Six Perfections (Paramita)
(from In Search of the Stainless Ambrosia, Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Jewel Treasury of Advice and Transformation of Suffering)
by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche
Generosity.
The practice of generosity means to open our heart, to share our happiness with everyone by bestowing wealth, transmitting fearlessness, and giving Dharma teachings. Through generosity, we develop a strength of mind that reaches out to all beings. Without the practice of generosity, one suffers from poverty and is reborn in the hungry ghost realm. Whoever does not practice generosity cannot benefit others, and thus cannot achieve Buddhahood. By practicing generosity, one achieves all that is necessary, has a good life, and will not be reborn in the hungry ghost realm. Everyone wishes for peace and happiness, but without wealth, happiness is difficult. Such wealth comes through the practice of generosity. With this one can also benefit others and dispel their poverty. Those practicing generosity with the enlightened attitude have no difficulty achieving Enlightenment, nor any need to protect their possessions. They become fearless, whereas those not practicing generosity have to protect their possessions, always fearing that others may rob them. This in turn gives rise to other afflicting emotions which create an obstacle to Enlightenment. The definition of generosity is a mind without clinging that renounces its own belongings. Milarepa once said: the practice of generosity is the best means for purifying stinginess, attachment and avarice. There are three types of generosity practice: generosity with wealth, with fearlessness and with prayers and Dharma teachings.
1. Generosity with wealth: There are many different level of this practice, from offering a drop of water to sacrificing one's entire body. We can offer incense and flowers to all sentient beings in the six realms so that they may become free from suffering and connect to the mind of Enlightenment. Offer support to monks and nuns to allow them to continue and enhance their meditation practices. A very advanced practice is giving one's own body. This can only be performed by Buddhas and bodhisattvas who have attained the eighth, ninth or tenth bhumis. While ordinary people cannot do such practices physically, yet mentally we can do practices such as "Chöd - Cutting Through Self-Cherishing." In it, we invite demons, local deities, ghosts, and all beings who crave flesh and others' lives. Seeing their confusion and ignorance, we generate feelings of unconditional compassion for them. We then visualize giving our own bodies to these beings. Having appeased them with our offerings, we can give them Dharma teachings. We can also make mental offering of this body to the enlightened beings. It is important to offer with pure motivation. That means that whatever we offer, offer sincerely with respect, compassion and devotion. Dedicate the merit so that all beings become free from suffering and attain Enlightenment. Offer with impure motivation creates negative karma and will cause us to be reborn in the lower realms. So do not give something which harm others, or give for your own renown, or from jealousy. Therefore, avoid giving weapons or poison. Do not give to impure persons, as no benefit results. Do not give with anger or disrespect.
2. Generosity with fearlessness: Offer fearlessness and protection to those in danger. Give medicine to the sick, help those in danger of drowning, and protect life in general.
3. Generosity with prayers and Dharma teachings: The mantra "Om Mani Padme Hung" is so profound and so powerful that, even if we recite it in the water and that water flows into the river, blessings will reach the water beings. hearing it, they will be reborn in higher realms and eventually will escape samsara. Giving Dharma teachings means sharing your wisdom with those who are ignorant, confused, and suffering; giving empowerments, explaining meditation practices, virtue, non-virtue, samsara, and Enlightenment. To be effective, teachings must be given by Buddhas and bodhisattvas with pure intentions and are not made up on one's own through dreams or personal experiences. To teach others, first it is very important to establish oneself in the Dharma. One should study diligently, practice well, and experience realizations. Teaching Dharma is a matter of showing the true nature of samsara and Enlightenment, which is not easy.
When giving for the benefit of others, do so without attachment or expectation of result. By helping limitless beings achieve Buddhahood, your generosity is transformed into limitless qualities. If, in addition, you can exercise generosity with wisdom born of the non-dual state, you will experience the perfected generosity state. The result of generosity practice is that by giving wealth without expectation, one receives wealth, causes others to join in the Enlightenment state and oneself achieves Enlightenment. By giving food, one receives a healthy body; by giving clothes, one enjoys a good complexion; by giving light, one has clear eyes; by giving fearlessness, one resists the attacks of demons and evil spirits; by giving teachings, one will see the Buddha and purify obscurations.
The giving of generosity, free from attachment is like a farmer sowing seeds.
It accomplishes our wishes and intentions without waste.
Discover the essence of your wealth.
This is my heart's advice.
(from the Jewel Treasury of Advice)
Moral Ethics.
Moral ethics means avoiding all non-virtues, which are the causes of suffering, and cultivating the virtues which lead to happiness and Enlightenment. Without proper morality one cannot achieve a proper human or god state, even if one practices generosity. Nor can one meet with the teachings, any more than blind men can see form. One also cannot free oneself from samsara any more than one can walk without feet. Without the practice of morality, the path is incomplete. Those who engage in proper conduct will achieve an auspicious body free from the eight unfavorable conditions. Practicing proper conduct is the universal foundation. Just as the ground enables trees to grow and supports living beings, so does morality act as the ground for all the great qualities of the Buddha. When one's ethics are pure, one can achieve the virtues of samadhi meditation, and can realize all one's wishes. Through proper ethical discipline there is no difficulty in achieving Enlightenment or meeting with Buddhas. This is the best ornament we can have, and the source of peace and happiness. All beings highly revere those having ethics. 'The qualities of ethics are coolness and freshness, free from the bondage of afflicting emotions. There are three types of ethics: binding non-virtue, accumulating virtue and benefiting sentient beings. Mindfulness to moral ethics should be maintained all the times, 24 hours a day, throughout our entire lifetime.
