心灵的宁静

文｜刁梦洲

人们在劳碌奔波的人生旅途中，或为追名逐利，热衷于觥筹交错的喧哗中；或为消 闲自在，沉湎于歌舞升平寻欢娱乐中；人们心灵的空间常被挤得满满当当，很难再有宁静的空隙。要让心灵重归宁静，我们该向何方探寻？向何处诉求？世界始终都在处于永不停息的变动之中，无论身边的世界如何变化，能在变幻莫测的环境中保持心灵的宁静，才是一种真正的宁静。在人生中，追求心灵的宁静是永恒的话题，也是人生哲学中最根本和最重要的主题。

心灵的宁静，是一种超然的境界。我们每天被生活的急流所挟裹，为了生活而奔忙，但更多感受到的是生命的无奈，感受到内心无比的空虚和寂寞。我们不知道自己的心归何处，也不知身归何方。在这个物欲横流，浮躁悸动的社会，我们的心中时常产生一种不堪忍受的烦躁和痛苦。我们希望保持内心的宁静与平和，希望抛开世俗尘缘，去寻找一方属于自己的净土，让自己早已疲惫不堪的身体得到些许休憩，让自己漂泊的心灵获得片刻宁静。究竟什么才是心灵的宁静？是安静的听一首歌的时候；是沐浴在阳光下的时候；是行走在细雨中的时候；是为梦想执着追求的时候；是静静等待时间流逝的时候⋯⋯。本来无一物，何处惹尘埃？一切皆空了，何处不是净土？ 世间万物都是因缘际会地显现。可能我们拥有很多财富和荣，但到达人生的终点时候，你得到什么？还不是所有财富和荣都不能带走。每个人心中的那片净土都是自己保留的美好的理想观念在自己脑子中的显现，只有它才给你心灵上的依归。

人们一直说要寻找自我，其实自我不需要寻找，自我始终在身边，在我们心里最深的地方，只是红尘滚滚，埋没了自我，动摇了心灵的根基。活出自我，要懂得坚持，学会执着，保留一块净土，播种自己的希望。人心本无染，心静自然清；清水出芙蓉，天然去雕饰，自我，不需要刻意去改变什么。我想，找到了自我，也就获得了心灵的宁静吧。只有心灵的宁静，才能拥有真正的生命，也才能不再为烦恼所牵。“ 烦恼与菩提，皆是一心，本无自生，能转烦恼为菩提，即是转识成智义”。宇宙万物都是无形无相的，世界万物皆由因缘和合而生。人的贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑是一切烦恼的根本，烦恼是诸苦的根源，是生死轮回的总因，只有摒弃一切贪欲，心无所求，才能摆脱烦恼，达到涅槃解脱。为了寻找心灵的宁静，寻找一片属于自己的心灵的绿洲，我们对人生不停的思考和追寻，去探求人生的真谛。

《六祖坛经》中说：“善知识，凡夫即佛，烦恼即菩提。前念迷，即凡夫；后念悟，即佛。前念着境，即烦恼；后念离境，即菩提”。烦恼和菩提并没有什么不同，都是心的作用。普通人由于执着于分别、名利、计较而不见佛性，因此产生各种烦恼；如果放下执着，心地清明，佛性自现，也就没有烦恼了。同一佛性，在普通人是烦恼，在佛即是菩提。只有灭除烦恼，才能证得菩提。世间到处都充斥着各种欲望和诱惑，人时常都会为世间的繁杂而烦恼，惟有淡泊名利才能明志，惟有保持心灵宁静才能悟到大道，达到静致远的境界。保持心灵的宁静，是对人生的大彻大悟。宁静不但能为我们带来心灵的安宁，更能让我享受生活的乐趣。在纷纷扰扰的世界上，即使是山高路远，潭深涧险，也能体会出“小桥流水”的美好画卷！保持心灵的宁静，是一种睿智。它可以使人超脱，使人向善，使人知可为而为，知不可为而不为；知其该为而为，不该为而不为。使人在“淡泊”与“宁静”的心态中，达到“明志”与“致远”的理想境界。

