Essential Advice
Rinpoche sent the following cards to a student.
Dear Jenny,
Hello! How are you? I hope everything is going well with you. The most important things in life for you, especially for others, who are numberless, are compassion, the thought of benefiting others, caring for others, and causing happiness for others.
We have to understand and learn about others’ suffering, which is of different types, and all the causes of suffering, that are not outside but inside, not in the belly or nose, but in the mind, the negative imprints and where negative thoughts and wrong concepts come from, and how wrong views come from these and so many types of hallucination are projected. George can help you to clarify and elaborate on this. The outside is only a condition. Only with this understanding can you generate compassion for others: animals, hell beings, hungry ghosts, devas, human beings, not only the sick and poor but the suffering rich people, devas, worldly gods, the desire realms, form realm, and formless realm. Then, you come to know what is the actual, unmistaken liberation that they need to achieve, and the different levels of happiness they need to achieve. You see the real, ultimate, highest happiness they need to attain.
Otherwise, there can be wrong compassion, the thought of benefiting others in what you believe to be right, but not in what others need. In caring for others, there can be a wrong point of view. For example, Shakyamuni Buddha did not see God or the Big Bang as creating everything, including suffering (war, torture, and so forth). If one believes in the Big Bang, it is the wrong path, suffering from the wrong concept. So, when studying Buddhism, analyze yourself in terms of the good heart caring for others. Causing others happiness is the best thing for others, also for yourself. Peace and everything else come from that. What you need – happiness – others also need, including enlightenment. This is the most beneficial thing in life. This is the happiest life now and even more so in the future. It would be very good to chant the compassion mantra every day for this.