6. Refuge and Bodhicitta

30 November 30, 1999

THE FIVE PATHS

[Rinpoche chants Praise to Shakyamuni Buddha before the teachings]

We can do the same as yesterday, request using just the one aspect, Lama Tsongkhapa, which is all the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and all the lineage lamas. Then nectar beams are emitted to purify all the obstacles, all the defilements. The replicas absorb into you and you actualize all the realizations of the profound and extensive [paths], the dharmakaya and rupakaya. Those who are familiar with the extensive merit field can visualize in that way.

[Rinpoche chants]

So the first two lines:⁴

Sang gyä chhö dang tshog kyi chhog nam la
Jang chhub bar du dag ni kyab su chhi

I take refuge until I am enlightened
In the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly.

The first two lines are taking refuge and the last two lines are generating bodhicitta. The first two lines contain the two types of refuge: causal refuge and resultant refuge.

Resultant refuge is the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, and the cessation of suffering and its cause, the defilements. This is the absolute Dharma. There is the thinking path to enlightenment, the path of merit, and the joining path to enlightenment, the path of preparation, the preparatory path, the second one.

Within the path of merit there are three categories: small, middle and great. Within the path of preparation or the joining path, there are four categories: heat, tip, patience and sublime Dharma. So there are four categories within the second path.

Then third path is the right-seeing path, the fourth is the path of meditation and the fifth is the path of no more learning. That is when everything is finished! There is no more learning.

The third path, the right-seeing path, entails equipoise, devotion and subsequent or post-meditation. Then, there is that which is wisdom within the equipoise, and there is the uninterrupted path and the liberated path, and the path which is neither of those two. When we achieve [the early stages of] the path of meditation, some of the details are the same as the right-seeing path.

When we actualize the second path, the joining path or the path of preparation, we have the realization of the attainment of special concentration, which is the unification of shamatha, calm abiding, and special insight. Samadhi is concentration; shamatha is calm abiding, which has nine levels in order to complete that realization. The special concentration that is the unification of shamatha and great insight has to be achieved through these two meditations. That is preparation to achieve the arya path, the right-seeing path, where we directly perceive emptiness. This is the means to directly cease the defilements.

Before the flame comes and burns things, there is heat. Heat needs to be generated before the flame comes from the wood. The path of preparation is like that, and the right-seeing path, where we attain the wisdom directly seeing emptiness, is like the flame coming from that. But instead of burning things, it burns the delusions, it ceases the delusions.

During this time, on the right-seeing path, the uninterrupted path becomes the remedy and with the liberated path the 112 delusions are ceased. I think my memory is bad! When we achieve the path of meditation, the sixteen delusions cease, the intellectual concepts due to doctrines. The concept of inherent existence ceases during the right-seeing path, and the simultaneously born concept of inherent existence, this ignorance, ceases by actualizing the path of meditation, the fourth path.

That is according to what is called in Tibetan, nyön drib, disturbing-thought obscurations. These are the gross delusions or defilements that mainly interfere with us achieving liberation from samsara. The subtle defilements (she drib), the obscurations to knowledge, mainly interfere with our mental continuum becoming omniscient. They obscure the mind from directly seeing the past, present and future, all the three times’ existence at the same time.

As I mentioned before, on the Mahayana path to achieve enlightenment, of the five Mahayana paths, the right-seeing path ceases the 112 delusions, and the path of meditation ceases the sixteen delusions. But concerning the subtle defilements, the right-seeing path ceases the 116 delusions and the path of meditation ceases the 116, the same.

On the Hinayana or Lesser Vehicle path, within the two paths of the Hearer-Listener and the Solitary Realizer or Self-Conqueror, the right-seeing path and the path of meditation do not cease the subtle defilements, only the gross defilements. They are the same as I explained before.

The point here is to give an idea that achieving liberation from samsara is attained on the Mahayana right-seeing path and the Mahayana path of meditation. When we achieve this and we directly perceive emptiness, during that time, as I mentioned before, a certain amount of delusions cease.

When we have these realizations within us on the right-seeing path and the path of meditation, whether it’s Hinayana or Mahayana, with the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness and the cessation of suffering, the defilements, we have the experience of the absolute Dharma. When the absolute Dharma becomes our own experience, that is the main one that directly ceases the defilements.

Then, the Mahayana path ceases even the subtle defilements, whether by only practicing sutra and following the five paths and the ten bhumis, or by practicing Mahayana tantra, the Mahayana right-seeing path and the Mahayana path of meditation; we cease all the defilements, gross and subtle. Then our mind becomes omniscient and we are called “buddha,” the enlightened being. We receive the label “enlightened being.” We receive the label “buddha.”

That is the resultant refuge, Dharma and Buddha. When we have the resultant Dharma refuge, the absolute Dharma, when those paths are in our mind, when those paths become our experience, our realization, we become the Sangha, the resultant Sangha refuge.

AFTER NIRVANA AN ARHAT IS AWAKENED TO BODHICITTA

Even without entering the Mahayana path from the beginning, if we were to enter the Hinayana path, progressing through those five paths to achieve liberation from samsara, even if we were to achieve that total liberation, the cessation of all the delusions, including the seeds of the delusion, which is the nature of imprints, even if we were to achieve total liberation from the entire suffering and its cause, the delusions, after some time, we will have to enter into the Mahayana path.

