Mind Training, 4 October 1990

Yeah. So in in mind training teaching it said that there are two practices at the two ends which is beginning and the end of the session. So it is very important to have that two kind of practice or two kind of work to be done one at the beginning and one at the time of conclusion or at the end of the teaching. So it is definite or very necessary to have that two practices at all the time. So among the two tasks, one, the first one which is to be done at the beginning is to train one’s mind with the proper motivation and about so among the motivation or the mind, the bodhicitta or altruistic generating motivation or of bodhicitta is the supreme of all the motivation or all the generation of the mind and So there is no greater motivation motivation than the bodhicitta.

One should raise some kind of motivation at the time you do your practice. So if you generate or do the practice for self individual benefit, then you are and if you do that then you focusing on a single object or a single person which is yourself and then you are generating generating only one virtue or one benefit. So if you focus or do your practice for 10 for sake of 10 people then you you generate 10 merits or you can make 10 virtuous things by generating virtues by focusing on a 10 people. If you meditate on a 100, it becomes 100 and if you meditate for the sake of all sentient beings then sent the number sentient beings are numberless and and by meditating on all sentient beings, you generate a virtuous action from every every or each sentient beings and if so and as sentient beings are numberless you are you accumulate numberless of virtues and good, I mean, good action and then your merit will be very very powerful. So so we should generate our or we should develop a motivation to practice to generate our motivation to work for all the sentient beings and for that one should imagine that I should alleviate or eliminate all sentient beings from their suffering and bring them to the ultimate happiness and to do this purpose I had today to listen to this mind training teaching and make, put all them into practice, bring all them into practice for the sake of all sentient beings but this kind of motivation we meditate here for a few minutes.

So we have been dealing with the seven point mind training text and and we have also mentioned or you you have taken notes of what are the seven points and and among the seven points, we have finished the first one which is preliminary supporting Dharma practices or initially training in the preliminaries. And now today we’ll start with the second topic which is training the mind in the part of enlightenment and among that we’ll first begin with with how to develop the conventional bodhicitta or conventional altruistic intention. So in root text it said that put all the blame on the one. So there are two lineage or two kinds of, two system I think, two system of training or developing the mind, right? bodhicitta.

And one has been descended or passed down from the Mañjuśrī Mañjuśrī to and then to. So the two kind of training developing the altruistic intention or bodhicitta and the one, first one is being derived from the manjushri then to and then to Geshe Chekawa. And the second one is from the derived or the system comes from Maitreya and then to Asaṇga and then to Candrakīrti. And system which we are here following is the first one. So our kind of system of developing the mind training here, the seven points being derived from Mañjuśrī to Śāntideva and then to Geshe Chekawa.

The first one. The reason why they are they come to two kind of develop and develop development of to kind of developing the altruistic intention is because for there are two kind of teaching has been taught like one kind of teaching has been taught in the public or in a discourses which means when Because the teaching which has been given in the public is kind of like in public there are many kinds of disciples. Some are very sharp intelligence, some are weaker and some are not quite intelligent. So there are many levels of intelligence or among the students and this kind of teaching is called the teaching which has been taught in public. Public, you know, publicity or And another another kind of teaching is what we call it, Khachö means something, we can say the special teaching which means specially taught for taught to or for the students, the disciples who are have a kind of special capability or sharp minded or only intelligence are included in that kind of teaching.

So having two kinds of teaching, one has been taught in the public or with the different kinds of students and one is only taught for the sharp minded or intelligent students. So because due to that, there comes to kind of developing bodhicitta. Two ways and the system comes now. So here, we are giving a sort of the teaching which giving is in for special teaching. Imagine, so we’ll we’ll consider ourselves about here, everyone here is be where you have a strong faith in the teachings and very intelligent and have great enthusiasm or aware of I mean, yeah, interest or zeal, you know, effort.

So we consider, I mean, all every everyone here is very intelligent and So when when when I say something, some some people might think, oh, now what should I do? So we should really develop a very strong minded means to put great strength to, I mean, I should practice something like that. So because you have been considered here as a weight enthusiastic student or have very intelligent students so because of that you should put strength in your mind to practice. So when we say had put all the blame in the text says that put all the blame on the one which here normally we have, there are two kinds of two two kinds of being which is self and others or I in others? So in this saṃsāra, in world, people in their daily way of thinking is they always consider oneself or I is more important than others and then they start seek a method or try to accomplish or to gain happiness for the individual self or I and try to I mean, cultivate the happiness, excuse me, happiness of oneself and try and also to free oneself from This ordinary being only work for the happiness of oneself and only work to get rid of their own suffering and they don’t care much about others.

