ind o- Dharma5 the cause o- happiness and success -or yoursel- and5 more
importantly5 all the numberless other sentient bein.s.
There-ore5 no matter ho* you lead your daily li-e J in retreat5 studyin. Dharma5 chantin.
sadhanas5 recitin. mantras or puttin. in lon. hours at the o--ice J i- you ne+er let compassion lea+e
your mind5 i- you constantly ;eep in mind the thou.ht o- bene-itin. others5 e+erythin. you do
becomes *or; -or the *el-are o- others. Be-ore5 *hen *hat you did *as moti+ated by e.o and
attachment5 it *as *or; -or simply your o*n happiness. There-ore5 e+erythin. you did *as non&
+irtuous and created only ne.ati+e ;arma5 the cause o- su--erin.. But no*5 li;e iron trans-ormed
into .old5 the alchemy o- compassion trans-orms your pre+iously samsaric actions into the cause o-
not only happiness5 peace and enli.htenment -or yoursel-5 but also happiness -or each and e+ery
sentient bein. *ithout e1ception. %our li-e itsel- becomes li;e .old J pure5 rich5 e1tremely
meanin.-ul and hi.hly bene-icial. %our mind becomes a *ealth o- merit and .ood ;arma5 the cause
o- e+ery happiness.
$- you ;eep the intention to bene-it others in mind5 i- there?s compassion -or all sentient bein.s in
your heart5 e+en i- you are Aust .oin. to *or;5 e+ery step5 e+ery moment in your car5 .enerates in-inite
merit in your mental continuum. Because your main .oal is the happiness o- all sentient bein.s5 e+ery
pa.e /9
$- you are .i+in. a speech *ith bodhicitta moti+ation5 compassion5 the thou.ht o- bene-itin. other
sentient bein.s5 e+ery *ord5 e+ery sentence .enerates .reat .ood ;arma5 the cause o- happiness.
)hyI Because your speech is moti+ated by the *ish -or all sentient bein.s to e1perience happiness
and bene-it.
!imilarly5 i- you eat and drin; *ith the moti+ation o- compassion -or all sentient bein.s5 e+ery
mouth-ul you s*allo* creates merit as +ast as space. %ou collect in-inite .ood ;arma5 the cause o-
happiness. $- *or; at your Aob ;eepin. the happiness and *el-are o- all sentient bein.s in your heart5
e+ery second5 e+ery minute5 e+ery hour you spend at *or; continuously .enerates in-inite merit5
boundless .ood ;arma5 the cause o- happiness in your mind. E+ery action that you do *ith bodhicitta
moti+ation5 compassion5 the thou.ht o- bene-itin. others5 becomes the cause o- happiness o- all
sentient bein.s.
Bodhicitta trans-orms your li-e
That?s *hy #hedrup Rinpoche5 one o- Lama Tson. #hapa?s t*o main disciples5 *rote in his praise
o- his .uru?s .ood Bualities5 OE+ery breath you ta;e is o- bene-it to all sentient bein.s.P He said this
because Lama Tson. #hapa had realiFed bodhicitta J renouncin. himsel- and cherishin. only
others. $- you ha+e realiFed bodhicitta J the altruistic mind determined to achie+e enli.htenment -or
the sa;e o- sentient bein.s5 the thou.ht o- *or;in. only -or the bene-it o- others J e+ery sin.le
action o- your body5 speech and mind is dedicated to the *el-are o- others. %our entire li-e is li+ed
completely -or the sa;e o- others. There?s not e+en a second?s thou.ht -or yoursel-5 -or your o*n
happiness. E+erythin. you do is solely -or the happiness o- other sentient bein.s. $- you recite one
rosary o- mantras5 it is done only -or othersG i- you eat one bo*l o- -ood5 it is only -or othersG i- you
drin; one cup o- tea5 it is only -or others. E+ery sin.le thin. you do is done only -or others. Nothin.
in your li-e is not done -or others5 -or their bene-it.
The realiFation o- bodhicitta5 compassion5 lo+in. ;indness5 completely trans-orms your mind.
)ith your old mind5 you thou.ht only o- your o*n happiness and *or;ed solely -or the sa;e o- sel-5
your old sel-. The continuity o- that mind has no be.innin.. Because o- that mind5 you?re still mired
pa.e 76
There?s a related story concernin. the .reat enli.htened bein. 0abon.;a Rinpoche C/>H/&/98/D5 a
.reat lama5 scholar and yo.i *ho had actualiFed the entire path to enli.htenment. He *rote not only
lam&rim te1ts li;e Liberation in the 0alm o- %our Hand but also many other sutra scriptures and5
especially5 se+eral e1cellent5 e1tremely lucid commentaries on the tantrasG really clear e1planations o-
deity practices -rom his o*n e1perience. "- course5 his *ritin.s *ere based on the teachin.s o- @uru
!ha;yamuni Buddha and the commentaries o- the ancient $ndian and Tibetan pundits and yo.is5 but
by practicin. these he had his o*n e1periences and actualiFed the entire path himsel-. Thus5 he *as
able to *rite *ith .reat clarity on tantra and bene-it the Dharma and all sentient bein.s in .eneral.
He had thousands o- disciples5 many o- *hom5 on the basis o- his teachin.s and .uidance5 had
realiFations o- the three principal aspects o- the path to enli.htenment and5 in particular5 the path o-
secret mantra5 the VaArayana.
"ne o- 0abon.;a Dechen Nyin.po?s disciples *as a lama called To.ten Rinpoche. He had -ormerly
been a practitioner o- the Nyin.ma tradition J there are -our main Tibetan Buddhist schools'
Nyin.ma5 #a.yu5 !a;ya and @elu. J but one day he came to discuss emptiness *ith a hi.h @elu.pa
lama called Denma Locho Rinpoche5 *hose present incarnation is one o- my .urus. !o Denma Locho
Rinpoche ad+ised To.ten Rinpoche5 O$- you *ant to realiFe emptiness5 you should .o to Lhasa and
meet 0abon.;a Rinpoche.P !o he *ent to Lhasa and recei+ed many teachin.s -rom 0abon.;a Dechen
Nyin.po and practiced meditation under his .uidance. 0abon.;a Rinpoche?s monastery is not -ar
-rom !era ,onastery5 and hi.h on the cli-- abo+e is his ca+e&hermita.e5 *here To.ten Rinpoche did
his retreat.
He *ould practice his meditation5 and *hene+er he had a realiFation5 *ould come do*n to o--er it
to his .uru5 0abon.;a Dechen Nyin.po. "ne day he attained the ninth le+el o- meditati+e
pa.e 7/
The -i+e paths
)hen you realiFe calm abidin.5 you can concentrate sin.le&pointedly on *hate+er obAect you
choose -or as many months or years J e+en eons J as you li;e5 as determined by your moti+ation.
No matter ho* many distractions surround you J police sirens5 train *histles5 people beatin. drums
in your ear J nothin. can disturb your mind or inter-ere *ith your concentration. Ho*e+er lon.
you plan to concentrate5 that?s ho* lon. you can ;eep your mind on the obAect5 immo+able as a
mountain. Not only that5 but you also e1perience rapturous ecstasy o- body and mind. %our body
-eels as li.ht as cotton5 as i- it could -loat a*ay5 and +ery5 +ery healthy. %ou can use your body in any
+irtuous action or practice *ith no hardship or di--iculty *hatsoe+er. %our mind is so controlled
that5 as $ mentioned5 you can concentrate on any obAect -or as lon. as you li;e5 and i- you let .o o-
your mind5 it automatically .ra+itates to +irtuous obAects5 so there?s no dan.er o- creatin. any
ne.ati+e ;arma. The .reat ad+anta.e o- ha+in. achie+ed calm abidin.5 ho*e+er5 is that it no*
becomes +ery easy -or you to achie+e other realiFations. $n particular5 you can meditate on emptiness
as your obAect in order to de+elop special insi.ht and the *isdom that is the actual antidote to the
su--erin. o- samsara.
The =our Noble Truths5 the -oundation o- @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha?s teachin.s5 are true
su--erin.5 true cause o- su--erin.5 true cessation o- su--erin. and true path. True path means the
*isdom directly percei+in. emptiness5 the +ery nature o- phenomena5 ultimate nature. This is *hat
actually ceases the delusions J the cause o- all su--erin.5 the cause o- the cycle o- rebirth5 a.in.5
sic;ness and deathG the cause o- the hell realms5 the hun.ry .host realms5 the animal realms and all
pa.e 77
)hen you achie+e the *isdom directly percei+in. emptiness5 you attain *hat?s called the ri.ht&
seein. path. $t is here that the delusions5 the obscurations5 the de-ilements5 actually be.in to cease.
$n all5 there are -i+e paths to liberation -rom su--erin. and its cause J the paths o- merit5 preparation
Cor conAunctionD5 ri.ht&seein.5 meditation and no more learnin.. By de+elopin. the *isdom realiFin.
emptiness moti+ated by the method o- renunciation o- samsara J the determination to -ree yoursel-
-rom samsara J you can achie+e your o*n liberation. By achie+in. the ri.ht&seein. path5 you remo+e
//7 disturbin. thou.ht obscurations5 and on the path o- meditation5 /4 disturbin. thou.ht
obscurations.
Ho*e+er5 you destroy not only the delusions5 but their seed as *ell5 so that it becomes no lon.er
possible -or them e+er to arise a.ain. That means you *ill ne+er a.ain create ;arma or ha+e to
e1perience su--erin.. %ou become an arhant5 your holy mind -ree -rom the obscurations o- the
disturbin. thou.hts. %ou attain nir+ana5 the sorro*less state5 and liberate yoursel- -rom the entire
round o- samsaric su--erin..
To achie+e enli.htenment -or the bene-it o- numberless other sentient bein.s5 you need to achie+e
the -i+e ,ahayana paths5 *hich are also called merit5 preparation5 ri.ht&seein.5 meditation and no
more learnin.. Here5 no more learnin. means omniscient mind5 the completion o- all understandin.G
there?s not a sin.le obAect o- ;no*led.e le-t to disco+er. A.ain5 it is on the ,ahayana ri.ht&seein. path
that your *isdom directly percei+in. emptiness starts ceasin. the delusions. Any*ay5 there are many
details o- these paths and many te1ts describin. them5 o- *hich the Abhisamayalam;ara is probably
the best ;no*n. $n the .reat Tibetan monasteries5 such as !era5 @anden and Drepun.5 the mon;s
study many root te1ts and commentaries that detail the -i+e paths and so -orth. They memoriFe5
debate and meditate -or thirty or -orty years. $t?s a bit li;e tryin. to learn all the parts o- an airplane
and ho* they -unction to.ether so that it can -ly sa-ely.
Any*ay5 to attain your o*n liberation -rom samsara5 you need to understand the details o- the -i+e
paths. The ri.ht&seein. path eliminates intellectual *ron. conceptions5 those acBuired -rom incorrect
teachin.s5 *hile the path o- meditation eradicates the innate misconceptions5 the ones you *ere born
pa.e 72
To reach enli.htenment -or the sa;e o- all sentient bein.s5 you ha+e to -ollo* the -i+e ,ahayana
paths. )hen you achie+e the ,ahayana ri.ht&seein. path5 you also eradicate the .ross obscurations
CnyLn&drib5 in TibetanD5 *hich pre+ent you -rom attainin. your o*n liberation -rom samsara5 but in
addition5 you eradicate the subtle obscurations Cshe&dribD5 the ne.ati+e imprints le-t on your mental
continuum by the .ross delusions5 *hich pre+ent you -rom attainin. enli.htenment.
,erely labelled
)e belie+e that there?s an $5 a real sel-5 in our body. But i- you loo; -or it5 i- you analyFe the
appearance to see *hether or not the $ really e1ists in your body5 or on your a..re.ates5 you can?t -ind
it. $- you don?t analyFe5 it loo;s li;e it?s there5 but i- you do5 you disco+er that it?s non&e1istent. This is
*hat your *isdom disco+ers. )hen you do not analyFe5 do not meditate5 *hen you ha+en?t realiFed
the ultimate nature J the emptiness o- the $5 the ultimate nature o- the sel- J it appears as i- there?s
a real $ there5 in your body or on your -i+e a..re.ates o- body and mind. )hen you search *ith
*isdom5 you disco+er that the real $5 appearin. -rom there5 is totally non&e1istent. $t e1ists no*here.
That absence o- the real $ is *hat *e call emptiness5 or shunyata5 the +ery nature o- the sel-. That is
the reality o- the sel-. That?s *hat the $ is. $t is empty J empty o- the real $ that appears -rom there J
and e1ists merely in name. The only reason the $ e1ists at all is because o- the e1istence o- a +alid base5
the a..re.ates. The -i+e a..re.ates J -orm5 -eelin.5 co.nition5 compoundin. a..re.ates and
consciousness J are a +alid base -or labellin. O$5P there-ore the $ e1ists.
=or e1ample5 a child is born and its parents .i+e it a name5 a label. =irst the child5 an association o-
body and mind5 is actualiFedG then comes the label. !o5 dependin. on the base5 let?s say the parents
call the child Richard. =irst the base comes into e1istence5 then the label is applied. The base is not
one *ith the label5 ORichard.P $- it *ere5 as soon as the base came into bein.5 so *ould the label5
ORichard.P But the t*o are di--erent. The child J the association o- body and mind5 the a..re.ates J
and the label J the name5 ORichardP J are not separate5 but they?re di--erent. !imilarly5 our base J
the association o- our body and mind5 our a..re.ates J is not one *ith the label $. The base and the
pa.e 78
But our deluded mind does not see this. To us it appears as i- the $ e1ists -rom the side o- the
a..re.ates5 as i- there?s a real sel- there. But by analyFin. this appearance and your belie- in it5 you can
disco+er that *hat you see and belie+e is a hallucination. The real $ that appears -rom there is
completely non&e1istent. There?s not an atom o- real sel- there. $n reality5 it is non&e1istent5 but not
reco.niFin. this5 not realiFin. this5 belie+in. the illusion to be real5 belie+in. one hundred percent
that the $ that appears -rom there is its reality5 bloc;s you -rom seein. the ultimate5 empty nature
o- the $.
The $ that e1ists5 that e1periences happiness and su--erin.5 that *al;s5 tal;s5 eats5 sits and sleeps is
nothin. other than *hat has been merely labelled by the mind. But e+en thou.h that merely labelled
$ e1ists5 i- you loo; -or it on the a..re.ates5 on the base5 you cannot -ind it any*here5 -rom the ends o-
your hair to the tips o- your toes. There?s no Buestion that the merely labelled $ e1ists. $t?s Aust that
you can?t -ind it on the base5 on your a..re.ates.