Abiding in that blissful state of peace for ourselves for an inconceivable number of eons I guess is the same as going to the beach! When we don’t have to work, we put a surfboard in the back of the car and go to the beach. When we have spare time or when we don’t have a job, we take a friend to the beach with a surfboard in the car and we go to the beach. So I think for people in the West, achieving nirvana is like going to the beach for ourselves.

We abide in that blissful state of peace for ourselves for inconceivable eons. The mind is heavily bound to that; it is absorbed in that bliss. Then, as it says in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, if you can remember, those who have read it, after that, even when we enter the Mahayana path by actualizing bodhicitta, our bodhicitta is still not very strong, because of so much experience of bliss before. There is compassion but it is not strong.

I think what the great enlightened being Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo was implying was that, by describing that with this human realm, we beings who are born in the human realm can see so much suffering and we ourselves can experience so much, and that starts us generating strong compassion and then strong bodhicitta, and that makes us achieve enlightenment quickly. The strong compassion we can generate for others helps us generate strong bodhicitta, and that makes the collection of extensive merit happen more quickly and it purifies the mind more. And that means we achieve enlightenment more quickly. I think that is what Pabongka Rinpoche was implying here.

Attaining nirvana for themselves, however, the arhat spends inconceivable eons in this sorrowless state, being distracted by the bliss, the state of blissful state of peace for themselves. Then, after a long time, the buddhas send beams of light to the arhat and say a word or a stanza from the Buddha, I don’t remember which, and that persuades the arhat to enter into the Mahayana path by generating great compassion for other sentient beings and actualizing bodhicitta.

If we were to follow the Lesser Vehicle path and we became totally liberated from the whole of samsara, from all suffering, with no more rebirth, no more death, no more old age, no more sickness, no more problems, if we were to cease the delusions, including the seed of delusion, even though we were not suffering, the numberless other sentient beings would still be. With the Mahayana path, there are all these qualities to be achieved to attain full enlightenment.

So, in our case, [were we to achieve liberation,] we would have still not completed the works for ourselves and the works for others. Completely distracted by this blissful state of peace for ourselves, it would take inconceivable eons to generate great compassion and great loving kindness for others, let alone bodhicitta. That means it would take inconceivable eons to achieve enlightenment. If it takes so long to generate great loving kindness, great compassion, bodhicitta, and then enlightenment, that means it takes an incredible length of time, so many eons, to liberate others from suffering and the causes and bring them to enlightenment. That means sentient beings must suffer in samsara for an inconceivable number of eons, for such a long time.

The sentient beings who have a connection with us are numberless. There are numberless sentient beings who are depending on us to free them, to liberate them from suffering and its causes and bring them to enlightenment. Those sentient beings have to suffer in samsara for an inconceivable number of eons, longer than it takes us to generate great loving kindness, great compassion, bodhicitta and enlightenment.

THE KINDNESS OF OTHERS

As I mentioned yesterday, the purpose of our life is to benefit others. And I mentioned two reasons. The most important reason is that other sentient beings are numberless. It can also be said the other way around, that even looking at us and one other sentient being, that sentient being is more important. They are the most precious one in our life. Even that one sentient being is the most important, the most precious one in our life.

Even one sentient being is the most precious one in our life. We can understand that there are numberless sentient beings and each is the most precious one, the most important one in our life. This gives us a reason to work for others and to achieve full enlightenment. In order to do perfect work for others, we ourselves need to achieve full enlightenment.

The reason to follow the Mahayana path, to generate great loving kindness, great compassion and enter the Mahayana path and complete all the realizations and achieve full enlightenment, the reason becomes of utmost importance. It is the most important thing we need to do in our life; it is the most important thing for the numberless sentient beings.

Thinking of this one sentient being, how they are most precious, most kind, even the Buddha cannot see the beginning of that one sentient being’s kindness to us; it is limitless like the sky. We could never be finished explaining the kindness that one sentient being has shown us from beginningless rebirths.

They want happiness but they are devoid of happiness, even temporary happiness, even samsaric pleasure. Even if that sentient being has been able to attain a little temporary pleasure, they are still devoid of ultimate happiness, real liberation and enlightenment.

And what that sentient being does not want is to experience suffering, but being ignorant of the cause of the suffering and the cause of happiness, they are constantly suffering and constantly creating the cause of suffering. They have totally the wrong view, that which causes only suffering, although they believe it to be the cause of happiness. Because that sentient being has so many wrong views, the method they are applying to achieve happiness only becomes the cause of more suffering.

Their life goes on and on like that, on and on, life after life. Even though what they desire is happiness and what they do not want is suffering, they totally mistake the method they must apply, totally misunderstanding the cause of happiness, totally misunderstanding the cause of suffering. They have totally the wrong view. That’s why there is such confusion; that’s why they constantly experience what they do not want.

Because of that, there is nothing else in our life we must do but work for others, cherishing other sentient beings, working for other sentient beings. Other than that, life has no meaning. Working for anything other than that has no meaning; it’s empty, meaningless. It’s not just an empty life but, on top of that, there’s great danger we will use our precious human life only to create nonvirtue, the cause of suffering, of samsara, particularly the lower realms.

