Day One: Seeing suffering of others and developing the wish to offer them the highest benefit

By reflecting the object, nature of suffering, as it is nature of suffering, reflecting the object in the nature of suffering, nature of impermanence, that it can be stopped any time. If it’s a person, nature of impermanence and death, that death can happen any time. It can happen to oneself, it can happen to that person, the object of attachment. Even by thinking that subtle impermanence, not only change day by day, hour by hour, not only that. Change and decaying day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, even within a second, even within [snaps fingers] a second. It’s called a second, one second of starting action and completing action, it’s called [Tibetan]. So, even [snaps fingers] within a second like this, it is changing, it is decaying, it doesn’t last. Even within a second it doesn’t last, it decays, it changes, it decays, it doesn’t last. So that is even more subtle impermanence, gross, subtle, then extremely subtle, so changing even within a second, it doesn’t last, even within a second, decays.

So however, so like this, that these causative phenomena, that particular object of attachment, that you think, that appears to your hallucinated mind and you believe that this object will be always like this, will last for a long time, will be always like this, when you are looking at the object, concept of permanence, will be always like this. Even the minute before object perishes, disintegrates or, even before the death, the next minute death happens, but even a minute before death still one believe that it’s going to be always like this. This person, this person’s body will be always like this. So there is a concept of permanence there. Hallucination. Appeared permanence and believe in that, believing that it will be always like this, concept of permanence. So even by thinking that this object, what exists in the first second is gone, it doesn’t exist during the next second, it doesn’t exist, it’s gone. What appears during the first second doesn’t exist during the next second. Yesterday’s you do not exist during today. Yesterday’s you, which was existing yesterday, do not exist today. It’s gone. So similar, that object which exists in the first second, the next second it’s gone, it’s not there, it’s gone. During that next second it doesn’t exist.

So even by this, even by reflecting, meditating on this, it makes to think there’s nothing to hold on to, there’s nothing to grab or nothing to grasp or nothing to hold on to, if one really examine the object, nature of the object, impermanence. So, remembering impermanence and death that’s one most powerful thing that can happen to this object of attachment and to also oneself, can happen any time.

Also, after meeting, as it’s mentioned in the nature of samsara, what comes after the meeting is separation, so we have to be aware in this. What comes, what results after the meeting is separation. What comes after collecting, what comes after the collection is finishing. After the birth is death. So we came here, in this life came from various countries and gathered here. So then after a few days then separate, separate.

Similar, our family this life, this life, the consciousness came from various realms, previous life somewhere else, some deva realm, some from the hell realm, animal, preta, even human being, from different realms and gathered here in this house, in this place, in this country, in this place, in this house, gathered. And gathered, this is father, this is mother, this is wife, this is husband, this is children, this is sister, this is brother, this is this, this is that, so gathered, then soon, after gathered, met each other, after gathered sooner or later, separate. Then again different universes, different realms, some goes to lower realms, some goes maybe the human realm or deva realm, however, so like that. Just a short term, just a short time gathered there in human body. So, yeah, and have been, who has been friend has been enemy in the past and will be enemy in the future and everything, all the relationships changes. It has been changing and will be changed. It has been changing and will be changing. So just this short term, now all of these in human body gathered, in human body, all these in human body, all these sentient beings, it doesn’t mean they’re the only one you have relationship, not that. Relationship with all sentient beings. The relationship we have with every sentient being, with every insect, with every animal, including crocodiles, you know crocodiles? Including the crocodiles. Relationship with crocodiles, the mosquitoes that’s flying around here, mosquitoes, every human being, whichever country they are from, whichever nationality or different language, different color, however, and devas, however, we have relationship with, various ways relationship with them, with every sentient being, so actually the whole sentient beings are family, in this way you think, then you can think whole sentient beings actually family, we don’t ?see this because we don’t see the past and we don’t see the future. The whole sentient beings are family, just exactly as this one, this group, this is my brother, this is my sister, this is my father and mother, so exactly the same as this, all the sentient beings, the same, family. So anyway if we think this way also it helps, you can feel the whole, everyone is your family. Then there’s nobody to leave out.