从前，有位妇人每天都从自家的花园里采撷鲜花到寺院供佛。一天，她问无德禅师：“我每天来礼佛时，自觉心灵就像洗涤过似地清凉，但回到家中，心就烦乱了，作为一个家庭主妇，如何在烦嚣的尘世中保持一颗清净纯洁的心呢？”无德禅师反问道：“你如何保持花朵的新鲜呢？”她说：“就是每天勤换水，并把花梗剪去一截，因为花梗的一端在水里会很容易腐烂，腐烂之后水分不易吸收，花就容易凋谢了！”无德禅师开示道：“保持一颗清净纯洁的心，其道理也是一样，我们生活环境像瓶里的水，我们就是花，唯有不停净化我们的身心，变化我们的气质，并且不断地忏悔、检讨、改正陋习、缺点，才能不断吸收到大自然的食粮”。我们的人生何尝不是如此？每天应该不断的自省，净化自己的身心，洗涤自己的心灵。只有这样，我们才能达到身心的静和解脱。“佛在灵山莫远求，灵山只在汝心头”，对于众生而言，佛就在心中，不必刻意向外寻求。世界上种种的繁荣虚华，并不能使我们得到真正的快乐，我们也无法享受永恒。只有超越了执着的束缚，保留自己心灵中那一份宁静，我们才能解脱烦恼，才能达到自在解脱。

《菜根谭》中说“宠辱不惊，闲看庭前花开花落；去留无意，随天外云卷云舒”就是一种心灵的宁静，生活的河流有时风平浪静，有时跌宕起伏，只有真正守住心灵的宁静，才能在风云变幻的生活中处之泰然，只要真正地拥有了心中的宁静，无论处在什么情景之中，都不会失去自我的那种淡定。

“澹泊以明志，宁静以致远”。这是一种多么高明的境界啊，它不但说明了宁静致远的境界，还点明了澹泊明志的方式。人生永远没有一个固定的模式，人生不一定要追求惊心动魄，也不一定要生活的壮丽辉煌。我们能够在平平淡淡的生活之中，寻觅到一种和谐与宁静，默默守护心灵的一片绿洲，保留着灵魂深处一片心灵的净土，也是一种快乐幸福。每当我们倦了，累了的时候，一个人安静的走进属于自己的那片心灵的净土，去倾听灵魂深处发出的声音，也是一种幸福。在这里，没有一切凡尘纷扰，私欲俗念，有的只是如水般清澈平静的心灵和一份淡看世间百态的淡然与洒脱！这时我们就会体会到：无论我们在世间拥有多少财富，真正永远属于我们的，只有这片心灵的净土。

每日一盏清茶，一曲琴音，静静享受那份心灵的恬淡与释然；寻觅一处简居，一 片田园，远离一切繁华奢靡，世俗纷扰，何尝不是一种幸福。我们原来无须寻根究底地去追问什么，也无须刻意去追求什么，一切顺其自然，只要能始终保持静淡泊的心境，只要热爱生活、热爱生命，也就拥有了快乐、平和的人生。

When a disturbing thought arises in the mind, focus your mind on that thought and rest in that state, instead of reacting to it. If you can rest on a thought it will be self-liberated.

-- Gotsangpa Gonpo Dorje

The Essence of Mind

by Mipham Rinpoche

The actual nature of things is inconceivable and inexpressible. Yet, for those fortunate individuals who seek to penetrate the profound meaning of dharmatā, I shall here offer a few words by way of illustration.

What we call “essence of mind” is the actual face of unconditioned pure awareness, which is recognised through receiving the guru's blessings and instructions. If you wonder what this is like, it is empty in essence, beyond conceptual reference; it is cognisant by nature, spontaneously present; and it is all-pervasive and unobstructed in its compassionate energy. This is the rigpa in which the three kāyas are inseparable.

