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Advice book

Transforming Problems

Remedy for Obstacles, Fear and Worry

Date of Advice:
Date Posted:

A student was experiencing a lot of obstacles, as well as fear, unhappiness and worry. Rinpoche advised that while our difficulties appear real, they are merely labeled. Rinpoche also offered extensive advice on cherishing others and said that cherishing even one sentient being is a gateway to happiness.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Thailand, May 2016. Photo: Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Thailand, May 2016. Photo: Ven. Roger Kunsang.

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
I heard about your difficulties. As you know, all these difficulties do not exist from their own side, even though they appear like that to our hallucinated mind. The difficulty appears to exist from its own side, to exist by itself. It appears real, using ordinary language.

Basically, what you believe is difficult is just your mind thinking, your mind merely labelling, “This is difficult.” Your mind is merely labelling that it is difficult and that’s how it came into existence. When the difficulty appeared to you, even though it is merely imputed, it appears totally opposite, as though it never came from the mind and it was never merely labeled by the mind. That is totally a hallucination.

For example, we are living our whole life in a hallucination, so like that, everything—including the I, form, sounds, smell, tangible objects; everything that appears to our senses, to our hallucinated mind—appears as real, as if something is existing from there. However, it doesn’t appear real unless our mind merely imputes it first. Everything that appears real is not true, it is a total hallucination. It is a totally hallucinated real I, a totally hallucinated real action and a totally hallucinated real object.

While everything—I, action, object—is totally empty of existing from its own side, it exists in mere name. Everything—I, action, object—exists in mere name; it is merely labeled by the valid mind, on the valid base.

What we think is difficult, in a complicated way, is all made up by our own concepts, and is to do with our own concepts.

Let me say something, what the great bodhisattva Shantideva has advised:

Whatever befalls me,
I shall not disturb my mental joy;
For having been made unhappy, I shall not accomplish what I wish,
And my virtues will decline.
  - [Bodhicaryavatara, Ch. 6, v. 9]

There are so many problems in the West; also in the East, but especially in the West. If there is a way for the problem to be fixed or mended, what is there to dislike about it? If there is a method then do it, and if there is no method and no way to fix it, then why dislike it? If there is a way to fix the problem, then do it, and if there isn’t, then no need to be worried. It just makes us mentally sick and it also causes physical sickness. As it increases more, it brings more problems.

Why be unhappy about something
If it can be remedied?
And what is the use of being unhappy about something
If it cannot be remedied?
  - [Bodhicaryavatara, Ch. 6, v. 10]

Please think about this. It is what Shantideva advised and this is my advice to you. When you think this way, it will bring happiness to your life.

Generally, if our motivation is the self-cherishing thought, then of course, as it is mentioned by Shantideva in the Bodhicaryavatara:

If I do not actually exchange my happiness
For the sufferings of others,
I shall not attain the state of buddhahood
And even in cyclic existence shall have no joy.
  - [Bodhicaryavatara, Ch. 8, v. 131]

Enlightenment is the complete cessation of all the obscurations and total completion of all the realizations, however, if our motivation is the self-cherishing thought we cannot achieve this for sentient beings. Even while we are in samsara there is no happiness or success, leave aside the happiness and success beyond this life. Even in this life, the works of this life cannot succeed. All our unhappiness and obstacles come from the self-cherishing thought, and by cherishing our mothers, this leads to happiness and is the door to receiving infinite qualities.

Should even all the beings of the three realms without exception
Become angry at me, humiliate, criticize, threaten, or even kill me,
I seek your blessings not to be agitated, but to complete the perfection of patience
That works for their benefit in response to their harm.
  - [Guru Puja, v. 103]

Please think more about this every day or quite often. Don’t read this advice I am giving you just one time and then throw it away. Don’t read it very fast and then throw it away in the garbage.

Here is a little bit of commentary.

Cherish even one mother sentient being, who has been our own mother and has been kind, giving birth to us, especially a human rebirth, so that we can practice Dharma. She has been kind from beginningless rebirth and has protected our life from hundreds of dangers every day. She took care of us while we were in the womb for nine months and even after that she took care of us for a long time. This has been happening from beginningless rebirths, and our mother has borne hardship for us many times, every day, numberless times from beginningless rebirths. She also gave us education numberless times from beginningless rebirths.

Just one clear example, if she had an abortion, we could be a maggot in cow dung or maybe a bird would be eating us by now. Half our body would be outside moving around and the other half would be inside the bird’s beak, things like that. Or our whole body could be covered by ants and we would have no way to escape being eaten by ants, let alone meeting Dharma and being able to study, leaving that aside.

Now you can see very clearly the kindness of the mother. Therefore the thought of cherishing even one sentient being and bringing that being happiness is the door or the gateway for a number of qualities.

New bodhisattvas who actualize the five paths—the path of merit, the path of preparation, the right-seeing path, the path of meditation and the path of no more learning—arya bodhisattvas and even new bodhisattvas have unbelievable qualities that we don’t have. New bodhisattvas have unbelievable, unbelievable qualities.