1. Binding morality: Binding non-virtue is the method for maintaining one's body, speech and mind in the Dharma, not be allowed to cause harm and negative karma. The seven Pratimoksha vows are included in this category, and imply the avoidance of all non-virtue thoughts and actions. According to Shantideva, there are eighteen root downfalls and 46 minor downfalls (refer to Transformation of Suffering for details) to avoid.
2. Accumulating virtue: This practice includes such as the practice of ten-virtues, practicing the six paramitas, reading Dharma texts, reciting mantra, contemplating any of the teachings, practicing sincerely, serving the sick and aging, rejoicing in others' virtues, practicing patience with those who scorn us, dedicating all our virtues towards achieving Enlightenment, purifying our own mistakes and developing compassion, loving-kindness, wisdom, stability of mind and discipline. All of these purify our obscurations, matures our minds in the Dharma and causes our study and realizations to progress. One must practice, protect and increase the accumulation of virtue.
3. Benefiting sentient beings: The moral ethics of benefiting sentient beings is based on freedom from all self-cherishing. With a pure mind grounded in Dharma, one undertakes the four means of gathering disciples: discussing, spending time with them according to the Dharma and their wish, giving what is needed, and giving teachings according to Dharma. One's actions should be in accord with the teachings in order to benefit sentient beings. We benefit sentient beings whenever and whatever we can according to our abilities without expectation nor attachment to wealth and fame. Attachment to wealth and fame are the causes to anger, self-deceit, the destruction of virtue and frustration. This method for increasing ethics is the exercise of primordial wisdom and dedication.
The result of the practice of morality is that one will achieve complete Enlightenment, and even while in samsara one will obtain much prosperity and a perfect human body. One will be respected by all humans and non-humans.
The three kinds of morality are like a warrior's sword.
They cut the bonds of the obscuring emotions.
You should possess recollection, decorum, awareness and consideration.
This is my heart's advice.
(from the Jewel Treasury of Advice)
Patience.
The definition of patience is the feeling of calm and ease, with great compassion and undisturbed mind. Without patience anger arises easily and will destroy virtues accumulated through the practice of generosity and ethics. In the Bodhicharya Avatara it is said: "All the virtuous accumulations caused by generosity and service to the Buddha and others in thousands of kalpas can be destroyed by one act of hatred." When there is hatred, it is like a bullet in the body creating unbearable pain, preventing peace, even keeping one from sleeping. When a person becomes angry, his relatives and friends suffer and avoid his company. In him who lacks patience, the obstacles of mara enter readily, preventing him from achieving Buddhahood. In brief, there is no peace and happiness when one is angry. He who has patience possesses the supreme root of virtue. In Bodhicharya Avatara it is said: "There is no heavier negative karma than that caused by hatred, there is no harder ascetic practice than that of patience." Patience does not mean becoming passive, submissive, lazy or weak, but rather the perfection of patience is the strengthening of compassion and wisdom. Patience comes with stability of mind, the mind free from fear, working hard towards Enlightenment. Therefore, ensure the practice of patience by various methods. If one has patience, one will achieve all happiness, perfect the mind and achieve Enlightenment. There are three categories of patience: patience with those who harm us, patience with suffering, and patience related to the profound Dharma teachings.
1. Patience with those who harm us:
If someone accuses us, or tries to harm us physically and verbally, generally creating obstacles for ourselves and our relatives, we must practice patience. This implies not allowing the mind to become disturbed, not retaliating, and not holding resentment. Our enemies are the reflection of our own negative karma. Thus Atisha warned us, if you hate, how can you practice patience? Those who harm us, those who obstruct us, are those who blame or accuse us offer us a chance to practice patience, for which we should be grateful. Through this practice, we get a great opportunity to purify our negative karma and obscurations. Through this practice, we can develop merit and wisdom and build great strength of mind. Therefore, we should see our enemies as great teachers of patience.
Another way to practice is to recognize that the other person is not free. For example, if an angry person beats others with a stick, the pain is caused by the stick, not the person. So one should destroy the stick, realizing the stick has no choice because it was controlled solely by the person. Nor is the person free because he was in turn controlled by hatred and confusion. Therefore, one should attempt to neutralize the person's hatred, rather than to react. We must also consider the role our own karma plays in events. The harm which we experience now is the result of our previous karma. That is, we must have committed a similar negative action in a previous life to be experiencing its fruits today. And this must be accepted.
We should also observe the vulnerability within our own body. If we did not have a body, there would be nothing to become physically hurt. That ourselves and others have bodies constitutes a cause of suffering. Therefore we cannot blame anyone else for this fact.
