Practice Advice

My very dear Nina,
How are you? I have seen you many times at the teachings this time. I am sure you are very busy, you have many things to do. It is good if you can do some practice at home, even if you don’t have time, try to create some time. If you are able to give more time for Dharma, that means you are really trying to do something worthwhile for yourself. The rest of the use of our time is not really the most meaningful use. If there is benefit it is only a small benefit, and we don’t achieve the bigger benefit for ourselves and especially for others, who are countless, who are deluded and suffering so much, and need our help to free them.

Much of our day and much of this life is spent or used in harming oneself by harming others, like the ten non-virtuous actions. Some actions accidentally harm others, like heresy. It looks as if it is your own or that person’s business, with no effect on others, but it indirectly harms others because it destroys your merits and good karma, which means it destroys the cause of your happiness, which includes ultimate happiness (liberation from samsara, full enlightenment) because it prevents you from having realizations. That is the worst, biggest enemy of realizations of the spiritual path. It makes you unable to liberate and enlighten other sentient beings, who are countless. Actually, it is the greatest harm, even though there is no injury to the body or mind of others.

Heresy means heresy against Buddha’s qualities, saying or believing that Buddha doesn’t have that quality while Buddha does have it or saying there is no Buddha or nirvana, no cessation of suffering and path to achieve that, no sangha having these realizations, no karma, renunciation, and saying what Buddha said in the teachings, such as stories of karma or realizations and experience of the path, is not true.

I was very very happy to see you at the teachings this time. Maybe one or two times you were not there, at least one time. Of course, I am still very happy at the memory of seeing you at the teachings. I have faith that you are very good human being, and are trustworthy. For example, even though there has not been much change in the prosperity of your life you still recite the Tara prayer after so many years. This shows that you are a reliable person, not like a yo-yo, changing this way and that way.

Especially, Dharma practice is the most important thing, and the root practice is guru devotion, relying on the guru, following the guru, obeying the guru. It should be like that, not a changing mind. It should be indestructible, like a mountain, a vajra, only then can you achieve enlightenment, liberate others from suffering, and enlighten countless other beings. I definitely want to come and see you, your husband, and family at home next time, okay?

You are a wonderful person; it is also very nice to see your husband.

With big love and prayers...

PS. These letters and cards cover the past years of communication to you.