Shey-Zang’s blog

Here's my translation of the '37 Bodhisattva Practices' by Gyalsay Ngulchy Thogmey Zangpo. It's the first translation I've ever completed. It's still a work in progress, though I think I have most of the editing done and rough edges smoothed out.

The Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices

By Gyalsay Ngulchu Thogmey Zangpo

Namo Lokeshvaraye!

To you who see that all phenomena neither come nor go, yet

Strive solely for the sake of wanderers:

To the supreme Guru and the protector Avalokiteshvara:

I constantly prostrate with devotion of body, speech, and mind.

The source of benefit and happiness is the perfect buddhas

And furthermore, it is through accomplishing the holy Dharma that buddhas come to be;

Since this accomplishment depends on knowing the Dharma practices,

I will explain the bodhisattvas’ practices.

1.

At this time, when this difficult-to-find, awesome ship of freedoms and advantages has been obtained,

In order to liberate oneself and others from the ocean of samsara,

Without distraction, day and night --

To listen, contemplate, and meditate is the bodhisattva’s practice.

2.

The attachment towards friends wavers like water,

The hatred of enemies burns like fire,

The ignorance which forgets what to adopt and what to discard is a thick darkness --

To abandon one’s homeland is the bodhisattva’s practice.

3.

When negative friends are abandoned, disturbing emotions gradually diminish,

Without distraction, virtuous actions naturally flourish;

Through clear awareness, definite insight into the Dharma arises --

To rely on solitude is the bodhisattva’s practice.

4.

Long-associated friends and relatives will be separated from each other,

Wealth and possessions attained through exertion will be left behind;

Consciousness, the guest, must cast aside the guest-house of the body --

To give up the mundane concerns of this life is the bodhisattva’s practice.

5.

If you associate with them, the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion will increase,

The activities of listening, contemplation, and meditation will decline, and

Love and compassion will be obliterated --

To abandon negative friends is the bodhisattva’s practice.

6.

If you rely on them, faults will be exhausted, and

Virtuous qualities will increase like the waxing moon;

Cherishing them even more than one’s own body --

To hold spiritual friends dear is the bodhisattva’s practice.

7.

Themselves also bound in the prison of samsara,

How could someone like a worldy god of conditioned existence dare to act like a refuge?

Therefore, when seeking an undeceiving refuge --

To go for refuge in the Three Jewels -- the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha -- is the bodhisattva’s practice.

8.

The sufferings of the lower realms, so incredibly difficult to bear,

Are the result of destructive actions, thus the Able Sage has taught;

Therefore, even at the cost of one’s life --

To never commit destructive actions is the bodhisattva’s practice.

9.

The pleasures of the triple world are like dew-drops on a blade of grass:

Their nature is to evaporate in the mere flash of an instant;

But the supreme state of liberation is never-changing --

To pursue the ultimate purpose of liberation is the bodhisattva’s practice.

10.

Since beginning-less time, they’ve shown you their love, so

If one’s own mothers are suffering, what’s the use of one’s own happiness?

Therefore, in order to liberate limitless sentient beings --

To generate bodhichitta is the bodhisattva’s practice.

11.

All suffering, without exception, come from desiring for one’s own happiness,

The perfect buddhas manifest from the mind which seeks to benefit others;

Therefore, giving one’s own happiness, and taking others’ suffering --

To genuinely exchange self and other is the bodhisattva’s practice.

12.

Even if someone, out of great desire,

Steals all of one’s wealth or has it stolen,

One dedicates to them one’s body, enjoyments, and virtue accumulated throughout the three times --

To give away everything is the bodhisattva’s practice.

13.

Even if one is not the slightest bit at fault,

And somebody chops off one’s head,

Through the power of compassion, one takes on their evil deeds --

To take the negativity of others upon oneself is the bodhisattva’s practice.

14.

Even if someone lets loose a wide variety of unpleasant things about oneself,

And makes a public broadcast about them which pervades the three-thousand-fold world-systems;

One addresses that person with a loving mind, again and again --

To speak about the good qualities of others is the bodhisattva’s practice.

15.

Even if, in the midst of a great gathering of many people,

Someone digs into one’s faults and says lots of mean things,

One perceives that person as a spiritual friend --

To respectfully bow down to others is the bodhisattva’s practice.

16.

Even if someone whom one has cherished like one’s own child

Views one as being just like an enemy,

One responds like a mother caring for her sickness-struck child --

To show ever-more love is the bodhisattva’s practice.

17.

Even if an equal or inferior person,

Under the power of egocentric pride, treats one with contempt,

Like a guru, one places that person on the crown of one’s head --

To show genuine respect is the bodhisattva’s practice.

18.

Even if one is deprived of nourishment and constantly insulted by people,

Afflicted by intensely severe illness and demonic energy,

One still takes upon oneself the negativity and suffering of all beings --

To be without discouragement is the bodhisattva’s practice.

19.

Even if one is praised and renowned by many people, universally bowed down to,

And has attained wealth like that of Vaishravana, the god of wealth, nevertheless:

One see that all the glory and riches of conditioned existence are without essence --

To be without pride is the bodhisattva’s practice.

20.

If one does not subdue the enemy of one’s own anger,

Outer enemies will just proliferate more and more,

Therefore, deploying the army of love and compassion --

To subdue one’s mindstream is the bodhisattva’s practice.

21.

Desirable objects are very similar to salt water:

However much they’re enjoyed, craving just increases and increases;

So whenever obsessive craving arises for anything at all --

To immediately abandon whatever gives rise to desire and attachment is the bodhisattva’s practice.

22.

Appearances are one’s own mind.

The nature of mind, from the beginning, is a timeless freedom from the extremes of conceptual elaboration.

