Working for Dharma Centers

At the meeting of the Board of Directors and center directors they suggested that I give some advice.

Overall, there's more success than failure, with the students and the centers, that's what I believe, what I think, and what I see. So, there's more rejoicing than depression. Even during Lama's time, I think in certain cases there was failure, but I think the majority of cases were very pleasing, very satisfying, according to the capacity of the students. This is what I think from the side of Lama.

The purpose of having a center, as is mentioned in the Bodhicaryavatara, is:

"May the teaching which is the one medicine of the migrating beings exist a long time with offerings and services."

It is very true. This is the only medicine to really solve our problems and sentient beings' problems. Even though there are many hospitals in the world, many expert doctors, as long as beings don't change their attitude, they don't change their actions, which become the cause of their suffering and problems. They don't stop. If there's no change in their actions, there's no change in their life problems, now and in the future. To change your attitude depends on having Dharma wisdom and that depends on meeting the teachings. A complete change of attitude, a complete development of the mind, as well as stopping all harm to oneself and sentient beings, and developing actions to benefit sentient beings, depends on meeting the Buddhadharma. Therefore, until they meet the Buddhadharma and then practice changing their attitude, regardless of how many times they are healed, there is no end to the healing, because it is out of the wrong conception that they continuously commit wrong actions. This is the cause of the problems, so there's no end to taking medicine, expense, operations, dangers, fears, and worries. The whole problem becomes endless.

For example, by living in the vow not to kill, through seeing the shortcomings of the negative karma of killing and renouncing that, one stops experiencing the four aspects of suffering results—the ripening aspect of the lower realms; experiencing the result similar to the cause, which is experiencing a short life in this life or the next life; committing the action of killing again; and possessing the result of being born in a place where there's a lot of danger, epidemic diseases, harmful elements, creatures, and people, where medicines and food don't have power and become harmful to health. Living in this one vow not to kill stops these four types of problems. By thinking of creating the result similar to the cause through having the habit of doing an action again in the next life, by completing that karma, then again one experiences the four types of suffering results. Again, from creating the result similar to the cause, again one experiences another four suffering results. So, it goes on and on. That's how one makes the suffering of samsara without end.

It is unbelievable how many problems and confusions stop in this life and especially in future lives just by living in one vow. If you don't change your attitude and action, then the problems one experiences go on and on without end. Even changing this one action means you stop experiencing all these endless suffering results, which come from that action. That is happiness—not only in this life, but long-term happiness from life to life, which is the absence of the problems which come from that wrong action.

By living in that vow there are four types of good result: creating the result similar to the cause means that again one lives in the vow from life to life. Just thinking of the benefits of one Dharma practice, living in one vow, is unbelievable. One can see so clearly, so logically, how that is the source of happiness in life. Happiness in this life and all future lives, up to enlightenment, completely depends upon oneself, one's own change of attitude and action, through one's own Dharma practice.

Now, think like this: compare just one minute of doing direct meditation, mindfully reading the lamrim prayer with the benefit of all the hospitals that are on the earth, all the external treatments. This one minute reading the lamrim prayer, which becomes direct meditation, plants the seed of the whole path to enlightenment. That builds the potential to end all samsaric sufferings, including their cause. All the external treatments cannot have that effect, cannot plant the seed of enlightenment. They don't develop the potential of the mind towards enlightenment. There is no comparison with the benefits of this one minute of direct lamrim meditation, listening, or mindfully reading, to all those external treatments. From this, one is able to obtain happiness in future lives, liberation, and enlightenment. One cannot obtain these things from those other treatments. Of course, it is very beneficial and good to be able to cure sicknesses and stop problems with medicines, but as long as sentient beings do not meet and practice the Dharma, they continuously create problems. The problems are stopped by meeting the Dharma, by having Dharma wisdom, and putting it into practice. The problems and suffering of samsara are ceased.

Seeing this benefit inspires me about how important it is to teach lamrim. Seeing how incredibly it benefits sentient beings gives great joy and pleasure. One can see very clearly that the teaching of the Buddha is the one medicine to completely cease all the problems and suffering of samsara and their causes—to cease all mental stains. The teaching of the Buddha is the source of all temporal and ultimate happiness. In the Bodhicaryavatara it says that the teachings are the one medicine to cure the suffering of migrating beings—may they exist a long time. In order to exist a long time they need support from those who practice, who do the work to spread them. Without depending on that, the teachings cannot exist and be spread.