It is therefore as the vidyādhara Garab Dorje said in his Final Testament:

This rigpa, which has no concrete existence as anything at all,

Is completely unobstructed in the arising of its self-appearances.

To summarise: the actual nature of mind — the way it has always been, in and of itself — is this innate pure awareness that is unfabricated and unrestricted.

When this is explained in negative terms:

- It is not something to be apprehended;

- Nor is it a non-existent void;

- It is not some combination of these two,

- Nor is it a third option that is neither.

This is the view of the absence of any identifiable existence, the fact that it cannot be conceptualised in any way by thinking, “It is like this.”

When explained in more positive, experiential terms, it is said to be glaringly empty, lucidly clear, vividly pure, perfectly even, expansively open, and so on.

To illustrate this using examples: without limit or centre, it is like space; in its unlimited clarity, it is like sunlight flooding the sky; without clear inside and outside, it is like a crystal ball; in its freedom from clinging and attachment, it is like the traces of a bird in flight; and neither arising nor ceasing, it is like the sky.

To dispel any doubts or misunderstandings that might arise from this instruction, it is described as the great clarity that is beyond partiality, the great emptiness of freedom from conceptual reference, the great union that cannot be separated, and so on.

In terms of its meaning, as it cannot be pointed out by words, it is inexpressible; as it cannot be known with ordinary modes of consciousness, it is inconceivable; and as it is does not fall into any extreme, it is the great freedom from elaboration. In the end, it is beyond all expressions, such as: it is all and everything, it is not all, everything lies within it, or does not, and so on. It remains an individual experience of self-knowing awareness.

The names used to illustrate it are 'primordial purity' (ka dag) and 'spontaneous presence' (lhun grub), and, when summarising: 'the single, all-encompassing sphere of naturally arising wisdom' (rang byung ye shes thig le nyag gcig).

As it is the pinnacle of all in terms of the qualities it possesses, it is also the transcendent perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) and so on.

Symbolically, it can be revealed by means of the sun, or a magnifying glass, a crystal ball, or a finger pointing into space, and so forth.

When you have a precious jewel in your own hand,

Even if others should discard them, why be angry?

Without losing your connection to these instructions,

The pinnacle of Dharma, and your own good fortune,

Even if others should criticise them, why be angry?

Train in the actual ultimate real state free from attachment, giving up nothing, accomplishing nothing, attached to nothing, purifying nothing, rejecting nothing, the best of the very best behaviour is whatever feels good to one’s body.

-- Mahasiddha Virupa

如何修心

如孝法师

大乘不是说别的，就是说心。心是最圆满的那一部分，心是最究竟的那一部分，心是最了义的那一部分。从这个方面展开的虽然大，但是我们能够实践多少都不影响，这都不要紧，就是说行，我们要从最能落实的那一部分去做，但是我们的见一定要从最高点来入，来俯视。这对个人提升是很有帮助的，因为什么呢？生命无常。这个当中绝对不是说傲慢，也不是轻视根本乘的佛法。我们对根本乘的这种护持和信心非常地坚固，没有一点点的动摇，不打一点折扣，。但是我们从认知上，从见地上还要再拓展，要把自己的心量打开。这种见地当你这样去思维的时候就是一种法门。这种法门和你实有的法门不会形成任何障碍。它是圆融的。所以我们有时候要修秘密法，有时要修对治法。在不同的时候我们要把自己拓展开来。我们的身心有高低不同的周期性变化。你要对自我观察得清清楚楚，在心太弱的时候培养信心，在色身坚固的时候就赶紧修点苦行，不要在身体一点都不行的时候你还要修苦行。这个就适得其反，诸佛也不会赞同。我们要培养的一个是大愿，一个是智慧，一个是慈悲，这三种资粮都要去培养，不能偏废，这个到时候会出问题。当那个问题出现的时候，你就没有反手的机会，你就没办法调整了，你在这个佛法上就没有前途了。凡事预立则不乱，则成。