We should observe the vulnerability within our own mind. The mind tries to protect the body in every way, not accepting the fact that everything is impermanent and can easily be harmed. In fact, the person who causes us harm actually is our friend because he teaches us patience which purifies negative karma, strengthens our virtuous qualities, and leads us closer to Enlightenment.
One can also practice patience by thinking: The person who has caused me harm must have been a parent, relative, or friend in a previous life. As he has perhaps endeared himself to me in the past, I should not react negatively. Meditate also that the person who harms you has the nature of impermanence and can die any time. Thus you should manifest great compassion for him. One can also meditate on the pain of these beings who experience the fruit of the three poisons. One should dispel these by cultivating the Enlightened mind, wishing to free all beings from suffering.
2. Patience with suffering:
When one works towards Enlightenment, one will face many hardship. One should practice patience by accepting suffering with a joyous mind. The life stories of great masters, Buddha, Milarepa, and others, show how brilliantly they endure hardships and suffering in order to purify the negative karmas, to develop wisdom and compassion, and to strengthen the physical conditions and mental strength. It is like undergoing surgery, treatment and so forth in order to heal the suffering of a virulent disease. Engaging in the Conduct of Bodhisattvas said: "Yet the suffering involved in my awakening will have a limit; it is like the suffering of having an incision made in order to remove and destroy greater pain." By practicing patience, one gain victory in the battle of samsara; by annihilating the enemy of afflicting emotions, you are the real warrior. Buddha said that to seek out Dharma we should be prepared to walk through a field of knives or fire. This is not saying that we should gratuitously suffer, but rather it speaks to the level of commitment that we must make. We should contemplate that one day we will have to die, and so keeping that in mind, accept any situation as we focus one-pointedly on Dharma.
3. Patience with the understanding of Dharma:
One should not be intolerant when one hears of the great qualities of the Buddha (infinite wisdom, the ten powers, four fearlessness, eighteen unparalleled qualities and others), Dharma and Sangha, but should patiently aspire to and patiently practice teachings such as all-pervading emptiness, Mahamudra, selflessness, the illusory body, and the limitless qualities of the Buddha. If misunderstood, these ideas can cause confusion and negative karmas. Patience will increase through primordial wisdom, discriminating awareness, and dedication. When one practices patience for the benefit of all beings, one becomes limitless. When one practices with emptiness and compassionate mind, one's patience becomes pure. Bodhisattva Bhumis said: "If he depends on this vast and limitless patience to produce the result of Enlightenment, a bodhisattva will attain unsurpassable, perfect and complete Enlightenment."
The armor of patience is like a protective suit.
It cannot be pierced by anger, and it will increase all one's virtuous qualities.
Through patience, one will attain a body adorned by the major and minor marks.
This is my heart's advice.
(from the Jewel Treasury of Advice)
Perseverance.
Perseverance means diligent and joyous effort towards virtue. Without perseverance, we fall into the error of laziness, are unable to achieve virtue, cannot benefit other beings and cannot achieve Enlightenment. If we have perseverance, all the virtuous qualities will increase like the waxing moon, and we will receive the limitless treasure of the Buddha's wisdom. The mountain of ego is crossed and Enlightenment is achieved quickly. Perseverance is an antidote of laziness. There are three kinds of laziness: laziness through attachment to pleasure, laziness of weakness, and the laziness of worldly activities.
1. Laziness through attachment to pleasure:
Attachment to pleasurable sensations includes fondness of rest, for the objects of this life, for social enjoyment, and for all pleasing states. One should avoid these. The Buddha once said to his monks: One is soon approaching death, when the activities of this life will end. Even the Buddha's teaching will decline. Therefore, while you can, make all effort towards stable perseverance. If you think you can leave practice until the moment of death, it is then too late. One cannot think of teachings and meditation because of the suffering of the age and pain. Therefore, turn away from pleasure as you would from a snake who jumps on your lap, or from a spark threatening to ignite your hair. There is no more important activity than to work towards Enlightenment and to close the door to rebirth in samsara.
2. Laziness of weakness:
It includes claiming that one is not sufficiently intelligent to understand the teachings, that one cannot work hard, and that all effort is futile. One must avoid these wrong views and encourage oneself to achieve Enlightenment. If even small insects achieve results through perseverance, it is possible for man to achieve Enlightenment. Meditate that as you are born into the human state and understand virtue and non-virtue, you can achieve Enlightenment by remaining on the Path.
3. Laziness of worldly activities:
The direct causes of suffering in this life and the next arise from putting all one's effort into subjugating enemies, being attached to non-virtuous wealth, and exerting all one's effort for this life alone. So with an understanding of impermanence and of the essenceless nature of things, avoid the laziness of worldly activities.
To overcome these three errors, we have to apply perseverance. There are three types of perseverance: the perseverance of armor, the perseverance of action and the perseverance of non-satisfaction.