If there is nothing else to do except to think of others and work for others, the numberless other sentient beings, this is the best life, the healthiest life. That brings real fulfillment in our life, in our heart; it is the most satisfactory life.

Therefore, there is the utmost need to achieve the realizations of the path to enlightenment. Benefiting others is the most important project in our life, in this life and in all future lives until that happens.

Sorry, I got distracted. I’ll go back.

RESULTANT REFUGE DEPENDS ON CAUSAL REFUGE

What I was trying to say was that by our own realization of the absolute Dharma, we become the Sangha, we become the Buddha. That resultant refuge is contained in the line, “Until I achieve enlightenment.” That is practicing the resultant refuge.

To succeed in that depends on causal refuge. Causal refuge is the intelligent fear, the useful fear. Let me give an example. Understanding that if we put our finger in the fire we will feel pain and our finger will get burned, we have a fear of that. That understanding and that fear of experiencing the pain of being burned keeps us from putting our finger in the fire (or putting our whole body in the fire). It protects us from that.

If we didn’t understand, if we were ignorant and without fear, we would step into the fire and be killed. Our body would be burned and we would die. But understanding this and fearing it protects us from being burned by the fire. That fear comes from understanding—put the body in a fire and it will burn and maybe we will die—so that fear is a useful fear.

In the same way, we need to understand that samsara is only in the nature of suffering. The fear that comes from that understanding, and particularly understanding the sufferings of the lower realms, helps us; it persuades us to free ourselves from samsara, to be liberated from samsara. It inspires us to be free from samsara.

This useful fear of the suffering of samsara, by understanding how samsara is in the nature of suffering, and particularly the lower realms’ sufferings, is one cause of refuge. The other cause is the devotion that comes by understanding the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With these two causes, with our whole heart, we single-pointedly rely on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. That’s what “taking refuge” means. It means having refuge in our heart.

Relying on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha that are separate from us, separate from our mental continuum, that is causal refuge. So, the line “I go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha” contains the causal refuge, and “Until I achieve enlightenment” contains the resultant refuge. So here, we are practicing both refuges: causal refuge and resultant refuge.

What is the purpose of resultant refuge? The ultimate aim is to benefit sentient beings, to be able to serve sentient beings, and ultimately to bring them to enlightenment. The ultimate benefit is to bring them to enlightenment. For all this, that depends on causal refuge.

When we recite this prayer, if we can meditate on the meaning of practicing the two types of refuge, that is very good.

REMEMBER THE WHEEL OF LIFE WHEN WE RECITE REFUGE

Then the last two lines, “Due to the merits of having practiced charity and so forth, may I achieve full enlightenment in order to benefit the transmigratory beings.”

Dag gi jin sog gyi päi tshog nam kyi
Dro la phän chhir sang gyä drub par shog

By my merits of generosity and so forth,
May I become a buddha to benefit transmigratory beings.

When we recite these two lines, it’s good to remember the entire Wheel of Life. Especially, when we recite the words “transmigratory beings,” within that term is the whole explanation of the Wheel of Life, what the drawing of the Wheel of Life shows.

The three poisons, ignorance, anger and attachment, are signified by the three animals in the center. Then, due to the cause, the three poisonous minds, karma is created, signified by the black and white paths around the hub. Then, the beings are reborn in samsara, reborn in the six realms; they transmigrate between the six realms.

I don’t think we’re in all six realms now! Anyway, it doesn’t matter.

Due to the cause, the delusions, the three poisonous minds—ignorance, attachment [and anger] signified by three animals in the center—there is karma signified by the black and white paths around, then the samsaric beings continuously transmigrate within the six realms, one after another, one after another.

In samsara, transmigratory beings experience suffering: the suffering of pain, the suffering of change—which is samsaric pleasure, pleasure that is only temporary, not everlasting happiness—and pervasive compounding suffering. They experience the three types of suffering.

Transmigratory beings constantly have to transmigrate due to the cause, the delusions—ignorance, attachment and anger, signified by these animals—then they create karma signified by the white and black paths leading up or down, causing them to be reborn in one after the other of the six realms, one after another, non-stop, where they are tormented by the three types of suffering.

THE SUFFERING OF CHANGE

Even though at times there might be no suffering of pain, there is the suffering of change, the temporary samsaric pleasure, the feeling that seems to be happiness but when it is analyzed can be seen to be only suffering. When we don’t analyze it, it appears as pleasure to our hallucinated mind. But if we scientifically analyze it, we discover that feeling is only suffering, not pleasure, not happiness, not peace.

When we let our mind remain hallucinated and we see that feeling as pleasure, it appears pleasure to that mind, so why doesn’t it last? The reason we can’t develop that happiness to a greater and greater degree, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, the reason we can’t increase the happiness that we experience at the beginning, why it doesn’t become bigger and bigger is because the nature of that feeling is not real; it is not real happiness, it’s suffering. That feeling is suffering by its nature.

It is a feeling that is suffering but, because it is not gross but small, it is unnoticeable. Because of that, we label it “pleasure.” Our mind makes up the label “pleasure,” and then after we have made up the label “pleasure,” after our mind has put the label, we believe in it. It looks like there is pleasure from its own side.