The $ that appears to you in your body or on your a..re.ates as not merely labelled by the mind J
as i- it has nothin. to do *ith your mind5 as i- there?s a real $ there that ne+er came -rom your mind5
that e1ists -rom its o*n side J is the $ that does not e1ist. Neither in your body nor on your
a..re.ates nor any*here else J that $ e1ists no*here. This is reality. The absence o- such an $5 the
emptiness o- that5 is the ultimate nature o- the $.
The hallucinatin. mind J the *ron. conception holdin. on to the $ as not merely labelled by the
mind5 as e1istin. -rom its o*n sideG holdin. as true that somethin. real is appearin. -rom there J is
the root o- all delusion5 ;arma and su--erin.. This un;no*in. mind5 this i.norance5 is the main
su--erin.. This hallucinatin. mind J the *ron. conception that belie+es the $ to be other than it
really is5 in completely the *ron. *ay J is our *orst su--erin.. This is the basic i.norance that *e
ha+e to eradicate in order to escape -rom all su--erin. and its cause.
pa.e 73
,ore about the -i+e paths
Be-ore .oin. o-- on that tan.ent o- emptiness5 $ *as e1plainin. the -i+e paths. There are -i+e paths
to nir+ana J indi+idual liberation -rom samsara J and -i+e ,ahayana paths to enli.htenment.
To complete these paths5 -irst you ha+e to achie+e calm abidin. CshamathaD5 by proceedin. throu.h
the nine le+els o- meditati+e stabiliFation. Then you ha+e to realiFe special insi.ht C+ipashyanaD5 and
-inally achie+e the *isdom realiFin. emptiness5 the .reat concentration J the *isdom realiFin.
emptiness uni-ied *ith calm abidin..
$- your moti+ation is not bodhicitta but simply renunciation o- samsara5 at that point you achie+e
the path o- preparation5 *hich is the basis -or achie+in. the ri.ht&seein. path5 the true path o- the
=our Noble Truths. At that le+el5 as $ mentioned abo+e5 the intellectual *ron. conceptions are
eliminated5 and on the -ourth path5 the path o- meditation J as the *isdom directly percei+in.
emptiness is -urther de+eloped J the innate de-ilements are eradicated.
=ollo*in. the ,ahayana5 on the basis o- ha+in. achie+ed bodhicitta J the compassionate lo+in.
thou.ht5 the altruistic mind set on achie+in. enli.htenment -or sentient bein.s5 renouncin. yoursel-
and cherishin. others J and the *isdom realiFin. emptiness uni-ied *ith calm abidin.5 you achie+e
the ,ahayana path o- preparation. That is the basis -or achie+in. the ,ahayana ri.ht&seein. path5 the
*isdom directly percei+in. emptiness.
There are t*o *ays o- enterin. the ,ahayana path. Either you can enter directly by -irst
de+elopin. bodhicitta5 or you can -irst complete the -i+e Hinayana paths as either a solitary realiFer or
a hearer by becomin. an arhant5 and then enter the ,ahayana in order to attain enli.htenment.
"n the ,ahayana ri.ht&seein. path5 you remo+e //7 .ross and /6> subtle obscurations5 and on the
path o- meditation5 /4 .ross and /6> subtle. Then you achie+e the ,ahayana path o- no more
learnin.5 -ull enli.htenment.
pa.e 74
$ ha+e e1plained the abo+e to .i+e you an idea o- ho* .reat an achie+ement it is to ha+e pro.ressed
throu.h the nine le+els o- meditati+e stabiliFation and to achie+e calm abidin.. No* to .et bac;
to the story.
)hen To.ten Rinpoche arri+ed5 e1tremely pleased that he had reached the ninth le+el o- meditati+e
stabiliFation5 0abon.;a Dechen Nyin.po *as in the middle o- eatin. lunch J pa;5 a dense ball o-
tsampa5 the Tibetan staple o- roasted barley -lour5 mi1ed *ith tea and butter. But To.ten Rinpoche
couldn?t *ait5 and reported his e1perience any*ay. )hen he had -inished5 0abon.;a replied5
O:ompared to the bene-its o- my eatin. this pa;5 your realiFation is nothin.QP
E+en thou.h the attainment o- calm abidin. is incredible and has inconcei+able bene-its J
rapturous ecstasy5 unsurpassed clarity o- mind5 unsha;able sin.le&pointed concentration5 -reedom
-rom sic;ness due to re-inement o- body and mind J it doesn?t ha+e bodhicitta' compassion5 lo+in.
;indness5 renouncin. yoursel- and cherishin. others. 0abon.;a5 ho*e+er5 had realiFed bodhicitta.
There-ore5 e+ery mouth-ul o- pa; he ate *as *or; -or all sentient bein.s *ithout e1ception. Naturally5
e--ortlessly5 each mouth-ul o- -ood created in-inite merit5 as limitless as the s;y. This story5 there-ore5
illustrates the bene-its o- bodhicitta and sho*s ho* practicin. the .ood heart can ma;e our li+es
most practical and bene-icial.
)hen Lama %eshe J *ho *as ;inder than the buddhas o- the three times and too; care o- me li;e
a -ather cherishes his only son5 not only *ith education but also *ith -ood and clothin. and all other
means o- li+in. J *as in Delhi on his *ay to America -or treatment5 there *as a discussion about a
student *ho had done somethin. *ron.5 and Lama *as as;ed i- he *as an.ry *ith him. OHo* could
$ possibly be an.ry *ith himIP Lama replied. OHe?s a sentient bein..P That sho*s that Lama had
realiFed bodhicitta. $- you don?t ha+e realiFation5 Aust the ;no*led.e that someone is a su--erin.
sentient bein. isn?t enou.h to pre+ent you -rom .ettin. an.ry.
A*areness and the sel-
!tudent. ,ay $ as; a Buestion5 pleaseI %ou *ere spea;in. be-ore about the illusory nature o- the $.
)hat?s the di--erence bet*een that itsel- and the a*areness o- itI
Rinpoche. The a*areness that reco.niFes thin.s is mind. That a*areness is not the $5 the sel-.
pa.e 7H
As lon. as your body and mind are in this room5 the $ cannot be -ound on that base5 but it e1ists in
this room. But the only reason -or sayin. that it e1ists in this room and is not at home ri.ht no* is
that the association o- your body and mind are in this room. That?s the only reason. E+en thou.h you
cannot -ind the $ on them. The minute your body and mind lea+e the room5 so does the $G it is no
lon.er present in this room. !o5 *hat is that $I $t is nothin. other than *hat has been merely imputed
by the mind because o- the e1istence o- the base5 the association o- body and mind.
By analyFin. your $ in this *ay5 you can come to see that it is totally somethin. else5 completely
di--erent -rom *hat you?+e al*ays thou.ht it *as5 -rom be.innin.less rebirths up to the present.
All this time your mind has merely been labellin. $ on the association o- body and mind5 and that is
ho* it e1ists. But e+ery time your mind has merely labelled $5 it doesn?t appear bac; to you as i- it?s
been merely labelled. That?s the problem. $- the $ did al*ays appear to you as merely labelled by the
mind5 it *ould be impossible -or you to .enerate an.er5 Aealousy5 .raspin.5 attachment and all the
other pain-ul emotional minds. $- you *ere able to percei+e the $ as merely labelled by the mind there
*ould be no base upon *hich delusions could arise. Then you *ouldn?t create moti+atin. ;arma5
su--erin. or samsara itsel-.
pa.e 7>
There-ore5 the reality o- the $ that is merely labelled by the mind is that it is totally empty. $t e1ists5
but it is totally empty. $t e1ists5 but it is totally empty o- e1istin. -rom its o*n side. )hile it is empty
o- e1istin. -rom its o*n side5 the $ e1ists. Ho*I $n mere name. )hen you realiFe this5 you ha+e .ained
an unmista;en realiFation o- emptiness. "n the sin.le obAect5 $5 you are able to uni-y dependent
arisin. and emptiness. The $ itsel- is both empty yet e1istent. $t e1ists5 but it is empty. )hen you
realiFe these t*o5 *ithout di+ision5 you ha+e .ained an unmista;en realiFation o- emptiness. $-5 in
*hat you thin; is a realiFation o- emptiness5 you cannot uni-y these t*o or -ind a contradiction *ith
e1istence5 then your so&called realiFation o- emptiness is *ron.. )hen it comes to this point and you
cannot de-ine ho* the $ e1ists5 you cannot see the e1istence o- the $5 that means your realiFation o-
emptiness is not the actual realiFation o- emptiness but Aust ordinary emptiness.
)hen you analyFe5 the $ becomes e1tremely subtle5 so subtle that e+en thou.h it is not none1istent5
it is as i- it *ere non&e1istent. $t is not non&e1istent5 but it seems to be non&e1istent. $t
appears not to e1istG it becomes an unbelie+ably subtle phenomenon. The line o- demarcation
bet*een the e1istence and the non&e1istence o- the $ is e1tremely -ine5 e1tremely subtle. !o -ine that
*hat is e1istent appears to be almost non&e1istent. )hat it is5 ho*e+er5 is merely labelled by the mind.
pa.e 79
@uru !ha;yamuni Buddha said5
Do not en.a.e in any harm-ul actionsG
0er-orm only those that are .oodG
!ubdue your o*n mind J
This is the teachin. o- the Buddha.
)hat did he meanI The abo+e +erse encapsulates the entire teachin. o- the ;ind5 compassionate
Buddha. $n it5 he is tellin. us sentient bein.s5 *ho *ant only happiness and do not *ant su--erin.5
ho* to achie+e our aims.
)here do happiness and su--erin. come -romI
Happiness and su--erin. do not come -rom outside but -rom actions moti+ated by our o*n minds5
our o*n thou.hts. Happiness comes -rom positi+e actions. 0roblems come -rom mista;en5 or
uns;ill-ul5 actions. 0ositi+e actions5 pure actions5 are moti+ated by a positi+e5 +irtuous attitude5 the
pure mind5 the healthy mind5 the peace-ul mind.
All happiness J the transient happiness o- our e+eryday li+es5 and ultimate happiness5 both
liberation and enli.htenment J comes -rom each bein.?s positi+e attitude and +irtuous actionsG -rom
the pure mind. Liberation is the complete cessation o- all su--erin.5 includin. rebirth5 a.in.5 sic;ness
and death5 and its cause. Enli.htenment5 the .reat liberation5 *hich is e+en hi.her than this5 is the
cessation o- e+en the subtle de-ilements o- mind and the completion o- all realiFations. Each and
pa.e 26
$n your li-e5 until your mind labels somethin. as a problem5 be-ore you ha+e the concept o-
problem5 you don?t ha+e any problems. Be-ore your mind -abricates the label5 Oproblem5P you don?t
see problems in your li-e. )hat do $ mean by concept hereI $t?s *here your thou.ht interprets a
certain situation as a problem. $n other *ords5 your mind creates the desi.nation OproblemP -or this
particular situation. Be-ore that happens5 you don?t see any problem *ith the situation5 but the
moment your mind creates the label5 Oproblem5P and belie+es in it5 that is the moment that the
concept o- problem has been created. %ou ha+e created the concept o- li-e problem.
This is Aust a simple e1ample o- ho* problems come -rom your o*n mind5 ho* problems depend
upon your o*n concepts5 ho* problems depend upon the +ery concept o- problem. The problems in
your li-e depend upon your ha+in. the concept o- problem J ha+in. the thou.ht5 creatin. the label
and belie+in. in it. This is Aust a +ery simple e1ample o- ho* your problems depend upon your o*n
mind. $t sho*s ho* your problems depend upon the thou.ht5 or concept5 you ha+e at that moment
J that hour5 that minute5 that second J ho* this hour?s problem5 this minute?s problem is related
to5 or comes -rom5 the *ay you are thin;in. at the time. The present moment?s problem comes -rom
the present moment?s thou.ht5 or concept5 *hich creates the label and belie+es in it.
An.er is another e1ample o- this. $- you don?t create the mental -actor5 or thou.ht5 o- an.er5 there
are no enemies in your li-eG you can?t -ind any enemies. $- you don?t -orm the thou.ht o- an.er5
*here+er you .o5 *here+er in the *orld you tra+el5 *here+er you li+e5 *hoe+er you?re *ith5 you ne+er
see a sin.le enemy. $- you don?t create an.er *ithin5 you ha+e no enemy outside.
Don?t be yoursel-
$- you do not practice compassion5 lo+in. ;indness and patience to*ards others5 i- you do not
culti+ate these healthy minds5 these positi+e5 bene-icial thou.hts -or the sa;e o- yoursel- and all other
sentient bein.s5 i- you don?t ma;e an e--ort to de+elop these positi+e attitudes5 you are Aust bein.
yoursel-G you are allo*in. yoursel- to be your old sel-. %our old sel- -ollo*s your e.o and sel-&centered
mind and thin;s only o- your o*n happiness and nothin. else. =rom be.innin.less time5 in e+ery
pa.e 2/
!o Obein. yoursel-P means Aust this J bein. your old sel-. $nstead o- practicin. those positi+e
minds5 you do Aust the opposite. %ou -ollo* disturbin. thou.hts such as attachment and an.er5 *hich
o--er your mind no peace5 no rest5 no realiFation J only a.itation5 trouble and unhappiness.
There?s no holiday -or your mind. E+en i- you ta;e your body on +acation5 there?s no +acation -or
your mind5 no rest and rela1ation -or your mental continuum. The result o- continually -ollo*in.
your old sel- J e.o5 attachment and an.er J is that you ne+er -ind satis-action. These thou.hts can
ne+er brin. you satis-action5 no matter -or ho* many eons you -ollo* them. This is simply the nature
o- attachment.
As @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha said5 OAs lon. as you -ollo* desire you *ill ne+er be satis-ied.P $t?s li;e
sittin. in a -ire. As lon. as you sit in a -ire you *ill ne+er e1perience the pleasure o- not bein. burnt.
$- you lon. to be com-ortable and cool5 you ha+e to .et out. $n Aust the same *ay5 as that is lo.ical5 so
is it lo.ical that as lon. as you -ollo* attachment you *ill not -ind inner peace5 true satis-action5 real
rest. There?s no +acation -or your heart. That?s the old sel- at *or;. )hen the Rollin. !tones san.5
O)ell5 $ tried and $ tried5 $ tried and $ tried J $ can?t .et no5 satis-action5P they *ere actually .i+in. a
lam&rim teachin.G a lam&rim teachin. *ith .uitar accompaniment. They *ere teachin. meditation.
