Linda: Excerpts from Buddhist Lecture April 24 and 27

Excerpts from Buddhist Lecture
Taken from the 37 practices of Bodhisattvas
(Bodhisattva in this sense meaning one who has attained realization or enlightenment)
Lectures given by Chamtrul Lobsang Syatso Rinpoche at the Nyingma Monastery.
Rinpoche also gives lectures in Europe: www.chamtrul-rinpoche.com
I would highly recommend any lectures or audiences!
(Please forgive errors and illogicalities in any of the following notes. The lectures were clear; my notes are not.)

Each lecture began with Prayers for Requesting Teachings and Empowerments and ends with a Dedication

Taking Refuge
In the Jewels of the Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha,
We take refuge until we attain enlightenment
By the merit of practicing generosity and the like
May we attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.

Generation of Bodhicitta (correct motivation or intention)
May all beings enjoy happiness and the causes of happiness!
May all be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!
May all beings never be apart from the supreme bliss which is free of all suffering!
May all beings live in the great equanimity free from the attachment and aversion that
keeps some close and others distant!

During the second week of lectures, Rinpoche expounded on the meaning of the four lines of this prayer, as it is fundamental to have the correct motivation or intention before pursuing any activity, especially a spiritual one. The primary motivation in Buddhism is to develop love and compassion for other sentient beings, in the past, in the present, and in the future. The four lines above are known as the Four Immeasurables. When one considers immeasurables, one considers not only the number of sentient beings in all the worlds (earthly, heavenly, other realms) and times (past, present, future). In considering the immeasurability of the number of human beings (past, present, future), one realizes that one one is very small in comparison both to the Infinitude of Manifestation (and to the Immeasurablilty of the Divine). There is also the immeasurability of space and or time. These considerations give a proper proportion of humilty when one regards one’s self, even with one’s gifts and aptitudes, in the vastness of the Immeasurables. One perceives the immeasurable, both directly and indirectly, which requires courage. The Immeasurable Mind has no limits, and it is, therefore, in a state of Ultimate Happiness.

Immeasurable Love: “May all beings enjoy happiness and the causes of happiness!” Rinpoche distinguished between two kinds of happiness (or desire: in Tibetan, there are two different words for the two kinds of happiness/desire/cravings/attachments): one of temporary benefit and one of long term or ultimate happiness. The former has two types: a temporary happiness which brings a certain happiness, but in fact is rooted in negativity (example given: a hunter who enjoys the fruit of the hunt such as the meat, skin, bones of the animal but also killed, which has a negative energy). The second temporary happiness is one which is neutral or even good. One is allowed certain happinesses in this world, and one can pray for others to have the kind of happiness that is neutral, and especially those which are positive. For positive happiness is attached to Goodness and will support a meaningful life and will create positive energy (karma/consequences) for yourself and in the world. The second kind of happiness one prays for is Ultimate happiness, which also has two kinds. The first is personal liberation, for the individual soul to be enlightened, to reach the heavenly realms. The second is omniscience which results in Buddhahood and the vow to return to teach until all sentient beings attain enlightenment. This is the Unsurpassable Mahayana Vehicle or Greater Vehicle. To learn how to will happiness to everyone, one must use reasoning and the intelligence, logic and meditation in order to familiarize one’s self with the qualities necessary for the stability of loving compassion. A common practice in Buddhism is to think of every being as being our mother. The Buddhist philosophy speaks of countless births and deaths in order to attain the human state and even the possibility of contemplating such ideas. In the billions of lives a soul has already undergone, one can imagine that everything on this “earth” had been, in fact, at one time or another, one’s mother. (This idea is used to help establish a real connection with the idea of compassion.) The “mother” is the mother of our body, but is also clear and knowing consciousness. And the latter is the continuum and consequences of previous existences. It has no beginning. The present moment of consciousness depends on preceding moments and is therefore the clear and knowing cause. It has no beginning; the mind has no beginning. It is a beginningless birth. One needs the combination of the physical body (substance) and the mind (consciousness). To know this is to realize our reliance on all beings for existence. Then, one recalls the kindesses of our many mothers that led to our happiness. And finally, one repays this kindness. One wishes others to enjoy happiness and the cause of happiness. One wishes others to enjoy complete happiness, and the cause of complete happiness is accumulated virtue. To accumulate virtue, one avoids the 10 negative virtues and practices their positive counterparts. Physical virtues: 1) do not kill and protect life 2) to do steal and be generous 3) do not engage in sexual misconduct and have an ethical and moral discipline. Virtues of Speech: 4) do not lie and be honest 5) do not be divisive or sow discord and use speech as a means of unification 6) do not use harsh words and use kind and compassionate words 7) do not engage in idle gossip and do engage in meaningful speech. Virtues of the Mind 8) do not covet and give 9) do not have harmful thoughts and be of benefit 10) do not have wrong views and rely on correct views.