1. Perseverance of armor:
Wearing the perseverance of the armor of the mind, determine that until all sentient beings achieve Enlightenment you will never abandon virtue. Do not persevere for a select few or for a limited number, but for all beings without distinction. Reading the life stories of Buddha, Milarepa, and other great masters and seeing their sacrifice for the sake of dharma, say to yourself, "If I cannot do better, then I must do at least as well as these great beings who survived such hardship. Here I sit, completely overpowered by afflictive emotions, why shouldn't I work harder than they? I have the same opportunity as they did. And I am so lucky to have this precious human life, to have met authentic lamas who have blessed me with teachings. Since I now have a chance to study and practice, I will sacrifice and accept hardship, even at the risk of my life. I need to achieve Enlightenment!" With a courageous heart full of dedication and determination, we move forward no matter what the cost. This is our armor and now we can progress.
2. Perseverance of action:
Perseverance of action means purifying all afflicting emotions such as desire and anger. Cause all virtuous actions including the six Paramitas to increase. These should be practiced tirelessly, like a river that never stop flowing. More confidently toward virtuous action like a person drawn towards the sea in the heat. Do not become discouraged or shaken by afflicting emotions, conceptual thoughts or others' obstacles. Make egoless effort. However much one progresses in one's practice, the ego should not become involved. Persevere with the thought of benefiting all sentient beings, supporting them in their understanding of the teachings.
3. Persevance with non-satisfaction:
It means not being satisfied by small progress in virtue, but continuing until Enlightenment is achieved. Even one who works only for temporal peace and happiness is not satisfied, so how can one be satisfied when working for absolute peace and happiness? Persevering with wisdom, compassion and emptiness in order to benefit all beings, one's perseverance becomes limitless, vast and profound. The great masters never rested on their achievements. As long as they lived, they dedicated their lives to Dharma. A boat may be seaworthy, but without constant rowing, it has no way to cross the ocean. Similarly, whether or not we achieve Enlightenment depends on perseverance. Without joyous effort and diligence, even though we may be intelligent, we will not achieve great results and cross the ocean of samsara. Whoever has great perseverance will be a great practitioner. Whoever lacks preseverance will achieve nothing.
The perseverance of bodhisattva acting with pure motivation will lead him to Buddhahood. Even on the way to Buddhahood, he will experience happiness and achieve the vast and great qualities of the Bodhisattvas.
Heartfelt recollection of the Dharma is like one's hair, caught on fire.
Nothing is as important as that.
Therefore, don't be lazy or attached to pleasure.
This is my heart's advice.
(from the Jewel Treasury of Advice)
Concentration.
also known as samadhi means calm-abiding and virtuous one-pointedness within the mind. Though one has the practice of generosity and others, without samadhi, one's mind is caught between the fangs of afflicting emotions. Nor is there calm and stability in the mind, and one will not achieve the clairvoyance without which one cannot benefit other beings. Without samadhi one cannot achieve the proper wisdom, hence Enlightenment. Whoever has the quality of samadhi can achieve all the phases of meditation, and will be free of attachment to the world. With proper samadhi and pure wisdom, one can dispel all the obscurations of the mind, see the true meaning of the teachings, develop great compassion, and establish all sentient beings in one of the three Enlightenment states. The opposite of samadhi, or dispersed thoughts, is caused by afflicting emotions like attachment to family, wealth, fame and others. These must be avoided. By being attached to such objects, one does not experience mental peace, freedom from samsara or Enlightenment. In proportion to one's attachment to objects one experiences continual suffering, for one alternates between the hope of achieving these objects and the fear of losing them. To achieve the quality of calm-abiding, enter into samadhi. To do so, examine the mind and see which emotions are strongest, then apply the correct antidote.
The antidote to desire and attachment is concentration on the body's ugliness and impermanence. The antidote to hatred is loving-kindness and compassion. The antidote to ignorance is meditation on interdependent arising. The antidote to jealousy is equalizing oneself and others. The antidote to pride is exchanging one's situation with another's. In general, the antidote to afflicting emotions is the meditation practice of watching the breath. Other meditations include meditation on the precious human life, the suffering of samsara and Tonglen (sending and receiving).
1. Ugliness of the body
If one is attached to this body, look at its nature: flesh, blood, skin, bone, marrow, bile, saliva, urine and stool. It has no essence to which to be attached. Go to the cemeteries and view the corpses, whether buried, eaten by vultures, or cremated. There is no permanent essence to them. The same is true with our own body. In fact, the body is the source of all filth. The clean food one puts in one's mouth exists as filth which even oneself regards as unclean. Therefore, there is nothing to which to be attached. Should we not, instead, use this body to go towards Enlightenment?
2. Impermanence
All conditioned phenomena, that is those that depend on causes and circumstances, are impermanent. This includes both animate and inanimate objects, sentient beings and their environment. A solid structure today can crumble into dust tomorrow. In particular, your own life is extremely fragile and can be lost very easily. No one can guarantee he will be alive tomorrow and when your time is up, no friends, doctors, medicine, money, wealth or fame can prevent your death. The only thing that can help is the practice of Dharma. If you have accumulated many virtuous deeds during your life, you can die in peace assured that as a result of your white karma, you will gain a fortunate rebirth.