Of course, the best in life is if one can live in a solitary place to practice and develop in the lamrim path year by year. In that way, you benefit sentient beings. If one cannot do that, then one studies as much as possible and teaches others, to benefit sentient beings. If one cannot do that, one can help obtain the necessary conditions for teaching, as mentioned in the Bodhicaryavatara. The purpose of the center is that. Without the necessary conditions—the place and means of living, finance—there's no way to invite teachers and for other sentient beings to come there to practice.

I mentioned before about the benefits and importance of teaching Dharma generally, but particularly teaching lamrim. These ultimate benefits, besides all the temporal happiness that sentient beings can experience, which they receive by meeting and practicing the Dharma, is what we offer by working at the center. This is what we offer to sentient beings: inconceivable temporal happiness and, especially, ultimate happiness, making it possible to achieve liberation and enlightenment. These immeasurable benefits are what they receive from all the members, from all those who teach, from the directors, spiritual program coordinators, secretaries, people who help with finances, everyone who contributes, those who do the Dharma activity and those who help provide the material conditions in order for the Dharma activity to happen. These immeasurable benefits are what we are giving to sentient beings.

It is important to remember these incredible benefits. Ultimate happiness is the most important, greatest need of sentient beings, what they're starving for. The greatest benefit is what we're offering. It is important to remember again and again the incredible thing that we're doing for other sentient beings, not only concentrating on the problems of the center. Instead of looking only on the negative side, we should look at the positive side again and again—the great benefit that we're offering to sentient beings. If you look only from the side of the problem, then what you see when you think about the center is "problems"—nothing more than problems. It is like the meditators who see everything as illusory—whatever object they look at or think of they see as the unification of being a dependent arising and empty of true existence. Like that, whenever we think of the center, the understanding that comes is of problems. Instead of emptiness, what appears in the heart through seeing the object is problems. Then, it becomes very unpleasant to stay at the center and think about the center. It becomes like living in a thorn bush. Generally, how things appear depends on how we look at them. Whether they appear as a problem or benefit depends on how we interpret them. Decisions have to be taken from concern for others—if something is not beneficial but is harmful, then it needs to be changed. It is not about making decisions from ego but from concern for the majority of the people at the center. On that basis, by analyzing the different views, then whatever is most practical and has more benefits should be chosen.

Because the director takes responsibility for so many things, he or she should have the expectation, the idea, that "Director" means "I'm the object to be criticized, I'm the object of other people's criticism." One has to expect that, and has to prepare to practice thought transformation. One has to have that plan and motivation. The director is an object to be criticized and badly treated by others. You help, but in return others harm you. It's very important to have this plan in the mind. "Director" means this, so, therefore, you have to practice thought transformation very strongly.

When one doesn't have any responsibility, when one lives alone, there is no criticism, because one doesn't take responsibility for others. Criticism comes the more one takes responsibility—it's natural that one receives more criticism and more problems. If one looks at the situation as one’s Dharma practice, then it's something about which there's no choice. Being in a center, the more problems there are, the more one has to practice. It gives you the opportunity to practice more the thought training teachings, all the lamrim that one has heard so many times, the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, the bodhicitta teachings from the lamrim, and the shortcomings of the self-cherishing thought, from which naturally one can understand the benefits of cherishing others. You get more opportunity to practice, to see the shortcomings of the self-cherishing thought, by being in such a position and place. I think it is very important when one takes on that responsibility: to prepare and have this plan. If one is going to defeat the enemy by going to war, one has to have all the equipment and weapons ready to use. It's like that.

Because one's own mind has obscurations and ignorance, negative karma is created. There is a cause to receive criticism because of ignorance and negative karma created in the past. Other sentient beings' minds are obscured, have ignorance, anger, and attachment—all these mental stains. So, because of that, it's natural for problems to arise and for sentient beings to criticize you. That is why they're sentient beings. If one is Buddha and others are Buddha, having ceased all the mental stains, then there is no reason to hear criticism. But since oneself and others are not enlightened beings, have not ceased the mental stains, then it's natural to have problems and to receive criticism.

