Mind Training, 2010, part 1

Okay. So we will meditate on one or two minutes to generate the Mahāyāna motivation to engage in the three activities of hearing, thinking, and meditate upon this treatise, the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, which is the very essence of the Mahāyāna, both to actualize one’s own benefit and the benefit of others, for reflecting on the fact that all of us strive for happiness and that the means to actualize happiness is to listen to a Dharma which is endowed with truth, which is true, and then to put this true Dharma into practice within one’s own mind stream. This is what enables us to attain happiness and in dependence on this we also must train in wisdom. Wisdom which is the understanding of what is appropriate for the mind to engage in and what is inappropriate. Wisdom for which we request blessings, chinlab in Tibetan.

The term chinlab actually refers to receiving, to capacity, the capacity for the mind to engage in what is appropriate and to avoid what is inappropriate. And then generating a wish to benefit others, which are space like in their numbers, and which have since beginningless times been our fathers and mothers, protecting us with great love, and realizing that they at present suffer and must be freed from suffering. We strive to place them in a state of happiness and to do so we ourselves aim for a state endowed with all qualities and bereft of all faults. Let’s generate this motivation for one or two minutes. So those of you who are following the Tibetan text, it’s on page eight in the English translation, to the very bottom of page seven.

The hero who takes on suffering will always be happy by the force of heroism. And verse in the root text, the hero who takes on suffering, can be glossed as follows. Taking on suffering here refers to taking on the boundless sufferings of sentient beings upon oneself, and through the condition, through the power of this, for happiness and bliss to arise within one’s mind. Who engages in this process of taking on the suffering of others? The hero.

In Tibetan, the term used is sempa, and this refers to bodhisattvas in Tibetan, jangchub sempa. Now if we analyze, Rinpoche says, the syllables which constitute jangchub sempa, there were two broad division divisions, jangchub, which refers to Buddhahood or full enlightenment, and which refers to the being who engages in this. In turn is divided into two syllables, and has the same meaning as in it means to eliminate all thoughts, and has the same meaning as in it means to develop or enhance all qualities. Specifically here means to generate.

So, jangchub, enlightenment, is nothing else but the process of acquisition of all qualities and elimination of all thoughts. The being who engages in this is the sempa, the bodhisattva, and he does this with the motivation of helping beings, understanding fully that if he himself does not gain a state of full enlightenment and does not understand the constitution and the goals of all beings, he or she will be unable to help them, and in turn will be unable to dispel their suffering. Hence, to understand this constitution and goals of all beings, it is necessary to strive for the state of full enlightenment and then in turn to work to benefit them. So a bodhisattva, a jangchub sempa, is a being who is striving for the state of full enlightenment for the sake of others. And for this, he obviously needs to attain enlightenment itself.

This is what he strives to establish. Therefore, is called the being who is striving for full enlightenment, the bodhisattva. And to analyze more carefully the etymology of the term, which is translated in English as the hero. This has two syllables, the syllable and the syllable. The syllable in Tibetan refers to mind.

It actually refers here to tsampa, which means a thought of such a hero, and the syllable pa actually refers to power or to the hero himself. So this is a mental hero, a hero of the mind. This mind itself is heroic because it is a mind which wishes to save all sentient beings from the ocean of suffering of cyclic existence, and which to do so is ready to engage in tremendous hardship over three countless eons. In colloquial Tibetan, one speaks of tremendous hardship. This actually refers to engaging in great perseverance, the fourth of the six perfections, with the aim of placing all sentient beings in a state of full enlightenment through engaging in this hardship for three countless eons.

This is actually what is referred to in the dharani of the perfection of wisdom. The terms refer to the three countless eons. The two first to the first countless eon, then the following ones refer to the stage from the second to the seventh ground, and the final as aeon is covered during the eighth, ninth, and tenth ground. Such a heroic being, a Sempa Chenpo, is one who wishes to free all beings from suffering and to place all beings in a state of unalloyed happiness, and irrespective of what suffering arises, such a being takes it upon himself. This not only does not cause any suffering to him personally, but is a source of joy and of happiness.