是禅、是净土，或者是什么，这个时候纯粹是从心性内外圆融得已经没有法门的分别了，我们修任何善，修任何法门，最后都要回归极乐。在这个时候开始的方便都是以持念，管住自己的念头为最初的下手处。在这个之间不断调整，积累经验。在这个当中你会面对身心的各种不愉快，这是你积累经验的一个过程，这个过程少不了。过去的人说要大死大活，最后你才能知道死是什么，生是什么。修行当中要是一种很舒服，一种很清净，那可能很危险。都是要有阶段性的调整，不管是从觉受上还是从心性上都会有调整，都会有一个痛苦的自我观察的过程。这个时候恰恰是你要进步了。我们仔细观察，社会生活也是这种周期性的规律。所以在日常的生活当中，哪怕你是烦恼的可能都会增长智慧。

和习气做斗争本身就是方向性的错误。不能做斗争，要从根本上认识它，知己知彼，它的弱点，它自然就散了，不攻自破。佛法就是这样，你一定要从根本上去认知，你才能找到一个突破口。习气没有错，因为你的佛性没有净化前它只能展现在你的习气上。佛法大部分都是在思维当中获得解脱。你对佛的一句教言才真正明白它指的是什么，不会对他恭敬得只是迷信他的法义，这个不是受持佛法的精神。这是一个大乘的道，它比较自在，也符合佛法的根本精神，而且也不会说流于没有规矩，这是一个比较容易实践的中道观、法门观，能够圆融世间和出世间的一切法。

弟子：“有时念佛，念得很喜悦，有时心就很散乱，怎样才能把心思集中在佛号上？”

要稳下神，放松。杂念每个人都有，没有杂念就不正常。要积累经验，你不能追求喜悦感，那种喜悦感时你过去世积累来的一个善，但是这个善是一片一片，一点一点的，所以我们现在还需要从根本上再去修，到了一个坚固了，你就不会再有那种惑。不要着急，学佛是一个高难度的事情。要用心，不要对当下一些不容易把握的现象放不下，要积累经验。学佛虽然难，但是是有意义的。在佛法来讲如果你不面对这一种难，在生活中你永远是一个失败者。这种经验会让你获得更大的安乐。所以要忍，要有长远心，要知道佛法的根本是什么，要自己鼓励自己。这是一条人天正道。世间的事都误人，只有修行不误人。无论是对你的家庭还是对你的福报还是对你的精神，只有佛法能够真实的非常现实地存在你的生命当中，你必须面对。佛法不可以说一下子怎么样，那是不现实的。我们在世间都是这个规律，所以首先要面对它去积累一些经验，就是一句话，它有意义。

By confidence one crosses the flood, by heedfulness the sea. By effort one overcomes sorrow, by wisdom is one purified.

-- The Buddha

Transforming Suffering and Happiness

by Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima

HOMAGE

I pay homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, recalling his qualities:

Forever joyful at the happiness of others,

And plunged into sorrow whenever they suffer,

You have fully realised Great Compassion, with all its qualities,

And abide, without a care for your own happiness or suffering!

STATEMENT OF INTENT

I am going to put down here a partial instruction on how to use both happiness and suffering as the path to enlightenment. This is indispensable for leading a spiritual life, a most needed tool of the Noble Ones, and quite the most priceless teaching in the world.

There are two parts:

1) how to use suffering as the path,

2) and how to use happiness as the path.

Each one is approached firstly through relative truth, and then through absolute truth.

1) HOW TO USE SUFFERING AS THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT 

i. Through Relative Truth

Whenever we are harmed by sentient beings or anything else, if we make a habit out of perceiving only the suffering, then when even the smallest problem comes up, it will cause enormous anguish in our mind.

This is because the nature of any perception or idea, be it happiness or sorrow, is to grow stronger and stronger the more we become accustomed to it. So as the strength of this pattern gradually builds up, before long we’ll find that just about everything we perceive becomes a cause for actually attracting unhappiness towards us, and happiness will never get a chance.