Therefore do not be fooled into thinking that sensory pleasures can bring you lasting happiness. If you are attracted to beautiful sights, think how the moth is lured to his death by his enchantment with a flame. For sounds, consider how a duck is seduced by a hunter's duck-call. Bees are attracted to the smell of a Venus fly-trap and flies to that of feces, only to drown in a toilet. Fish are lured on to a hook by their desire for the taste of a worm. Elephants, obsessed with the physical sensation of scratching themselves, are led by their tame brethren between tow thorny trees and thus are captured by trainers and taken into bondage. By thinking of these examples, turn your mind from concern for worldly pleasures.
Mediate every moment on impermanence or death, not just for its own sake, but as a motivation to study and practice Dharma, and to transform everything into Dharma. In this way, we can die with faith and confidence. Meditate so that this body, this heap of causes and conditions, will transform itself into a deity's body. When we walk, that movement is impermanent, so walk towards the Dharma. When we sit, that place is also impermanent, so transform it into a pure land, a Buddha-field. When we eat or drink, eat as if it were the food of samadhi. Rank and hierarchy are impermanent, so always stay low key. Words are impermanent, so recite mantras and prayers. Devotions and renunciations are impermanent, so always make a recommitment. These are some ways to recollect impermanence and to transform all phenomena into Dharma.
3. Loving kindness
First, look at the person you most dearly love, think how you wish to give that person happiness, and extend that wish to all sentient beings. Apply the practice of patience. In this way, one pacifies the angry mind. People harm us only through ignorance. If we retaliate, that will not help. So think: if we strive for our own peace and happiness, shouldn't we make the same effort for others? When others have peace, happiness and success, we should rejoice and wish that these good things remain in their lives, in the short run as well as the long run. Hatred and attachment are the root of all suffering.
4. Interdependent arising
To remedy ignorance, to achieve clarity, to purify a mind which is obscured by afflictive emotions and which cannot discriminate between the nature of samsara and nirvana, requires making an effort. In this regard, one of the main subjects to understand is interdependent origination. This consists of two types: outer interdependent origination and inner interdependent origination.
a. Outer interdependent origination
All things arise from causes and conditions. From the seed comes the seedling and from the seedling, the sprout. From the sprout comes the stem, and from that the bud. From the bud comes the flower and from the flower comes the fruit which contains more seeds. Without a seed, there is no seedling; without a flower, no fruit. Whenever there is a seed, a seedling arises. When there is a flower, there comes the fruit. But the seed does not think, "I will create the seedling." A seedling does not think, "I will create the sprout." The flower does not think "I will create the fruit." The fruit does not think, "I was created by the flower." Yet given the necessary causes and conditions, each comes one after the other, and thus all are interdependent. Though the planets seem independent from one another, due to gravity, they exert a force on each other. Thus they are connected and not independent, as it may appear. Even making a simple cup of tea depends on many causes and conditions that may have originated halfway around the world. This is called outer interdependent origination. Similarly, all things which arise - trees, plants, grass - all depend on this kind of cause and effect.
This also depends on the conditions. Earth, water, fire, wind, space, and time - these conditions all have to be present or else the seed, the seedling, and the sprout will not grow. Earth cradles the seed, water moistens it, fire (as heat and light) matures it, wind gathers it, space gives it room to grow, and time gives it the dimension for change. Without the one, the others cannot exist; we need the support of all of these elements which cannot function individually. Therefore, anything that happens or appears depends on interdependent causes and conditions. Nothing appears by virtue of one condition or by one cause, or without a cause, or with an incomplete or wrong cause. All the necessary causes and conditions are what brings about the result. In the same way that these outer phenomena are interdependent, all our mental activities - joy, happiness, suffering - depend upon causes and conditions.
b. Inner interdependent origination
Buddha said that when "that" is there, "this" appears. Because of the presence of one thing, the next thing will come. Ignorance brings about mental formations and that brings about endless illusion. When there is birth, there is aging and death. Thus the wheel of samsara turns without ceasing. These are the twelve interdependent links, which cause us to wander in samsara constantly.
1. Ignorance, the basis of all confusion.
2. Karma; mental formation.
3. Consciousness; all habitual tendencies are based on this.
4. Name and form.
5. Six senses and the increasing field.
6. Consciousness contacting objects.
7. Feelings of joy, suffering and neutrality.
8. Attachment.
9. Grasping and clinging.
10. Becoming.
11. Birth.
12. Aging and death, and with these suffering, lamentation grief, disturbed mind, etc. due to ignorance.
The following small commentaries further address the twelve interdependent links. Ignorance causes mental formation which is ignorant of the past and future, ignorant inside, ignorant outside, ignorant of karma, ignorant of result, and ignorant of the nature of the Buddha, the Dharma teachings, and the Sanghas. Ignorance is darkness which blinds us to the nature of phenomena and give rise to discursive thoughts. And discursive thoughts reinforce mental formation. There are three different types of mental formation: formation of the body, speech and mind. This means that with body, speech and mind, we create karma. Because mental formation brings about consciousness, karma follows.