This is a place to examine one's own mind. When one is with others, then somehow other sentient beings who are around oneself are a reflection of one's own mind. People who become negative towards oneself are a reflection. The quality of one's own mind is reflected, is appearing to oneself. People who have a very good heart, who are very generous, see others more as kind and as helping them. How people surrounding you appear to you is the reflection of your own mind. People are manifesting in that way according to one's own attitude and according to one's own actions. It very much looks this way. One person could be very negative and a bad friend to somebody, but for you, this same person, who many other people may see as very cruel and negative, could be very kind, love and respect you. That person feels your attitude—warmhearted and kind—so has a different attitude towards you. That's why I'm saying that the people around you are very much the reflection of your own mind, your own attitude. The quality of your own mind determines how the people around you appear to you. Generally, it seems like that.

For the person who practices thought transformation or patience, even though all sentient beings criticize and treat him badly, that person cannot find one single enemy. That person finds others only benefiting him. If you have no anger, you don't find any enemy outside. It very much depends on one's attitude, how one interprets and looks at things. I think the good heart really seems to be the solution for everything.

I often talk about all the inconceivable benefits that sentient beings receive by practicing tantra and by meeting tantric teachings at the center. By having the center, sentient beings are able to meet the tantric teachings, besides receiving all the inconceivable benefits from the lamrim, the Three Principles of the Path to enlightenment, from hearing teachings about bodhicitta—even a one-day or weekend course—which make it possible for sentient beings to gain enlightenment. Hearing teachings about the renunciation of samsara makes it possible for sentient beings to attain liberation. Hearing teachings on emptiness makes it possible for sentient beings to cut the root of samsara. Even by understanding intellectually the meaning of dependent arising, a sentient being has started to open the door to liberation and been given the opportunity to eliminate the ignorance of true existence. From that moment, they open the door. The opportunity to completely end the suffering of samsara begins the moment sentient beings understand what dependent arising means. Even one second of meditating on dependent arising and emptiness purifies even the heaviest uninterrupted negative karma, all the other negative karmas, and the ten non-virtues.

By hearing teachings on bodhicitta, and each time the person meditates on bodhicitta, he or she accumulates infinite merit and creates the cause of enlightenment. It becomes the greatest purification. All this is what we're offering other sentient beings—from the teacher, director, spiritual program coordinator, all the members who help with finance, and whoever works at the center.

Particularly, when people hear Buddhadharma, they generate faith in Buddha. When they start to meditate, they get experience. As they start to experience calmness and peace, they develop faith in Buddha. By taking teachings on karma they understand what is right and wrong—what is wrong, to abandon, and what is right, to practice, the cause of suffering and the cause of happiness. That's how we lead sentient beings in the right path. It is the greatest benefit that we're offering.

Whatever lifestyle one has, work one does, all the success that people talk about in the world, without depending on Dharma, there is no way to have success. Success in business is dependent on good karma. To be healthy depends on good karma. Finding a job depends on having good karma. Having wealth depends on good karma. Having a harmonious life, harmonious relationships, in the family and in society, depends on good karma. All good things are dependent on good karma. All failures and undesirable things are dependent on negative karma.

Everything is dependent on practice. To prevent all undesirable things, to have all success, all good things, is dependent on good karma. There is no way to have success, any good, desirable things, without Dharma practice. That is the ultimate answer. So, for people in the world, whether they accept reincarnation or not, whether they accept the definitions of what virtue and non-virtue are, whether they reject or accept Buddhism, the ultimate answer is Dharma practice. To stop life’s problems and to have success, one needs to purify. The ultimate answer is: if one doesn't want problems, one needs to purify the cause and abandon the cause of the problems. There are two things: one is to purify past causes which have already been created, and the other thing is to abandon creating the cause again. That is Dharma practice. There is no way to stop problems and to have success without Dharma practice. Whether sentient beings accept or understand this or not, that is the ultimate answer. The ultimate solution is to practice Dharma.

Therefore, it is important that we study and practice as much as possible, and teach. Or if we don't teach, that we help provide the conditions causing other sentient beings to meet the Dharma. There is no other real solution for life problems except Dharma. Purify the causes already created and abandon creating the cause again. This is what we're offering sentient beings, so rejoice!

All these are the benefits. By oneself alone, it's difficult to do. Oneself alone cannot do all the activities: be the teacher, director, spiritual program coordinator. Oneself cannot be everything. Therefore, offering these extensive benefits depends on the help of the group, who can do different things. By joining with the group doing Dharma activities, having a teacher and so forth, one receives all these benefits. Each person helping at the center receives all these benefits and offers all these benefits to other sentient beings. That is the benefit of working as a group, and that is the purpose of the center. Therefore, each group member is very kind. One is able to offer all these benefits with their help. By working together with them, one is able to offer all these extensive benefits to other sentient beings. So, therefore, they are very kind.