Realizing this nature, beyond the characteristics of self and other --

To not engage the mind in dualistic fixation is the bodhisattva’s practice.

23.

If one meets with pleasing sense objects,

Just like the vivid colors of a rainbow in summertime,

One views all these beautiful appearances as lacking true existence --

To abandon attachment to external objects is the bodhisattva’s practice.

24.

The vast variety of sufferings are like the death of one’s child in a dream;

By reifying confused perceptions as being real, one becomes weary;

Therefore, at the time when chaotic conditions are there to meet you --

To view adverse circumstances as illusory is the bodhisattva’s practice.

25.

If those aspiring towards awakening must give up even their own bodies,

What need is there to mention external objects?

Therefore, without any expectation of reciprocation or positive karmic fruition,

To give generously is the bodhisattva’s practice.

26.

If one does not have ethical discipline, thus not accomplishing one’s own benefit,

Then wishing to accomplish the welfare of others is laughable indeed;

Therefore, devoid of aspirations for worldy existence,

To protect ethical discipline is the bodhisattva’s practice.

27.

For bodhisattvas who long for the enrichment of virtue,

All those who make trouble are like a precious treasure;

Therefore, devoid of all hostility,

To cultivate patience is the bodhisattva’s practice.

28.

Since even the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, who accomplish only their own welfare,

See that they must strive as if putting out a fire on their heads,

For the sake of all beings, one practices diligence --

To apply joyful perseverance, the source of all good qualities, is the bodhisattva’s practice.

29.

Through calm abiding perfectly imbued with special insight,

Disturbing emotions are completely subdued, and from this development of insight,

One genuinely transcends the four formless absorptions --

To cultivate meditative concentration is the bodhisattva’s practice.

30.

Though one may practice the other five far-reaching perfections, without sublime gnosis,

Perfect and complete awakening cannot be attained;

So, through utilizing skillful means without conceptual reference to the three spheres of agent, object, and action --

To cultivate sublime gnosis is the bodhisattva’s practice.

31.

If one does not carefully examine one’s own mistakes,

It is possible that while having the outer form of a Dharma practitioner, one can act contrary to the Dharma;

Therefore, through constantly subjecting oneself to thorough examination --

To abandons one’s mistakes is the bodhisattva’s practice.

32.

If, under the power of disturbing emotions,

One points out another bodhisattva’s faults, then one

Has oneself committed a grave fault --

To not speak about the faults of those who have entered the Great Vehicle is the bodhisattva’s practice.

33.

Under the influence of riches, honor, and respect

Mutual disagreement, arguing, and back-and-forth fighting occur,

And the activities of listening, contemplating, and meditating decline --

To abandon attachment to the households of friends, relations, and benefactors is the bodhisattva’s practice.

34.

Harsh speech disturbs the minds of others

And causes the conduct of the Victorious One's bodhisattva heirs to degenerate;

Therefore, because it is unpleasant to others --

To abandon harsh speech is the bodhisattva’s practice.

35.

When disturbing emotions are habituated, it is difficult to counteract them with antidotes:

Through arming oneself with mindfulness and alertness as the antidotal weapon

Against desire and the other afflictions --

To decimate disturbing emotions the moment they first arise is the bodhisattva’s practice.

36.

In brief, whatever activities one happens to be engaged in,

One should ask:

"What is the state of my mind?"--

To accomplish the welfare of others through constantly maintaining mindfulness and alertness is the bodhisattva’s practice.

37.

In this way, through striving to accomplish virtue

In order to clear away the suffering of limitless beings,

Together with the sublime gnosis that sees the utterly innate purity of the three spheres of agent, object, and action --

To dedicate all merit and virtue towards awakening is the bodhisattva’s practice.

 

Following after the meaning imparted in the sutras, tantras, and commentaries,

And the noble speech of the sublime ones,

I have composed this ‘Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices’

For those who wish to train on the bodhisattva’s path.

Because of my inferior intellect and lack of erudition,

This is not poetry that will delight scholars, however,

Because I have relied on the sutras and the noble speech of the sublime ones,

I think this ‘Bodhisattva’s Practices’ is okay, and not too off the mark.

However, since the great waves of bodhisattva conduct

Are difficult to fathom for someone of lesser intelligence like myself

I entreat the sublime ones to forbear my

detrimental mass of incoherence and contradictions.

Through the virtue arising from all of this, may all wandering beings,

Through relative and ultimate bodhichitta

Become equal to the Protector Avalokiteshvara,

Who abides not within the confines of samsaric existence or nirvanic peace.

These words were composed for the benefit of himself and others by an exponent of scripture and logic, the monk Venerable Thogmey, in a cave in Ngulchu Rinchhen.

Translated by Erick.

The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in 8000 Lines 
Chapter V — The Revolution of Merit (RiBa)

From RangjungYesheWiki
http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Chapter_V_%E2%80%94_The_Revolution_of_Merit_%28RiBa%29

CHAPTER V

THE REVOLUTION OF MERIT

1. THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM A SOURCE OF GREAT MERIT, AND A DIFFERENT MERIT

Sakra: Let us again consider two people. The one truly believes perfection of wisdom, trustingly confides in such, studies, copies, repeats and discourses regarding such, since their guide does not fail. And as this one hears this exposition, this one also unhesitatingly resolves to not abandon this perfection of wisdom, -surely so greatly profitable, so great an advantage, so great a fruit, so great a reward, endowed of such and great qualities (!) - this one guards and preserves such as this is, for such is exceedingly hard to develop, and by oneself, one honors, reveres and adores this. Now, the other person first venerates this, and now gives a copy to another son or daughter of a good family who, having aspirations towards this and eager, asks for such. Which one of these two persons begets greater merit...on this one hand the one who intends to give this all away, or on this other hand, the one who does not?