Immeasurable Compassion: “May all be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!” The key here is to be free from the causes of suffering, for until one is free from the cause of suffering, one will continue to suffer. Thus, one wishes that the root of suffering, that which causes a negative energy or karma, to be extinguished for a person. It is obvious to wish that one does not suffer from bad health, etc. What is less obvious is to develop the spirit of compassion for someone who has a “good life” – has good health, family, wealth, etc. In this case, though they have a “good life”, they may not, in fact, be accumulating merit, and their actions will result in future suffering. Therefore, one wants them to have a life that is virtuous and not simply “good”.

Immeasurable Joy: “May all beings never be apart from the supreme bliss which is free from all suffering.” Immeasurable joy is to wish that one is never separated from happiness. This is the best antidote to jealousy, that the person for whom one is thinking never be separated from happiness, which means to never be separated from Supreme Bliss. To be free.

Immeasurable Equanimity: “May all living beings live in the great equanimity free from the attachment and aversion that keeps some close and others distant!” Attachment, anger, and jealousy are the usual afflictions that get in the way of gaining equanimity with all beings. Equanimity in our relations is not being indifferent or uncaring. It is having immeasurable love, compassion, and joy for all beings equally. If you have the Four Immeasurables, you will have a correct motivation for any action, and especially for a spiritual practice. Rinpoche said it was best to practice Immeasurable Equanimity first. Then, Immeasurable Happiness, Compassion, and Joy follow naturally. To practice Equanimity with all beings, it is first easiest to practice it with people we, in fact, do not know very well – people with whom we do not have a particular attraction or aversion. And, since that is most people we come across in a given day, there is opportunity to practice this. Then, one practices equanimity with one’s family and close friends, not favoring any one over another. Then, one can practice equanimity towards those with whom you have an aversion by remembering that we rely on every being in this world. Just as one needs all 5 limbs (the head is included as a limb) and does not want any one to suffer, so we must think of everyone as equally necessary. Then, one extends equanimity towards one’s neighbor, city, country, world, universe, other realms such as the hungry ghosts or hell beings – even those realms which we cannot directly perceive. If one practices the Four Immeasurables, we will automatically receive the help we need to accomplish our purposes.

Seven Line Prayer
In the north-west of the county of Oddiyana,
In the heart of a lotus flower,
Endowed with the most marvelous supreme attainments,
You are renowned as the Lotus Born,
Surrounded by a retinue of many dakinis
Following in your footsteps,
I pray to you; come, inspire me with your blessings!

Supplication to the Lama (teachers)
From the palace of the unexcelled realm of ultimate reality,
Essence of the Buddhas of the three times,
Showing me that my mind is actually Dharmakaya
To you root lamas, I supplicate.

Short Mandala offering
The ground is purified with scented water and strewn with flowers
It is adorned with Sumeru, the king of mountains, the Four Quarters of the universe, and
the sun and moon.
Thinking of it as the blessed Buddha-fields, I offer it
By the virtue of this offering, may all beings here and now attain the happiness of that
pure land!

(Side note: One afternoon, while this particular prayer was being recited, I was vividly picturing this perfect and beautiful place. Imagine this perfect world where the ground is purified with scented water and strewn with flowers. Where it is adorned with all that is the most pure and most beautiful and most profound and uplifting that you can imagine. Really think of it. Don’t you want to be there???? And then, it is the next line. “I offer it.” The thought of this act of compassion and generosity fell on me like a sword. To not keep it to one self, but after having imagined it, and therefore to a certain degree attained it, to turn around and give it away. That there are such beings who do this and to be such a being. The idea is overwhelming. Thankfully, everyone had their eyes closed, so I could have a quiet, little cry in peace. Tears have been very close to the surface here – immensely happy. As the prayers finished and I could discreetly wipe away the tears, I looked up and saw that the teacher was also moist and red eyed. Sometimes, a moment happens, like rain from heaven, an opening to a celestial abode. I wonder how many others were holding back their tears.)

Requesting the Teachings
Please turn the wheel of the Dharma (doctrine/law/duty)
Grant the teachings of the Hinayana and Mahayana (two schools of Buddhist thought)
To all sentient beings
According to their intelligence and receptivity.

Excerpts from the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattvas
This has been composed by (me), the monk Thogs-med, an expounder of scripture and logic, in the cave in Ngol-chu’i Rin-chen for my own and others’ benefit.

1. At this time when the difficult-to-obtain, great vessel of leisure and fortune has been obtained (the human state), the practice of Bodhisattvas is to continuously listen, think, and mediate day and night in order to ferry themselves and others from the ocean of samsara (the world of suffering and death).

3. The practice of Bodhisattvas is to remain in isolated places as obscurations will gradually diminish due to abandoning harmful objects; virtuous actions will gradually increase as the mind is not distracted, and due to clear-mindedness, perfect recognition of the Dharma will arise.

5. The practice of Bodhisattvas is to abandon harmful friends, who when associated with, cause the three poisons to increase, the action of listening, thinking and meditating to degenerate, and love and compassion to be non-existent.