So anyway, this life, just these sentient beings took human body, born from the same father and mother, and including father and mother themselves they have human body, somehow you are born from that and that’s it. And this is short time, this is very short time. Then consciousness, this life nature of impermanence, then the body, the consciousness migrate, this group, this family group consciousness, one’s own family group, these consciousness, your own consciousness migrate in other realms after this, then each one is somewhere else, totally. Just very short term in, the father, mother, brother, sister, all these, however, the wife, husband, in a human body gathered, just for a short time. So then after, sooner or later, the body has to be left and the consciousness goes somewhere else, due to karma. Then you reincarnate, then you get born to somebody else, in the next life if it’s taking birth, [pause] those lice, there are sentient beings who get born from the heat, from the warmth, from the heat, like the lice is born from the body, I don’t know what they will think, we are born from this person’s body, this person is my mother or father, I’m not sure they think, the lice. I’m born from this person’s hand, arms or feet, from those, I’m born from this person’s under the arms or somewhere, this person is my father or mother, I’m not sure.

Anyway, if one is going to take birth from womb, then again some other sentient being become your mother. So it’s been like this from beginningless rebirth, from beginningless rebirth up to now like that. And it will be like this until we are free from the cycle of death and rebirth, free from the samsara.

So now here, if you analyze like this, it’s something that all the sentient beings you need to cherish, you need to cherish all sentient beings, your family, it makes to think. By thinking this way it makes because everyone we have relationship numberless times in the past, numberless times, even that numberless times, not just one time. So this family, here, when you think like this, now this family, they are not the first one, father and mother, brother and sister, it’s not the first time, this is not the first time. Then, you have numberless times, all sentient beings, all sentient beings have been your brother, father and mother, brother and sister, wife, husband, like that, they have been also your children like that. So it helps, this is just short time that these sentient beings, even being human body, then brother, sister, all that, this is only short time. So then this helps, thinking this way it helps, not strong attachment, it helps that, and then also by losing, by dying or losing then sadness, griefness, grief for whole life, grief in your heart for whole life, some people have whole life grief when the other companion passed away or the friend or the family member. So it helps, because that is thinking, this is the only one who have relationship, you don’t think of the rest of the sentient beings, you don’t think that you have relationship with them. So that’s what makes you grieve the whole life when that person’s passed away. So it also helps that, because there’s is not only them, there are numberless of them that one has relationship, connection.

So, and it is not giving up compassion. Compassion is there if you think of their suffering, sentient beings’ suffering, the family, these sentient beings who took human body and they took together with you this time, which duration is very short, so if you think of their suffering or other sentient beings’ suffering, so compassion rises by thinking of their suffering, so it’s not giving up them, but letting go the attachment. Not giving up compassion but what brings you so much grief, what brings so much sadness, what doesn’t allow you to realize emptiness, to see the ultimate nature and to actualize the path, to achieve liberation, the exaggerated mind, the attachment, the hallucinated mind, which does function obscuring the mind to actualize the path and to realize the ultimate nature so forth.

So what I was mentioning before was, so by thinking of the nature of impermanence, then that the death can happen any time to oneself, the impermanence-death, the death can happen any time to the object, the person, the nature of samsara that one meet then separate, then again after some time due to karma, come together. Again, due to karma, again come together, meet, again separate, go separate in many different universes, many different realms, then again after some time, come together, again meet together, meet that sentient being either in form of animal body or form of human body, due to past karma, meet again, so like that, so however, by thinking this, nature of impermanence, changes, so like that, helps to let go attachment, strong grasping mind that gives you so much worry, fears, so much problem in the life. And any material object or any sentient being, whether it’s animal, whether it’s human being, so by thinking that what exists today doesn’t exist by this time tomorrow. What exists within this hour doesn’t exist next hour. What exists within this minute doesn’t exist next minute. What exists within this second doesn’t exist by the time, by the next second, it’s gone. So thinking, being mindful of all this so that helps to, makes it easy, by thinking of the reality of the causative phenomena, nature of impermanence, thinking in this way, so then there’s no object for the attachment, there’s no time or there’s no space in the mind to rise attachment. There’s no object the attachment to hold onto, to grasp. [pause]