Those bodhisattvas who have achieved the third or fourth bhumi and so forth, and who have achieved the exalted path, have a spiritual body. This means they don’t have the sufferings of old age, sickness, rebirth and death. Those who have achieved the eighth, ninth and tenth bhumis can manifest as oceans, as water, as mountains, as bridges or anything that benefits sentient beings.

First bhumi bodhisattvas can go to hundreds of different pure lands through their psychic power and receive teachings. They can do prostrations with hundreds of different manifestations and they can give different teachings to sentient beings, so they can do eleven different activities one hundred times. It is unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable! The second bhumi bodhisattvas can increase their holy activities one thousand times, so like that it goes on and on. The eighth, ninth and tenth bhumi bodhisattvas can manifest a billion, zillion, trillion times and make prostrations, do meditations and give teachings.

To our very obscured limited mind, there is no way to understand their qualities. Also, their pores are filled with pure land worlds. This is beyond our concepts, there’s no way to understand. It is unbelievable, unbelievable, how they can benefit sentient beings, like the sky, so much.

These are with effort but the Buddha, of course, makes no effort; everything is done without resistance. The Buddha can directly can see all phenomena of the past, at the same time the present and at the same time the future. There is no phenomena that the Buddha does not see directly, all at the same time.

The Buddha’s holy mind can function as his holy speech, the Buddha’s holy body can function as his holy speech and so forth. The Buddha has no resistance and is totally free, so wherever his holy mind manifests, his holy body can also manifest.

When our mind is purified of more and more obscurations we can see numberless buddhas in nirmanakaya aspect, then in sambhogakaya aspect, then oneness with all the buddhas, when we have achieved dharmakaya and have totally ceased all the obscurations. Anyway the Buddha has infinite qualities.

The Buddha’s holy body, speech and mind all come from bodhicitta, so we can say that all the happiness of sentient beings comes from bodhicitta, from cherishing others, from letting go of the I and cherishing others. Every single happiness that we have experienced in the past from beginningless rebirths until now and what will be experienced in the future; all the happiness of this life and all the happiness of future lives, liberation from samsara and ultimate happiness, the peerless happiness—the total cessation of all the obscurations and completion of all the realizations—what we experience all comes from and is received from the kindness of numberless sentient beings, numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asuras and numberless intermediate state beings.

That means every maggot, every mosquito, every bed bug, every flea, every spider, every slug, everything. They are the most kind, most precious, most dear wish-fulfilling ones, our wish-fulfilling ones.

By taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha we can be free from the lower realms, free from samsara, free from the lower nirvana, and we can achieve the peerless happiness, sang gye, the total elimination of all the obscurations and completion of all the realizations. All of that comes from every insect and every animal that I mentioned, so it comes from every sentient being.

When our mind’s motivation is cherishing the I, then everything becomes a problem or difficulty. We have so many problems, it’s unbelievable, unbelievable. Even in relationships with our parents, children, wife or husband, not getting along, even one day is difficult. However, when the mind is cherishing others totally, then it brings all the happiness to ourselves and to others.

Please keep this in your heart. This is most important advice, so keep it in your prayer book. It’s not just to read one time quickly and then throw away. Please don’t do that.

Thank you very much.

With much love and prayers ...

Experience Obstacles for All Sentient Beings

Date of Advice:
Date Posted:

Rinpoche gave this advice to a student who asked about doing the preliminary practice of offering water bowls.

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you for your kind email. It is a very good idea to do the water bowls practice. Even if obstacles happen, that is very good because it means you are purifying very heavy negative karma. If the karma not purified, then you will have to experience it by being born in the lower realms or something like that instead. This means by purifying it now, in future lives you will have happiness to happiness and your life will be like the sun shining.

If obstacles happen, it’s very important to think that you can experience this for all sentient beings; you can experience it for all sentient beings. Whatever obstacle, sickness or problem you have, it is negative karma and defilements that are being purified. Therefore this can actually be even more beneficial than doing water bowls, prostrations or mandala offerings, if you can use the problem, whatever it is, by taking other sentient beings’ suffering and experiencing that [problem] for other sentient beings.

It is like the Buddha, who practiced the six paramitas for three countless great eons. He made charity for three countless great eons and he practiced morality and patience for three countless great eons. He did that for us and he became enlightened for all sentient beings, in order to free all beings from samsara and bring them to enlightenment.

Whatever you do, please do it with bodhicitta motivation.

With much love and prayers...

Utilizing Obstacles on the Path to Enlightenment

Date of Advice:
Date Posted:

A student had experienced difficulties for many years, however, she wrote that she also had incredible opportunities and she thanked Rinpoche for his previous advice on transforming depression into the path. Rinpoche responded with further advice on thought transformation. The student’s letter and Rinpoche's response are included here.

student's letter

You asked me to read an article about how to transform depression into the path and also to concentrate on purification practices like confession to the Thirty-five Buddhas. I did not faithfully do them every day. However, I would like to thank you as you told me my depression and sufferings are a result of purification, of me trying to do something about Dharma.