Of consciousness, there are six different types: consciousness of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. From the continuity of consciousness comes the form of the body and its name. When a child is conceived in his mother's womb, there arise five skandhas - the first is called form, and the remaining four are called feeling, formation, perception and consciousness. Form refers to the four elements - water, earth, wind, and fire - and all things created by the four elements. Form and formation together are called the name of formation. Through the interdependence of name and form arises the increasing field. There are six increasing fields: the increasing field of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and consciousness. From the six increasing fields come contact, of which there are six different types: contact related to the objects perceived by the eye, objects perceived by the ear, nose, tongue, body and consciousness. The eye contacts form, the ear contacts sound, the nose contacts touch, and the consciousness contacts (apprehends) phenomena.
From the interdependence of touch arises feeling. There are three kinds of feeling: joy / pleasure, pain / suffering, and neutral states. From feeling comes the attachment of the desire world, the form world, and the formless world. From attachment comes the craving to bring what we want closer to us and make it more permanent; this results in grasping. Attachment and ignorance are the most difficult to purify. While anger is more harmful and destructive, it is easier to get rid of. There are different types of grasping: the grasping of desire, of view (of different philosophies or religions), of moral ethics, and of the self. From grasping arises existence or becoming: the existence of desire, of form, and of the formless. Existence itself means karma-cause. since we commit so many physical, verbal, and mental actions, in the space of just a few seconds, we create limitless karma which will result in rebirth.
Birth is our appearance in this world, and as soon as we appear, we begin to age. Each moment, we get older and older, and eventually our hair starts to fall out, our face wrinkles, our body becomes crooked and bent. With aging comes death, decay, and the transmigration to a different stage - the end of life, heat, and breath. (Aging and death count as one aspect of inner interdependent origination.) Our birth, aging and death, in fact all unpleasant experiences, are thus not independent events. Once we realize this, we can dispel ignorance and grasping. By dispelling the illusion that a given phenomenon is one solid thing, we will no longer create mental formations. Without formation, there is no continuity of consciousness or birth, and without birth, there is no aging and death. These are the interdependent origination of both samsara and nirvana. Samsaric interdependent origination arises from ignorance and yields birth and death. Nirvana is the reverse: when you dispel ignorance, you reverse the interdependence of samsara. You cease mental formation. You are free from samsara and have attained nirvana, the cessation of suffering.
5. Equalizing oneself and others
Envy and jealousy disturb mind, making it scurry in all directions. Resentment - holding grudge or wishing bad luck on another - create a lot of negative karma. Meditate that as oneself wishes peace and happiness and shuns suffering, so do others. Therefore, everyone has the right to achieve their own temporal and absolute peace. In this way, one calms the mind of jealousy.
6. Exchanging one's situation with another's
Because of self-cherishing, all beings in samsara experience limitless suffering; because of cherishing others, all the Buddhas of the three times achieve Buddhahood. So realize that cherishing self is the source of suffering and that cherishing others is the source of great qualities. Thus, one releases one's ego and pride, and practices walking in another's shoes. In this way, one eliminates ignorance.
Self-grasping and wrong desire are like crops destroyed by a frost.
If the Dharma, which is meant to tame the mind, becomes a cause of arrogance,
the root of virtue is cut.
This is my heart's advice.
(from the Jewel Treasury of Advice)
When we get sick or fall on hard times, instead of struggling or fighting, we should practice the bodhisattva way, saying, "May I substitute my small suffering for that of all beings." Meditate that their suffering may be purified by our own experience. When we have happiness and peace, say "May all beings have my own favorable conditions." so we make effort to practice not hating suffering and not being attached to happiness. In this way, we may become free from both.
The following is one of the most well-known verses practiced by many great bodhisattvas, through which they received excellent results of cultivating bodhicitta. This is a special method to free ourselves from hope and fear, so that we can transmute suffering into the path of Enlightenment.
Ho! If I am supposed to get sick, let me get sick, and I'll be happy.
May this sickness purify my negative karma and the sickness of all sentient beings.
If I am supposed to be healed, let all my sickness and confusion be healed, and I'll be happy.
May all sentient beings be healed and filled with happiness.
If I am supposed to die, let me die, and I'll be happy.
May all the delusion and the causes of suffering of sentient beings die.
If I am supposed to live a long life, let me live a long live, and I'll be happy.
May my life be meaningful in service to sentient beings.
If my life is to be cut short, let it be cut short, and I'll be happy.
May I and all others be free from attachment and aversion.
7. Watching the breath
When meditating, maintain the seven proper body postures of the Buddha Vairocana. These are: the legs in lotus position; the spine straight; the chest expanded; the hands on the lap in repose, palms upward; the head slightly inclined downward; the teeth and lips closed but relaxed; the eyes gazing downward the distance of two or three feet. When body and mind relaxed, breath in and out through the nostrils and count breaths. Count each inhalation-exhalation as one. Be aware and mindful for this is the pillar of meditation. Mindfulness means not forgetting meditation technique. Lord Jigten Sumgon had said: The highway of the Buddhas of the three times is mindfulness without disturbance. Without this, there can be no Enlightenment. One should count the breath from one to five, then one to fifteen, then one to twenty-one. If the counting is disturbed by any other thoughts, start anew. Having achieved stability through this meditation, follow the breath out from the nostrils to the navel level, and in from the nostrils to the navel. When this meditation is disturbed, bring the mind back to watching the breath. By these different methods, exercise bringing your mind into a calm, stable state.