The Lord: I question you on this point, and you may answer to the best of your abilities. If this one person by oneself is to honor the relics of Tathagata after one's Paranirvana, minister, revere, and preserve these relics; and now, if this other not only oneself honors these relics of the Tathagata, ministers, reveres and preserves these, but in addition reveals these to others, gives these away, and shares them knowing hereby the reverence of these relics will become even more widespread, and from compassion and true sympathy for beings; so answer now Kausika, which one of these two persons begets great merit, and which a different kind of merit: The one who, while worshipping them oneself, reveals, gives and shares these with others...or the one who by oneself, singularly worships these?

Sakra: Surely Lord, the one who shares these with others.

The Lord: So it is, Kausika. Any person revealing perfection of wisdom for others to behold and develop as regards inclinations, always seeking to help others, purely intent on revealing such completely, ...anyone on the strength of this begets greater merit, and indeed not merely greater merit, but a different merit all together. For such merit has no limit, and as such is beyond any determinations of lesser and greater, and indeed other than any determinations whatsoever, which might be even recognized as merit. If in addition this one goes to persons who are fit vessels for this perfection of wisdom, and shares this with these, one begets still different merit. And so too, Kausika, is great indeed any merit of someone who instigates all beings in Jambudvipa to observe ten ways of wholesome action, and establishes these in these ways?

Sakra: To be sure Lord, great this seems to be.

The Lord: Different even still is any merit of someone who makes a copy of this perfection of wisdom, believes in and has faith in such, faith serene and firm; who constantly reveals one's thoughts toward enlightenment, and with earnest intention gives this perfection of wisdom to another Bodhisattva who steadily reveals one's thoughts to enlightenment; who does first of all perfect oneself by tireless writing and reciting; and after much zealous labor, one persuades the other Bodhisattva, explaining this perfection of wisdom, instigating to such, filling one with enthusiasm for this, making such a one rejoice in this, and does by one's words, lead one to this, educate one in this, illuminate these benefits to such a one, cleanse one's thought and remove one's doubt; and who addresses such a one as follows: "Come here, you of good family, do train yourself in just this Path of Bodhisattvas, for as a result of this training, this coursing, this struggling you surely and quickly awake to full enlightenment. After this you go on to educate an infinite number of beings in the complete extinction of the substratum begotten of beginningless rebirths, in other words, in the revelation of the reality-limit." As this one intends to reveal this completely, this one's merit is infinite and different still from any worldly merits. And this is true even if it is compared with the merit of someone who establishes in the observation of the ten wholesome ways of acting all the beings in world systems of any size, even in all the world systems in existence or not in existence, numerous as the sands of Ganges River. Or if it is compared with that of someone establishing others in the four trances, the four Unlimited, the four formless attainments, the five superknowledges, in any number of world systems. In each case any person not only writing this perfection of wisdom and reciting it by oneself, but writing such for others and revealing such completely to these, easily begets a different type of merit than merit itself. Moreover, Kausika, one also begets a different merit still as one may be conversant with the meaning while reciting this perfection of wisdom; and having written such for others, still reveals such completely, expounds and lights this up, both in it's meaning and letter.

2. THE COUNTERFEIT PERFECTION OF WISDOM

Sakra: Can any one now expound this perfection of wisdom?

The Lord: Yes, anyone thus conversant with this meaning can expound such to someone not understanding it. For in any time a counterfeit of perfection of wisdom may arise. As one hears this counterfeit, a person not understanding it as such needs be wary of making obeisance to it, as this one, though not understanding, may want to realize full enlightenment.

Sakra: How might one recognize in any time if and when the counterfeit perfection of wisdom is expounded?

The Lord: In any time here be monks and nuns whose bodies are undeveloped, whose moral conduct, thought and wisdom are undeveloped, who are stupid, dumb like sheep, without wisdom. As these announce to expound perfection of wisdom, these actually expound its counterfeit. These expound the counterfeit perfection of wisdom by teaching impermanence of form, feeling, perception, impulse and consciousness is to be interpreted as destruction of these just mentioned skandhas. To strive for such insight, according to them, is coursing in perfection of wisdom. But on the contrary, do not view impermanence of these skandhas as destruction of such. For to view things in such a way means to course in the counterfeit perfection of wisdom. For this reason, Kausika, does one with understanding expound effortlessly and correctly the meaning of truth and in perfection of wisdom. By so expounding this, one realizes different and limitless merit.

3. THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM UNLIMITED AND DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER SPIRITUAL GIFT

And any such merit is quite different than if one even thought of oneself as, or even attempted to accept responsibility for, any ability whatsoever to establish any beings in, say, any number of world systems, even in the fruit of a Streamwinner. And such holds good also for the fruit of any Once-Returner, of any Never-Returner, and of any Arhat. Any Bodhisattva of true and right intention merely recognizes this goaless goal, indicates such, and puts before themselves this path for the beneficence of any and all limitless beings. For it is perfection of wisdom which brings about any fruit of any Once-Returner, of any Never-Returner, and of any Arhat. And any Bodhisattva increases one's endurance by reflecting this way, for, as by training oneself in perfection of wisdom, one comes to obtain dharmas which sooner or later constitute a Buddha, and one comes ever nearer to revealing for the benefit of any and all beings, full enlightenment. For one knows by training oneself in this training, coursing in and struggling in such, one brings forth any and all fruits of holy life, from fruits of a Streamwinner to Buddhahood. Any merit of any person sharing perfection of wisdom also is vastly different from any one establishing in Pratyekabuddhahood any number of beings in any number of world systems. Moreover, Kausika, as someone reveals any such thing as is for full enlightenment to the hearts of as many beings as are in Jambudvipa; and someone else not only indicated how it is possible for these to reveal their very hearts to full enlightenment, but also in addition gives these a copy of this perfection of wisdom; or, as one such as this presents a copy of this perfection of wisdom to an irreversible Bodhisattva, in consideration of any possibility that this Bodhisattva may allow oneself to be trained in such, make endeavours about and develop such, and as a result of any growth, increase or abundance of the perfection of wisdom, fulfill the Buddha-dharmas; now, compared with the former person, one begets a vastly different type of merit, for certainly once one is awakened to full enlightenment, one cannot help but to indicate the end to the sufferings of countless beings. Thus, one's merit is vastly different, even as the other person thinks to raise to full enlightenment the hearts of any number of beings in any number of world systems. Or, let us again compare two persons: The first presents a copy of this perfection of wisdom to any number of beings in any number of world systems, beings which are irreversible from full enlightenment, who definitely set out for such; yet, the second person, in addition expounds this to these ones according to the meaning and according to the letter. Does this one not on the strength of this beget much great merit?