Since I took refuge, everything in my life has gone wrong: my relationships, my health and my ability to work. I woke up each day and was fearful, wondering how I could cope with another day. However, while all these problems were manifesting, I had incredible opportunities to do retreat and to meet with a lot of holy beings who guided me personally. I also had, and still have, the opportunity to study Dharma. The most important thing, I feel, is that I am glad that I did not give up my lama.

Now after all these years of things going wrong, I suddenly realized that I am happy all these things have happened. It became so clear that everything—friends, relatives, this world and even my body—are all sufferings. I don’t think this is renunciation, but at least now I am recovered from depression and have started to reclaim my life: to eat right, to sleep right, and to start to have the energy and mind to take care of my personal household matters and work hard. Anyway, I just want to thank you and tell you that I truly am happy that I had all of these sufferings. They groomed me for who I am now.

rinpoche's response

My very dear, precious, kind, wish-fulfilling one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter and I’m so happy that you realized all the difficulties you have been through are positive.

Generally, the whole lamrim is thought transformation, but there is thought transformation separate from the lamrim. That thought transformation is when you utilize obstacles to practicing Dharma on the path to enlightenment—then you don’t have obstacles to practice Dharma. You use any difficulties like this for sentient beings to achieve enlightenment, not just temporary happiness and for yourself to achieve enlightenment. It’s unbelievable, most unbelievable and makes your life, and even your death, most beneficial for sentient beings. This is what we really should practice.

The Kadampa Geshe Khamlungpa said among his advices: “This present small suffering being experienced purifies past negative karma (collected from beginningless past lives.) Therefore, there will be happiness in the future. Therefore, rejoice in the suffering.” This means that experiencing suffering is very good, positive—that’s what he is saying. This is Kadampa Geshe Khamlungpa’s advice. So, all the usual complaints against you then are very positive.

Any praise, any good things are a cause for delusion to arise, so that’s no good and the opposite to renunciation. The bodhisattva Thogme Zangpo has advised that whether you experience good or whether you experience bad, it’s all to use for enlightenment. It all depends on which label you chose to give. If you give a bad label to everything, everything becomes bad, becomes lung. So it’s very, very, very good that you took everything, that you understood everything as a way to achieve enlightenment. The way you think helps the mind to be more satisfied; everything brings peace of mind; everything becomes Dharma. That’s very wise; that’s real wise. Even for top political people in the world, I don’t think they know this. Take it as positive.

Thank you very much. Have a good life.

With much love and prayers...

A Positive Way of Thinking

Date of Advice:
Date Posted:

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.

 

Thought Transformation

Date Posted:

Rinpoche dictated the following when he was preparing for a talk in Colorado in 2010, however, in the end he didn’t use this material.

Welcome to all the people (distinguished guests),
I am very happy to be here to meet all my brothers and sisters and to share peace and happiness from Buddhism, from my tiny bit of understanding of Buddhism.

The subject is thought transformation and the need to practice this according to what the kind and compassionate Shakyamuni Buddha taught. This is the most profound Buddhist science of the mind, deep like the Pacific Ocean and extensive like space.

Why should we apply this practice and take this treatment?

By practicing thought transformation, our suffering is transformed into happiness immediately, bringing peace and happiness, and release from the prison of self-cherishing thought. We are released from the prison of the selfish mind and other delusions, the obscuring disturbing negative thoughts and wrong concepts, such as ignorance, anger and attachment.

We receive incredible freedom, peace and happiness; freedom from being constantly tortured by the negative thoughts and being totally cheated by the hallucinated thoughts. We receive peace and happiness, not only from moment- to-moment, but also in our day-to-day life.

We receive not only long-term happiness and peace in our future lives, but we also achieve ultimate happiness, the total cessation of all the sufferings, including the dissatisfaction of sickness and old age, and the cycle of death and rebirth We cease the cause of suffering, which is not external, only internal —karma, through our actions, and delusion, the obscuring, disturbing negative attitude.

We also receive ultimate happiness, great liberation—the non-abiding sorrowless state, the fully awakened state.  

 

Practice Thought Transformation

Date of Advice:
Date Posted:

Rinpoche sent the following handwritten card to a student who was having difficulties.

Thank you very much for your kind letter. You should know we are living in samsara. That means we experience problems or suffering. Otherwise we are liberated.

Because we did not actualize the path in our last life and this life, we experience problems. The solution is to practice Dharma and actualize the path. Only then can we abandon the cause of suffering, delusion and karma.

Practice thought transformation. Transform [problems] into happiness, and use as the path to enlightenment, as a cause for happiness for all living beings. This human life you have is like liberation, so be happy, because the suffering of the lower realms is like the limitless sky.

Zopa