8. The suffering of samsara
Samsara means "to circle", in other words to revolve continually through the cycle of birth, sickness, old age, death, then rebirth, sickness and so forth. It is propelled and perpetuated by ignorance and its mechanism described by the twelve links of interdependent origination. There are four methods of being born, namely from a womb, an egg, heat and moisture and by miraculous transformation. These bring you into one of the six rebirth states as a hell creature, hungry ghost, human, anti-god or god. the first five are in the desire realm and the gods span all the three realms: the desire, form and formless. But no matter where and how you are reborn, there is only suffering. There are three types of suffering. The first is the obvious pain of sickness, old age and so forth. The suffering of change comes from seemingly pleasant things such as delicious food which can turn into an upset stomach. All-pervasive suffering appears neutral or unobvious to ordinary beings, like the sensation of a piece of hair on your palm but is as sharp as a hair in your eye to Aryas with bare perception of Voidness. It is the suffering inherent in the fact of being born with contaminated aggregates which by their very nature are like a magnet attracting sickness, old age and death.
Meditate on all these disadvantages of samsara, you should develop renunciation or the state of mind that wishes to be completely free of all suffering. In addition to renunciation, you must develop an enlightened motive of bodhicitta. Seeing that all beings experience the sufferings of samsara and wish as you do for release from its bondage and tot attain ultimate happiness, you should strive to attain Buddhahood in order to liberate both yourself and others. This motive gives the realisation of Voidness the added force that will bring you Enlightenment.
9. Tong Len
Tong is the Tibetan word for releasing all afflictive emotions, obscurations, and attachment to self-cherishing and positive thoughts. If also means giving your good qualities, like love and compassion. Len means receiving all virtuous qualities, including bodhicitta. There are several different methods for practicing Tong Len.
Sit comfortably and clearly visualize your own kind mother. Say to yourself, "My mother gave me this precious human life, thanks to which I now can study and practice Dharma. For limitless lifetimes up until now, all the sentient beings who have been my mother have loved me and protected me. How can I repay such kindness? She, along with all sentient beings, are wandering in the six realms of samsara and need protection. Like a mother bear who would steal or kill to protect her cubs, all those mother sentient beings created negative karma protecting me, and because of that they are suffering." Then meditate like this: breathe out and in, thinking, "I will take their sorrow into my heart for the sake of all kind mothers." Breathe out and in, thinking, "They are free from suffering and they rejoice." Now let all their suffering dissolve into emptiness and meditate for a few moments.
Another technique is to offer, without expectations, every aspect of body, speech, mind, wealth, and root of virtue. Meditate that beings receive them and rejoice. Meditate that your body transforms into an infinite wish-fulfilling jewel to offer to all mother sentient beings, thereby purifying their desire, ignorance, hatred, anger and pride. Say, "This, my body, wealth, and life, now becomes a medicine tree which heals all suffering." Mother Earth is the impartial base for all sentient beings no matter who they are. Everyone gets the same benefit: the earth does not discriminate, because without Mother Earth, nobody can survive. Similarly, we should treat all sentient beings impartially from a base of loving-kindness and compassion, and not discriminate against anyone. When we observe things, whether beautiful or ugly, the reason we feel attachment or aversion is because we are ordinary persons. But the bodhisattva meditates on all sentient beings as his own mother, saying, "May I feel great compassion for all beings; may my anger and hatred be substituted for theirs. May they be free from anger and hatred." This is another way of sending and receiving.
We should also practice releasing anger, hatred, desire, ignorance and receiving loving-kindness, compassion and bodhicitta. As a result, our minds become increasingly clear and calm. The bodhisattva transforms all suffering and turmoil into Enlightenment. Meditate like this, "Here is the result of what I've created over many lifetimes. For those who don't know Dharma, misery obstructs their peace and happiness. But for followers of the precious Dharma, there's a special way to transcend suffering. For me, a practitioner, these sorrows are actually a blessing of the Triple Gem because now I have the means to transform suffering into Enlightenment. The ego I have in my heart, the ego hurt by trouble and bad luck, the ego I protect by self-grasping - this is the real enemy. Whatever turmoil and sorrow exist in this world comes from self-grasping, so why I should cherish this demon?" Consider that, paradoxically, the self we grasp does not even exist. Like everything else, it is temporary, momentary, relative. It has no independent entity, no inherent existence. Meditate in this way: "In the past, I thought everything was permanent, but this was clearly a mistake. I will let go of all this. All enlightened ones, all sentient beings, please come to support me in releasing my selfishness."