Sakra: One's merit is indeed great. One can neither easily calculate this heap of merit, nor count it, nor find anything even similar to, or resembling, or with which it can be compared.

The Lord: Still, Kausika, vastly different is any merit of someone who in addition instructs and admonishes in this perfection of wisdom these irreversible Bodhisattvas aspiring to quickly realize full enlightenment. And further, still another Bodhisattva may arise, saying one may realize full enlightenment even more quickly than they. As someone instructs and admonishes in the perfection of wisdom this Bodhisattva of even quicker understanding, one begets a still vast and different type of merit.

Sakra: To the extent any Bodhisattva comes nearer to full enlightenment, to such an extent one is instructed and admonished in the perfection of wisdom, for such brings one nearer and nearer Suchness. As one comes nearer Suchness, one confers many fruits and advantages on any having done services for one, i.e., on the ones through whom one enjoys one's robes, alms-bowl, lodging, and medicinal appliances for sickness. One's merit now becomes still larger, in consequence of the fact one comes nearer to full enlightenment.

Subhuti: Well said, Kausika. You fortify these belonging to the Bodhisattva-vehicle, help these, and stand by these. Even so do you act. Any holy disciple wanting to give help to all beings, as such, fortifies Bodhisattvas in their attitude to full enlightenment, helps these, and stands by these. In this same way does one in diligence act. For begotten of perfection of wisdom is full enlightenment of Bodhisattvas. Just so, as Bodhisattvas do not produce any thought of enlightenment, such do not train themselves in full enlightenment, nor in any six perfections, and as a consequence these do not awaken to full enlightenment. But as the Bodhisattvas do train themselves in the Bodhisattva-training, in these six perfections, so now do these produce this thought of enlightenment, so even now do these awaken to full enlightenment.

I'm in Uniontown, Pennsylvania right now -- my home town -- getting ready to go to India to study Tibetan language for one year. I leave on December 29th.

In India, I'll be in Dharamsala and Darjeeling. The first three months will be spent in Dharamsala, studying at the Sarah College for Higher Tibetan Studies, which is a sister/affiliate school with the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. After that, I'll go to Darjeeling, where I'll be studying at the Manjushree Center for Tibetan Culture, where I'll probably be spending the rest of my time in India. I may enter into the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition's Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Progam, which begins in October in Dharamsala, but there may be some obstacles due to money and the fact that I'm coming back to America next December and would probably have to be here in Uniontown for a couple months to save enough money to go back.

 I'm actually really hoping I can enter into the FPMT's program, since it's aim is specifically to produce translators, and after the first part of the program, which is two years of study in Dharamsala, they place you in one of their Dharma centers to work as a full-time interpreter for one of their geshes. It's hard to find that kind of experience elsewhere. Pray for me.

I'm working at a local call center to make some more money before I go. The auspicious wave continues: it's four weeks of training, and one of the easiest things I've done to get paid ever. Extremely easy and laid back, and the job itself seems very easy, though I won't be working at it for more than a week and a half. If I had known about this place before, I would have moved back to Uniontown to save money long ago! But now I know.

 I feel like I've "wasted" a lot of time in the past few years, since I've known that I wanted to study Tibetan intensively and become a translator since around June 2004, but didn't make the firm decision to really do it and pursue it in a practical and diligent way until this past May 2007.

But, I had to go Japan -- I really did -- and after I got back from my 6 months there, I had not only gone through the college money that my parents had put away for me, but also indebted myself further to them, having made the desperate and spontaneous decision to move to Pittsburgh, when my good friend John Allen Gibel had a room that opened up. My parents ended up spending quite a bit of money to have me move in, and I left after 7 months, realizing that Pittsburgh wasn't for me, and that I wasn't going to be able to save much money there. This no doubt made my parents hesitant to offer support for a while, or probably even to take me very seriously.

 During this time, I had also developed another goal: go to my teacher Khentrul Rinpoche's Shedra. He had asked me to attend in 2005, and I didn't -- and I probably could have and should have, rather than move to Pittsburgh, though money was a concern. I was still exploring my relationship with Khentrul Rinpoche, in the sense that I hadn't attended a great deal of teachings with him at that point, perhaps a total of two weeks, and so another general goal of mine was to attend more of his teachings. I did attend Shedra in 2006.

If all of this sounds convoluted, it is. It took me a while to find my direction: many paths called out to me, and much exploration was done. I was exploring my teacher, Tibetan Buddhism as a path in general, monasticism, dating different girls, massage therapy, living in Dharma centers, Pittsburgh, Cottage Grove and Eugene Oregon; and the death of my grandmother last year was also a big event which shook my mindstream.

