A Positive Way of Thinking
Rinpoche gave this advice about rejoicing and using difficulties on the path after hearing about devotees making a large offering of gold for the spire of the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, India. [Hand-typed by Rinpoche on an iPad; lightly edited by Sandra Smith.]
Rinpoche: Tell the people if we all rejoice in it, then if their level of mind [of the people offering the gold] is lower than ours, we collect double merits than theirs.
Student: Then Rinpoche has multi-zillion merits.
Rinpoche: My level of mind is dead, lower than even the ants. Tell the people if we rejoice then we can collect double, if their level of mind is lower than ours. If their level of mind is the same, then [we collect] the same amount of merits. If [their level of] mind is higher than ours, then we are able to collect half the merit. Do that instead of generating jealousy.
Student: OK, Rinpoche there’s lots to rejoice in at Bodhgaya. I will tell the people.
Rinpoche: Jealousy only causes suffering, not happiness. That is not only in this life, but for many, many lifetimes, for example, one time feeling jealousy towards others causes the result suffering, and no success for 500 lifetimes or 1,000 lifetimes. However many seconds, minutes, hours or days that we generate jealousy to others, then, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, it’s completely unbelievable, scariest of scary. The result, the effect, the danger to us—for tens of thousands of millions of millions of lifetimes it destroys our life, our happiness.
Tell the people this. As I often say, hell, enlightenment, samsara, nirvana, everyday happiness and suffering, all come from one’s own mind. Thinking this way, thinking that way—about hell, enlightenment, as well as samsara, nirvana and then everyday happiness and suffering, it all depends what concept we generate. Therefore it becomes so important to always generate positive concepts, a positive way of thinking. This is Dharma practice, using particular unfavorable conditions that we experience—think that it is finishing the result of past negative karma and then use that on the path to enlightenment, use it in the practice of bodhicitta.
Experience the problems, sickness etc, for other sentient beings, to free them from suffering, the cause of suffering and to achieve dharmakaya. So this way the Dharma obstacles, the problems, the sicknesses, become the path to happiness; transformed into happiness and beneficial to all the sentient beings.