I’m not sure how I came to this point. I’m lost now. Think came from somewhere between some rocky mountains, snows and, now I’m lost. Some mountains where there’s kangaroos, some mountains where there’s yaks or the , anyway I’m joking.

However, so what I was saying before, so oneself to cause other sentient beings the happiness of all the coming future lives, so the long run happiness, so this service, this benefit is more important than the first one. The evolution of this is, to cause all this happiness, happiness of all the future lives towards other sentient beings, then all this has to come from their own mind. So therefore, why we need to give them education of mind, what is the mind, education of mind, and the education of Dharma, what is right, that brings happiness to oneself, brings happiness to others, what is the right thing, right to be practiced, what is the wrong, to be abandoned, wrong which harms to oneself and harms to others, so one need to educate them, karma, one need to educate them Dharma, particular the karma. What is the cause of happiness? What is the cause of the sufferings? So one need to educate them Dharma, one need to educate them karma, the cause and effect. What kind of cause, suffering effect; what kind of cause the effect, happiness, has. So cause is their own mind, negative and positive, the virtue, nonvirtue, and the action, the pure action and the impure action. Pure action, virtuous action and the nonvirtuous action, the negative action, harmful action. Introduce, need to educate them, karma, the cause and effect, the shortcomings of the ten nonvirtuous actions, how do the actions become negative, nonvirtue and their results. So educating them ten nonvirtuous actions and the ten virtuous actions, pure actions, which results only happiness, all the benefits.

Best, and then educate them compassion to all the sentient beings without discrimination, without leaving out even one, educating compassion, to have compassion towards all the living beings, to everyone, anyone who desire happiness but devoid of happiness. Even that being has temporary happiness but devoid of ultimate happiness. Even that being has ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara, but devoid of peerless happiness, full enlightenment. So, all those beings who desire happiness including peerless happiness, enlightenment, who desire and who are devoid of happiness. And who do not desire suffering but constantly suffering. So generate compassion to everyone. So this is the best one. So this way then that sentient being stops giving harm to all the sentient beings, not only that but that sentient being, by developing compassion more and more, that sentient being do something, cause happiness, do something in the action, cause happiness to all sentient beings. And also that inspires to develop wisdom, the compassion inspires to develop wisdom. Otherwise, you can’t help others. There’s a limitation without wisdom to help others. So compassion inspires, persuades the person to develop wisdom.

And then, not only that, more important benefit than that to other sentient beings is to bring them in the sorrowless state, the everlasting happiness, that which is totally free from all, oceans of samsaric suffering and cause, the delusion and karma. By educating them, by showing the path, by educating them the path to liberation, basic path to achieve liberation, the three higher trainings, giving them education and letting them to practice and to actualize this path to liberation. Educating them four noble truths, giving education of four noble truths to them, so then that’s how you can bring them, by teaching them, educating them, recognize their own suffering, not only suffering of pain but the suffering of changes, how the samsaric pleasures are only in the nature of suffering by explaining, by educating them. And then the foundation of those two other sufferings, pervasive compounding suffering. By educating them, by letting them to realize their own suffering and through that they realize, yeah, also other sentient beings’ suffering. So, then from that, it is not permanent, it is a causative phenomenon, it depends on cause, it came from a cause, delusion and karma, so by realizing the cause of the suffering, then they find out the cessation of that, cessation of the delusion and karma, achieving this is the way to be free forever from the oceans of samsaric suffering, to achieve the everlasting happiness. And you can achieve that, whether one achieve that, then questioning, then one can achieve that because there’s path exists. Then one educate the path, by learning the path and then actualizing the path in their heart, then one bring them to nirvana, the sorrowless state. So this benefit, this service to other sentient beings more important than the previous one.