Without getting too much into details, suffice it to say that I feel like much of the time between getting back from Japan and last May was basically not spent working towards any of my bigger goals -- i.e. saving money, studying Tibetan, and doing intensive Dharma practice; with the exception of my time at Sol Duc Hot Springs in Washington, where I was saving money towards attending Shedra (and, as it turned out, the Exploring Monastic Life retreat at Sravasti Abbey). Aside from that, I was really just not focused, practical, or diligent enough to either go work at a national park or save money at my parents (though this hasn't always seemed like such an option). This started to change around last February, when I met the Tibetan translator Chris Wilkinson and began studying with him, which reignited my interest in Tibetan considerably.

The whole thing has been a really interesting process, and one which I think I'm mostly done with: figuring out what I want to do with my time and life, and actually making practical steps towards doing it. It really took me almost three years to get to that point. I think that part's over. I am immersed enough in and passionate enough about Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan language and translation, at this point, that I don't feel much doubt or hesitation at all -- far from it.

It might seem like I'm being a little hard in myself, and I probably am. I demand I high standard of myself. And after all, I definitely got past a lot of issues and purified a lot of obscurations in the process, the very things which were probably keeping me from being decisive and dedicated to my heart's desire. So, it all works out. I feel lucky to have this figured this out by the time I was 25, and be seriously engaged in the process of living my dream by the age of 26. Many, if perhaps not most, people never do, or figure it out much later in life. And, most importantly, I feel that my dream, my path, is extremly important for the world: translating the Buddha Dharma into the English language, something which will benefit many, many people.

I've learned a heck of a lot in this process.

Some of the things I've learned are:

1) Figure out what your dreams are, and go for them.

2) Don't get too distracted. Not even by wonderful friends -- ultimately, they won't be able to live your dreams for you.

3) Rely on your guru/lama/spiritual teacher, if you have one. Read the words of great masters. They will point out the inner tools that you need to accomplish your dreams.

4) Do everything w/ bodhichitta (love and compassion and the aspiration to benefit all beings to the utmost), and it all works out much better!

 5) When you figure out what your dreams are, then figure out practical ways to actualize your dream.   

I'm getting along w/ my parents wonderfully, and it feels like a bright new chapter in my relationship w/ them. They are being extremely supportive.

In general, I'm very happy, and perhaps more importantly, content. Feeling that I'm doing what I ought to be with my life is giving me a sense of alignment with my deeper purpose that is comforting, as well as inspiring and ennobling.

 

 

 

We have precious human lives with all the respites and enrichments that allow us to follow the Dharma path. These freedoms and opportunities, however, are not going to last forever. Therefore, we need to take full advantage of the opportunities that we have.

The best way to take advantage of our precious human life is to use it for developing a bodhichitta aim. A bodhichitta aim is a mind and heart focused on the future enlightenment that we will attain later down the line on our mental continuums. It is accompanied by two intentions: to achieve that enlightenment as soon as possible and to benefit all beings by means of that.

When developing bodhichitta, we develop the two intentions in the opposite order. First, we fully intend to benefit all limited beings, and not just humans. This is brought on by our love, compassion, and exceptional resolve, which we will discuss later in this lecture. Then, in order to benefit them the most effectively, we fully intend to gain enlightenment and become Buddhas. We need to gain enlightenment in order to get rid of all of our limitations and shortcomings, because we see that they prevent us from being able to help others. For instance, if we get angry with others, how can we help them at that time. Also, we need to gain enlightenment in order to realize all our potentials. We need to realize them fully in order to be able to use them to benefit others. So, when developing a bodhichitta aim, it is not that first we want to become Buddhas because that is the highest state and then, like some nasty tax that we have to pay, we need to help others.

There are two main methods for developing a bodhichitta aim. One is through the seven-part cause and effect guideline (rgyu-‘bras man-ngag bdun), the other is by equalizing and exchanging our attitudes about self and others (bdag-gzhan mnyam-brje). Here, let us discuss the first of the two methods.
Developing Equanimity

The seven-part cause and effect guideline has six steps that act as causes for the seventh, the actual development of a bodhichitta aim. It begins with a preliminary step, not included in the count of seven. It is the development of the equanimity (btang-snyoms) with which we overcome being attracted to or attached to some beings, repulsed from others, and indifferent to yet others. The point of this preliminary step is to be equally open to everybody.

The understanding of everyone being equal, which is required for being equally open to everyone, comes from realizing that the mental continuum or mind-stream has no beginning and no end. Therefore, everybody at some time has been our friend, everybody at some time has been our enemy, everybody at some time has been a stranger, and the status is always changing. In this sense, everybody is the same.

The main point that we need to understand behind this way of thinking is beginningless mind. This is a basic assumption in Buddhism. Rebirth concerns continuities of experience. Mind-streams are continuities of experience. They are individual and do not have inherent identities as human, animal, male or female. The life form and gender that a mind-stream manifests in any particular rebirth is dependent on previous actions, on karma.

This is a fundamental, necessary understanding for being able to develop bodhichitta, because based on this understanding, it becomes possible to develop loving compassion for absolutely everybody. We do not see other beings as merely a mosquito, for example. Rather, we see this being as an infinitely long individual mental continuum that in this lifetime happens to have the form of a mosquito because of its karma; it is not inherently a mosquito. This allows our hearts be as open to the mosquito as to a human being. The power of bodhichitta derives from the fact that with it, we intend to benefit absolutely everybody. Of course, it is not easy.
Recognizing Everyone as Having Been Our Mother

Once we are able, with equanimity, to see all beings as individual mind-streams – which does not deny their forms in this lifetime – we are ready to take the first step in the seven-part cause and effect meditation. This is to recognize that each being, at some point, has been our mother (mar-shes). The line of reasoning is that just as we have a mother in this lifetime, likewise in every lifetime in which we have been born from a womb or an egg, we have had a mother. From the logic of beginningless rebirth, everybody has been our mother beginningless times as well – and we have been their mothers too. They have also been our fathers, our closest friends, and so on.