While one is working at the center, one should remember guru yoga, particularly that the work is given directly by Lama. That service becomes guru yoga. No matter how hard it is, it becomes guru yoga practice. That is one thing to concentrate on. Then one needs to think of the benefits. The first of the benefits is becoming closer to enlightenment by following the advice. Each time one obtains advice, one becomes closer to enlightenment. The second thing is, even by making offerings, one comes closer to enlightenment. One remembers guru yoga practice, and the benefits of that. As mentioned in the Kalachakra tantra, having made prostrations to the Buddhas of the three times, in all the past, present, and future eons, and having made offerings to all the Buddhas in all these three times, even if one protected 10 million sentient beings and creatures from being killed, one doesn't become enlightened in this life. But if one pleases the lama who has oceans of qualities, with devotion, then one will achieve qualities: sublime and general realizations in this life.

In other words, without pleasing the guru, one's own virtuous teacher, one cannot become enlightened, even if one does a lot of prostrations, makes offerings, does other practices, and protects and liberates millions of animals from being killed. Even if you don’t do those other virtuous things, if one, with devotion, is able to please the virtuous teacher, that makes it possible to achieve the general and sublime realizations in this very lifetime. The conclusion is that realization depends on pleasing the virtuous teacher.

One tantric text says that one who is expert in the service of the guru, that fortunate one's service has much greater meaning than having done 10.6 million prostrations to the buddhas. If one accomplishes the guru's advice and instruction, then all one’s wishes will succeed and one will achieve infinite merit.

It's good to remember these benefits that are explained in the teachings. One has to remember that when one is working, even if one doesn't live at a center but works at a center. Especially when one faces difficulties doing the work, offering service, it's very important to remember this, and in this way there is something to enjoy. You see it is a path. What one is doing is a path to enlightenment. By seeing the benefit, there is great enjoyment.

Another thing to remember is, since we took the bodhisattva vow, there are three types of morality. One is morality doing work for sentient beings. Therefore, we should recognize the work we do at the center is practicing the bodhisattva vow of morality, doing work for sentient beings. There are about 11 things explained in the lamrim teachings, such as guiding someone on the road who doesn't know the way, and giving medicine to someone who is sick. Recognize the activity at the center as Dharma. Doing work at the center is putting the bodhisattva vow into practice. Many other sentient beings are depending on your help. Whatever responsibility one has taken, whatever work one is doing, other beings are depending on you. They need your help—with teaching, translating, whatever. Your doing that is the practice of the bodhisattva vow.

After taking an initiation there are the five Dhyani Buddha samayas. The Vairocana samaya has the morality of doing works to benefit sentient beings. Offering service is putting into practice the samaya of Vairocana. In the Amoghasiddhi samaya there are four types of charity. We should recognize the work we do as the charity of fearlessness. We're causing the suffering of samsara and all the fears and obscurations to end. Dharma is the best protection, and is the only thing which can end all fears. Without practicing Dharma, there is no way to stop fear. The essence of Dharma is karma, the Mahayana teaching of the good heart, and bodhicitta. That protects sentient beings from fears, dangers, the sufferings of samsara, and those mental stains. It is not just the charity of fearlessness when somebody is beating someone and you stop it, or someone is hungry and you give them food, or sick and you give medicine—it is not just that. Here, the charity of fearlessness is to completely end fear and danger. Realize what you are doing. There are many temporary charities of fearlessness, but the main one is to not have fear, to be free from the danger of samsara, and also, by spreading the Mahayana teaching, to be free from the danger of falling into peace, the liberation for one’s self, the lower nirvana. Then there's Dharma charity, if one does work out of loving kindness. As one helps, even just with material things, the charity of contributing physically, helping the center with materials, helping others at the center, and with miscellaneous charity, one is practicing the samaya of Amoghasiddhi.