$- you don?t ha+e a .ood heart5 i- you ha+e no satis-action J *hich can be e1perienced only by not
-ollo*in. the pain-ul minds o- desire and attachment J i- you don?t de+elop lo+in. ;indness and
compassion5 then e+en i- you do ta;e a brea; -rom your Aob and ta;e your body to the beach5 there?s
no rest -or your mind. There?s no peace *ithin your mental continuum because you ha+e ta;en *ith
you your attachment and an.er and the constant problems they create. Because you lac; a .ood
heart and cannot dedicate yoursel- to others5 there?s no -ul-illment in your heart. Because o- the
disturbin. emotional thou.hts o- attachment and an.er5 you .et no satis-action and e1perience
pa.e 27
%our emotional thou.hts are the -oundation o- all problems. They themsel+es are the main
problem. Because o- them5 you ha+e no inner peace and cannot enAoy your li-e. E+en thou.h
e1ternally it mi.ht loo; as i- you?re enAoyin. yoursel-5 as i- you?re e1periencin. e1citement and
pleasure5 *hen you loo; into your heart5 you ;no* that there?s al*ays somethin. missin.. "nly by
.i+in. up5 cuttin.5 -reein. yoursel- -rom5 disturbin. emotional thou.hts such as the pain-ul mind o-
attachment5 can you -ind satis-action in your heart5 in your inner li-e.
$- you can stop bein. your old sel-5 i- you can stop -ollo*in. the be.innin.less discriminatin.
thou.hts o- attachment and an.er5 stop -ormin. the thou.ht o- an.er5 stop trans-ormin. the mind
that *as not an.ry into one that *ants to harm others5 you *ill ne+er ha+e enemies. )here+er you .o5
you *ill ne+er -ind an enemy tryin. to harm you.
Eliminatin. enemies
)hat do you do *hen you encounter someone *ho doesn?t lo+e you5 *ho?s an.ry at youI %ou
practice patience. $nstead o- interpretin. that person?s actions as ne.ati+e5 or harm-ul5 you interpret
them as positi+e5 or bene-icial. $nstead o- thin;in. ho* harm-ul it is that the person is an.ry at you5
doesn?t lo+e you5 thin; ho* bene-icial5 ho* necessary5 ho* use-ul it is. Eust as you -eel it important to
ha+e in your li-e someone *ho lo+es you5 -eel it Aust as necessary to ha+e someone *ho doesn?t lo+e
you. Thin; ho* much you need the person *ho is an.ry at you. =eel that the person *ho disli;es you
is Aust as precious as the one *ho has compassion -or you. $nstead o- seein. it as ne.ati+e5 see it as
positi+e5 bene-icial.
$- ri.ht at that moment5 instead o- tellin. yoursel- ho* harm-ul it is5 you practice patience by
thin;in. ho* use-ul it is5 i- instead o- thin;in. ho* useless it is5 you thin; ho* necessary it is5 you
*ill immediately e1perience peace and tranBuillity in your mind. $nstead o- bein. troubled5 you?ll be
happy5 then and there. ,oreo+er5 you *on?t be impelled to retaliate and *ill there-ore re-rain -rom
harmin. others. $n this *ay you *ill a+oid creatin. the ne.ati+e ;arma o- inAurin. others *ith body5
speech and mind.
$- out o- an.er you .i+e harm to others5 you lea+e ne.ati+e imprints on your o*n mental
pa.e 22
There-ore5 by practicin. patience5 you don?t harm others and thus don?t harm yoursel-. $- you don?t
practice patience5 you harm others and there-ore yoursel-. =urthermore5 *hen you practice patience
and re-rain -rom harmin. others5 you protect them -rom retaliatin. in response to your harm5
thereby sa+in. them -rom creatin. e1tra ne.ati+e ;arma5 the cause o- su--erin. J you protect others
-rom ha+in. to e1perience the ;armic results o- .i+in. you harm. Thus5 by practicin. patience5
besides creatin. the cause o- happiness -or yoursel- in this and -uture li+es5 you help others to
e1perience happiness in this and -uture li+es.
As a result o- your practicin. patience and not harmin. the person *ho?s an.ry at you5 that other
person doesn?t .i+e you -urther harm. Not only is there peace and happiness -or yoursel- and the
other person in this and -uture li+es5 but you are also trainin. your mind to be patient *ith others.
This person is helpin. you do that. %ou are learnin. to be patient *ith the rest o- your -amily5 the rest
o- your collea.ues5 all other human bein.s and all sentient bein.s in .eneral. The person *ho is an.ry
*ith you is helpin. you train your mind to be patient and positi+e instead o- an.ry and ne.ati+e.
As you eradicate an.er -rom your mental continuum and replace it *ith patience5 the rest o- the
sentient bein.s recei+e no harm -rom you5 the indi+idual *hose mind has been trans-ormed into
patience. The absence o- harm5 their not recei+in. harm -rom you5 is peace. )hat they recei+e -rom
you is happiness.
The bene-its o- patience
Historically5 you can see ho*5 at di--erent times and in di--erent places in the *orld5 one in-luential
person *ho did not practice patience caused millions o- people to die. As a result5 many millions o-
people under*ent e1traordinary su--erin. by bein. imprisoned5 tortured and ;illed J durin. the
Hitler era5 in :hina5 in Tibet5 in :ambodia5 in the )est and in many other countries as *ell. E+en
no*5 because they do not practice patience5 certain indi+iduals are ;illin. many people. They lac;
pa.e 28
No*5 consider yoursel- in li.ht o- the abo+e. As an indi+idual practicin. patience5 learnin. to be
patient5 by -reein. your mind o- an.er5 you can o--er .reat peace and happiness to numberless other
sentient bein.s5 not only in this li-e5 but in many -uture li+es to come. !ince there?s no an.er5 you
don?t harm others. There-ore5 many people5 animals5 -ish and insects5 -or e1ample5 recei+e much peace
and happiness -rom you. Thus5 li-e to li-e5 *ith patience to*ards all sentient bein.s5 you brin.
si.ni-icant peace and happiness to the *orld. By practicin. patience you .i+e peace to the *orld J
to your parents5 the rest o- your -amily5 your -riends5 the people you *or; *ith and5 on the .rand
scale5 all sentient bein.s.
Lea+in. aside other realiFations o- the path5 i- those po*er-ul people had only been educated in5
possessed and practiced the .ood human Buality o- patience5 the .ood heart5 each could ha+e .i+en so
much happiness to the *orld. ,any millions o- people *ould ha+e had happiness5 enAoyment and
lon. li+es instead o- Aust the opposite. "ne person could ha+e made so much di--erence had he only
been patient instead o- an.ry. 0ut yoursel- into this situation. This could happen to you. $- you don?t
practice patience in this or -uture li+es5 you5 too5 could be reborn as someone *ho harms millions o-
people. There-ore5 you de-initely need to practice patience. %ou should consider it a responsibility.
$t is e1tremely important that you educate yoursel- in patience and practice it. $t is perhaps the most
important meditation you can do.
$- you practice patience5 you eliminate an.er. That means there?s no enemy to bodhicitta in your
mind. $n other *ords5 it ma;es it much easier to achie+e bodhicitta5 the ultimate .ood heart5 the
altruistic mind set on attainin. enli.htenment -or the sa;e o- all sentient bein.s. Bodhicitta is the
.ate*ay to the ,ahayana path5 the root o- the path to enli.htenment and the source o- all happiness
-or both yoursel- and others.
By actualiFin. the per-ection o- patience5 you can attain -ull enli.htenment5 the .reat liberation5 the
cessation o- all mental errors and the completion o- all realiFations. "nce you ha+e attained
enli.htenment5 you are -ree to *or; per-ectly -or the *el-are o- all sentient bein.s in order to liberate
them -rom all su--erin. and its cause and brin. them to buddhahood as *ell. This is the lon. term
bene-it o- practicin. patience in your daily li-e ri.ht no*5 a bene-it as measureless as space itsel-.
pa.e 23
0atience has many other bene-its as *ell. =or e1ample5 practicin. patience is the cause o- recei+in. a
beauti-ul body in -uture li+es J a beauti-ul human body or the di+ine body o- a de+a. $- your body is
attracti+e5 it is easier to bene-it others. $t is also the cause o- many o- the special Bualities o- a
buddha?s holy body. There are many more bene-its o- patience.
$- you do not practice patience5 you *ill .et an.ry. "ne o- the results o- an.er is to recei+e u.ly
bodies in -uture li+es. $- you loo; u.ly5 people *on?t *ant to see or hear you5 *on?t *ant to help you
and *on?t pay attention to *hat you say. )orse than that5 you *ill ha+e to e1perience the unbearably
hea+y su--erin.s o- rebirth in hell. And e+en *hen a-ter that you?re reborn human5 there *ill be many
other problems as a result o- an.er. An.er has many5 many dra*bac;s5 but by practicin. patience you
can a+oid them all.
$n short5 practicin. patience on a daily basis has in-inite bene-it. $t brin.s peace5 happiness and
success -or yoursel- and others in this and many -uture li+es. Ultimately5 you attain enli.htenment5
and brin. all happiness to all sentient bein.s as you lead them to enli.htenment.
Ho* to practice patience
)here does your daily practice o- patience that brin.s all this bene-it come -romI Ho* did you
learn to be patientI
As; yoursel-5 O)here did $ learn this patience that $ practiceI $ learned it -rom those *ho ha+e been
an.ry at me. By dependin. on the an.ry person $ ha+e been able to practice5 to realiFe patience.
There-ore5 all the peace and happiness that $ enAoy in this and -uture li+es as a result o- my practice o-
patience has come -rom the an.ry person. $t is throu.h the ;indness o- the an.ry person5 *ho .a+e
me the opportunity to practice5 that $ am able to o--er peace and happiness to all sentient bein.s as a
pa.e 24
The an.ry person is e+en more precious than trillions o- *ish&-ul-illin. Ae*els. The most precious
material obAect *e can thin; o- in these e1amples is the *ish&-ul-illin. Ae*el. Le.end has it that by
prayin. to this mythical .em5 you .et *hate+er sense enAoyment you desire. Ne+ertheless5 the an.ry
person *ith *hom you practice patience is -ar more +aluable than trillions o- these *ish&.rantin.
.ems. No amount o- material *ealth can brin. you the inner peace that you can achie+e by practicin.
patience *ith an an.ry person. That?s *hy such people are so precious.
The only reason the person is so ;ind and precious is because he is an.ry at you. There?s no reason
other than that. This is *hat ma;es this person so unbelie+ably ;ind. There-ore5 e+en thou.h his
an.er is so destructi+e -or him5 -or you it is in+aluable. $t is o- the utmost need in your li-e. Ha+in.
somebody an.ry at you is +ery5 +ery important.
!ay there *ere a cure -or cancer or A$D!. )e *ould re.ard that medicine as incredibly precious5
e1tremely important5 especially i- *e *ere su--erin. -rom one o- those diseases. But e+en thou.h such
remedies could cure those -atal illnesses5 it doesn?t mean that they could puri-y your ne.ati+e ;arma.
They couldn?t stop you -rom bein. reborn in the su--erin. lo*er realms J the hell5 hun.ry .host or
animal realms. 0racticin. patience5 ho*e+er5 does o--er that ;ind o- bene-it. =or e1ample5 the practice
o- patience ma;es -or a happy5 peace-ul death5 a death -ree -rom -ear and *orry. 0racticin. patience
puri-ies5 or counteracts5 ne.ati+e ;arma. )hen you practice patience5 you don?t create ne.ati+e
;arma. That means you are not creatin. the cause -or a lo*er rebirth J patience protects you -rom
pa.e 2H
Any*ay5 in order to practice patience5 you need an an.ry person. As the .reat bodhisatt+a
!hantide+a pointed out in his teachin.5 the Bodhicharya+atara5 the Buddha isn?t an.ry *ith you5 so
you can?t practice patience *ith him. And a doctor?s only thou.ht is to help you5 so there?s no
opportunity there either. !imilarly5 your -riends aren?t an.ry *ith you5 so there?s no chance to practice
patience *ith them. There-ore5 i- there?s nobody an.ry at you5 there?s no opportunity to put into
practice the teachin.s you?+e recei+ed -rom the Buddha and your .urus. That?s *hy the an.ry person
is most ;ind5 precious and indispensable in your li-e5 and much more important than medicine -or
cancer or A$D!. )e thin; those medicines are so +aluable5 but *hen you thin; about it this *ay5 you
can see ho* much more precious the an.ry person is. The bene-its o- practicin. patience are in-inite.
)e al*ays *ant in our li-e someone *ho lo+es us. )e -eel that this is important -or our happiness.
But you can see no* that it?s much more important to ha+e in our li-e someone *ho doesn?t lo+e us5
*ho?s an.ry at us5 so that *e can practice trainin. our minds. As $ mentioned be-ore5 i- you don?t
ha+e such a person5 i- you don?t train your mind5 then e+en i- you do -ind a -riend5 there?s the dan.er
that throu.h lac; o- patience5 you?ll turn your -riend into an enemy.
There-ore5 to maintain harmonious relationships *ith others5 to ;eep your -riends5 you ha+e to
practice patience. To lead a happy and success-ul li-e5 you almost ha+e to train yoursel- li;e a soldier
preparin. -or battle. !oldiers train be-ore marchin. o-- to *ar. %ou need to do the same. Trainin. your
mind by practicin. meditation on patience is the *ay to prepare yoursel- -or the battles o- daily li-e.
Lea+in. aside the happiness o- -uture li+es or that o- other sentient bein.s5 e+en -or the happiness o-
this li-e5 you ha+e to practice patience.
The po*er o- positi+e thin;in.
!o no*5 .oin. bac; to *hat $ *as sayin. be-ore5 loo; at the indescribable bene-its o- seein. in a
positi+e li.ht those *ho don?t lo+e you5 those *ho are an.ry at you. Loo; at the pro-its you can reap
J e+ery happiness all the *ay up to enli.htenment and the ability to brin. e+ery happiness to all
sentient bein.s. The more clearly you understand this5 the easier it *ill be to loo; positi+ely at
someone *ho is an.ry *ith you. $n this *ay5 your o*n an.er does not arise and you .enerate a happy5
pa.e 2>
No matter ho* an.ry at you the other person .ets5 no matter ho* much the other person *hines
and complains5 your patient mind ne+er sees that person as an enemy5 as someone to a+oid5 as
someone to .et a*ay -rom5 as irritatin.. Rather5 you see that person as ;ind5 precious. %ou -eel5
O!he?s puri-yin. my ne.ati+e ;arma. All this criticism o- me helps puri-y my ne.ati+e ;arma o- ha+in.
criticiFed and harmed others. Ho* ;ind she is to help me in this *ay.P
By trans-ormin. your mind into patience li;e this5 you .et this immediate peace and happiness J
that day5 that minute5 that second J and the lon.&term bene-its as *ell. All this is due to the ;indness
o- that an.ry person. $- you do not practice patience5 i- you interpret *hat the an.ry person is doin.