If we do not realise that it all depends on the way in which mind develops this habit, and instead we put the blame on external objects and situations alone, the flames of suffering, negative karma, aggression and so on will spread like wildfire, without end. This is what is called: “all appearances arising as enemies.”

We should arrive at a very precise understanding that the whole reason why sentient beings in this degenerate age are plagued by so much suffering is because they have such feeble powers of discernment.

So not to be hurt by the obstacles created by enemies, illness or harmful influences, does not mean to say that things like sickness can be driven away, and that they will never occur again. Rather, it simply means that they will not be able to obstruct us from practising on the path.

In order for this to happen, we need: first, to get rid of the attitude of being entirely unwilling to face any suffering ourselves and, second, to cultivate the attitude of actually being joyful when suffering arises.

DROPPING THE ATTITUDE OF BEING ENTIRELY UNWILLING TO SUFFER 

Think about all the depression, anxiety and irritation we put ourselves through by always seeing suffering as unfavourable, something to be avoided at all costs. Now, think about two things: how useless this is, and how much trouble it causes. Go on reflecting on this repeatedly, until you are absolutely convinced.

Then say to yourself: “From now on, whatever I have to suffer, I will never become anxious or irritated.” Go over this again and again in your mind, and summon all your courage and determination.

First, let’s look at how useless it is. If we can do something to solve a problem, then there is no need to worry or be unhappy about it; if we can’t, then it does not help to worry or be unhappy about it either.

Then, the enormous trouble involved. As long as we do not get anxious and irritated, then our strength of mind will enable us to bear even the hardest of sufferings easily; they will feel as flimsy and insubstantial as cotton wool. But while we are dominated by anxiety, even the tiniest problem becomes extremely difficult to cope with, because we have the additional burden of mental discomfort and unhappiness.

Imagine, for example, trying to get rid of desire and attachment for someone we find attractive while continuing to dwell all the while on their attractive qualities. It would all be in vain. In just the same way, if we concentrate only on the pain brought by suffering, we’ll never be able to develop endurance or the ability to bear it. So, as in the instructions called ‘Sealing the Doors of the Senses’, don not latch onto all kinds of mind-made concepts about your suffering. Learn instead to leave the mind undisturbed in its own natural state, bring the mind home, rest there, and let it find its own ground.

CULTIVATING THE ATTITUDE OF BEING JOYFUL WHEN SUFFERING ARISES 

Seeing suffering as an ally to help us on the path, we must learn to develop a sense of joy when it arises. Yet whenever suffering strikes, unless we have some kind of spiritual practice to bring to it, one which matches the capacity of our mind, no matter how many times we might say to ourselves: ‘Well, as long as I have got roughly the right method, I will be able to use suffering and obtain such and such a benefit’, it’s highly unlikely that we will succeed. We will be as far from our goal, the saying goes, as the earth is from the sky.

Therefore, use suffering as the basis for the following practices:

a. Using Suffering to Train in Renunciation

Sometimes, then, use your suffering in order to train your mind in renunciation.

Say to yourself: “As long as I wander, powerless and without any freedom, in samsara, this kind of suffering is not something unjust or unwarranted. It is simply the very nature of samsara.” At times, develop a deep sense of revulsion by thinking; “If it is already so hard for me to bear even the little suffering and pain of the happy realms, then what about the suffering of the lower realms? Samsara is indeed an ocean of suffering, fathomless and without any end!” Then turn your mind towards liberation, and enlightenment.

b. Using Suffering to Train in Taking Refuge

Say to yourself: “Life after life, again and again we are continuously plagued by these kind of fears, and the one and only protection that can never fail us is the precious guide, the Buddha, the precious path, the Dharma, and the precious companions on the way, the Saṅgha: the Three Jewels. So it is on them that I must rely, entirely. Whatever happens, I will never renounce them.” Let this become a firm conviction, and train in the practice of taking refuge.

c. Using Suffering to Overcome Arrogance

As I explained before, [as long as we are in samsara] we are never independent or truly free or in control of our lives. On the contrary, we are always dependent on and at the mercy of suffering. So we must eliminate ‘the enemy that destroys anything that is wholesome and good’, which is arrogance and pride; and we must do away with the evil attitude of belittling others and considering them as inferior.

d. Using Suffering to Purify Harmful Actions

Remind yourself and realise: “All this suffering which I am going through, and suffering which is greater still — all the boundless suffering that there is — come from nothing but harmful, negative actions.”