Joy in this life, joy in future lives and such a being progresses from happiness and joy to happiness and joy, all the way up to full enlightenment. And the verse in the Heart Sūtra, reads, actually refers to a being, which in the first verse, is indicated to be a bodhisattva, whereas in the second verse, in other words, great heroic being, is indicated to be a fully enlightened being. The being which is referred to in these verses is Ārya Avalokiteśvara, Now Ārya Avalokiteśvara’s goal was to attain the state of full enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, but first to push or to impel all beings in front of him, and only after this, he himself would attain the state of full enlightenment. Such is indeed a very rare type of Bodhisattva. This is an extraordinarily difficult vow.

Perhaps Rinpoche says, such may not even exist. However, the second type of practice is that evinced by Buddha Śākyamūni who practiced king like practice of bodhicitta. In other words, he himself first strove for full enlightenment and then after attaining full enlightenment tried to help other sentient beings in the same way as a king can benefit his subjects and therefore one who wants to help the poor and the afflicted first strives for kingship and then helps others. Others. And then what is the source of this great force, this great power of the bodhisattvas?

It is the process of training of the mind from love through compassion, the supreme thought, and finally bodhicitta. So within the fivefold division of the paths, the path of preparation of accumulation, preparation, seeing, meditation, and normal learning, there is a fourfold presentation of the various types of bodhicittas, and one travels through each of these levels of bodhicitta. It is important for us to understand that at this level of training one dispels any thought for one’s own happiness and focuses on establishing the happiness of others. The supreme thought, which is the thought which accompanies us throughout this process of training, is a resolution to establish other others’ indefinite happiness ourselves. And we say, I myself will do this.

And with this supreme thought, one in turn practices for three countless eons on the bodhisattva path accumulating merit. So the path of the bodhisattvas, Rinpoche says, is an extraordinary one, since through creating or through establishing the happiness of others, they actually establish indirectly their own happiness. And through dispelling the suffering of others, they dispel indirectly their own suffering. From the happiness of others, their own happiness arises, and from eliminating suffering of others, the elimination of their own suffering in turn arises. So actually, in this training process, when one fulfills the wish of others, one will have fulfilled one’s own wish, and thereby both one’s own wish, one’s own purpose, and that of others will be fulfilled simultaneously.

We on the other hand, who are not bodhisattvas, practice only for ourselves, wishing to establish our own happiness and wishing to dispel our own suffering. We lack courage, says Rinpoche, and are perhaps unable to practice at this level. But practicing together with the other beings is perhaps the way to go. And therefore bodhisattvas need this mind which aims to benefit others. If one is thinking only of one one’s own happiness and thinking only to eliminate one’s own suffering, then let alone the fact that one has not even entered the great vehicle, one is not even turned to the direction of the great vehicle.

One is a practitioner of the lower vehicle, of the Hīnayāna. One’s own focus is on one’s exclusive personal welfare, one wishes to establish one’s own happiness and to dispel one’s own suffering. There is no great vehicle practice in this context. A great vehicle practitioner is one who gives up thinking about himself and strives only for the welfare of others. In so doing, he or she can progressively attain full enlightenment.

Without a fully enlightened being, there is no possibility for sentient beings to be benefited. If we reflect, for instance, on the extraordinary deeds of Buddha Śākyamūni who benefited countless sentient beings, placing them in a state of of of full enlightenment, we can see this clearly. If we ourselves, one individual man or woman, become a fully enlightened Buddha, then just as Buddha Śākyamūni, we can benefit countless measureless sentient beings. If we take the case of the Buddha himself, the Buddha did not only manifest in this world, in this universe of ours. There are 1,000,000,000 universes around our universe, 1,000,000,000 worlds, and the Buddha manifested through emanations in every single one of these words.

Even though the Buddha helped countless sentient beings, nonetheless, the total number of sentient beings was even greater than this. So as Śāntideva famously said, there are countless sentient beings, countless Buddhas have come, and yet how is it possible to exhaust such numbers? So we ourselves are those who have not had the good fortune to encounter a fully enlightened being, a Buddha. And when the Buddha came, we were in the lower realms. We were in the hell realms.