Now the most important service to other sentient beings, that is on the basis of all those previous practices, letting them to practice the refuge, karma, then three higher trainings, then now on the basis of all this, then one educate them bodhicitta, the bodhisattva’s deeds, the six paramitas, the path, the five Mahayana paths to achieve enlightenment, ten bhumis. On the basis of bodhicitta, introduce the tantric path, the path of method and wisdom, or those who have karma then to practice the maha-anuttara yoga tantra path, then on the basis of bodhicitta, emptiness, then introduce, educate them the maha-anuttara yoga tantra path, so that they can achieve enlightenment quickest, even in a brief lifetime of degenerated time. Not only after sixteen lifetimes, not only after seven lifetimes, not only after three lifetimes, in this life. Even that in a brief lifetime of degenerated time, by practicing Highest Tantra, so by educating them then able to bring to enlightenment quickest, so like that. So however, bringing the sentient beings to enlightenment, to the peerless happiness, enlightenment, this is the greatest benefit, service, to sentient beings.

So now, for that, then to be able to do perfect work towards sentient beings, bring them from happiness to happiness, bring them to full enlightenment, to do that by oneself then first oneself need to be enlightened, need to have all the qualities, one’s own mind to be completed in all the qualities, perfect understanding, perfect compassion, perfect completed understanding, compassion, power. So, without any mistake, free from all the mistakes, mistakes of the mind. Not only free from gross mistakes, even the subtle mistakes, subtle negative imprint. For that then, that doesn’t happen without cause, conditions, so one need to actualize the path. And even the path, it has to be complete path, cannot be just practicing one meditation in the whole life, cannot make it. With that one cannot achieve, even it’s correct, cannot achieve full enlightenment. So the complete path has to be unmistaken, the path to achieve enlightenment, so what one has to actualize it should be unmistaken, pure path, and the pure path should be complete in order to achieve enlightenment. Just some part of the path having realization, cannot achieve enlightenment, that alone. And all this, the unmistaken path and complete path, even that then it should be in order, graduate, one has to actualize the realizations of the path to enlightenment in steps, it has to be in order, graduate. First achieve, first practice Highest Tantra then, anyway, before actualizing the common path, renunciation, bodhicitta, wisdom realizing emptiness, before the common path, before actualizing this, then practicing Highest Tantra first, so not like that. Without the wisdom realizing emptiness, there’s no way to practice tantra, there’s no way to generate oneself as deity, there’s no way to visualize the mandala, there’s way to even visualize the offerings, because everything, there’s no way to visualize deity, even the front deity, everything what one practice it has to be vajra, inseparability of method and wisdom. Even generating the front deity, even generating oneself as deity, everything has to be vajra, even the offerings that you offer in the sadhana, it has to be vajra, inseparability of method and wisdom, one mind unified of method and wisdom, so with that mind then you practice everything, so that’s how everything can become vajra, inseparability of method and wisdom, so that brings you to enlightenment, so that’s why it’s called yana, vehicle. So with only one wing the bird cannot fly; by depending on two thing then can fly. Similar, tantric practice is done with one mind unified of method and wisdom, so that becomes vajra; otherwise it doesn’t become vajra, inseparability of method and wisdom, so like that. Then if it’s only one, then that cannot cease the defilements, cannot cease the dualistic view, cannot achieve enlightenment. [pause]