Also, it is very important sometimes to remember Guru Shakyamuni Buddha's life, which comes at the end of the Chöd practice. There are many of his bodhisattva life stories, such as when he became king and made charity of everything to other sentient beings; when he made charity of his body to the tiger; and when he made charity of his blood to the yakshas. To those who gave harm, in return he gave benefit. The brahmin Patient One—the king—cut all his limbs off and yet he continuously practiced patience, without disturbing his mind. Those bodhisattva life stories of all those great sacrifices for others are very helpful to read sometimes, like at the end of six session guru yoga, when one recites the lamrim prayer, or during the Lama Chöpa lamrim prayer, when it comes to the section on charity or the section on exchanging oneself for others. Reading this prayer is very effective. Also, you can recite it in a group at the center. It is very inspiring for the practice of bodhicitta.

Also, in the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, the second verse talks about holding oneself as the lowest of all and respecting others and keeping them higher. We need to practice like that. That is very important in order to have good communication with others. This verse is very important to practice, so that respect comes for others, then there is good communication. Good communication depends on how much good heart one has. A person who is more selfish, angry, impatient, has worse communication with others; the more good heart there is, the better communication there is with others. The solution for communication is the good heart. For the good heart one needs to purify negative karma. If we are not having good communication, no success, those karmas, again, what we have to do is to purify the karma. It involves Dharma practice: purification and practicing the good heart. The solution is lamrim practice. It is very important for all of us to practice the second verse from the Eight Verses as much as possible, to look at others' qualities, what they have, the many things that we see and the many things that we don't see, and always to have in mind that "I am the servant of sentient beings." However many people there are at the center, think: "I am the servant of all these people." Having that attitude is very important, to put others higher than oneself. Whatever the outside appearance is, having that mental attitude helps very much with communication, respect comes, then there is a very comfortable feeling in the body.

Think: "I am the servant of sentient beings, to pacify their sufferings, to obtain happiness for them." Then, particularly, one thinks: "I am the servant of all these people at the center." However many there are at the center, think: "I am for their use; I am for their enjoyment." In this way there is great pleasure. When it is the other way around, when you think that "they are for my enjoyment, my use," then the mind becomes very unhappy and painful because it involves the self-cherishing thought. The nature of that is painful, uptight, unhealthy, and uncomfortable. The other way of thinking brings a very mentally relaxed mind. Real relaxation is mental relaxation. I think that attitude can stop a lot of problems at a center, a lot of conflicts of personalities, and many things. The point is, as it says in the Bodhicaryavatara, and as often His Holiness the Dalai Lama says, that "this is what I practice": "May I become the means of living for sentient beings, like the earth and so forth." That means the four elements—fire, water, earth, and sky. How these four elements are used is up to sentient beings, not the elements. How water is used is up to sentient beings, not the water. It is like that with each one. Like this, how oneself is used by other sentient beings is up to other sentient beings, not to oneself. Oneself becomes the means of living for other sentient beings, like the four elements and the sky, for sentient beings to use for their happiness. It's good to remember this verse and these things in the morning, after one has motivated.

This is a short way to do it: In the morning, as you get up, remember how fortunate you are, you didn't die, you once again have the perfect human rebirth to practice Dharma, and Dharma is the only solution for oneself and for other sentient beings, bringing definite benefit. If one is happy or suffering, now or in a future life, remember death—that one is constantly dying. One is called "alive" but actually there is no difference between a person who has AIDS and cancer and someone who isn’t ill. Even though I don't have these diseases, still I may die before people who have them; death can happen today. Besides continuously running towards the Lord of Death, if the negative karma is not purified, I am going fast to the lower realms, without stopping for even one second. There's no break in becoming nearer to the Lord of Death, and to the lower realms, even for a minute or a second. On top of that, we have uncertainty about the time of death. There is no difference between those who are in hospital and regarded as dying now and those who are healthy, in terms of when death can come. Remember this very strongly.

Then generate the power of the attitude. You can use the verse from Lama Chöpa:

"Cherishing oneself is the source of all degeneration, all the undesirable things; and cherishing others is the source of all the qualities, all the desirable things, all success. Therefore, please grant me blessings to be able to do the exchange of oneself for others as the heart practice."

Remember this quotation, then think of how the self-cherishing thought has been keeping me in the oceans of samsaric sufferings from beginningless rebirths and has not allowed me to have any realizations in my mental continuum. In either a short or elaborate way, think of the shortcomings of samsara. Then think of the benefits of bodhicitta, cherishing others. Bodhicitta is the most powerful means of purification; bodhicitta practice is the best means of accumulating the most extensive merit, it is the best medicine, the best way of bringing wealth, and the best protection. Remember Guru Shakyamuni Buddha's bodhicitta. From Guru Shakyamuni Buddha's bodhicitta so many sentient beings were led to happiness, liberation, and enlightenment. This is continuously happening until samsara ends. One's own bodhicitta is similar to this. If one has bodhicitta, one can also lead numberless sentient beings to happiness, liberation, and enlightenment, purifying all the mental stains and completing all the realizations until all sentient beings become enlightened. Bodhicitta is the source of all happiness.