In seeing everybody as having been our mother, we need to be careful not to see being our mother as anyone’s inherent identity, because that can also become a bit problematic. We must try never to lose sight of voidness, the lack of inherent identities.

Recognizing everybody as having been our mother radically changes our way of relating to others. Here, we are going beyond just having equanimity toward everybody. We are seeing that we have had – and still can have – a very close, warm, loving relationship with everyone.
Remembering the Kindness of Motherly Love

The second of the seven steps is to remember the kindness of motherly love (drin-dran). For many Westerners, this is a problematic step in the meditation, because the Indians and Tibetans always take the example of our mother in this lifetime. In those societies, it seems as though most people have less neurotic and less difficult relationships with their mothers than in Western societies. Whether that is true or not, of course, varies in individual cases. But I would say from my observation, having lived in Tibetan and Indian societies for twenty-nine years, that the relationship between grown children and their mothers there does seem to be far less neurotic than in the West.

This step in the meditation is to remember how kind our mother is – or was, if she has passed away – going all the way back to her having carried us in her womb. Then, we extend this to thinking how everybody has shown us similar kindness in previous lives.

Many people, when they teach this to Westerners, say okay, if you have problems with your mother, you can think instead of your father, a close friend, or anybody who has shown you great kindness. This way, you won’t become stuck trying to do this meditation. I think that this is a helpful approach. However, I think that it is very important, if we have problems in our relationships with our mothers, to deal with it and not just pass over it. If we can’t have healthy relationships with our mothers, it will be very difficult to have healthy loving relationships with anybody else. There is always going to be a problem. Therefore, I think it is very important to look at our actual relationships with our mothers and to try to recognize her kindness, no matter how difficult that relationship might have been or might presently be.

First, we need to look at ideal motherly love. The classical texts are filled with descriptions of it: you see it in many animals, for instance. A mother bird will sit on her eggs no matter how cold and wet she becomes, and when the eggs hatch, she will catch and chew insects, but not swallow them, and give the food to her chicks. This is really quite extraordinary.

Of course, there are examples from the animal and insect world in which mothers eat their babies, but still they underwent the difficulties to give birth to them. And whether it was our biological mother or a surrogate mother, somebody carried us in her womb – unless we were born from a test tube. But even then, somebody watched the test tube and kept it at the right temperature. Whether our mother liked carrying us or not is irrelevant. It was an incredible kindness to carry us around in her womb and not to abort us; it was not comfortable for her at all. She underwent a lot of pain during our actual birth. Furthermore, when we were infants, somebody had to get up in the middle of the night, feed us, and take care of us; otherwise, we would not have survived. These sorts of things are emphasized in the classical texts.

If we have had difficulties with our mothers, I think we can take a clue as to how to proceed from the guru meditations in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s lam-rim text. Many earlier texts have said that it is almost impossible to find a spiritual teacher who has only good qualities. No spiritual teacher is going to be ideal; everyone is going to have a mixture of strong and weak points. What we want to do in the meditation on the spiritual teacher is to focus on the good qualities and the kindness of the teacher in order to develop tremendous respect, inspiration, and appreciation. This will motivate us to develop these good qualities and kindnesses ourselves.

The Fifth Dalai Lama explained that in the process of doing this, we do not need to deny the shortcomings and faults of the teacher. That would be naivety. We acknowledge the shortcomings, but put them aside for the moment, because thinking about the teacher’s faults will just lead to complaining and to a negative attitude. That is not going to be inspiring at all. It is only by focusing on the good qualities and kindness that we get inspiration.

So first, we acknowledge the shortcomings. But, we need to examine honestly whether these are true shortcomings or are only projections on our parts. We also need to examine whether they are current shortcomings that the teacher has or is it old history that we don’t want to let go of. Once we are clear about what the faults actually are, we say okay, those are his or her faults. Then, we put them aside and focus on the good qualities.

I think that the same procedure is appropriate and can work very well when looking at the kindness of our mothers. Nobody’s mother is ideal. If we ourselves are parents, we know that it is unbelievably difficult to be an ideal parent, so we shouldn’t expect that our parents were ideal either. Then, we would look at the faults and shortcomings that our mothers have or had, and try to understand the causes and conditions that brought these shortcomings about. She is not inherently a bad person, just as no mind-stream is inherently a mosquito (which is also not inherently annoying). We make sure that we are not projecting shortcomings onto our mothers or just dwelling on ancient history, and then we put that aside for the moment. We say okay, she has or had her faults, but she is a person like everybody else: we all have faults. Then we look at the good qualities and the kindness that she has shown us.

One Western Dharma teacher – I forget who exactly it was – has suggested a method of meditation that I think is very useful. At this point, having put aside the negative qualities of our mothers, we go through our lives in five or ten year units. We spend five minutes, a half hour, an hour, or however long we want, going through and trying to remember all the kind things that our mothers did for us in each five or ten year period. First, from the time we were in the womb until we were five, we remember that she changed our dirty diapers, fed us, bathed us, and did all these things. Then we recall from age five to ten, and so on. She took us to school – maybe she didn’t help us with homework, maybe she did, but she probably cooked for us and washed our clothes. When we were teenagers, she probably gave us spending money. No matter how terrible our mothers might have been, there were undoubtedly many kindnesses that they showed us in each period of our lives.

Then we can do the same thing with our fathers and with other relatives, friends, and so on. It is very helpful for the meditation. It is an especially strong antidote to the depression that we sometimes feel when we think, "Nobody loves me." In this way, if we can see the kindness of our mothers in this life, it helps us to recognize that everybody has been similarly kind to us. Nobody has been an ideal mother – sure, she might have eaten us at some point, but she has also shown us kindness.