With strong guru devotion you may receive blessings, but it doesn’t become real tantric practice, because it’s not perfected, whatever you do is not perfected, as I mentioned before, one mind unified of method and wisdom, then have to practice everything. Only that way then it becomes vajra-yana. And all that, not only that it has to become Vajrayana, but all that has to be practiced with bodhicitta. Of course best one is actual realization of bodhicitta, effortless bodhicitta, Bodhicitta, altruistic mind to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, that you feel spontaneously, without any effort, like when you think you are hungry, that doesn’t depend on many reasonings why you are hungry, the thought of hunger rises or attachment, when attachment rises, it spontaneously rises, it doesn’t need effort to rise attachment, to grow attachment you don’t need effort in that. However, even not effortless bodhicitta, at least tantric practice should be done with effortful bodhicitta. What it means is, in the text it says jang-chub sem ?nye sempa, that’s what it says in the text, at least ?man-ta, at least, so what it’s saying is, at least the tantric practice should be done with, when you have effortful bodhicitta, jang chub sem ?nye sempa, that is with effort, first you meditate on your own samsara, how it’s the nature of suffering, generate renunciation, wish to be, determination to be free from this, your own samsara, by seeing it’s only nature of suffering, by generating aversion to that. And then, thinking other sentient beings, remembering, reflecting other sentient being’s samsara, that they are similar, all other sentient beings, how they are experiencing suffering of samsara. So seeing others’ samsara is only in the nature of suffering, then generate the great compassion, not only wishing other sentient beings, free them from all the suffering and causes, but yourself, I must liberate the sentient beings from the sufferings and cause of the sufferings, so taking responsibility on yourself. Not only wishing that they’re free from the suffering but taking responsibility on oneself. So, great compassion. In the text there are different ways of explaining great compassion. This is one definition of great compassion. According to different texts or different lamas there’s different way of explaining definition of great compassion. However, I follow this way, as Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo explained.

So by generating the, by thinking of the reasons, how sentient beings are suffering, how they are so kind and so precious, that your happiness comes from them, so precious and kind, and how they have so much suffering, so generate compassion, then from that, bodhicitta. So the solution is, oneself to achieve enlightenment, to free the numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them in the peerless happiness, full enlightenment, not only bring them, not only cause them temporary happiness but cause them ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara; not only that, bring them in full enlightenment. To do this work perfectly without any mistake, then first one must achieve full enlightenment.

So, by thinking of the reasons, putting effort, then you feel, then the thought want to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings comes, it rises by thinking of the reasons, those previous reasons. Then with effort you feel the need to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, the thought, I need to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, the wish to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. The wish seeking happiness for others, along with that then the thought seeking enlightenment. So the principal consciousness, what bodhicitta is is not a mental factor, it’s the principal consciousness that, as the surrounding of the, it is accompanied with the mental factor to achieve, in order to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, so first generating the wish, seeking enlightenment for others, then for that, generating the wish oneself to achieve enlightenment, so along with that, there’s the principal consciousness.

However, so with effort, thinking of all those previous reasons, then you feel, then the thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings comes, so that is, so it’s not intellectual, it’s not completely intellectual, following just the words, but you feel from the heart, with effort, with all those previous meditations. So that, at least jang chub sem ?nye sempa, in Tibetan, so that means at least having that thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, rising from within one’s own mind, but with the effort, thinking of the reasons. So at least one need to practice tantra, at least with such effortful bodhicitta motivation.

So anyway, so to achieve enlightenment, one need to actualize the graduated path of the higher capable being, that depends on foundation, the graduated path of the middle capable being in general, and that depends on graduated path of the lower capable being in general, so starts with the, from perfect human rebirth, the beginning of the path to enlightenment. And then what makes successful, from that realization up to enlightenment, starting, the root of the path to enlightenment, after one analyze or search for guru, after one analyze, then correctly devoting to the virtuous friend with thought and action. [long pause]