After that one can think: "Until I achieve enlightenment, in this life, particularly this year, this month, this week, especially today, I won't let myself be under the control of the self-cherishing thought and I will never be separate from bodhicitta."

You can motivate like that. From now on, think: "In order to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, to pacify all their sufferings, to lead them to enlightenment, I'm going to do virtuous practices, work with body, speech, and mind. May these virtuous works of body, speech, and mind become only causes for me to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings."

This becomes a causal motivation. There is causal-time motivation and action-time motivation. For example, there is a motivation before we begin a sadhana—we try to generate bodhicitta—then during the sadhana there can be all kinds of motivations. During the sadhana, or during the recitation of mantras, the action-time motivation could be something else, could be opposite to the causal motivation. It could be non-virtue during the recitation of the mantra; the causal motivation did not continue, it changed. However, this becomes the causal motivation of the work or the activities of body, speech, and mind. Causal motivation is regarded as very important. By training like this, then gradually the mind can be oneness with and transformed into this motivation. Now, it looks kind of artificial, we have to force it, but later, through training, it becomes natural.

The other thing that I would like to request, especially for the students who have a connection with me, is to take the Eight Mahayana Precepts. Taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts also helps ordained people to a certain extent to live purely in a certain number of vows that day. Especially, lay people could take the Eight Mahayana Precepts at least once a month. That brings so much hope and confidence, and when death comes causes you not to worry, and creates so many causes to have the confidence to go to a pure realm. Even if the path is not completed in this life, that gives the opportunity to appear in a pure realm, where there is the opportunity to continue the rest of the path, and receive again the body of a happy migrating being, the perfect human rebirth, so as to continue the practice. This is my plan, or what I would like, since it is just one day and so easy to do. Without morality there is no good rebirth in the next life. Without legs one cannot walk, cannot go to the place where one wishes to go, and this is a practical Dharma practice, a source of happiness for oneself and others.

I recently translated all the extensive commentary on the benefits that are explained in a few different texts. First, we translated them into Chinese, so that the Chinese people who like doing nyung näs or the Eight Mahayana Precepts so much can do them immediately. Later, it would be good in English, so it is available for everybody.

As I mentioned yesterday during the precepts, if one makes a vow to not kill and lives in that vow for 24 hours, all sentient beings do not receive the harm of killing from you. Therefore, not receiving that harm from you is peace; the absence of harm is peace. By living in one vow you are offering this peace to all sentient beings. The more vows one lives in, the less harm one gives to other sentient beings, and the more peace one offers other sentient beings. That is the real world peace. You are causing world peace practically, whether one attends world peace meetings or not. From one's own side, that is a real practical contribution to world peace.

By doing these practices it makes our connections worthwhile, that's all. They’re supposed to be for happiness, so the purpose is fulfilled. So, I think that's all.

I would like to thank the students here for all the service they have given to help with these meetings. I think it's very good—doing Dharma activities gets rid of the feeling of isolation, one feels unity. It generates some more feeling, like living in a family. The way this center is run depends upon a few strong or unique families, and it has been like this for so many years. With much hardship it has continued, even though in the summertime it is muddy and in the wintertime it is dusty. In spite of all the hardships, it has continued and invited great teachers from time to time and given the opportunity for many sentient beings to take initiations and tantric teachings. Many times it has given the incredible opportunity to other sentient beings to hear and be able to practice all those profound teachings, all those incredible means that make it possible to achieve enlightenment within a few years. One particular thing is that the students here are very strong in keeping their commitments, practicing sadhanas—it's very good, very inspiring. They work very hard in the daytime, then do the practices, the sadhanas, and so forth, continuously, so keeping their strength. I think that is inspiring.

I would like to thank everybody very much. Please continue. The directors asked me to say something, so mainly this is about how, with what attitude, we should work for the center. The main point is those great, positive things and the many benefits that we offer at the center. We should remember again and again what they are. This is a very brief, basic introduction. That is all. Thank you very much.