We were hungry ghosts or we were animals. Buddhas came and came and came and yet we never met them. So if we at present engage in the practice of Dharma, then in the future, it is certain that we will be able to meet a Buddha. Actually, we will meet the next universal teacher, Buddha Maitreya, because Buddha Maitreya took the pledge, took the vow that those who practiced purely during Buddha Śākyamūni’s time would become his students when he turned the wheel of the law. In the self same way as Buddha Śākyamūni turned the wheel of the law three times, the first, second, and turn, third turning of the wheel of the law.

In the same way, Buddha Maitreya will turn the wheel of the law three times. And if we engage correctly in the three activities of hearing, thinking, and meditating, there is no doubt whatsoever that we actually will meet, encounter Buddha Maitreya. These three activities must however be conjoined by the power of prayer. There is no doubt in the slightest that if the cause is established, the result will arise. However, it is impossible for a result to arise without a cause.

In the past, we ourselves did not practice in the way this way. Others did and they attained their results. At present, we are the leftover. We are the remainder, those who failed. It is up to us to practice at present and there is no doubt that if we meditate on bodhicitta, on emptiness and so forth, we will reap the results.

That Now we will pass on to page eight of your English translation, after the first paragraph, the meaning of the stanza. This here is akin to the forest of aconite of desire. The peacock like hero will subdue it, or the crow like craven one will lose his life. How could the egotistical subdue such poison? So here, the aconite refers to desire, principally, and moving onwards to the commentary on this verse, is that in this context, in this context here is the context of mind training within the cycle of dharmas of the beings of great scope, those beings who have not first trained their minds in the understanding any of the paths shared with the beings of small and middling scope.

This, and here we have a presentation of the path of the beings of small scope, relying on the spiritual friend, the great meaningfulness and difficulty in obtaining a human rebirth of leisure and endowment, death and impermanence, refuge, and at present, a presentation of the path of the beings of middling scope, causality, definite emergence, and so forth, we have difficulty in the practice of the being of great scope of taking as a friend for the sake of others, the contingent sufferings of cyclic existence through that intent seeing self-cherishing as the foe. So here, the craven crow like beings, who are not able to practice as bodhisattvas, and who do not initially train in the practice of the being of small and middling scope, when they try to meditate in this fashion, not only do not give rise to bodhicitta, but give rise to desire within their mind streams and fall into the lower realms. They are unable to actualize the goal of the mind training of the bodhisattvas, which is to eliminate self-cherishing on the one hand, and to actualize cherishing others on the other hand. In the same way as a crow, when it eats aconite or poison, will die, in the self same way those who have not trained in this fashion will fall in the lower realms.

All the Bodhisattvas, which are peacock like, will not only not die, but in the self same way as when a peacock eats poison, it beautifies its plumage. In the self same way, the bodhisattvas, the bodhisattvas will thrive on this desire because they engage in this path for the sake of others, and are therefore able to utilize it soundly. Therefore, it can be said that they actually like this. And now if we interpret the stanza on page eight in detail, this has already been explained. The term aconite refers to to a fierce vegetable poison, and is a simile of desire at the end of the first verse.

Then in the second verse, the hero refers to the Bodhisattvas, Bodhisattvas, which are peacock like because they are able to subdue. This is a verb at the end of the second verse. Subdue what? Subdue desire through the force of other cherishing, which not only does not harm them, but actually benefits them. In the third verse, the craven, on the other hand, the cowardly, in other words, are the beings of lower, the beings who have not trained in the mind training of the beings of lower, middling, and greater capacity.

And they are compared to crows because if they try to eat aconite, in other words, desire, then they will lose their lives. In other words, beings who have not trained in the path of the being of small, middling, and great scope, and who behave in this way will fall in the lower realms. And generally speaking, there are three poisons, desire, anger, and ignorance, which are the motors of cyclic existence. But Rinpoche would like to explain in this context somewhat about desire. As is said in these three principal aspects of the path, without pure renunciation, there is no hope for liberation from the happenstances of cyclic existence.

And here what is referred to by desire is not just ordinary sexual desire, but is all the various forms of desire, desire for money, desire for food, desire for objects. These are all varieties of desire, and these various forms of desire are greatly feared by the beings of the smaller and the middling scope, since desire is one of the motors of cyclic existence. Now whole, generally speaking, it is ignorance, is the very root of cyclic existence. Nonetheless, none of the afflictions is comparable to desire in the difficulty there is in eradicating it. As Dharmakīrti says,, ignorance, I do not fear, but craving, I do fear.