That false happiness is the object to be refuted; it is a false object, one which is a total hallucination. It is nonexistent, totally empty. There is not even the slightest atom of that existing there. However, our mind makes up the label “pleasure” because of that feeling, that suffering which is at that moment unnoticeable.

Having made up the label, there’s the hallucination of pleasure and we believe in that pleasure, that independent pleasure that never came from our own mind but is something real from the side of the feeling. We believe it is an independent, inherently existent feeling.

We have that feeling that we don’t recognize, which is suffering but unrecognizable at the moment; it seems to be a pleasure, therefore we make up the label “pleasure.” And after we label it, we believe that label. In our view, there is pleasure on that feeling. That is the object to be refuted. The real pleasure there on that feeling is a total hallucination.

However, this is the subject that involves an analysis on emptiness, on the ultimate nature of what we call the temporary samsaric pleasure. The label “pleasure” is placed on the suffering. That’s why it doesn’t last. That’s why the more we continue, the more it decreases instead of increasing. We get bored or whatever. In that way, all these sufferings happen.

As I often say, Lama Tsongkhapa has explained in The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path (Lamrim Chenmo) that after feeling so hot while being under the sun, when we enter the cold water … Today the chai time is different! I’m joking!

I’m using Lama Tsongkhapa’s example to explain the essence. By understanding this one example, we can understand all others. After feeling so hot under the sun, when we go into the cold water in the river or the sea, in the beginning, there is pleasure in feeling the coolness.

As it is explained, the suffering feeling of hot is stopped by changing the action from being under the sun to being in the cold water. Then, with the first minute of being in the cold water, the discomfort already starts, right after the action of entering the cold water. [Rinpoche snaps his fingers] Right after that action, the discomfort of being in the cold water begins; it has already started but because it’s small, the discomfort is unnoticeable. For the duration that feeling of discomfort is unnoticeable, it is called “comfort” or “a pleasure.”

Then as we continue the action of being in the cold water, gradually that action compounds a sense of discomfort, and more and more the discomfort increases.

That is because the pleasure we experienced in the beginning is temporary, it is changeable, it cannot last; it cannot increase as we continue being in the water. Then, as discomfort becomes noticeable, we perceive it as suffering. It becomes the suffering of pain.

Similarly, when we are very hungry, at the beginning when we take some food, the suffering of hunger is stopped by changing the action from not eating to eating. The moment the action of not eating stops and the action of eating begins the feeling of discomfort [from having food in the stomach] is there already in the body, but it’s unnoticeable. Because the discomfort of eating is unnoticeable and the suffering of hunger has stopped, we label it “pleasure.” But again, by continuing the action of eating, the discomfort increases. Even though there seems to be pleasure at the beginning, it is temporary. It cannot last. But by continuing the action, again it becomes the suffering of pain.

Like this, when we buy a car, at the beginning there’s pleasure. The problem or suffering of not having car is stopped by buying the car, so there’s pleasure. That excitement, that pleasure, is the same again, but it doesn’t last. After some time, we get bored with the car. It becomes boring. There was some excitement or some kind of pleasure at the beginning, but sooner or later we get bored. Then we see another newer car advertised, or we see other people driving it. Our old car seems even more boring! The unhappiness or the boring feeling we have with the old car is stopped when we buy another car, but again it’s the same. At the beginning it looked like there was pleasure, but it didn’t last. The pleasure we believed in at the beginning didn’t last. It doesn’t last to the same degree every day. It decreases and again it becomes boring. Then we decide we must look for a new car.

Here, I’m using the example of the car, but it could also be the same with a friend.

Until we get liberated from samsara, the continuation of these aggregates caused by karma and delusions, which is in the nature of suffering, causes us to circle from one life to another. What circles is the continuation of these aggregates. Who circles is us. We are like a driver; we make this continuation of these aggregates that is caused by karma and delusions, that is in the nature of suffering; we make this samsara, we make it continuously circle. It is we ourselves who circle in the six realms.

Until we break the continuation of these aggregates that circle from one life to another, whatever style of life we have, whatever actions we do, we are always in samsara, we are always suffering. When we are under the sun, it’s suffering; when we are in the water, it’s suffering; when we are not eating, it’s suffering; when we are eating, it’s suffering. Not sleeping is suffering; sleeping is suffering.

Whatever lifestyle we have, it is suffering. Being a farmer is suffering; being a businessperson is suffering. Whatever the lifestyle, it’s all suffering. Whatever we do in samsara, it’s all suffering. If we analyze it, this is what it is, and it will continue like this until we break the continuation of samsara, the continuation of these aggregates circling from one life to another.

What is not suffering is practicing Dharma. Not giving up attachment is suffering; giving up attachment is peace. I’ll use that example. Not giving up attachment is a problem in our life, it is suffering. Giving up attachment is peace, bringing us satisfaction, real peace of mind, real inner peace.

When we separate our mind from attachment, when we free our mind from attachment, all the problems that are connected to attachment, like a spiderweb, are stopped. There are so many things we no longer need. All the fear, worry and expectation are stopped. We are totally free of all that. We become a totally free guy!

A life that’s filled with expectations, a life that’s filled with fear, a life that’s filled with worries is a life with so much unhappiness and depression, with so many problems. Things don’t happen as we like, as the selfish, self-cherishing mind wants, as attachment wants. We have so many problems; life is filled with problems. Without attachment, we are totally free from that; we have total peace in our heart.