We think of this body as the foundation of self and are therefore so attached that, to protect it, we deceive, we steal, we even kill. All the sufferings of samsara, particularly rebirth in the lower realms, are caused by self-grasping and ignorance. Over limitless lifetimes, all our efforts have brought suffering. self-cherishing has never gotten us out of samsara. Instead, it is like a big chain which binds us to it. To release self-grasping, to see sentient beings as oneself - this is the essence of Buddha's teachings. The more we can release, the more peace and happiness we'll receive, even though we aren't expecting it. If we see self-grasping as the enemy, then when trouble and bad luck come, this very misery will be our ally against samsara. We can then rejoice instead of suffer.
As for those who harm or obstruct you, just meditate that they have been your parents over many lifetimes, that they helped you so much out of love and compassion. See them as your parents over many lifetimes, that they helped you so much out of love and compassion. See them as your own heart. Think to yourself, "I have a responsibility to dispel their ignorance and confusion, not to make them suffer. So when they cause me pain, they are only creating negative karma, for which they'll suffer in the future. If I retaliate, I'll be harming myself and them." If you cannot let go of the ego, then you'll have neither peace nor happiness. Any kind of suffering - from being tortured in the hell realm to getting sick in the human realm - is an opportunity to practice patience. Say to yourself, "This is a way to purify my negative karma. May I take the suffering of others on myself." Then, from the bottom of your heart, dedicate your own peace and happiness to others.
There are three different types of samadhi: the samadhi of relaxing, the samadhi of establishing the qualities, and the samadhi of benefiting sentient beings.
10. The samadhi of relaxing
When one achieves the virtuous one-pointed mind, one is free of depression, stress and neurosis, and both body and mind avoid negative actions, are fully tamed, and achieve the supreme peace free of all afflicting emotions. One is unattached to all worldly activities, the mind is not dependent on outer phenomena, and one fully enjoys the samadhi of relaxing.
11. The samadhi of establishing the qualities
Achieving the samadhi of relaxing is just the beginning, one may still stuck unless one realizes the selflessness and limitlessness of all existence. It is with this special insight that one can achieve samadhi bliss, infinite compassion and wisdom. The supreme qualities of the Shravakas, Pratyeka Buddhas and Buddhas, especially limitless compassion and wisdom, are achieved through the samadhi of establishing the qualities.
12. The samadhi of benefiting sentient beings
With great qualities of bliss, infinite compassion and wisdom, one can benefit infinite sentient beings, and through understanding others' mind, one can give teachings without any difficulties. The samadhi of benefiting all sentient beings includes fulfilling the wishes of the sentient beings according to Dharma that they might be freed of suffering, showing the Path, protecting them from fear, and inspiring them to achieve Enlightenment by calm abiding (the stability of mind achieved by the proper samadhi) and special insight (the complete recognition of the state of the nature of mind on the basis of the stability of the mind)
We are all suffering unnecessarily. But if we can only recognize samsara for what it is, we can achieve tranquility based on virtue, and then, by developing the four stages of samadhi, we can progress into the four stages of the form world and the inner absorption state. Then as we progress, we find four formless stages; infinite space, consciousness, nothing whatsoever and neither consciousness nor non-consciousness. With the support of meditative concentration, we get the best chance to minimize our obscurations and eventually uproot all of them.
Meditation equipoise is like a glorious palace.
One can abide there in peace and joy and can rest there from samsara.
Practice samadhi without wandering mind.
This is my heart's advice.
Wisdom
Even if one practices the first five paramitas, one will not be free from samsara without the perfection of wisdom. One is like a blind man who cannot reach his destination without being led. Wisdom leads the five other paramitas on the path to Enlightenment. Some remark that for this reason wisdom alone may be enough. But in fact, all the paramitas are necessary. Without wisdom, one cannot be freed from samsara, but without method (the other paramitas), one will fall into Shravaka nirvana, and will not achieve complete Buddhahood. These are like the two wings of a bird. To the extent that one has progressed in the first five paramitas, one's wisdom increases; to the extent that one has progressed in wisdom, one improves the practice of the first five paramitas. Wisdom sees all phenomena without error.
There are three types of wisdom: hearing wisdom, understanding wisdom, and the wisdom of practice of meditation. These are also called the wisdom of understanding the relative phenomena (common knowledge), the wisdom of ultimate meaning (primary beyond samsara)and the wisdom of understanding the realization of non-duality (beyond samsara and nirvana).
The signs of common knowledge are healing, logic (reasoning), sound (language), art and construction. The signs of the realization of the primary beyond samsara are the wisdom of the Shravaka and Pratyeka Buddhas' meditation, or the realization of the nature of the skandhas (uncleanliness, suffering, impermanence and selflessness). The great wisdom of realization beyond samsara and nirvana is the wisdom of hearing, understanding and meditation practice of the Great Vehicle. It is also the realization of the all-pervading emptiness, free from the boundaries of all conceptual thoughts. (A brief explanation will be given in the Mahamudra section).
Discriminating awareness is like a clear-seeing eye.
It can distinguish all dharmas without mistake.
It is the lamp on the path to liberation.
This is my heart's advice.
(from the Jewel Treasury of Advice)
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