6. When relying on the excellent spiritual friend, faults decrease and good qualities increase like the waxing of the moon. Therefore, the practice of Bodhisattvas is to hold the excellent spiritual friend as even more dear than their own bodies.

8. It has been said by the Sage that the very-difficult-to-endure sufferings of the lower realms are the result of negative karma. Therefore, even at the cost of their lives, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas never to create negative karma.

9. The happiness of the three worlds, like dew drops on the tip of a blade of grass, has the nature of perishing in a single moment. Therefore, striving for the excellent state of unchanging liberation is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

14. Even if someone were to shout different types of insults throughout the billion worlds at them, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas still to speak of that person’s good qualities with a loving mind.

15. Even if someone were to uncover their most intimate faults and say harmful words in the center of a crowd of many people, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to bow humbly to that person with the thought that he is a spiritual friend.

16. Even if a person whom they have lovingly taken care of like their own son were to regard them as an enemy, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to show greater kindness, like a mother to her son who is stricken by an illness.

20. If outer enemies are destroyed while not restraining the enemy of one’s own anger, enemies will only increase. Therefore, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to conquer their own minds with the powerful army of love and compassion.
21. As sensual pleasure, like salt water, increase desire no matter how much they are enjoyed, the practice of Bodhisattvas is immediately to abandon all objects that generate a desire towards them. (clinging attachment)\

24. The various types of sufferings are like the death of a son in a dream, there is weariness due to holding illusive appearances as real. Therefore, when meeting with unfavorable conditions, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to view them as illusive. (Objectivity – the First Perfection)

25. If it is necessary to give even one’s body when desiring Enlightenment, what need is there to mention outer objects? Therefore, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to give gifts without the hope of present or future. (generosity – the Second Perfection)

26. If when lacking moral conduct, one cannot achieve one’s own aim, wanting to achieve benefit for others is just a laughing matter. Therefore, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to protect morality without craving for worldly pleasures. (Moral impeccability – the Third Perfection)

27. To Bodhisattvas, who desire the wealth of virtue, all agents of harm are like a precious treasure. Therefore, cultivation the patience that lacks hatred and animosity towards all is the practice of Bodhisattvas. (Patience – the Fourth Perfection)

28. If even the Shravakas and PRatyekabuddhas, who work only for self gain, are seen to exert themselves as if extinguishing burning fires on their heads, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas, in order to benefit all beings to undertake diligence, the source of all good qualities. (Perseverance – the Fifth Perfection)

(The Five Perfections are the Perfection of the will, or the Doctrine)

29. It is the practice of Bodhisattvas to cultivate the concentration which surpasses the four formless stages through having realized that meditative insight in connection with mental quiescence completely destroys obscurations. (Wisdom, Intellectual Intuition – the Sixth Perfection

(The Sixth Perfection is the Method, which must be practiced in conjunction with the Five Perfections, or Perfection of Will)

30. It is the practice of Bodhisattvas to cultivate the wisdom that possesses method and does not differentiate the three spheres (subject, object, and actipn); for if wisdom is lacking, one will be unable to achieve complete Buddhahood by means of the five other perfections.

31. With merely the external appearance of a practitioner, if one doesn’t examine one’s own mistakes, it is possible to act antithetically to the Dharma (law, duty). Therefore, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas continuously to examine their own mistakes and to abandon them.

35. Because obscurations when habituated are difficult to reverse with an antidote, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to destroy obscurations such as attachment and others the very first moment they appear, waiting ready as mindful and introspective beings who have grasped the antidotal sword.

36. In brief, it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to achieve benefit for others through continuously possessing the mindfulness and introspection that examines whatever conditions arise in their own minds in all facets of behavior.

37. It is the practice of Bodhisattvas to dedicate to Enlightenment the virtue they have achieved by endeavoring in this way, with the wisdom of the purity of the three spheres (subject, object, action) in order to clear the suffering of limitless beings.

Dedication (at the end of the lecture)

Through this merit, may all beings attain the omniscient state of enlightenment
And conquer the enemy of faults and delusion.
May they all be liberated from this ocean of samsara
And from its pounding waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death!
All roots of virtue accumulated in connection with this
And all good deeds in the past, present, and future,
However many there are, I dedicate to the cause
Of all mother sentient beings attaining buddhahood,
Just as the bodhisattva Manjushri attained omniscience
And Samantabhadra too.

All these merits now I dedicate,
To train and follow in their footsteps!
As all the victorious Buddhas of the past, present and future
Praise dedication as supreme,
So now I too dedicate all these sources of merit of mine
For all beings to perfect Good Actions.
From the great all good Vajradhara
Down to my kind root lama,
Whatever prayers have been made
For the benefit of beings, may that all be fulfilled!
In all my lives, may I not be separated from authentic lamas
And so enjoy the splendor of Dharma,
Fully perfecting the virtues of levels and paths.
May I speedily attain the statue of Vajradhara.