*ith her body5 speech and mind as ne.ati+e5 as harm-ul to yoursel- J your mind applies a ne.ati+e
label to the situation and you belie+e in that J your o*n an.er *ill arise. That an.er *ill ma;e you
see the an.ry person as ne.ati+e5 undesirable5 someone you *ant to neither see nor help5 someone
you *ant to lash out at and hurt. )hen your mind is an.ry you see the other person in a completely
di--erent li.ht5 opposite to the *ay in *hich your patience percei+es that person. %our an.er ma;es
her loo; repulsi+e.
The happiness and di--iculties *e e1perience e+ery day come -rom our mind. )hate+er *e?re
e1periencin. at any .i+en moment is dependent upon the *ay *e thin;5 our concepts5 our attitude.
"ur attitude determines ho* *e -eel.
=or e1ample5 once in Tibet there *ere a couple o- mon;s *ho returned to their monastery a-ter a
lon. and tirin. Aourney. To *elcome them bac;5 their teacher o--ered them cold tea. "ne o- the
disciples thou.ht5 OHo* ;ind our teacher is. He ;ne* *e *ere hot and thirsty so he intentionally .a+e
us tea that *as cold.P The other thou.ht5 OHo* mean and laFy. He couldn?t e+en .i+e us hot tea5P and
.ot upset and an.ry. !o5 he destroyed himsel-. There *as no bene-it -rom the *ay he thou.ht to either
himsel- or his teacher. But5 by ha+in. a positi+e +ie*5 the -irst student made himsel- and his teacher
happy5 made his mind peace-ul and5 since the tea had been o--ered by his .uru5 created much merit.
The action J o--erin. cold tea J *as the same. )hat *as di--erent *as the students? interpretation
o- that action. "ne labelled it positi+e and *as happy. The other labelled it ne.ati+e and created a
problem -or himsel-.
pa.e 29
0er-orm only those that are .oodG
!ubdue your o*n mind J
This is the teachin. o- the Buddha.
The -irst is the cause o- su--erin.5 the second the cause o- happiness. The discussion o- the
importance and bene-its o- patience e+ol+ed -rom that. E+erythin. comes -rom your mind5 e+erythin.
depends upon the *ay you thin;5 your moment to moment concepts. Do you label thin.s ne.ati+ely
or positi+elyI The hea+iest su--erin.5 *hat *e call hell5 comes -rom your o*n mindG the .reatest
happiness5 *hat *e call enli.htenment5 comes -rom your o*n mind.
There-ore5 the Buddha is sayin. that the *ay to ne+er ha+e ne.ati+e thou.hts5 the cause o-
su--erin.5 and to ha+e only a positi+e mind5 *hich results in only happiness5 is to subdue5 or ta;e care
o-5 your o*n mind. )atch your mind all the time. 0ractice mind-ulness. @uard your mind5 protect it
-rom disturbin. thou.hts and eradicate your delusions. Ho* is all that doneI Throu.h actualiFin. the
-i+e paths. $n the case o- the ,ahayana5 by actualiFin. bodhicitta and de+elopin. the *isdom realiFin.
emptiness. Throu.h the *isdom directly percei+in. emptiness5 you can completely remo+e the t*o
types o- de-ilement and attain -ull enli.htenment.
There-ore5 subduin. the mind is the teachin. o- the Buddha. That?s the ;ey. %our o*n mind is the
door to happinessG your o*n mind is the door to su--erin.. $t all depends upon ho* you use it. $t?s
li;e the remote control that controls the channels on your TV. :lic; it this *ay5 it .oes upG clic; it that
*ay5 it .oes do*n. The *ay you thin; determines *hether you?ll e1perience happiness or su--erin..
)hat creates the labelsI
Be-ore $ -inish5 $?ll ma;e one more point. Li;e the mon;s in the story abo+e5 our minds are
constantly ma;in. up labels that a--ect our li+es. Dependin. upon the label5 *e e1perience di--erent
-eelin.s J pleasant5 unpleasant or neutral J and that?s ho* our li-e .oes5 t*enty&-our hours a day.
!o5 *hat is it that causes our mind to create these di--erent labelsI 0eople *ho apply positi+e labels
pa.e 86
$t?s ;arma. Because o- past ;arma5 some people are able to label thin.s positi+ely *hile others ha+e
to label them ne.ati+ely. The underlyin. cause is ;arma. There-ore5 you can see ho* crucial it is to
puri-y past ne.ati+e ;arma and not to create any more J in other *ords5 ho* essential it is to
practice Dharma. "nly the practice o- Dharma can remo+e or pre+ent the ne.ati+e ;arma that -orces
us to label thin.s ne.ati+ely5 thereby creatin. our o*n su--erin.. Dharma is the solution to all li-e?s
problems5 *hate+er they are5 and5 more importantly5 the sole means o- pre+entin. them -rom arisin.
in the -irst place. By practicin. Dharma no* *e can a+oid creatin. the causes -or the hea+iest
su--erin.s o- samsara5 those o- the lo*er realms J the hell5 hun.ry .host and animal realms J and
the su--erin.s *e .o throu.h in the upper realms5 e+en as humans J illnesses such as cancer and
A$D!5 a.in.5 death5 e+erythin. J and thus a+oid ha+in. to e1perience them. By practicin. Dharma
no* *e can puri-y the already created ;arma o- such results. Here is *here the *hole ans*er to our
problems lies J puri-y the ne.ati+e ;arma already createdG do not create any more. This is the reason
*e ta;e precepts such as the re-u.e +o*5 the -i+e lay precepts5 not to mention the ordination +o*s
ta;en by mon;s and nuns. %ou don?t e+en ha+e to ta;e all -i+e precepts. %ou can ta;e one5 t*o5 three or
-our J *hate+er you can mana.e. "- course5 there are countless ne.ati+e ;armas5 but at least you can
+o* not to create certain ;inds.
By practicin. Dharma today *e also create the causes -or our o*n happiness J the happiness o-
this li-e5 -uture li+es5 liberation and enli.htenment. This is somethin. *e can do ri.ht no*. There-ore5
it is essential to create as much .ood ;arma as possible5 *hile *e ha+e the chance. )e should ta;e
e+ery opportunity to create e+en the tiniest merit. !ince *e *ant e+en smallest com-ort5 *e ha+e to
create its cause. !imilarly5 since *e don?t *ant to e1perience e+en the smallest su--erin. or
incon+enience5 *e ha+e to a+oid creatin. e+en the tiniest non&+irtue. As it says in the Vinaya teachin.5
Dul*a lun.5 O!mall drops -ill a bi. pot.P There-ore5 *e shouldn?t thin; that small merits are useless.
Try to collect as many as possible. $t also says5 OA tiny spar; can i.nite a hu.e -orest.P There-ore5 don?t
thin; that small ne.ati+e ;armas *on?t brin. results. A+oid them too. Here is *here *e must direct all
our e--ort. This is the Buddha?s -undamental ad+ice.
pa.e 8/
s
"
"
nce a.ain5 brin. your attention a*ay -rom hallucination to the realities o- li-e5 the
nature o- *hich is impermanence and death. This -rees our mind -rom delusion and
;arma so that *e can not only brin. to an end the entire round o- su--erin.5 the cycle
o- death and rebirth5 but also eradicate e+en the subtle errors o- mind5 thereby attainin.
enli.htenment -or the sa;e o- all sentient bein.s.
All causati+e phenomena J our li-e5 our body5 our mind5 our sel-5 our possessions5 our relati+es
and -riends5 all other people J are chan.in.5 not only day by day5 minute by minute and second by
second5 but e+ery tiny moment. They do not last -or a -raction o- a second. Because they are under
the control o- causes and conditions5 they are in a state o- constant decay and can cease at any time.
This is the nature o- our li-e. $- *e can remain a*are o- this5 *e *ill pre+ent our mind -rom comin.
under the control o- the delusions J the disturbin. emotional minds that hurt us and other sentient
bein.s5 pre+ent us -rom trans-ormin. our mind and .ainin. realiFations o- the path to
enli.htenment5 and stop us -rom seein. the ultimate nature o- all phenomena. =irst *e stop delusions
-rom mani-estin.5 and then5 by actualiFin. the remedial path5 *e eradicate e+en the imprints that they
ha+e le-t on our mental continuum. By destroyin. the seeds o- delusion5 *e attain nir+ana5 ultimate
liberation -rom the si1 realms o- su--erin. and its cause5 -reedom -rom the circlin. a..re.ates5 *hich
are samsara itsel-. These are the bene-its o- mind-ulness o- impermanence. )e -ree oursel+es o-
disturbin. thou.hts5 immediately e1perience peace and satis-action5 -ree oursel+es -rom samsara5 and
e+entually attain enli.htenment and enli.hten all sentient bein.s.
:ontemplate all this.
pa.e 87
Thin; about this.
Ho* thin.s e1ist
No* $?m .oin. to elaborate a little on the subAect o- emptiness. The *ay in *hich e+erythin. e1ists
is by bein. merely labelled by the mind. But that does not mean that e+erythin. the mind labels
actually e1ists. E+en thou.h e+erythin. e1ists by bein. merely labelled by the mind5 that doesn?t mean
that i- your mind labels somethin. it automatically brin.s it into e1istence.
=or e1ample5 say $ cut up a hu.e pile o- ne*spapers into little pieces and my mind labels each one
Oa billion dollarsP J that doesn?t ma;e each piece o- paper *orth a billion dollars. E+en thou.h my
mind has merely labelled those pieces o- paper Oa billion dollars5P that doesn?t mean each one has
become a billion dollars.
$- it *ere possible -or that to happen5 *e *ouldn?t ha+e to +ote in presidential elections. )e
*ouldn?t ha+e to put all that e--ort into raisin. -unds5 campai.nin.5 spendin. all that money5
holdin. inBuiries5 to elect the president. All you?d ha+e to do *ould be to label yoursel-5 O$?m the
American president5P and you?d become president. $- thin.s comin. into e1istence *ere only up to
the mind labellin. them5 i- that?s all it too;5 then that?s *hat *ould happen. )hene+er you *anted
to be president5 all you?d ha+e to do *ould be to ha+e your mind label yoursel- president and you?d
be president. $n that *ay5 e+erybody could become president. ,aybe there?d be nobody le-t *ho
*asn?t president.
A ma.ician could hypnotiFe you into belie+in. that he?d .i+en you a ba. -ull o- money5 and you
mi.ht carry it home5 belie+in. you *ere rich5 but later5 *hen you opened it up5 there?d be nothin.
there but cut up pieces o- ne*spaper. That?s one *ay o- sho*in. that it doesn?t e1ist J -or your o*n
pa.e 82
Another *ay o- sho*in. that it does not e1ist is -or other people not to see the money. Because o-
the illusion created by hypnosis5 money appears to your mind5 but other people5 *hose minds are not
under the illusion5 don?t see it. There-ore5 it ta;es more than appearance and labellin. by mind -or
somethin. to e1ist.
Dreams are another e1ample o- somethin. *here your o*n mind can disco+er that appearance
and labellin. by mind are insu--icient to brin. somethin. into e1istence. =or instance5 one ni.ht you
mi.ht ha+e a dream in *hich you became ;in.5 .ot married in a hu.e *eddin. ceremony5 li+ed in a
lu1urious Ae*elled palace and had many children. )hile you are dreamin.5 the appearance o- all this
and your mind merely labellin. it are both there5 but *hen you *a;e up you a.ain realiFe it *asn?t
true. %ou?re not ;in.5 there?s no palace5 no *ealth5 no princes and princesses J nothin.. %ou don?t
ha+e any o- that.
A +alid base
=or thin.s to e1ist5 mere labellin. by mind is not enou.h. There has to be a +alid base. Not Aust any
base J a +alid base. There-ore5 $ cannot label my bell Ocar.P This obAect can recei+e the label Obell5P
but
not OcarP or Oairplane.P $t recei+es the label Obell? by +irtue o- the *ay the +alid base -unctions. ,ere
labellin. by mind is not enou.h J there has to be a +alid base. $n the case o- a bell5 the base has to
ha+e a certain shape and per-orm the -unction o- rin.in.. This is *hat +alidates it.
=urthermore5 the +alid base that is merely labelled ObellP by the mind should not be harmed by
another?s +alid mind. )hat?s a +alid mindI A mind that percei+es thin.s correctly5 that is not under
the in-luence o- disease5 dru.s5 mantras or hypnotic spells5 *hich mi.ht cause it to see sense obAects
in an illusory *ay.
Ne1t5 the obAect *e claim to e1ist should not be harmed by a -ully enli.htened bein.?s mind.
A buddha?s mind is completely unmista;en5 completely puri-ied5 -ree -rom hallucination. All e1istent
phenomena are the obAect o- the omniscient mindG it sees *hate+er e1ists. $- the omniscient mind
pa.e 88
=inally5 -or the bell that is merely labelled by the mind to e1ist5 it should not recei+e harm -rom the
*isdom realiFin. emptiness5 ultimate nature. $- the bell5 *hich is merely imputed by the mind5 is
harmed by the *isdom realiFin. emptiness5 it does not e1ist. Thus5 there are three ;inds o- mind that
can harm5 or in+alidate5 the e1istence o- *hat appears to be5 -or e1ample5 a bell' another person?s +alid
con+entional mindG an omniscient mindG and the *isdom realiFin. emptiness.
No*5 re.ardin. this +alid base5 this phenomenon that has the -unction o- rin.in. and possesses this
particular shape5 our mind creates the label5 Obell.P This5 then5 is the real bell5 the bell that *e use5 the
one that is merely imputed by our mind5 the +alid base that is labelled ObellP by our mind.
The *orst i.norance
!o *hat is the bell that does not e1istI )hen our mind percei+es the bell5 it does not see a bell that
is merely labelled by the mind. $t sees somethin. sli.htly beyond that5 e+er so sli.htly more than that.