The third step in the seven-part guideline is developing the wish to repay the kindness of motherly love that we have received (drin-gso). For this, we can make a further adaptation from the meditation we just outlined concerning remembering the motherly kindness we’ve been shown. Again, we go through five or ten year periods of our lives and examine in what ways have we shown kindness back to our mothers. We do the same with our fathers, our friends, relatives, and so on.

If we compare how much love and help we have received and how much we have given, most of us will see that we have received far more than we have given. The point of this is not then to feel guilty, which would be a typically neurotic Western reaction. The point is to help us with the next step of the bodhichitta meditation, which is, having recognizing the kindness we have received, to develop the wish to repay that kindness.

I find that this adaptation to the meditation that I just outlined is very helpful for actually moving our hearts so that we actually feel something. I think it is very important. I have seen so many Western Buddhists who do all these meditations of love and compassion and even who go out and help others, but they have a terrible relationship with their parents and are stuck in that. I think that it is really quite helpful to work on that relationship and not to avoid it just because it is difficult.
Suggested Method to Apply the Practice

An important thing in each of these steps is to open up and try to extend the scope of our practice to all beings. At each step, we can of course start small, but then we need gradually to expand our scope. We do this based on equanimity, seeing everybody as individual mind-streams. An effective way to do this, I’ve found, is not just to sit and meditate with our eyes closed, abstractly thinking of "all sentient beings." More effective, I think, is to practice similar to the way that I suggest in the sensitivity training.

In other words, try to develop these positive attitudes first toward various people while focusing on their photos – friends, people we don’t like, and strangers. Then try to develop them while looking at actual people sitting in a circle around us in a meditation group. Then try it on the subway or bus with the people there. In this way, we actually apply to others the positive attitudes we are trying to develop.

We likewise try to apply it to animals, insects, and so on – and not just theoretically in our minds, but when we actually see them. In doing that, we need to try to avoid the extreme that sometimes we see among Tibetans for example – namely, that it is easier to be kind to an insect than to a human being. If there is an ant in the middle of the temple, everybody goes to such extremes to make sure it doesn’t get hurt. Yet, often, they don’t show the same type of concern and kindness to human beings, for instance Indians or foreigners who visit their temples and would like to know something about what they see there. We have to keep a proper perspective here.

Some people might say that it is easier to help an ant than it is to help a human being. This is because the ant is not going to talk back to you and give you a hard time, whereas people often do. An ant you can just pick up and take outside, you can’t quite do that with people if they become annoying. In any case, my point is that a lot of people do these meditations in a very abstract way – "all sentient beings" – and it is never applied to real people, in "the real world." This creates a big problem in making any progress along the path.
Great Love

When we have recognized everyone as having been our mother, remembered the kindness of motherly love, and thought to repay that kindness, we naturally have a feeling of heartwarming love (yid-‘ong byams-pa). This is an automatically arising feeling of closeness and warmth toward anyone we meet. There is no need for a separate meditation step to develop this feeling. It is also called cherishing, concerned love (gcer-zhing pham-pa’i byams-pa), the love with which we cherish someone, are concerned about his or her welfare, and would feel very sad if anything bad happened to him or her.

Based on heartwarming love, we go on to the fourth step, meditation on great love (byams-pa chen-po). Love is the wish for someone else to be happy, generally someone we like. Great love, however, is the wish for everyone  to be happy and to have the causes for happiness. It is really very important that it be both happiness and its causes. This means that it is with our full understanding that happiness comes from causes, it is not just the favor of the gods or good luck – and the cause is not me.

The causes for happiness are given in the teachings on karma: if people act constructively, without attachment, anger, and so on, they will experience happiness. Therefore, we need to think here, "May you have happiness and the causes for happiness. May you actually act in a constructive and healthy way, so that you will experience happiness."

It is clear already from this step that in these bodhichitta meditations we are striving to become Buddhas to help everybody, but without inflating the role that we can play in helping them. We can show others the way, but they need to build up the causes for happiness themselves.
Great Compassion

Then comes the fifth step, great compassion (snying-rje chen-po): the wish for everyone to be free of suffering and the causes for suffering. This is likewise with the full understanding that their suffering comes from causes and they need to eliminate those causes in order to eliminate their suffering. Again, it is a very realistic view. Great love and great compassion are not merely emotional feelings like, "I feel so sorry that everybody is suffering." Rather, they are accompanied with the understanding of behavioral cause and effect.

Great compassion exceeds ordinary compassion in many other ways. Firstly, it is aimed equally at all limited beings, not just at some. Secondly, it is the wish for them to be free of the all-pervasive suffering (khyab-par ‘du-byed-kyi sdug-bsngal) of being repeatedly and uncontrollably reborn with aggregates coming from confusion, mixed with confusion, producing more confusion, and thus perpetuating suffering. Thus, it is not simply the wish for others to be free of the suffering of pain or the suffering of change. The suffering of change is ordinary worldly happiness which never lasts and never satisfies. Great compassion is not the wish for beings to go to a paradise to escape that problem. Thirdly, great compassion is based on firm conviction that it is possible for all limited beings to gain liberation from their all-pervasive suffering. It is not merely a nice wish.

Compassion is always described as an attitude similar to renunciation. Renunciation is an attitude aimed at our own suffering, its causes, and the wish for us to be free of them. Based on renunciation, we can develop empathy for others. What we do is switch the same attitude and direct it toward others, toward their suffering and the causes of their suffering, and the wish for them to be free of it.