Ignorance here refers to the cause of cyclic existence, and this does not fear, but craving, in other words desire, is what he fears. Because from craving arises in turn desire, from desire, karma is accumulated, and from karma in turn suffering is accumulated. So we will skip sections in the commentary and in the middle of page eight, towards the bottom, we have the line likewise since desires were very widespread in the context of cyclic existence, which is akin to a forest of aconite. So Rinpoche says here, the term forest of aconite refers to the fact that in the same way as desire is compared to aconite, the poisonous plant. Since there are various forms of desire, this is said to be akin to a forest.

And then moving onwards to page nine. In general, although there are numberless afflictions in this context, desire is explicitly said to be akin to aconite. Since, to take another example, the meaning is similar to that of the verse, I take refuge in the supreme Dharma of those bereft of desire. Now, somewhat further down in the paragraph, desire is compared to a stain of oil spreading on a cloth. This is a very powerful simile, Rinpoche says, because in the self same way as it is very difficult to eliminate a stain of oil once once it had has worked its way into a fabric.

In the same same way, once desire has impregnated the mind, it is very difficult to eliminate it, and under its power, one circumambulates again and again in cyclic existence. And at present at present, we are towards the middle of page nine, under the small indent to the left. Those who, when referring to great desire, understand only the likes of copulation are mistaken. One must understand that desire, in this context is compared to a forest of aconite. Aconite is a poisonous plant referred to.

A forest is a place in which there are numberless plants of aconite, the self same way as there are numberless forms of desire, is as boundless as a forest. One must understand that in the self same way as in the world, one would in no way refer to an area in which there are no more than one or two tree seedlings as a forest, but one would refer to an area with a large collection of trees as a forest. Let alone this, we ourselves common and ordinary beings, we look back at those towards whom we have strong love and empathy, our parents, friends, relatives and those to whom we are close. Although there is an excellent simile of great affection, but analyzing carefully since it can be clearly established that those towards whom we have greater desire are also those towards whom we have greater love and empathy. And those towards whom we have less desire are also those towards whom we have less love and empathy.

Such a love and empathy is like desire, wearing a mask resembling love and empathy. To generate from that a pure love and empathy, which is uncontaminated by desire, is extremely difficult. So Rinpoche says here that what is referred to is desirous love, and it is a love which is contaminated by desire. It is a wrong love, a mistaken love. It is not love in the slightest.

It is actually desire. And what we ourselves call love is none other but this lustful or desirous love. For instance, when people become close, at first first this feeling of desirous love arises. And then all it takes is for a minor disagreement to appear and it escalates. And then the two parties call and separate.

Not only is love present absent, but hatred becomes present. This is a clear indication that this was not love in the beginning, but was mere desire. So from desirous love, from this false love, anger will arise, whereas the characteristic of authentic love is that it never gives rise to anger. And then, at the bottom of the page, therefore it would seem that in the world it is very common to mutually mistake love and empathy with desire, inner strength with pride and with pride and perseverance with fortitude. So here, the first of each pair is a virtuous state of mind.

Love and empathy are virtuous, while desire is non virtuous, inner strength is virtuous, while pride is non virtuous. Perseverance is virtuous. While fortitude is non virtuous or neutral. It is just putting effort, in Tibetan. These are the modes of generation of desire, which observes being as its object.

However, many forms of desire arise with respect to other objects from good tea and tasty food upwards. Nonetheless, after saying I like tea or I like momos, we never say that desire has arisen with respect to them. Now, Rinpoche says that actually like here is desire. When we say I like tea, we desire tea. Or Tibetans desire momos, like you say they desire, they like momos just as Australians desire cake, for instance.

Now this is a mistaken state of mind. This is a response of craving, to that craving for the flavors, colors, and so forth of food. One can understand this through thinking of the fact that even a dog, and so forth will bark at each other for a smidgen of decaying fat flesh. So our foremost practice is to block, to prevent desire from arising. Since this is the main motor for rebirth in the lower realms.