$t sees somethin. as e1istin. -rom the side o- the bell5 somethin. e1istin. -rom its o*n side5 -rom the
side o- the obAect. $- you concentrate5 i- you analyFe care-ully ho* the bell e1ists5 that it is merely
labelled by the mind5 you can see that there?s nothin. comin. -rom the side o- the bell. )hen you
loo; deeply into the meanin. o- Omerely labelled by the mind5P you can see that nothin. e1ists -rom
the side o- the obAect. )hen you concentrate on this5 you can see ho* its e1istence comes only -rom
your mind.
But the *ay the bell appears to us5 the *ay *e belie+e it e1ists5 is sli.htly beyond its reality5 sli.htly
more than its actual mode o- e1istence5 *hich is bein. merely labelled by the mind. That?s *here the
hallucination be.ins. !tartin. -rom there5 the rest o- the *ay it appears is a total hallucination. The
*ay it appears5 the *ay *e belie+e it to e1ist J as somethin. sli.htly beyond that *hich is merely
labelled by the mind J is our bi..est hallucination5 the bi..est su--erin. in the li+es o- us sentient
bein.s. That?s *hat ;eeps us continually circlin. in samsara5 dyin. and bein. reborn5 dyin. and bein.
reborn5 e1periencin. the same be.innin.less problems a.ain and a.ain.
There?s no be.innin. to our e1perience o- samsaric su--erin. and so -ar it has not ended. )hy do
*e still su--erI Because *e ha+e not yet realiFed emptiness5 the ultimate nature o- phenomena J that
pa.e 83
!o5 *hat is this bell Cor any other obAect you care to loo; atDI $t is nothin. other than that *hich is
merely labelled by the mind. But our minds are so replete *ith ne.ati+e imprints le-t by past
i.norance5 the simultaneously born concept o- inherent e1istence5 that e+en thou.h thin.s e1ist as
merely labelled by the mind5 *e hold on to them as i- they e1ist -rom their o*n side. )e apprehend
them as inherently e1istent5 as not merely imputed by the mind.
There-ore5 this bell is merely labelled by the mind. But because o- the ne.ati+e imprints le-t on our
mental continuum by past i.norance5 the concept o- inherent e1istence5 the apprehension and belie-
that phenomena e1ist -rom their o*n side5 as soon as our mind creates the label Obell5P as soon as it
merely imputes ObellP on the base5 the ne.ati+e imprints le-t on our mental continuum proAect the
hallucination that it e1ists -rom its o*n side. $t?s li;e *hen you ta;e a roll o- -ilm to be de+eloped J
the ima.es -rom the ne.ati+e are proAected onto special paper5 mi1ed *ith chemicals5 and a picture
appears to ma;e the photo.raph J or li;e puttin. a -ilm into a proAector and beamin. the ima.es it
contains onto a screen. )hate+er the obAect J a bell5 your $ J the moment it?s labelled by the mind5
the ne.ati+e imprints proAect upon it the adornment o- inherent e1istence. The thin. is that *e?re
una*are5 or *e -or.et5 that *hat *e?re seein. is merely imputed by our mind.
Basically5 there are three thin.s in the e+olution o- all this. =irst o- all5 as a start5 our mind merely
labels the obAect. !econd5 the ne.ati+e imprints le-t by pre+ious concepts o- inherent e1istence
proAect the appearance o- inherent e1istence that the obAect *e?re loo;in. at no* e1ists -rom its o*n
side5 that there?s a real bell there J not a bell -rom our mind5 but a bell -rom the side o- the bell.
This is a totally5 totally *ron. idea J a complete hallucination proAected onto the bell. Third5 *e
allo* our mind to belie+e that this is one hundred percent true. )e allo* our mind to hold on to
this5 to .rasp this5 as completely5 one hundred percent true J that there?s a real bell o+er there5 that
that?s the reality.
pa.e 84
Hallucination
Eust as this applies to the e1ample o- the bell5 so is it true -or all other phenomena. !tartin. -rom
our $5 the *ay *e see oursel+es5 e+erythin. *e percei+e is as hallucinated as our +ie* o- the bell.
"ur +ie* is completely *ron. and so too is the belie- that *e hold on to. !tartin. *ith the subAect5
$5 *hate+er *e percei+e in the course o- a t*enty&-our hour day does not e1ist the *ay in *hich
*e belie+e.
Thin; o- e+erythin. *e see durin. the course o- one dayG all the obAects o- -orm *ith *hich our
eye sense comes into contact J shapes and colors5 billions and billions o- thin.s *here+er *e loo;.
No matter *hich o- these billions o- obAects *e obser+e5 *e see each one in Aust the same *ay as $
described our +ie* o- the bell. Eust as *e don?t see the bell as merely labelled by the mind5 similarly5
*e don?t see anythin. else *e loo; at in its true nature5 as merely labelled by the mind and totally
empty -rom its o*n side. E+en thou.h5 *ere *e to analyFe the bell?s mode o- e1istence lo.ically5
scienti-ically5 *e *ould understand the *ay in *hich it e1ists5 that?s not ho* *e see it. The bell *e see
is somethin. else alto.ether. $n the same *ay5 *e mispercei+e e+ery other obAect o- -orm that appears
to our eye consciousness. )hen *e .o into a supermar;et or department store *here e+en one
section contains thousands o- obAects5 *e don?t see e+en one o- them in the *ay it e1ists. )e?re in a
totally di--erent *orld -rom the one that actually e1istsG our *orld is somethin. else completely.
)hat *e see does not e1ist in the supermar;et or the department store. $n reality5 *hat *e see
e1ists no*here.
E+erythin. *e see is cloa;ed in hallucination. )e .o into a store and our mind labels thin.s Othis5
this5 this5 this5 this5P but a layer o- inherent e1istence completely co+ers all these obAects merely
labelled by mind. To us they appear as not merely labelled by mind5 as e1istin. -rom their o*n side J
an appearance that is totally non&e1istent5 a complete hallucination. This hallucination encases the
pa.e 8H
$t?s the same *ith sound. Be-ore $ *as tal;in. about -orms5 +isual obAects o- the sense o- eye. But
*e percei+e much more than that. )e ha+e -our other senses J hearin.5 smell5 taste and touch.
Thus5 sounds also e1ist merely in name and not -rom their o*n side. But a.ain5 *e hallucinate *ith
e+ery sound *e hear5 belie+in. it to be inherently e1istent5 *hen it?s e1actly the opposite. E+ery obAect
o- e+ery sense e1ists merely in name5 as a +alid base merely labelled by the mind. But as lon. as *e
don?t de+elop the *isdom realiFin. emptiness5 *e?ll ne+er see sense obAects in their nature5 the *ay
they e1ist.
$nstead5 *e cloa; these merely labelled sense obAects in the hallucination o- e1istence -rom their
o*n side and han. to that as true5 allo* our mind to belie+e in our o*n hallucination that there
really is somethin. there. Because *e do not practice mind-ulness meditation on emptiness5 or
dependent arisin. J mind-ulness on the hallucination that it is a hallucination J *e constantly
ma;e our mind more and more i.norant.
=or e1ample5 *hen *e dreamin.5 *e can practice mind-ulness that this is but a dream. !imilarly5
durin. the day5 *e can practice mind-ulness that *hat *e?re seein. is but a hallucination. $- *e do
this5 *e?re not meditatin. on somethin. that e1ists as a hallucination J *e?re meditatin. that a
hallucination is a hallucination. As a result5 *hat comes into our heart is an understandin. o-
emptiness5 the ultimate nature o- the circle o- three J $5 action and obAect. By doin. this5 *e stop
ma;in. our mind increasin.ly i.norant. )e stop constantly creatin. the basis -or emotional thou.hts5
delusions5 attachment J those unnecessary minds that brin. no bene-it5 only harm5 and moti+ate
;arma that becomes the cause o- samsara and all its realms o- su--erin..
)hat is the mindI
)hat?s true -or the physical senses5 as abo+e5 is also true -or the mind5 the percei+er5 itsel-.
The mind is a phenomenon too. )hat is the mindI $t is a phenomenon that is not body5 not
substantial5 has no -orm5 no shape5 no color5 but5 li;e a mirror5 can clearly re-lect obAects. "bAects
appear to the mind and the mind can percei+e these obAects. As lon. as a mirror is not dirty5 it *ill
re-lect *hate+er obAect comes be-ore it clearly. !imilarly5 since the mind is unobstructed by substance5
pa.e 8>
!o5 that is the base. $n relation to that phenomenon5 our thou.ht creates5 merely imputes5 the label
Omind5P and that?s ho* the mind e1ists. The mind also e1ists merely in nameG *hat *e call mind has
been merely labelled by thou.ht. $t?s li;e *hen a person is .i+en a name. ,ine is Zopa. Actually5 it?s
Thubten Zopa5 and it *as .i+en to me by my abbot. Accordin. to tradition5 *hen an abbot ordains
ne* mon;s5 he .i+es them his -irst name. ,y abbot?s -irst name *as Thubten5 and then he added the
Zopa. )ith his mind5 he labelled me OZopa.P %ou recei+ed your name in a similar *ay. )hether you
named yoursel- or it *as .i+en to you by your parents5 your name is a mind&created label.
$n the same *ay5 then5 *hat?s called mind is also a name. )e thin; there?s a real mind J a real
mind e1istin. -rom there. That?s ho* it appears to us and5 *ithout a shado* o- doubt5 *e belie+e one
hundred percent in this appearance. But i- *e analyFe this phenomenon called mind5 it?s no di--erent
-rom the name .i+en to you by your parents5 *hich *as created by their mind. )hat you call mind
has been merely labelled by your thou.ht in relation to its base5 that -ormless phenomenon that has
neither shape nor color5 *hose nature is clear and that has the ability to percei+e obAects. That is the
base and OmindP is the label. They?re t*o distinct phenomena5 not one. They?re not separate5 but
they?re di--erent. That?s *hat *e ha+e to realiFe J that these t*o phenomena are di--erent. This is
*hat *e ha+e to disco+er throu.h meditation. By doin. this *e can be.in to -ree oursel+es -rom the
hallucination that is the root o- all su--erin.. This is ho* *e start to liberate oursel+es -rom samsara.
!chools o- Buddhist philosophy and the obAect o- re-utation
$ started this discussion by sayin. ho* e+erythin. e1ists as merely labelled by mind5 and then *ent
on to clari-y that simply labellin. thin.s is not enou.h to brin. them into e1istence5 that Aust because
somethin. is merely labelled5 it e1ists. Then $ *ent on to mention the three thin.s reBuired -or
somethin. to e1ist' a +alid base5 not recei+in. harm -rom another?s +alid mind5 and not recei+in.
harm -rom the *isdom realiFin. emptiness.
No*5 .oin. bac; to the bell. As $ mentioned be-ore5 the *ay the bell appears to us and the *ay in
*hich *e belie+e it to e1ist are sli.htly beyond the *ay it actually e1ists5 *hich is in mere name5 as
merely labelled by the mind. This di--erence is a +ery subtle hallucination that5 in Buddhist
pa.e 89
There are -our schools o- Buddhist philosophy J Vaibashi;a Cche&tra&mra&*aD5 !autranti;a
Cdo&de&paD5 :ittamatra Csem&tsamD and ,adhyami;a Cu&ma&paD. The -ourth o- these is the ,iddle
)ay school and is di+ided into t*o' !+atantri;a Cran.&.yu&paD and 0rasan.i;a Cthal&.yur&*aD.
Accordin. to the 0rasan.i;a school5 the obAect o- re-utation Cor ne.ation5 .a.&chaD is an e1tremely
subtle obAect that is e+er so sli.htly more than J a little o+er and abo+e J *hat is merely labelled by
the mind. The obAect o- re-utation is *hat appears to usG it is that in *hich *e belie+e.
$n order to attain liberation -rom the entire round o- su--erin. and its cause5 *e need to cut its +ery
root5 the -undamental i.norance that ;eeps us in it. "- the many ;inds o- i.norance5 *hich is the
speci-ic one that *e ha+e to eradicateI $t is not the concept that belie+es the bell to e1ist the *ay it
appears5 *hich is *hat the te1ts usually describe as the root o- samsara J e1cept that in the case o-
the root o- samsara5 *e should be tal;in. about the $5 not the bell that $?+e been usin. as an
e1ample here.
)hen the $ appears to us5 *e belie+e that there is somethin. sli.htly o+er and abo+e *hat is merely
labelled by the mind and that this is ho* the $ e1ists. Then *e belie+e that this is one hundred percent
true and let our mind hold on to that. $t is this speci-ic5 particular i.norance that is the root o- all
delusion5 ;arma and su--erin.. This +ery one. $t?s not Aust any type o- i.norance J it?s this one.
As *ell as this ;ind o- i.norance5 there?s the one described by the second ,adhyami;a school5 the
!+atantri;a J the hallucination on the $5 the obAect to be re-uted accordin. to their +ie*. $?m Aust
mentionin. this so that you?ll ha+e an idea o- ho* trapped our minds are5 ho* many di--erent le+els
o- i.norance *e e1perience5 ho* many ;inds o- hallucination there are. The hallucination on the $
that the !+atantri;as describe is .rosser than the one the 0rasan.i;as e1plain. Then there?s the
:ittamatrins? +ersion5 *here they say that the $ e1ists -rom its o*n side *ithout dependin. on mental
imprints5 *ithout the mind as creator. They describe a se+enth le+el o- consciousness J normally *e
tal; about Aust si1 J that is called the basis o- samsara and nir+ana. !o they say that the $ e1ists
totally -rom its o*n side *ithout dependin. on imprints le-t on this se+enth le+el o- consciousness
and describe it as a sel-&entity.
Accordin. to Hindu philosophy5 the $5 *hich they call atman5 is permanent. )hile the sel- is
pa.e 36
"ther +ie*s hold5 -or e1ample5 that *hile the $ is dependent upon parts5 there is the appearance
and the belie- that it e1ists alone5 not dependent upon parts5 or that *hile the $ is dependent upon
causes and conditions5 there is the appearance and the belie- that it e1ists *ith its o*n -reedom5
*ithout dependin. on causes and conditions. These .ross hallucinations are described and posited as
the obAect o- re-utation by the -irst Buddhist school5 the Vaibashi;a. This school has ei.hteen
di+isions5 each *ith its o*n +ariant +ie*. Then there?s the hallucination that e+en thou.h the $ e1ists
dependent upon the .roup and continuity o- the a..re.ates5 it appears to us as a sel-&entity e1istin.
*ithout dependin. on the .roup and continuity o- the a..re.ates. !o these are some o- the positions
held by the Vaibashi;a and the !autranti;a5 the lo*er Buddhist schools.