Dharma is renouncing ignorance, anger, attachment, avoiding the cause of the sufferings, the delusions. This is real Dharma and it has no suffering. We can develop this inner peace. It can be increased, it can be developed, it can be completed and it leads to total liberation and to enlightenment.

The happiness of Dharma can be increased and it can be completed. But samsaric pleasures can never be. Samsaric pleasures are temporary; there is no end to the work we need to do for them. They can never be completed; they can never last. There’s no end to the work for samsaric pleasures. We have to repeat that work again and again, again and again, without end. That is another example of how the suffering of samsara is endless.

Practicing the lamrim, the three principal aspects of the path, is not suffering. Living in pure morality, abstaining from negative karma, is not suffering. It brings not only peace and happiness now, it also brings us to liberation and enlightenment when practiced with the bodhicitta. Practicing Dharma is not suffering.

PERVASIVE COMPOUNDING SUFFERING

The third type of suffering is pervasive compounding suffering, which refers to these aggregates that are caused by karma and delusions, that are under the control of karma and delusions.

Not being free from karma and delusions, being under the control of karma and delusions, that is the main suffering. Because of that, this body and mind experiences problems: heat and cold, hunger and thirst, pain, so many sicknesses, as well as the mental sufferings: fear, worry, depression and all these problems. Because these aggregates are not free from karma and delusions, because they are under the control of karma and delusions, the body experiences so many sicknesses, old age, all these things. Because of that, this body and mind is in the nature of suffering.

Why are we not born with a body and mind that experiences only bliss? Without any worry, without any fear, only with bliss, with no suffering at all? Why can’t we be blissed out from the time of conception? Maybe there are some people here who are blissed out! Maybe when you were conceived in your mother’s womb you were blissed out!

Anyway, why we are born with a suffering body and mind and not with bliss is because of the impure cause of these aggregates, this association of body and mind, karma and delusions. If the cause were not karma and delusions, it would be OK. If that were possible, we could have aggregates that don’t experience any suffering at all. That would be possible.

But because this body and mind comes from an impure cause, caused by karma and delusions, even just that itself is suffering. And because of that, this mind experiences so many problems and this body experiences so many problems, such as old age and so many sicknesses that are difficult to recover from nowadays.

Being under the control of karma and delusions, this body and mind is in the nature of suffering; it is pervaded by suffering.

As it’s mentioned in the text, and as His Holiness the Dalai Lama has also said, these aggregates are not only the container of all this life’s problems, they are also the foundation for all the future lives’ problems. Unless we can cease the continuation of these aggregates, of this samsara, before the next life, then all the next life’s sufferings will certainly happen. If we are able to stop that, there will be no future suffering, no future rebirth and death and all the other sufferings. That’s how these aggregates become a foundation for the future lives’ sufferings.

This type of suffering is “compounding” because these aggregates are contaminated by the seed of disturbing thoughts. What I normally mention is that, in our daily life, when we meet objects—beautiful objects, ugly objects, indifferent objects—at that time if we do not apply meditation, there is no protection to our mind and to our life. Because the seed is there, because it was not purified in the past or in this life, the seed of delusion is still there, so by meeting these conditions there is no protection; the seed gives rise to delusions, to attachment, anger and ignorance—attachment to beautiful objects, anger to the ugly objects and ignorance to the indifferent objects.

Then, that produces karma, which then leaves an imprint on the mental continuum. Then, this imprint, this seed, throws us into our future samsara, our future rebirth, so this imprint compounds our future samsara. Therefore, these aggregates are pervasive compounding suffering, because what they do is compound the future samsara by compounding the cause, the imprint.

This is the fundamental suffering of samsara. The very important thing that we must understand is that what we need to achieve is not just liberation from the suffering of pain—heat and cold, hunger and thirst, sicknesses, the suffering of rebirth, old age, death and so forth—even the animals do not want to experience hunger and thirst, heat and cold and all these pains and so forth, the suffering of pain. And not just the suffering of change, what is temporary samsaric pleasure. The liberation that we need to achieve is from pervasive compounding suffering, the cessation of this third type of suffering. That is the real liberation.

If we achieve that, we will never experience the other two sufferings, the suffering of change and the suffering of pain. Once we are totally liberated from pervasive compounded suffering, we will never experience any of those other sufferings. That is real liberation. What I’m saying is we must understand what we are looking for is this liberation.

As long as we don’t achieve the cessation of pervasive compounding suffering, liberation from that suffering, we will have to experience those other sufferings: the suffering of change and the suffering of pain. We will have to experience them again and again and again and again. They will manifest all the time.

Even if we don’t have pain now, in a few hours or less, maybe we will have lots of pain. Anyway, what I’m saying is, even if there’s no pain now, at any minute pain could happen because there is pervasive compounding suffering, because there is samsara there. Pain can happen at any time; those other sufferings can happen at any time, just as when there is water, from that water, a bubble could come out at any time.