It is always said that it is difficult for us to empathize and truly feel compassion for others unless we have thought about our own suffering and wished ourselves to be free of it. We have to understand that others really experience pain from their suffering and their suffering hurts them just as much as our own suffering hurts us. Understanding this depends on acknowledging that our own suffering hurts. Otherwise, we don’t take others’ suffering seriously. Remember, we are wishing our mothers, who have been so kind to us, to be happy and free of suffering. We start the meditation with our mothers and so on, so that the meditation actually has some feeling to it.
Extending the Method to Help Alleviate Low Self-esteem

Just as the texts say that compassion only develops sincerely if we first wish ourselves to be free of suffering and its causes, I think we can formulate the same principle concerning love. This is particularly relevant for those of us who suffer from low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is a particularly Western phenomenon, not so frequent among Tibetans, or among Indians for that matter. Before we can sincerely wish others to be happy and have the causes of happiness, we need sincerely to wish ourselves to be happy and have the causes of happiness. If we feel that we don’t deserve to be happy, why should anybody else deserve to be happy?

Wishing ourselves to be happy, then, is a step in the meditation that I think we can safely add if we suffer from low self-esteem. I feel this is quite important. To get into this way of thinking, that everybody deserves to be happy, it helps to remind ourselves of Buddha-nature. We are not all bad; nobody is all bad. We all have the potentials to become Buddhas, to benefit others, to be happy and so on.

Another point: Love and compassion are also developed in the Theravada and other Hinayana schools. There, however, the meditation methods don’t follow graded steps, like these seven here, that help us to build up feeling love and compassion based on reasons, such as remembering motherly kindness. We shouldn’t think, however, that love and compassion meditation are missing in the Theravada tradition. The next steps in the bodhichitta meditation, however, are not there.
Exceptional Resolve

Different translators render the sixth next step in various ways. Some call it "the pure selfless wish." His Holiness the Dalai Lama uses the term "universal responsibility." Although I have translated it in several different ways myself, at the moment I prefer "exceptional resolve" (lhag-bsam). This is taking the responsibility ourselves actually to do something about others’ suffering. If somebody is drowning in a lake, we don’t just stand on the shore and say, "Tsk tsk, I wish this weren’t happening." We need actually to jump in and try to help the person. Likewise, here in the bodhichitta meditation, we think in terms of taking responsibility to help as much as possible.
The Bodhichitta Aim

Based on this six-step line of development as a cause, the seventh step is developing the bodhichitta aim (sems-bskyed) as the result. When we examine how we can benefit others the most, with our current limitations and disturbing emotions and attitudes, we realize that we are really not going to be able to help very much. If I am selfish, and impatient, get attracted to some people and angry with others and am lazy, if I get tired all the time, if I can’t really understand others, and if I can’t communicate properly, if I am afraid of others, afraid of being disliked or rejected – all these things are really going to prevent me from helping as much as is possible. So, because I really want to be of help, I really need to get rid of these things. I really need to work on myself and get rid of these things so that I can actually use my talents and abilities and Buddha-nature qualities to benefit others. We always keep in mind, "as much as is possible" – we are not going to become omnipotent gods. Based on this line of thinking, we set our minds and hearts on becoming a Buddha to help everyone as fully as is possible. This is the development of the bodhichitta aim.
Bodhisattva Conduct

Once we have developed bodhichitta, we try to help others now as much as we can, despite our limitations. This is because we have the exceptional resolve to take responsibility to help, built up from the previous steps in the seven-part cause and effect bodhichitta meditation.

This means that whenever we encounter others and see that they are having a problem, for instance being homeless, we don’t just see them as homeless persons. When we see them, we don’t think in terms of them being inherently poor, lazy, or whatever value judgments we might project. Rather, we realize that just in this lifetime and at this particular point in this lifetime, they are like that. However, their mind-streams are beginningless and, at some point, they have been our mothers and have taken care of us with kindness. They have carried us in their wombs, have changed our dirty diapers, and so on, and I would really like to repay this kindness. We wish that they would be happy and have the causes of happiness, and that they could be free of their problems and the causes of their problems. We take responsibility to try to do something about it.

What do we need to do? It is not that we need to go home and meditate in order to overcome our shortcomings, and not actually do anything to help such people. Of course we need to meditate more, however what this motivates us to do in the moment is to overcome our shyness, hesitation, and stinginess, and actually give them something, at least smile at them – at least do something.

In other words, we use our exceptional resolve to move us right now to overcome our limitations as much as we can and to use our potentials as much as we can now to help. Sure, when we go home we need to work on ourselves more, but let’s not forget about the homeless persons and only go home and meditate. If our resolve is sincere, it keeps us mindful.

The strongest motivation to work on ourselves in each moment comes when we encounter other beings who need help. We see an old woman sitting on the cold ground in winter begging by the subway station and we think what if that were my mother? If she were our actual mother of this lifetime sitting there on the cold ground and begging, would we just walk by? Or what about the young man on the subway peddling the makeshift newspapers of the homeless, how would we feel if that were our own son? This boy has parents. It is very important. In India, we see lepers and other deformed people and usually we never think that these lepers have families. They do have families. Make them human.

Question: What about discriminating awareness to distinguish the conventional situation of these homeless people? To what extent are they just on a scam, ripping people off? I have worked with homeless people myself and I know there are people out on the streets hustling. I need to deal with that on the conventional level and then on the Buddhist level.

Berzin: We need to employ what Buddhism calls "skillful means." We have the wish to help, we have some idea of what the cause of their suffering might be, and what the cause for their happiness would be. Then, we try to do what would in fact be helpful for them. Maybe it’s not at all helpful to give them money, which they would use only to buy more drugs or alcohol, and so we don’t give them money. If we have some food, we can give them that. But, in any case, we can give them our caring attitude and respect by not thinking of them just as terrible, disgusting junkies or alcoholics. They are human beings, suffering human beings.

It is not easy to decide what the best way of helping someone might be. We see that we are limited now. We don’t really know what is best. We have to become Buddhas to really know, but we try our best now, realizing that sometimes we are going to make mistakes. We at least try.

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