Ho* has it come about that there are these -our schools o- Buddhist philosophyI $t?s due to the
di--erent *ays o- e1plainin. *hat the $ is. $n reality5 emptiness is Aust one5 not many. There is only one
emptiness that directly cuts the root o- samsara. This is the emptiness tau.ht by the 0rasan.i;a&
,adhyami;a school5 *hose +ie* o- emptiness is the unmista;en5 pure one and the only one that can
cut the speci-ic i.norance that $ mentioned be-ore.
Ho*e+er5 not e+erybody has the ;arma to accept this5 to understand this5 to realiFe this. !entient
bein.s ha+e di--erent le+els o- mind. There-ore5 the all&;no*in.5 ;ind5 compassionate Buddha tau.ht
+aryin. le+els o- philosophy to .uide sentient bein.s? minds .radually up to the le+el *here they
could realiFe the 0rasan.i;a +ie* o- emptiness. "ne could start *ith the .ross e1planations o-
emptiness tau.ht by the lo*er schools and .radually pro.ress up to the most subtle5 the 0rasan.i;a.
That?s ho* the -our schools came into bein.. The lo*er schools *ere steps to the hi.her ones5 leadin.
ultimately to the 0rasan.i;a. !o e+en thou.h the +ie*s o- these +arious schools seem to contradict
each other5 actually they?re a method -or .radually de+elopin. throu.h study and meditation the
0rasan.i;a +ie*.
pa.e 3/
$n case you are interested in practicin. meditation on emptiness5 $?m .oin. to e1plain a couple o-
simple but Buite help-ul techniBues -or doin. so.
The -irst techniBue is one that $ o-ten mention durin. meditation courses J *al;in. meditation
on emptiness. This is a ;ind o- mind-ulness meditation but it?s much more pro-ound than the usual
mind-ulness o- *al;in. *here you simply maintain a*areness o- O$?m *al;in.P and so -orth. $- you
can practice that ;ind o- mind-ulness o- *al;in. J O$?m *al;in.P J you can also practice
mind-ulness o- stealin. *hile robbin. a ban; or pic;in. somebody?s poc;et J O$?m stealin..P
Actually5 i- you are stealin.5 it?s probably not such a bad idea to be mind-ul J other*ise you mi.ht
.et cau.htQ
,ind-ulness meditation should be more than Aust *atchin. *hat you are doin.. )hat you really
need to *atch is your moti+ation. $- you don?t *atch your mind5 you don?t ;no* *hat?s moti+atin.
your actions. )hat you should be doin. is detectin. ne.ati+e moti+ation5 the cause o- su--erin.5 and
chan.in. it into positi+e. %ou should be applyin. your meditation li;e a medicine to the eradication
o- harm-ul thou.hts5 the delusions J the disturbin. emotions that harm yoursel- and others. %ou
need to eradicate these and ma;e your mind healthy and your attitude bene-icial5 Aust as the Buddha
e1plained in the +erse $ Buoted be-ore'
0er-orm only those that are .ood....
Abandon non&+irtue5 the cause o- su--erin.5 and practice +irtue5 the cause o- happiness. Trans-orm
ne.ati+e moti+ation into positi+e so that your actions *ill become +irtuous. $n this *ay you *ill not
*aste your li-e but ma;e it meanin.-ul. At least you *on?t be harmin. yoursel- or others.
The *ay to practice more meanin.-ul mind-ulness is this. =or e1ample5 *hen you?re sittin. or *hen
you?re *al;in.5 as; yoursel- the Buestion5 O)hat am $ doin.IP Then your mind *ill ans*er5 O$?m
sittin.5PO$?m *al;in.5PO$?m eatin.5Pdependin. on *hat it is that you?re doin..O$?m coo;in.5PO$?m
tal;in..P )hate+er you are doin.5 you can meditate on emptiness.
"ne *ay in *hich you can do this is to reply to the ans*er O$?m *al;in.P *ith another Buestion'
pa.e 37
A-ter you?+e done that5 chec; ho* your $ appears to you at that moment. $s it the same as be-ore or
has there been a chan.eI Usually you?ll -ind that it?s not the same5 that there?s been a de-inite chan.e.
!uddenly5 the old +ie* o- a real $ in your body5 appearin. -rom that side5 the $ you ha+e al*ays
belie+ed to be there in your body5 has +anished5 become non&e1istent. And that?s the truth. $t?s not a
-alse +ie*. The old $ *as the -alse one. )hen you do not meditate5 do not analyFe5 the $ that appears
to you and in *hich you belie+e J the $ that seems to be on these a..re.ates5 in this body J is the
-alse one. $n philosophical te1ts5 *e re-er to that $ as inherently e1istent or e1istin. by nature. $n
)estern psycholo.ical terms5 *e call it the Oemotional $.P The emotional $ J the one that you belie+e
is in your body or on your a..re.ates J is totally non&e1istent. That is *hat you ha+e to disco+er J
that it?s empty. %ou ha+e to disco+er that it is totally non&e1istent5 totally empty.
$- you can realiFe that J that there?s not e+en the sli.htest atom o- an $ there J and -eel as i- you
yoursel- ha+e become totally non&e1istent5 you ha+e entered the ,iddle )ay. At that time5 *hen you
realiFe emptiness5 you .ain -ull con+iction5 or de-inite understandin.5 that you can attain liberation5
you can cease all su--erin. and its cause.
Remain in the state o- your disco+ery o- the absence o- the emotional $. #eep your mind in the
emptiness o- that. )hen your mind .ets distracted5 a.ain as; yoursel- the Buestion5 O)hat am $
doin.IP Then5 *hen your mind replies5 as; a.ain5 O)hy do $ say R$?m doin....?I There?s no reason
other than...5P *hate+er it is. $- the ans*er is5 O$?m meditatin.5P as; yoursel-5 O)hy do $ say R$?m
meditatin.?IP There?s no reason other than the -act that the base5 the a..re.ates o- mind5 are
trans-ormin. into +irtue C*hich is *hat meditation really meansD. Then chec; a.ain to see *hat e--ect
this has had on your $. Has there been a chan.e or notI
Doin. this meditation a.ain and a.ain helps you see the -alse $ more and more clearly. The more
clearly you see the -alse $5 the emotional $5 the $ that doesn?t e1ist5 the more clearly you see5 the better
you reco.niFe5 emptiness J the better idea o- emptiness you .et.
The second techniBue -or meditatin. on emptiness is one that ta;es you bac; to your childhood5 to
pa.e 32
Then your teacher tells you5 OThis is an A5P and your mind J belie+in. *hat your teacher has said5
in relation to that base5 those lines on the blac;board J creates the label A5 merely imputes it on the
base5 and belie+es in it. "nly then do you ha+e the appearance o- the letter A. A-ter that5 then you see
that this is an A.
The point to understand here is that -irst there?s that arran.ement o- lines5 *hich is the base. )hat
is it that ma;es your mind decide upon the particular label AI %ou don?t label any old con-i.uration A
J it has to be this particular pattern. That?s *hy your mind chooses to label it A J it sees the
appropriate pattern. That is the baseG the base to be labelled A.
!o you can see that the base5 that particular pattern5 and the label are di--erent. This is the point $?m
tryin. to ma;e. The pattern is the base and the A is the label. These are t*o di--erent phenomena5 not
one. They appear as one J *ithout analysis5 to your mind they appear as one. $t loo;s as i- the A is
on top o- the base5 that pattern. $t loo;s li;e that. $- you do not analyFe5 it appears as i- the A *ere
ri.ht there5 on that pattern5 as i- the A *ere there on that base.
!o5 the pattern is the base and the A is the label. No* you need to concentrate on the conclusion.
Be-ore your mind creates the label A5 you see the base5 that particular pattern5 -irst. That?s *hat causes
you to apply the label A. =rom this it?s clear that the base is not the A. $- it *ere5 you should see the A
at the +ery -irst moment you sa* the base5 but that isn?t *hat happens. $t doesn?t happen no matter
*hat phenomenon you see. =irst you see the baseG then you apply the label. %our mind creates the
label a-ter seein. the base.
Ta;in. a pillar5 -or e1ample J the speci-ic base that holds thin.s up5 that per-orms that particular
pa.e 38
!imilarly5 you see the A later. That means that the pattern and the A are not one. The pattern is not
A J it is the base to be labelled A. This is the point to understand. The di--erence bet*een the t*o.
This is one line o- reasonin..
A second line o- reasonin. .oes as -ollo*s. Loo; -or the A. "n that pattern5 *here is the AI Loo; at
the upstro;e CSD. %ou don?t -ind the A there. Loo; at the do*nstro;e CTD. $t?s not there either. Nor is the
A on the crossbar C&D. E+en *hen the three lines are assembled into the con-i.uration A5 that?s not the
A because that?s the base to be labelled. "nly a-ter seein. it do you label it A. !o the three lines
to.ether are not the A either.
!o *hen you see that three&line pattern on a blac;board5 there?s no A on the pattern5 but there?s an
A on the blac;board5 and the only reason you can say that is that the pattern is on the blac;board.
!imilarly5 *hen you loo; out your *indo* and see a car .o by5 analyFe *hat happens. =irst o- all5
be-ore anythin. appears5 you don?t label OcarP because you ha+en?t seen anythin.. There?s no reason
-or you to label5 OThere .oes a car.P )hen a car does .o by5 you don?t label it OcarP the +ery moment
you see it because -or your mind to choose that particular label5 Ocar5P you ha+e to see somethin. -irst5
as *e?+e been sayin.. )hat causes your mind to create the labelI There has to be a prior reason. %ou
ha+e to see somethin. be-ore you create the label. )hat you see is the base J the phenomenon that
has the appropriate shape and per-orms the -unction o- .oin. here and there5 transportin. people
and so -orth J you ha+e to see that -irst. The label OcarP comes a-ter that. =irst you see the baseG then
you see the car. %ou see the car a-ter you ha+e applied the label. There-ore5 it is a hallucination.
)hate+er you see .o by J a person5 a cat5 a do.5 a motorcycle J it *or;s the same *ay.
Under normal circumstances5 *hen *e do not analyFe *hat *e see5 *hen a car .oes by it loo;s as i-
either the base itsel- is the car or there?s a car on that base5 and that that?s *hat?s .oin. by. This is a
complete hallucination. There?s no car there5 Aust as there?s no A on that con-i.uration o- three lines.
The car e1ists but it?s not there.
$t?s the same thin. *ith the A. )hen *e loo; at the A and do not analyFe5 do not meditate5 it loo;s
pa.e 33
The reason that seein. an A on the base is a -alse +ie* is that i- you try to -ind precisely *here on
each o- the three lines it is CST&D5 you can?t -ind it. And *hen you loo; -or it on the three lines
assembled CAD5 you can?t -ind it there either. Each piece is not A. Nor is the assembled pattern5 because
that is the base to be labelled A.
By analyFin. in this *ay5 you can reco.niFe your e+eryday hallucinations5 your -alse +ie*5 and
understand *hat you ha+e to realiFe as empty. )hat emptiness means. Analysis ma;es it clear.
0racticin. mind-ulness o- this5 meditatin. on this5 helps you to control your emotional mind. $t
becomes almost impossible -or emotional thou.hts5 such as attachment and an.er5 to arise.
That means you stop moti+atin. ;arma5 the cause o- samsara5 the cause o- the lo*er realms. Thus it
becomes incredible protection5 a .reat source o- happiness and peace5 and the cause o- liberation
and enli.htenment -or yoursel- and all other sentient bein.s. By de+elopin. this *isdom and
practicin. bodhicitta5 you yoursel- can attain enli.htenment and lead all other sentient bein.s to
enli.htenment as *ell.
There-ore5 i- you really *ant to practice Dharma5 meditate5 and see some de+elopment in your li-e5
i- you *ant to clari-y and deepen your understandin. o- emptiness and brin. yoursel- closer to
realiFin. it5 these techniBues mi.ht help5 e+en thou.h they don?t utiliFe philosophical concepts5 the
-our&point analysis and so -orth. By practicin. these techniBues5 you can see more clearly ho* the
mind is not $5 *hich is *hat many people thin;. ,any thin.s become clear.
pa.e 34
T
T
he practice o- compassion5 the .ood heart5 is incredibly important. )e really need
compassion. :ompassion is the source o- all our happiness.
E+ery sin.le happiness that you e1perience in your li-e5 e+ery sin.le com-ort and
enAoyment o- your daily li-e5 as *ell as the e+erlastin. happiness o- liberation and the bliss o- hi.hest
enli.htenment5 comes -rom bodhicitta. The root o- bodhicitta is .reat compassion. Thus5 *hate+er
happiness you e1perience deri+es -rom .reat compassion. Then5 your brin.in. happiness to all
sentient bein.s J the happiness o- this li-e5 the happiness o- -uture li+es5 the e+erlastin. happiness o-
liberation and enli.htenment J all depends upon your ha+in. compassion -or yoursel-. $t all has to
come -rom your o*n compassion. There-ore5 compassion is the most important human Buality in
*hich you can educate your mind.
)hen do *e need compassionI
$n e+ery li-e situation5 you need compassion. )hen you li+e *ith your -amily5 you need
compassion. )ithout compassion5 your -amily li-e is -ull o- problems and su--erin.. )hen you do
business5 you need compassion. "ther*ise you e1perience so much -rustration5 unhappiness and
dissatis-action. $- you?re a doctor or a nurse *or;in. in a hospital you need compassion. $- you don?t
ha+e compassion5 your Aob becomes borin.5 tirin.5 e1haustin. and uninterestin. J because you are
moti+ated by only the *ish -or your o*n happiness. %ou?re tryin. to do somethin. -or others but it
becomes Aust a Aob.
)hen teachin. in school5 you need compassion. )hen studyin.5 the best *ay to learn is *ith
pa.e 3H
E+en i- you?re a prostitute5 i- you are moti+ated by compassion5 by bodhicitta5 your li-e is not
ordinary. %our li-e becomes transcendentG your deeds those o- a bodhisatt+a. No matter *hat you do5
i- you moti+ation is out o- the ordinary5 .reat compassion5 bodhicitta5 your li-e becomes meanin.-ul5
bene-icial -or others. There?s no ris;5 no dan.er.
!imilarly5 i- you are in retreat5 *hat ma;es your retreat most bene-icial5 e1tremely e--ecti+e and
hi.hly meanin.-ul is i- you do it *ith compassion -or others5 and the stron.er your compassion5 the
more po*er-ul a puri-ication it becomes.