What I’m trying to say is that in order to show all the suffering of samsara we have to experience, it has been condensed into the three types of suffering: the suffering of pain, the suffering of change and pervasive compounding suffering. Then, there are the three lower realms shown in the Wheel of Life drawing, as you can see in the gompa there, which shows the suffering of pain. That doesn’t mean there is no suffering of pain in the human realm or deva realm. It doesn’t mean like that. To show the suffering of change, the deva and human realms are shown. And in order to show pervasive compounding suffering, where there is no suffering of pain or suffering of change, in the Wheel of Life the form realm with the seventeen categories is shown above the wheel. Because it’s above, that doesn’t mean it’s free from samsara, it’s not saying that. It’s within samsara, but the drawing is done that way, showing it above the wheel. In some drawings of the Wheel of Life there are thirteen lines and in some there are seventeen, showing the different realms within the categories.

Even though there is no suffering of pain or suffering of change, that doesn’t mean there is freedom from samsara because there is still pervasive compounding suffering. To show that, they make the drawing like that.

And to show how we get involved in all this, how we reincarnate in this and experience these sufferings, there are the twelve dependent related limbs, ten drel yen lag chu nyi. This shows the evolution of samsara.

WE GET ENLIGHTENED FOR ALL SENTIENT BEINGS

Now, when we say, “Due to the merits of having done charity and so forth, may I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit all the transmigratory beings,” what causes sentient beings to transmigrate and experience the three types of sufferings in all the realms of samsara and how they transmigrate, is shown by the twelve links that surround the Wheel of Life drawing.

When we say, “to benefit all the transmigratory beings,” that means the numberless sentient beings who are suffering in samsara. We are generating the thought to achieve enlightenment to benefit all the transmigratory beings. That thought is amazing. If we really think well about what it means, it is unbelievable because it covers every transmigratory being; we want to achieve enlightenment to benefit every single transmigratory being.

We should recognize how extensive this thought is. We are going to achieve enlightenment for every human being who is here—every human being in Kathmandu, every human being in Nepal, every human being in all the countries of this world. However many billions there are in this world, we are making the decision to achieve enlightenment for them, and not just on this planet. There are not only the human beings in this world but in other universes as well, in the numberless other universes, where there are numberless human beings.

We have made the decision to achieve enlightenment for every single human being. And not just human beings. It includes every hell being, and there are numberless hell beings, who are suffering unimaginably now. And there are numberless hungry ghosts, spirits. It covers everything. Maybe it’s easier to understand animals because we can see them. Maybe not these flowers here, but on the flowers outside, even on one flower, there are many tiny insects. If we look closely at one flower, there are many tiny insects there, of the same color. Their consciousness took place there and then they were born there, kind of a similar color.

That is just one flower but if we think of all the insects on all the numberless flowers, in this universe and in all the other universes, all the insects, just on that kind of flower, if we think about it, it’s an unbelievable number. We want to achieve enlightenment to benefit all transmigratory beings and that covers all these insects, and all the insects in the ground. When we dig in the ground, how many worms are there in the moist ground. There are so many worms in the ground and on the ground, so many suffering sentient beings.

On top of one buffalo’s kaka there are so many thousands and thousands of those tiny flies. There are so many tiny ones just there, thousands and thousands and thousands of them. In Switzerland or Italy or somewhere, I don’t remember, I went outside and there on the ground there was some cow dung. Without sunlight I didn’t notice it, it looked like there was nobody there, but on the part where there’s a little bit of sun, there were so many tiny insects in the sky above the ground. But when there was no sunlight, they were invisible.

Even on one tree, how many insects are there? So many.

And if we think of ants, there are an unbelievable number in just one place; there are thousands and thousands and thousands. So how many would there be on one mountain? Or in one country? Or in the numberless universes? We can think like that.

We are going to achieve enlightenment, we are going to benefit all the transmigratory beings, which covers all those suffering insects, like ants and worms.

We can think of the fish we see in TV shows, how there are uncountable numbers of big ones and even more small ones, really small, maybe this size, billions and billions of them, and this is just in one place, just one location, not the whole ocean.

There are fish with so many different sized bodies, and there are insects so tiny we cannot see them with the eye, only with a microscope. Even in our body, there are many sentient beings that we can only see with a microscope.

All these sentient beings living inside our body are a very good present for attachment, a very good gift for attachment. It’s like an office, like a department store or a big restaurant, with people coming and going, coming and going. Or like on a big road, like in Nepal, where people go this way and that way. It’s like a busy airport. A microscope can show these things much bigger, so we can see all the beings going down and going up in our body. It’s exactly like that, so many going up and down.

Recently in America I saw a sutra text that explains this. There are the Kangyur and Tengyur, the sutra and tantra taught by the Buddha and the commentaries by the yogis, the pandits. Ven. Roger [Kunsang] bought a print from Taiwan. I think this is something His Holiness Karmapa has done. They are printed in Delhi. They have been copied but it’s a full book, to have in the shrine room in the house in America. In one sutra text I saw that the Buddha explains the details of the body, about all the sentient beings living in the body, all those tiny germs, those tiny sentient beings living in the body. It also talks about the female body, describing more about certain places in the female body. Anyway, there are many details about those sentient beings there. I was very surprised. But what Buddha says about the beings in the body, the Western machines have shown. It looks like a lot of diseases, which, although naturally related to our negative karma of course, are sometimes related to those beings and things like that.

Anyway, when we make the decision to achieve enlightenment to benefit all transmigratory beings, it covers all the numberless sentient beings we see in the water. And the numberless conch shell animals, those born on the rocks at the beach; there are so many. They are like grains of sand on the beach.