So here the our great master, this Candrakīrti, in his middle way in his middle way text, In his clear kitti. Kitti. Dharma kitti. So it’s not Candrakīrti. No.

It’s Dharma kitti says in his clear explanation, talk text called a clear explanation. Say that through finding or accepting the eye, it comes the others and then by that one accept, one comes generate attachment or love to oneself and start dislike or hate or dislike, start dislike or start hating others. So, generating attachment to oneself, attachment for oneself and hatred for others comes by accepting self and then by accepting a self it comes to others. So so did you find is there any good in doing this kind of practice? I mean, you check, when you check by yourself by thinking that, is that a good thing to do like cherishing others and just sort of cherishing oneself and generating and have attachment for oneself and then hating or disliking others is the good or bad.

Can you find Did you find this kind of This practice is good when you check within yourself. So our teachers like Mañjuśrī and Geshe Chekawa always says that the self-cherishing is not good and they consider it to be abandoned and they always say self-cherishing is the mistaken one and this cherishing other is to be acquired or to be attained and they considered, considered, so they practice this cherishing others and abandoning, I mean, disposing or eliminating self-cherishing. And for us, we always think that it’s opposite way and we think self-cherishing is needed and cherishing others is not important. So our our masters are not like that. Mañjuśrī and Chekawa always said that one should cherish others and and don’t, cherish oneself.

No? So why they are saying self-cherishing is not is to be abandoned is that in our life what we need to do is we need to cultivate good qualities and does not, do not want to cultivate negativity. So negativity and for that reason, he says that because self-cherishing is a negative one and the cherishing others is the positive one. So we should, because of that, we they always says they always say self-cherishing is to be abandoned and cherishing others to be I mean, maintain, you know. No.

No. So it is quite it’s quite important and it’s very a powerful teaching and one should not get scared to listen this or get quiet. So, yeah, the roommate was saying it’s quite a, this is kind of like a very danger dangerous teaching and one should not scare to hear this. Why why it is dangerous dangerous is because when we say say cherishing, cherish other and self, I mean, does not cherish us, does not generate self cherishings because because Sorry. Why it is dangerous is because we, at that time, when we practice this kind, we consider oneself as enemy and consider others as a friend.

So where as where in our daily life, what we think is we always consider others as enemy and putting oneself as a real friend or dear to us. So when when we practice it’s opposite side because we consider others as a dear ones or a friend and consider oneself as an enemy. No. But and a lot Buddha Śākyamūni has stated two two two statements.

First he said that one oneself is one is one oneself is one’s enemy and there is no other enemy enemy than oneself. So Buddha Śākyamūni has stated that one is one’s one is one one’s own enemy and there’s no other than oneself. And he also said, one is one one is one’s own friend or dear ones and there’s no other dear or offense than oneself. So he said, these are the two statements. So in the first bit, like, Buddha and the Shanti Śāntideva are the saying, they said that they both agree that one one one is one owns one is one’s one owns no.

One is one own enemy. So we we say that we are we we I mean, one is one one is one’s own friend or dear ones. But they said, of masters they said opposite one is one’s enemy. So one is one’s enemy. So so in this particular statement or a topic, we need to investigate or check how how one becomes one one’s enemy.

Because we we we we accept or consider we have the self grasping attitude and which is to be which which is the object of abandonment and this self grasping self grasping attitude is the root root cause or is the basis or the root cause of all the suffering. And and in our daily life, what we consider is the self is which is we consider or we just realize the self which is inherently existent or which is which exists without, which stands or which exists by its own or by or which exists without depending on others. So we in daily life, we accept the self as something exists or inherently exists or without depending on others. So by considering accepting the self which is self self which is inherently exist exist inherent existent or inherently existent and through this, by having that kind of attitude, I is inherently exist, then through that we that that kind of that mind, a mind which accept the I as inherent existent existence, then that mind is the mistaken mind or mistake yeah, mistaken mind and through that we through that which accepting itself is existence by its own, then we develop a self grasping, self-cherishing.