So, [pause] didn’t get to go through the first meditation, the perfect human rebirth and usefulness, however, I want to mention this, to practice mindfulness, to keep the mind in bodhicitta, not only generating a motivation of bodhicitta at the beginning of meditation, like that, so to practice very strongly mindfulness and to be always bodhicitta, so tomorrow, however, tonight and tomorrow, now, [long pause] so kindness of other sentient beings, how they are so precious, even we see an insect, even we see a dog or a person, immediately [snaps fingers], immediately think, all my past, so like this, a little bit I describe then try to see this, try to feel this. So, numberless sentient beings, like this, bin Laden, so meditate on bin Laden, the kindness. So, first I give the background, anyway. Numberless past, present, future happiness one receive by the kindness of each and every single sentient being, all the numberless past my happiness, present happiness, future happiness, including enlightenment, everything, I receive by the kindness of each and every single sentient being.

So, how you receive all the past, present, future happiness, how’s it received by the kindness of each and every single sentient being? That is, all these three time happiness that one receive, you can say comes from one’s good karma; one’s good karma, virtuous action, that is Buddha’s action, produced by Buddha, only by Buddha; there’s Buddha’s action that which is within us sentient beings, so all our virtuous thoughts are Buddha’s holy actions that is working within us sentient beings. So all my past, present, future happiness came from Buddha; Buddha came from bodhisattva; bodhisattva came from bodhicitta; bodhicitta came from the root, the great compassion; and the great compassion is generated by depending on every single, the existence of the suffering sentient beings, by depending on every single suffering sentient being. The great compassion is generated by depending on the kindness of each and every single suffering sentient being. The compassion is generated because of their existence, those suffering beings’ existence, okay.

So now you can see, all your numberless past, present, future happiness, up to enlightenment, everything you receive by the kindness of each and every single suffering being, received by the kindness of each and every single sentient being, okay. So that means all one’s own past happiness, from beginningless rebirth, and present happiness, future happiness up to enlightenment, temporary and ultimate up to enlightenment, happiness one receives completely by the kindness of every single hell being. So that’s the most precious, most kind one in one’s own life. And one receive all the numberless past happiness, present, future happiness up to enlightenment one receive by the kindness of every single hungry ghost. They’re the most precious, most kind one in one’s own life. And one receive numberless past happiness, present, future happiness up to enlightenment, one receive by the kindness of every single animal. They’re the most precious, most kind one in one’s own life. One receive one’s own numberless past happiness, present, future happiness up to enlightenment one receive by the kindness of every single human being. They are the most precious, most kind one in one’s own life. One receive numberless past happiness, present, future happiness up to enlightenment, everything, one receive by the kindness of every single sura being. They’re the most precious, most kind one in one’s own life. And all these three time happiness one receive by the kindness of every single asura being. They’re the most precious, most kind one in one’s own life. One receive all the numberless past happiness, present, future happiness up to enlightenment one receive by the kindness of every single intermediate state being. They are the most precious, most kind one in one’s own life. [pause]

So bin Laden, so I receive all my numberless past happiness, that even the omniscient mind cannot see the beginning, so numberless past happiness, my past numberless happiness I receive from, by the kindness of bin Laden. So therefore, now become unbelievably precious, inexpressible how precious he is, because this came great compassion, great compassion is generated on bin Laden, great compassion hasn’t left out bin Laden. Great compassion is generated by depending on the existence, by depending on bin Laden. So he is object of compassion for us, compassion generated by depending on also his kindness. So, that’s the reasoning, logic, how one’s own numberless past happiness one receive by depending on bin Laden, received by the kindness of bin Laden. So it’s unbelievably precious, how kind.

Now one receive all one’s own present happiness from bin Laden, by the kindness of bin Laden, so even more precious. Then now, one receive all the future happiness, realizations of the path to enlightenment, including one’s own enlightenment, so received by the kindness of bin Laden, including enlightenment, all the realizations, including enlightenment, all the happiness, temporary, ultimate happiness of future lives. So become now even more, much more precious, much much more precious than before.

Now, not only that, now, ...