If we just think of the insects of the animal realm, each type is numberless, like the limitless sky. Even just thinking of those on this earth, it is unbelievable. But there are numberless universes, and other worlds that are similar. And all those beings are suffering. They are not enlightened beings, they are suffering beings, obscured, and that includes all the pigs that have to be killed, all the chickens that are in restaurants, everywhere in the world, that are kept to be killed, and all those millions and millions of cows and goats and sheep, numberless of them, that have to be killed.

When we pray like this to achieve enlightenment to benefit all the transmigratory beings, that covers every one of those, including the butchers who kill them, all the people who are doing killing, all the fishermen. We talked about fishing. There are numberless fishermen in the world, all those engaging in so much negative karma that causes them to be born in the lower realms, for hundreds and thousands of lifetimes as a fish, and then the hell realm and other realms because karma is expandable. One negative karma of catching a fish means not just being reborn once in the hell or once as a fish, but hundreds and thousands of times, because karma is expandable, much more expandable than an outside seed.

When we plant a small seed, it will grow into a big tree, with many thousands of branches, leaves and flowers, and then tens or hundreds of thousands of seeds come from that, from that one seed. But inner karma is more expandable than the external cause and effect of plants.

Therefore, when we do prayers to achieve enlightenment to benefit all the transmigratory beings, that includes all those beings, all the people who are in a war where so many get killed, like in Chechnya near Russia, where so many human beings are killing other human beings. Many are dying, suffering, homeless, sick. This prayer covers everybody. There is not a suffering single being left out.

When we generate the bodhicitta motivation like that, to achieve enlightenment to benefit all transmigratory beings, it includes all those numberless sentient beings, including all the suras and asuras [gods and demigods], and all the suffering beings of the form and formless realms, all those who are in samsara suffering. To achieve enlightenment to benefit all transmigratory beings covers everything, all those sentient beings.

When we remember what a transmigrator is, we remember the suffering of samsara and how samsara evolves. We remember everything, how sentient beings have no choice, no freedom, how they are under the control of karma and delusions, having to continuously transmigrate and suffer on and on. We remember that when we pray to benefit all transmigratory beings.

MAHAYANA REFUGE HAS THREE CAUSES

This bodhicitta practice is not a simple thing. It’s not just a simple prayer, “Oh blah, blah, blah.” It’s not just a traditional ritual prayer. That’s the wrong way to think. That is to not understand that prayers are meditation. With prayers, the words are to remind us to meditate, to make us think of the meaning, to transform our mind into the path. People who think it’s just ritual are totally wrong. In Buddhism, all rituals have meaning, every word has skies of meaning.

In the practice of Buddhism, everything, every practice, every word, has a valid reason, a logical reason. I can’t say whether every ritual has a valid reason or whether it’s just custom. Whether it has a valid reason or not has to be checked.

Since I have talked about it, we should just do it. I think maybe we can do the prayer together with meditation. We’re going to maybe recite it twice in English and once in Tibetan, so you can learn the Tibetan language! That time is especially to learn the Tibetan language!

You can visualize Shakyamuni Buddha. There’s a statue there of Shakyamuni Buddha. At least, just think of the Buddha, of Shakyamuni Buddha, or you can visualize the elaborate merit field or the numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas who are in all the ten directions. Think whichever way you wish.

The first thing is taking refuge. There is the Hinayana way of taking refuge that has two causes: the useful fear of the samsara and particularly the lower realms’ suffering, and because that, the wish to be free from samsara, and then, the second cause, devotion to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, by remembering their qualities and then single-pointedly relying on the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. That’s the Hinayana way of taking refuge.

With the Mahayana way of taking refuge, on the basis of these two causes of refuge, there is [the third cause], generating compassion for all sentient beings by thinking that they are suffering in samsara.

I mentioned the meaning of transmigratory beings before. So, this means feeling compassion for other sentient beings whose minds are obscured and who are suffering. With the two causes and the additional cause, compassion for other sentient beings, we single-pointedly rely on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. That is the Mahayana way of taking refuge.

First, think of samsara as I just described it, how samsara is in the nature of suffering. Remember the three types of suffering and the other sufferings that you have heard about before. Think of your own samsara.

[Long pause for meditation]

Think of the lower realms’ sufferings. Now generate strong renunciation to be free from all these sufferings, that you yourself become free from all of these sufferings of samsara and particularly the sufferings of the lower realms.

Now, think of the numberless other sentient beings who are the source of all your past, present and future happiness, who are the most precious, most kind ones in your life, how they are also suffering in samsara. Think of those who are in the lower realms and the unimaginable heavy sufferings there, and how there are numberless of them. And think of the human beings, the gods and demigods, all those beings, who are experiencing the suffering of pain, the suffering of change and pervasive compounding suffering, how there is not even the break of a second from the suffering of samsara. They have been experiencing these oceans of samsaric suffering from beginningless rebirths. So, generate strong compassion, thinking, “I will free these numberless precious, kind sentient beings from all suffering and its causes.”

[Long pause for meditation]

For the success of this, now completely, single-pointedly rely on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha by remembering what is the Buddha, what is the Dharma and what is the Sangha.