And one should therefore put an end to all forms of desire, food, meals, and for that matter, desire for friends and so forth. So time is over. If you have questions, Rinpoche will try to answer your questions for a couple minutes. I don’t understand your question. Can you compress it?

So great compassion has as its object of reference, as its referent the totality of sentient beings. If it does not have as its referent the totality of sentient beings, there is no great compassion. For instance, great compassion cannot be generated with one sentient being as a basis. The basis is insufficient. One needs the totality of beings.

Therefore, without the totality of beings, the epithet great is not appropriate. And without sentient beings in general, the epithet compassion is not appropriate. Yes. So courage here means force. What is the force which is referred to?

It is a state of mind which reflects I have obtained this human rebirth, I have met teachers, I have received profound Dharma, I have the capacity to practice, and not only in this life, but in beginningless past lives, I have had mothers. These are my mother sentient beings who were my mothers not once, but many times over, bestowing inconceivable kindness on me not once, but many times over. If I do not help them this time through the teachings and there is no other way for me to help them, then I am base, I am vile, I am a bad person, and therefore, from my side, I I must and I will put effort in helping them in this way. And then through love, empathy, and kindness, thinking constantly, what can I do? One puts effort for the sake of others.

And then reflecting on the fact that thanks to the kindness, to the empathy, to the love of others, we have benefited so many times, and that we at present have assembled all the conditions to help them. Think if I do not do this now, when? And then dependence on this this great force will arise in our mind. Otherwise, the conditions we have are wasted. So if we were to think in worldly matters for instance, in worldly conventions of a child whose mother for instance was afflicted with a terrible disease and was crying for help for her child, from her child, or a child whose mother has been thrown into a burning blaze and who is crying child, child, help me.

And should the child be completely indifferent indifferent to the sufferings of his mother, and just go off to have a picnic in a park with his friends, he would be, he or she would be an object of tremendous contempt from society in general. The enlightened beings, the bodhisattvas, would be profoundly saddened by such behaviors. All would say, this child, this young man, this young woman has suckled at his mother’s breast. She has done everything everything for him, and now she needs him, he or she abandons her. This is base behavior.

This is vile behavior. This is the behavior of one without dharma. So instead of behaving in this way, one should, as a child, turn to one’s mother which has fallen and try to find someone to help her, a doctor to help her, find means to make her stand up on her feet again. Fortitude at present? Has strength of mind arisen?

Do This is the mental strength of Bodhisattvas, the mental strength of beings which understand that all sentient beings have been their fathers and mothers in countless past times, not once but many times, and they have benefited from them in this way not once but many times. And in dependence on this, this tremendous power, inner force of the bodhisattvas arise. So this is what we should try to generate within selves. Okay. Hello.

I’ve got a few announcements. So, not this weekend, next weekend, the two to four, Alice is going to give a talk based on the three principal aspects of the path, and, it starts at 02:00 two to 04:00, and, there’s a facility charge. There’s a fly around you can take and, you can bring your friends or, you know. And, also, Chönjug Day is coming, which is November 30, so which falls on a Tuesday. We will have a Guru Puja there at 07:00.

And in our program, there is the mistake, you know, Guru Puja dates. So just make sure that where is that? Okay. It’s got actually written on a ’16 and as well as on a ’19, but it’s the actually, it’s the nineteenth is the right date. But now the the there’s a three Guru Puja dates in each month or maybe sometimes four.

But the next newsletter, we have clear explain why we mentioned this. And Rinpoche have given talk, the last Guru Puja, and only the two of them, you can only can come those who have highest yoga tantra. And the fifteenth of the lunar calendar, there will be a Guru Puja, which everybody can come to. Alright? And, next newsletter is explained very clear there.

And, alright. I really not like to announce this one. We have a donation box in the both door, and but you can help yourself. Ex we there’s a facility charge, only $5. And if you are what do you call the Dharma Wheel membership, then it’s exempt.

Otherwise, you know, help yourself there. Okay? And, there is such beautiful chai and lots of biscuits and, sweet here. And sorry. That’s right.

Yeah. Think about not liking. Alright? Just eat it. So that, please and the on a corridor, the the Hum at the back has to be empty.

You please come on, in this room, have a chai, and a biscuit. Thank you very much.