Self cherish comes through that and through the self through self-cherishing, then we always strive hard or we strongly work for work only for the happiness for one’s own or only for one person which is yourself. So said that, you know, so in our daily life we always find that we that we all find that we always find that we couldn’t able to fulfill our or achieve our wishes or our happiness and always miserable things or unwanted sufferings or things are coming to oneself and or one cannot accomplish one’s wishes and always the miserable things comes. So and when we And then we think at that times, always think that it is it is because like, this kind of obstructions or like sufferings comes from the others because you know, that one cannot achieve one’s happiness and cannot and all the miserable things come from oneself and on and so these kind of things in our daily life we think that it comes from others but but in fact it is not. These things like cannot accomplished once wishes and then miserable things occurs or suffering comes is is these things comes from due to this two which is self grasping attitude and the self-cherishing.

Through through, by by self-cherishing and self grasping attitude, the miserable things like unwanted sufferings and one is not able to fulfill one’s happiness. These are comes from these two, like self grasping attitude and self-cherishing. Now this has been stated by Śāntideva. So in So we have to think about thing on this particular subject or topic and so in ordinary language or in this world we just said to do investigate or scrutinize on this topic and from dharmic point of view we just say we have to, we should meditate on this. So so we we need to think about we need to meditate or investigate about these two, how how this unwanted suffering or miserable things comes, miserable things and this, you know, we cannot one cannot accomplish one’s wishes.

How these two comes from the self grasping attitude and self-cherishing. So and through that, so we need to do meditate or to do a do meditation or make investigation on how it comes from these two, self self-cherishing and self grasping. And through that, when one meditates about or make investigate investigation or investigation, do an investigation on this topic then through our experience we will come to know how these two comes from, these two miserable sufferings comes from self grasping attitude and self-cherishing. So one may think how how we can know about this? How can we how can we know about this through our experience or through our meditation?

Through our meditation or through our experience, we we will see that that normally we we consider that a self grasping self is very important and through that we harm others and to achieve happiness or or to to get happiness for oneself then we try to harm others by stealing their money and and also and and so likewise, stealing stealing, etcetera then through that we harm others because the stealing and harming others comes by cherishing oneself more important than other. And also I is very important. I is very very, we consider eye is very important and also the eye is very powerful. Through that, say I feel hungry and then we eat, we’re sorry, we kill and then people kill fish, bird, or other animals, etcetera. For once to quench or to free ones are from hunger.

So because I’m so hungry and then I’m going to kill, I’m not going for fishing or killing birds to eat. So r is very powerful. So through our meditation or through our investigation and from our experience of doing this meditation we will come to know about this. Yeah, we’ll come to know this. So through the self grasping and through and self-cherishing it’s then we we we bring we bring many harms to to other people like saying, when we have self grasping attitude and self-cherishing attitude, then we consider oneself very important.

And then one feel and one all, one one starts to work for the self benefit or self happiness and through that from we commit, we harm, other people through physical or verbally or through through our, I mean, three doors, body, speech, and mind. For example, through the physical visit to have one’s, to to to have a happiness or a sexual enjoyment for to fulfill one sexual enjoyment or happiness then we Some people they just How can I say that? They go after other wife or persons, another people’s wife or their friends or etcetera and then it also, by committing that kind of negative then it, we know it harms others and to fulfill and to accomplish one’s wishes or one’s thought or one’s task, we tell lies to others and then and then through using harsh word or lying, jealousy or like through jealousy to others, we try to split friends and using harsh words and just try to cause schism. It’s not schism, mean separating people’s friend. People who are very friendly and you felt jealousy or jealous to those friendship and try to separate them.

And so I’m roughly at that, I’m fine if you summarize, we just like, I mean for self, to have a self happiness or self benefit, we then we people, they just use harsh words and they always accit and always harm others. So so, excuse me. So we always like, No. So true. No.

True true self grasping or some attitude then we always involve or we always do the bad actions or negative actions and through that and we we harm other people and always, I mean we always harm others and by harming others we we face unwanted suffering or suffering which we do not wish to have that. And then by having, by harming others we get the unwanted suffering for oneself and after, when having unwanted suffering, when there is unwanted suffering within oneself or one face that, then one cannot fulfill one’s wishes. So the main root root cause or root root root of these sufferings and is comes from the self-cherishing self grasping attitude. So so Rinpoche emphasized here that our self-cherishing by self-cherishing, we face lots of unwanted suffering. And and so so you come to know that the I is one’s own enemy