And not only in retreat. E+en in your e+eryday li-e5 i- you do your prayers and sadhanas J e+en a
rosary o- mantras J *ith compassion -or others5 each mantra you recite becomes hi.hly meanin.-ul5
bene-icial -or all bein.s. The stron.er your compassion5 the more po*er-ul each mantra. Each little
mantra can ha+e the po*er o- an atomic bomb. Nuclear *eapons are so small but they can destroy so
much. Li;e that5 e+en short mantras5 *hen done *ith stron. compassion5 can puri-y the ;arma o-
ha+in. ;illed human bein.s. "ne repetition o- the mantra om mani padme hun. moti+ated by
stron. compassion can puri-y the ne.ati+e ;arma o- the ten non&+irtuous actions. "ne repetition o-
this mantra can puri-y a -ully ordained mon;?s ha+in. committed all -our de-eats5 the +iolation o- his
-our root +o*s J ;illin. a human bein.5 lyin. about realiFations he doesn?t ha+e5 en.a.in. in se1ual
intercourse and stealin. somethin. that *as not .i+en J e+en one o- *hich is e1tremely hea+y.
E+en i- you are tryin. to *or; -or others by doin. social ser+ice5 i- you ha+e no compassion many
pa.e 3>
=ar beyond our le+el5 similar principles apply. ,aitreya Buddha .enerated bodhicitta5 became a
bodhisatt+a5 much earlier than @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha did5 yet @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha
became enli.htened be-ore ,aitreya. Be-ore becomin. a buddha5 you ha+e to become a bodhisatt+a.
=irst you ha+e to realiFe renunciation o- samsara5 your o*n samsara. Then you .enerate compassion
-or the samsaric su--erin. o- others usin. your o*n su--erin. as an e1ample. %our compassion -or
other sentient bein.s J *ishin. them to be -ree o- all su--erin. and to ha+e all happiness5 includin.
that o- enli.htenment J leads you to the decision to brin. about all sentient bein.s? enli.htenment
by yoursel-.
Ho* to enli.hten all sentient bein.s
At the moment5 you can?t .uide e+en one sentient bein. to enli.htenment. $n order to be able to
*or; per-ectly on behal- o- them all J to -ree them -rom all su--erin. and brin. them to -ull
enli.htenment J you ha+e to complete your o*n mind trainin. in compassion. %ou also ha+e to
de+elop per-ect po*er5 so that you can re+eal to all sentient bein.s the appropriate methods accordin.
to their le+el o- mind. =inally5 you must become omniscient5 ha+in. the ability to read e+ery sin.le
thou.ht o- the numberless sentient bein.s and ;no* all their characteristics5 such as their le+el o-
intelli.ence and the details o- their ;arma5 and *hat methods suit each one at any .i+en time. %ou
ha+e to ;no* all these thin.s directly. $n other *ords5 *ithout -irst attainin. enli.htenment yoursel-5
*ithout becomin. a buddha yoursel-5 you cannot do per-ect5 unmista;en *or; -or sentient bein.s.
E+en arhants5 *ho ha+e completed the -i+e paths5 cannot *or; per-ectly -or sentient bein.s because
they lac; omniscient mind. They can still ma;e mista;es *hen .uidin. others. To attain
enli.htenment accordin. to sutra5 you pass throu.h -i+e paths and ten bhumis. E+en a tenth le+el
bodhisatt+a5 someone on the brin; o- enli.htenment5 can ma;e a mista;e *hen it comes to helpin.
pa.e 39
The root o- enli.htenment5 omniscience5 and all the realiFations o- the ,ahayana path is
bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is the .ate*ay o- the ,ahayana path to enli.htenment. $n order to realiFe
bodhicitta5 you need its root5 .reat compassion. There-ore5 it is essential that you achie+e this
realiFation5 and to do so5 you must li+e your li-e *ith compassion.
No*5 as $ said be-ore5 ,aitreya Buddha .enerated bodhicitta lon. be-ore @uru !ha;yamuni
Buddha did5 but @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha .ot enli.htened -irst. Ho* did this happenI Because
@uru !ha;yamuni Buddha?s bodhicitta5 his .reat compassion5 *as much stron.er than ,aitreya
Buddha?s. The story o- this .oes bac; many5 many li-etimes5 *hen in a pre+ious li-e they *ere brothers
li+in. in Nepal. "ne day5 the t*o brothers came across a -amily o- -i+e ti.ers *ho *ere dyin. o-
star+ation. They both -elt compassion5 o- course5 but @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha?s must ha+e been
much stron.er5 because later he came bac; to the ti.ers alone and o--ered them his body5 sacri-icin.
his li-e in order to sa+e theirs. Later5 a-ter @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha had attained enli.htenment5
because o- the ;armic connection made *ith the ti.ers *hen he *as a bodhisatt+a5 they *ere
reborn human and became his -irst disciples. He tau.ht them Dharma and they achie+ed realiFations
o- the path.
)hile ,aitreya Buddha and @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha both sa* the ti.ers and -elt compassion5
,aitreya Buddha did not ma;e charity o- his body as did @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha. That sho*s that
his bodhicitta *as much stron.er. Because o- that5 he *as able to sacri-ice himsel- -or others that
much more5 and as a result5 attained enli.htenment -irst.
)e should be .uided by @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha?s e1ample in our daily li+es and understand
that the stron.er our compassion5 the more *e can sacri-ice our li+es -or others5 the .reater the
amount o- ne.ati+e ;arma *e can puri-y and the more merit *e can accumulate. )ith stron.
compassion5 *e can puri-y unbelie+ably +ast amounts o- ne.ati+e ;arma and .enerate merit as +ast as
space itsel-. Li;e @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha5 the more *e can dedicate our daily li+es to others *ith
compassion5 the sooner *e *ill attain enli.htenment. This is the *ay to bene-it -rom the li-e histories
o- the .reat bodhisatt+as and yo.is. )e should learn -rom and -ollo* their e1ample. $n that *ay *e?ll
pa.e 46
Ho*e+er5 .eneratin. compassion in your daily li-e has more immediate bene-its as *ell. $- you ha+e
compassion5 you ha+e -e*er problems. )ith compassion5 the problems you do e1perience are
e1perienced -or the sa;e o- others5 and thus become the path to enli.htenment. E1periencin.
problems becomes a means -or happiness -or both yoursel- and others. $n this *ay5 *ith compassion5
you trans-orm problems into happiness.
:ompassion also helps you prepare -or death. The best *ay to die is *ith bodhicitta5 -eelin. .reat
compassion -or other sentient bein.s. That?s a hi.h Buality death J dyin. *ith compassion -or
others. By dyin. *ith compassion5 you ha+e no -ear or *orry. %ou?re e1periencin. death -or others. $t
becomes simply a chan.e o- body5 li;e tradin. old clothes -or ne*. )hen you die *ith compassion
you?re simply tradin. your old body -or a ne* one.
Thus5 li+in. *ith compassion completely chan.es your li-e. $t trans-orms an ordinary li-e into a
transcendent one. $t ele+ates e+erythin. you do. %our entire li-e becomes totally di--erentG hi.hly
meanin.-ulG your heart is -ull. %our heart is not empty and neither is your li-e.
There-ore5 you must thin;5 O:ompassion is the source o- not only all my happiness but that o- all
sentient bein.s as *ell. $t is the source o- all happiness5 includin. that o- enli.htenment. $n order to
o--er all this happiness to others5 $ need to .enerate compassion mysel-.P
De+elopin. compassion
Ho*e+er5 merely sayin.5 O$ need compassionP is not enou.h. %ou ha+e to understand the teachin.s
on ho* to de+elop compassion. That means that -irst you ha+e to study5 and then practice5 meditate.
$n that *ay you can achie+e realiFations. Thus5 you need to listen to teachin.s.
pa.e 4/
$n order to renounce your o*n samsara5 -irst you ha+e to -eel detached -rom this li-e. "nly *ith
detachment -rom this li-e can you practice Dharma purely. Renunciation o- this li-e is the preliminary
understandin. you need be-ore you can de+elop renunciation -rom the *hole o- your samsara. $n
order to de+elop .reat compassion -or all sentient bein.s5 you need these preliminary realiFations.
:ompassion doesn?t Aust drop into your brain -rom the s;y or appear in your mind the moment you
read about it. :ompassion and bodhicitta ha+e to be de+eloped in a step&by&step manner by .radually
de+elopin. the preliminary realiFations in their lo.ical order.
The importance o- the meditation center
!o no* you can see the necessity o- the meditation center5 a place *here people can study teachin.s
on ho* to de+elop compassionG an or.aniFation established -or the purpose o- o--erin. instructions
in the de+elopment o- the .ood heart. :ompassion5 the .ood heart5 is e1tremely important5 but you
ha+e to learn ho* to acBuire it. %ou ha+e to study the *hole path. There-ore5 it is essential that there
are places that .i+e people the opportunity to study all o- the Buddha?s teachin.s J not Aust the part
about compassion but the entire path to enli.htenmentG e+ery aspect o- method and *isdom.
The essence o- Buddhism is compassion -or all *ithout discrimination5 and on that basis5 not
.i+in. harm. Not harmin. others5 and as *ell as that5 bene-itin. all. :ompassion -or not only your
pa.e 47
There-ore5 e+ery person *ho comes to a Dharma center to study the teachin.s o- the Buddha and
to learn to meditate *ill be tau.ht ho* to de+elop compassion -or others. That means each o- these
people *ill stop harmin. sentient bein.s5 stop .i+in. harm to the *orld. $n other *ords5 numberless
other sentient bein.s5 people in the *orld5 people in each country5 *ill not be harmed by each person
*ho comes to the center to study the Dharma and practice compassion. Thus5 numberless other
sentient bein.s recei+e much peace and happiness -rom each o- these people.
By hearin. the teachin.s o- the Buddha5 especially the lam&rim J teachin.s on subduin. the mind5
ta;in. care o- the mind5 protectin. your mind and the minds o- others J the steps o- the path to
enli.htenment5 *hether it?s a one&*ee; course5 a *ee;end course5 a one&day teachin. or e+en a sin.le
lecture5 the emphasis is usually on ;arma or compassion. The essence o- the subAect is usually not to
harm others and on that basis5 to bene-it them as much as possible. !o usually people *ill come a*ay
-rom e+en a -e* hours o- teachin. *ith the understandin. that they should at least not harm others.
There-ore5 e+en thou.h such people may not be able to do all those traditional practices J many
sadhanas5 mantra recitation5 preliminary practices5 lam&rim meditation J at least *hen they see ants
or other insects on the -loor they *on?t step on them. E+en i- they don?t do any o- those other
practices5 at least they?ll ha+e the thou.ht in their minds not to ;ill insects5 *orms and so -orth. At
least that one minimum practice *ill be there. That itsel- is a .reat bene-it. E+en i- they can?t do
anythin. else5 at least they?re thin;in.5 O$t is really *ron. to ;ill5 to harm another?s li-e.P
$n this *ay5 there?s much peace -or many animals and insects and -or that person as *ell. The
person creates less ne.ati+e ;arma and there-ore does not ha+e to e1perience the su--erin. results that
*ould other*ise ha+e ripened in li-e a-ter li-e. !o5 the absence o- that is peace. That numberless other
sentient bein.s J animals5 insects5 other humans J don?t recei+e harm -rom each o- these people
*ho stop ;illin. a-ter they ha+e come to the center5 is Aust one o- the e1tensi+e bene-its that the center
o--ers. "n top o- that5 o- course5 are all the teachin.s and meditation on the lam&rim5 emptiness5
bodhicitta5 the preliminary practices and so -orth. But Aust stoppin. ;illin. itsel- is hi.hly bene-icialG it
brin.s much happiness to many others.
pa.e 42
$- a person does not chan.e his mind5 chan.e his actions5 so many sentient bein.s *ill ha+e to
su--er durin. the course o- his li-e5 as *ill he5 in many -uture li+es5 -rom the horrible ;arma he creates.
But i- this person comes to the center and stops ;illin.5 -or as many more months and years as he
continues to li+e5 others recei+e that much more peace and happiness. =rom the opposite point o-
+ie*5 the person *ho dies not ha+in. had the opportunity to hear the Buddhadharma or to chan.e
his mind5 the lon.er he li+es5 the more harm he .i+es to others and himsel-.
$n order to de+elop compassion5 bodhicitta5 meditation is not enou.h. %ou need to recei+e the
blessin. o- the special deity o- compassion5 :henreFi. CA+alo;itesh+araD. Then your meditation on
the path *ill be more e--ecti+e in brin.in. you to the realiFation o- compassion. $n Tibet and other
Himalayan countries5 many people recite om mani padme hun.5 the mantra o- :henreFi.. ,any o-
them are simple people *ho ha+e +ery limited intellectual understandin. o- the teachin.s or can?t
e+en read5 but *here+er they .o J *hile *or;in.5 tra+ellin.5 at home J they constantly recite this
mantra. Eust because o- this and their de+otion and prayers to the :ompassionate Buddha5 :henreFi.5
they tend to be naturally +ery compassionate5 +ery *arm&hearted5 al*ays more concerned -or others
than themsel+es5 *antin. to help others and .i+e them thin.s.
=or e1ample5 my mother passed a*ay a.ed >8 a -e* years a.o. !he reincarnated as a boy in Nepal5
near *here she had li+ed5 *ith a +ery clear memory o- people and thin.s -rom his pre+ious li-e. "ne
pa.e 48
Dharma centers are o- utmost importance in the *orld today. They .i+e people the opportunity to
learn about ;arma and compassion. )orld peace depends upon people ha+in. lo+in. ;indness and
compassion. $- people don?t ha+e compassion5 li-e become +ery dan.erous. There-ore5 *e need places
*here the methods -or de+elopin. compassion are tau.ht. This is *here you learnG this is *here you
.i+e others the chance to learn as *ell. 0eace throu.h *eapons is e1tremely unreliable5 but peace
*ithout -orce5 throu.h people chan.in. their minds by .eneratin. compassion5 by choice5 *ith
-reedom5 is o- bene-it to the country5 to the *orld5 to all sentient bein.s. There-ore5 e+en -or peace in
the country itsel-5 meditation centers *here the essential practice is that o- compassion and people
are tau.ht ho* to brin. peace are indispensable.