“I go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until I achieve full enlightenment.”

Remember the causal refuge and the resultant refuge.

“I go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until I achieve full enlightenment.”

Now, this is Tibetan language class!

Sang gyä chhö dang tshog kyi chhog nam la

“Due to the merits collected by having done charity and so forth, may I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit all the transmigratory beings.”

Remember the six realms’ sentient beings as I have described before, who are transmigratory beings, suffering without choice, without freedom.

[Long pause for meditation]

Sang gyä chhö dang tshog kyi chhog nam la

It is said in the sutra called the Ten Bhumis Sutra, when you put your palms together like this, generating the thought to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings, how much merit you collect is like the limitless sky. It is amazing, unimaginable. It equals the number of sand grains of the river Ganga. In India there’s a huge, very long river that flows past Varanasi. I don’t know, it must have come from another place before Varanasi; here we are talking about the number of sand grains of the river Ganga. Therefore, you fill that many universes with jewels—gold, diamonds, silver and so forth—you fill up that many universes with jewels and make offerings to the buddhas for eons equaling the number of sand grains of the river Ganga. I think the time is eons equaling the number of sand grains of the river Ganga, for that much length of time make offerings to Buddha. And then, to simply put your palms together and then think, “I’m going to generate bodhicitta to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all the sentient beings,” you collect far greater merit than offering many worlds filled up with the seven types of precious jewels, equaling the number of sand grains of the river Ganga, that much gold, diamonds and so forth, to how many buddhas? To the number equaling the number of sand grains in the river Ganga. And how long? For that many number of eons.

Just making one offering to one buddha statue, the merit is inconceivable. It’s beyond our imagination, the merit you get by making one offering to a statue of a buddha or a picture of a buddha. It’s beyond our imagination; it has infinite benefit.

That many worlds filled with the precious jewels, of course creates great merit, that many equaling the number of sand grains of the river Ganga, offered to that number of buddhas for eons equaling the number of sand grains of the river Ganga, for an incredible length of time. That itself is unbelievable but, when you compare it to bodhicitta, when generating bodhicitta like this, thinking to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, that merit is small. This merit is far greater.

I think the sutra that explains this is called the Ten Bhumis Sutra. I’m not one hundred percent sure. So, I’ll stop here.

DEDICATION

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and all the other sentient beings, may loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta, which is the source of all the happiness and success for myself and for all sentient beings, be generated within my mind and in the minds of my family members and in the minds of all the students, benefactors and so on, and in the minds of all the rest of the sentient beings, without delay of even a second. May that which has been generated increase.”

Jang chhub …

“Due to all the three-time merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by others, may the Compassion Buddha, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the source of all sentient beings’ happiness, and the source of refuge for all sentient beings, have a stable life and may all his holy wishes succeed immediately, as well as the wishes of all the other holy beings and all my virtuous friends.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and all the other sentient beings, may all the father, mother sentient beings have happiness, may the three lower realms be empty forever, and may all the bodhisattvas’ prayers succeed immediately. May I be able to cause all this to happen by myself alone.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and all the rest of the sentient beings, may I, my own family members, all the students and benefactors of this organization as well as all the sentient beings, may we in all lifetimes meet only perfectly qualified Mahayana virtuous friends, gurus, and from each sentient being’s side, may we be able to see that guru only as an enlightened being and be able to do only actions most pleasing to the holy mind of the virtuous friend, from each sentient being’s side and from my own side. May I and each sentient being be able to fulfill the holy wishes of the virtuous friend, the guru, immediately. May these things happen from now on, from this second until enlightenment is achieved, in all the future lifetimes until we achieve enlightenment.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and all the sentient beings, may I be able to offer benefits like the sky to all sentient beings, like Lama Tsongkhapa, by having the same qualities within me as Lama Tsongkhapa has, from now on in all the future lifetimes.

“I dedicate all the merits to be able to follow the extensive bodhisattva deeds, such as the bodhisattvas Manjugosha, Samantabhadra and Ksitigarbha and so forth. I dedicate all my merits in the best way that the three-time buddhas and bodhisattvas highly admire.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings, that are totally nonexistent from their own side, may the I, who is also totally nonexistent from its own side, achieve Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, which is also totally nonexistent from its own side, and lead all the sentient beings who are also totally nonexistent from their own side, by myself alone, who is also totally nonexistent, to that enlightenment, which is also totally nonexistent from its own side, by myself alone, who is also totally nonexistent from its own side.

“Due to all the three-time merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by the buddhas, bodhisattvas and all the other sentient beings, may Lama Tsongkhapa’s stainless teachings, the paths of sutra and tantra, be completely actualized within me within my life, as well as within my family and all the students and benefactors of this organization, without delay of even a second in this very lifetime.

“May Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings and particularly those of Lama Tsongkhapa be spread in all the directions. May I be able to cause this to happen by myself alone.

“Due to that, may no sentient beings experience war, famine, disease, the dangers of fire, water, air and earth, and all the economic problems and so forth. May everybody live their lives with loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta, and may they only benefit each other without any harm. May everyone have perfect peace and happiness.”

[Rinpoche chants in Tibetan]

Good night.

---

Notes

⁴ See Taking Refuge and Generating Bodhicitta, FPMT Essential Prayer Book. [Return to text]