There-ore5 members o- Dharma or.aniFations ou.ht to ;no* all these bene-its that $ ha+e Aust
e1plained5 -rom the minimum J people stop ;illin. J all the *ay up to enli.htenment. E+erybody
*ho contributes to the center in any *ay is .i+in. enli.htenment to others5 helpin. them -ind
liberation -rom su--erin. and .i+in. them .ood rebirths by helpin. them understand ;arma. $n short5
o--erin. peace and happiness to many. Ho*e+er many members a center has5 that many people are
ma;in. this incredible contribution to the *orld. All these bene-its come -rom e+ery person *ho
helps the center e1ist5 de+elop and do its *or;. !o it?s .ood to be a*are o- and remember this and to
enAoy the bene-its. There-ore5 $ *ould li;e to reBuest e+eryone to continue *ith their o*n practice
and to continue helpin. their center -or the sa;e o- other sentient bein.s.
pa.e 43
n
T
T
he reason that *e dedicate the merit .enerated by any +irtuous acti+ity is in order to
protect it -rom destruction by ne.ati+e -orces5 such as an.er or *ron. +ie*s5 and to direct
it to*ard the .oal that *e al*ays speci-y in our moti+ation J the enli.htenment o- all
sentient bein.s. %ou can use the elaborate dedication .i+en belo* *hene+er you ha+e created merit o-
any ;ind. Eust pause -or a moment a-ter each para.raph and meditate on its meanin..
0lease dedicate the merit o- ha+in. read and practiced the teachin.s in this boo; as -ollo*s'
U Due to the past5 present and -uture merit accumulated by mysel- and all buddhas5
bodhisatt+as and other sentient bein.s5 may bodhicitta arise in my mind and in the minds o- all
members o- my -amily and all other sentient bein.s5 and may the bodhicitta that has already arisen in
our minds only increase more and more.
U Due to the merits o- the past5 present and -uture5 may His Holiness the Dalai Lama?s li-e be
stable and may his holy *ishes succeed immediately. ,ay all our .urus? li+es be stable and may all
their holy *ishes succeed immediately. ,ay Lama Vsel Rinpoche?s li-e be stable and may he be able to
o--er bene-it as +ast as space itsel- to all sentient bein.s and to the teachin.s o- the Buddha5 Aust as
Lama Tson. #hapa *as able to do.
bodhisatt+as and other sentient bein.s5 may $ and all the other students o- the =0,T Cor *hate+er
Dharma or.aniFation you belon. toD5 all the bene-actors5 all the members o- Cinsert the name o- your
Dharma :enterD5 e+erybody else *ho comes here to study5 and all the rest o- the sentient bein.s5 in
this and all -uture li-etimes5 be able to meet only per-ectly Buali-ied ,ahayana .urus5 see them only as
pa.e 44
bodhisatt+as and other sentient bein.s5 may $ be able to o--er bene-it as +ast as space itsel- to all
sentient bein.s and to the teachin.s o- the Buddha5 Aust as Lama Tson. #hapa *as able to do5 by
de+elopin. all his holy Bualities *ithin mysel- in this and all -uture li-etimes.
bodhisatt+as and other sentient bein.s5 all o- *hich are empty -rom their o*n side5 may the $5
*hich is also empty -rom its o*n side5 achie+e @uru !ha;yamuni Buddha?s enli.htenment5 *hich is
also empty -rom its o*n side5 and lead all sentient bein.s5 *ho are empty -rom their o*n side5 to
that enli.htenment5 *hich is empty -rom its o*n side5 by mysel- alone5 *ho is also empty -rom
its o*n side.
bodhisatt+as and other sentient bein.s5 may my Dharma :enter Cmention its nameD be able to -ul-il
all sentient bein.s? *ishes5 immediately paci-y the su--erin.s o- their body and mind5 spread the
complete teachin.s o- Lama Tson. #hapa throu.hout the minds o- all sentient bein.s5 and recei+e all
conditions necessary to do so. ,ay all *ho come to the center5 e+en animals5 insects and spirits5 by
Aust enterin. the place5 ne+er a.ain be reborn in the lo*er realms5 immediately puri-y all their
obscurations and ne.ati+e ;arma5 be -ree o- all sic;ness and harm -rom male+olent spirits5
immediately actualiFe bodhicitta5 and attain enli.htenment as Buic;ly as possible. ,ay this come to
pass at all other =0,T centers as *ell.
U ,ay all members o- this center and all bene-actors5 students and other people connected *ith
the =0,T5 particularly those *ho sacri-ice their li+es in ser+ice o- others and the teachin. o- the
Buddha5 ha+e lon. and healthy li+es5 ha+e all their Dharma *ishes come true5 and5 especially5 actualiFe
the entire path to enli.htenment in this +ery li-e.
U ,ay Lama Tson. #hapa?s teachin.s e1ist and -lourish in all directions until samsara ends.
,ay all proAects o- the =0,T5 especially the 366&-oot ,aitreya statue at Bodh @aya5 recei+e all
necessary conditions5 actualiFe immediately5 and5 most importantly5 be o- .reatest bene-it to all
pa.e 4H
pa.e 4>
Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e' ,a;e %our ,ind an "cean
e
T
T
he Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e CL%)AD is the collected *or;s o- Lama Thubten %eshe
and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. The Archi+e *as -ounded in /994 by Lama Zopa
Rinpoche5 its spiritual director5 to ma;e a+ailable in +arious *ays the teachin.s it
contains. Distribution o- -ree boo;lets o- edited teachin.s is one o- the *ays.
Lama %eshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche be.an teachin. at #opan ,onastery5 Nepal5 in /9H6.!ince
then5 their teachin.s ha+e been recorded and transcribed. At present the L%)A contains about 45666
cassette tapes and appro1imately 865666 pa.es o- transcribed teachin.s on computer dis;. !ome
85666 tapes5 mostly teachin.s by Lama Zopa Rinpoche5 remain to be transcribed. As Rinpoche
continues to teach5 the number o- tapes in the Archi+e increases accordin.ly. ,ost o- the transcripts
ha+e been neither chec;ed nor edited.
Here at the L%)A *e are ma;in. e+ery e--ort to or.aniFe the transcription o- that *hich has not
yet been transcribed5 to edit that *hich has not yet been edited5 and .enerally to do the many other
tas;s detailed belo*. $n all this5 *e need your help. 0lease contact us -or more in-ormation'
Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e
0" Bo1 234
)eston ,A 67892 U!A
Telephone CH>/D >99&93>H
Email' nic;(Lama%eshe.com
pa.e 49
The *or; o- the Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e -alls into t*o cate.ories' archi+in. and
dissemination.
Archi+in. reBuires mana.in. the audiotapes o- teachin.s by Lama %eshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche
that ha+e already been collected5 collectin. tapes o- teachin.s .i+en but not yet sent to the Archi+e5
and collectin. tapes o- Lama Zopa?s on&.oin. teachin.s5 tal;s5 ad+ice and so -orth as he tra+els the
*orld -or the bene-it o- all. Tapes are then catalo.ued and stored sa-ely *hile bein. ;ept accessible -or
-urther *or;.
)e or.aniFe the transcription o- tapes5 add the transcripts to the already e1istent database o-
teachin.s5 mana.e this database5 ha+e transcripts chec;ed and ma;e transcripts a+ailable to editors or
others doin. research on or practicin. these teachin.s.
"ther archi+in. acti+ities include *or;in. *ith +ideotapes and photo.raphs o- the Lamas and
in+esti.atin. the latest means o- preser+in. Archi+e materials.
Dissemination in+ol+es ma;in. the Lamas? teachin.s a+ailable directly or indirectly throu.h
+arious a+enues such as boo;lets -or -ree distribution5 re.ular boo;s -or the trade5 li.htly edited
transcripts5 -loppy dis;s5 audio& and +ideotapes5 and articles in ,andala and other ma.aFines5 and on
the =0,T *eb site. $rrespecti+e o- the method *e choose5 the teachin.s reBuire intensi+e editin. to
prepare them -or distribution.
This is Aust a summary o- *hat *e do. The Archi+e *as established *ith +irtually no seed -undin.
and has de+eloped solely throu.h the ;indness o- many people5 some o- *hom *e ha+e mentioned at
the -ront o- this boo;let.
"ur -urther de+elopment similarly depends upon the .enerosity o- those *ho see the bene-it and
necessity o- this *or;5 and *e *ould be e1tremely .rate-ul -or your help.
The Archi+e Trust has been established to -acilitate this *or; and *e hereby appeal to you -or your
;ind support. $- you *ould li;e to ma;e a contribution to help us *ith any o- the abo+e tas;s or to
sponsor boo;lets -or -ree distribution5 please contact us at our Broo;line address.
The Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e is a 36/CcDC2D ta1&deductible5 non&pro-it corporation dedicated to
the *el-are o- all sentient bein.s and totally dependent upon your donations -or its continued
pa.e H6
Endorsements
Last No+ember *e published a small report on the acti+ities o- the Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e
entitled L%)A Boo;lets' )hat people are sayin. about them5 in *hich *e Buoted much o- the
unsolicited -eedbac; *e ha+e recei+ed since *e started publishin. and distributin. boo;lets -ree o-
char.e. There are a -e* o- these le-t5 so please let us ;no* i- you *ould li;e to see one Cthey contain
no teachin.s5 Aust *hat some people ha+e said about our *or;D.
But to .i+e you an idea5 here are a couple more comments that ha+e come in since that time'
OThan; you -or your donation o- H6 copies o- Lama %eshe?s Becomin. %our "*n Therapist. ,y
senior literature students ate it up. =or most5 it *as their -irst direct contact *ith the Dharma5 -or
others it clari-ied +a.ue understandin.s. =or mysel-5 Becomin.... and Lama Zopa?s Virtue and Reality
ha+e been miraculous. !ometimes the truth needs to be heard in >25999 *ays be-ore you -inally .et it.
Than;s to Lama Zopa5 Lama %eshe5 =0,T and yoursel-5 li-e has become beauti-ul a.ain.P
J Literature teacher5 :ali-ornia5 U!A
O:on.ratulations on publishin. a +ery brilliant boo; MVirtue and RealityN. $ am sendin. you some
money. $- you can spare up to t*el+e more copies5 $?d lo+e to .i+e them to my Dharma -riends in our
.roup. This is one o- the best e1positions on emptiness in print. 0lus the -irst part. The *hole thin. is
completely immediate. Than;s.P
J Educator5 En.land
As mentioned on the precedin. pa.es5 *e rely solely upon donations to maintain the Archi+e5 .et
teachin.s transcribed5 and edit5 publish and distribute them.
0lease support our e--orts to bene-it others in this *ay.
)e *ould also be .rate-ul -or your -eedbac;. 0lease send us your thou.hts on the teachin.s *e
ma;e a+ailable and your su..estions as to *hat you *ould li;e to see published. Than; you a.ain.
pa.e H/
The Buddhadharma is the true source o- happiness -or all sentient bein.s. Boo;s li;e this sho* you
ho* to put the teachin.s into practice and inte.rate them into your li-e5 *hereby you .et the
happiness you see;. There-ore5 anythin. containin. Dharma teachin.s or the names o- your teachers
is more precious than other material obAects and should be treated *ith respect. To a+oid creatin. the
;arma o- not meetin. the Dharma a.ain in -uture li+es5 please do not put boo;s Cor other holy
obAectsD on the -loor or underneath other stu--5 step o+er or sit upon them5 or use them -or mundane
purposes such as proppin. up *obbly tables. They should be ;ept in a clean5 hi.h place5 separate
-rom *orldly *ritin.s5 and *rapped in cloth *hen bein. carried around. These are but a -e*
considerations.
!hould you need to .et rid o- Dharma materials5 they should not be thro*n in the rubbish but
burned in a special *ay. Brie-ly' do not incinerate such materials *ith other trash5 but alone5 and as
they burn5 recite the mantra om ah hum. As the smo;e rises5 +isualiFe that it per+ades all o- space5
carryin. the essence o- the Dharma to all sentient bein.s in the si1 samsaric realms5 puri-yin. their
minds5 alle+iatin. their su--erin.5 and brin.in. them all happiness5 up to and includin.
enli.htenment. !ome people mi.ht -ind this practice a bit unusual5 but it is .i+en accordin. to
tradition. Than; you +ery much.
Dedication
Throu.h the merit created by preparin.5 readin.5 thin;in. about and sharin. this boo; *ith
others5 may all teachers o- the Dharma li+e lon. and healthy li+es5 may the Dharma spread
throu.hout the in-inite reaches o- space5 and may all sentient bein.s Buic;ly attain enli.htenment.
$n *hiche+er realm5 country5 area or place this boo; may be5 may there be no *ar5 drou.ht5 -amine5
disease5 inAury5 disharmony or unhappiness5 may there be only .reat prosperity5 may e+erythin.
needed be easily obtained5 may all be .uided by only per-ectly Buali-ied Dharma teachers and enAoy
the happiness o- Dharma5 may all ha+e only lo+e and compassion -or each other5 and may *e all only
bene-it and ne+er harm each other.
pa.e H7
s
)
)
e are e1tremely .rate-ul to our -riends and supporters *ho ha+e made it possible
-or the Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e both to e1ist and to -unction. To Lama %eshe
and Lama Zopa Rinpoche5 *hose ;indness is impossible to repay. To 0eter and
Nicole #ed.e and Venerable Ailsa :ameron -or brin.in. the Archi+e to its present state o-
de+elopment. To Venerable Ro.er #unsan.5 Lama Zopa?s tireless assistant5 -or his ;indness and
consideration. To our sustainin. supporters5 Drs. 0enny Noyce W Leo Liu5 Barry W :onnie Hershey5
Ro.er W :laire Ash&)heeler5 Eoan Terry5 T. %. Ale1ander5 :laire At;ins5 Datu; Tai Tsu #uan.5 Lily
:han. )u5 Richard @ere5 Lynnea El;ind5 and Tom W !uFanne :astles. And to all our other
bene-actors5 .reat and small5 *hose help *e appreciate enormously. )ithout the help o- all o- you5
our e--orts -or the sa;e o- all sentient bein.s *ould not be possible. Than; you so much.
$- you5 dear reader5 *ould li;e to Aoin this noble .roup o- open&hearted altruists by contributin. to
the production o- more -ree boo;lets by Lama %eshe or Lama Zopa Rinpoche or to the other aspects
o- the Lama %eshe )isdom Archi+e?s *or;5 please contact us to -ind out ho*.
This boo; is published in honor o- Lama Zopa Rinpoche?s +isit to Boston5 No+ember /99>.
)e *ould li;e to than; the members o- Tilopa :enter -or or.aniFin. and tapin. these teachin.s5
Venerable Ro.er #unsan. -or su..estin. that *e publish them5 Venerable Thubten ,unsel -or
transcribin. the tapes5 0eter $seli -or our beauti-ully dra*n lo.o5 )endy :oo; -or her editorial
su..estions5 and Eenni-er ,artin and @arrett Bro*n -or their help in the desi.n and production
o- this boo;.
pa.e H2

VIRTUE AND REALITY

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