Reflect, carefully and thoroughly, how:

1. karma is certain — cause and effect is infallible;

2. karma multiplies enormously;

3. you will never face the effects of something you have not done;

4. whatever you have done will never go to waste.

Then say to yourself: “So, if I really do not want to suffer any more, then I must give up the cause of suffering, which is negativity.” With the help of ‘The Four Powers’, make an effort to acknowledge and purify all the negative actions you have accumulated in the past, and then firmly resolve to avoid doing them in the future.

e. Using Suffering to Find Joy in Positive Action

Say to yourself: “If I really want to find happiness, which is the opposite of suffering, then I have got to make an effort to practise its cause, which is positive action.” Think about this in detail, and from every angle, and dwell on the implications. Then in every way possible, do whatever you can to make your positive, beneficial actions increase.

f. Using Suffering to Train in Compassion

Say to yourself: “Just like me, others too are tormented by similar suffering, or even much worse...” Train yourself by thinking: “If only they could be free from all this suffering! How wonderful it would be!” This will also help you to understand how to practise loving kindness, where the focus of the practice is those who have no happiness.

g. Using Suffering to Cherish Others More Than Yourself

Train yourself to think: “The very reason why I am not free from suffering such as this is that from time immemorial I have cared only about myself. Now, from this moment onwards, I will only cherish others, as this is the source of all happiness and good.”

It is extremely difficult to use suffering as the path when it has already struck, and is staring us in the face. That is why it is crucial to become familiar in advance with the specific practices to be used when misfortune and difficulties befall us. It is also particularly helpful, and will really count, if we use the practice we know best, and of which we have a clear, personal experience.

With this, suffering and difficulties can become a help for our spiritual practice — but that alone is not enough. We need to gain a sense of real joy and enthusiasm, inspired by a thorough appreciation for our achievement, and then to reinforce this, and make it stable and continuous.

So, with each of the practices outlined above, say to yourself: “This suffering has been of tremendous assistance; it will help me to achieve the many wonderful kinds of happiness and bliss which are experienced in the higher realms and in liberation from samsara and which are extremely difficult to find. From now on too, I know that whatever suffering lies in store for me will have the same effect. So however tough, however difficult the suffering may be, it will always bring me the greatest joy and happiness, bitter and yet sweet, like those Indian cakes made of sugar mixed with cardamom and pepper.” Follow this line of thought over and over, and very thoroughly, and get used to the happy state of mind that it brings. By reflecting like this, our minds will be so suffused with happiness that the suffering we feel through the senses will become almost imperceptible and incapable of disturbing our minds. This is the point at which sickness can be overcome through forebearance. It is worth noting that this is also an indication as to whether difficulties brought about by enemies, harmful spirits and so on can be overcome.

As we have already seen, reversing the attitude of not wanting to suffer is the whole basis for transforming suffering into our spiritual path. This is because we simply won’t be able to turn suffering into the path as long as anxiety and irritation continue to eat away at our confidence and disturb our mind.

The more we arrive at actually transforming suffering into the path, the more we will enhance and reinforce all our previous practice. This is because our courage and good humour will grow all the more, once we can see from our own experience how suffering causes our spiritual practice and qualities to blossom.

It is said that by training gradually with smaller sufferings, ‘step by step, in easy stages’, then in the end we will be able to handle big suffering and difficulties too. We must go about it like this, because it is extremely difficult to have an experience of something which is beyond our level or capacity.

In the breaks between sessions, pray to the Lama and the Three Jewels that you may be able to take suffering onto your path. When your mind has grown a little bit stronger, then make offerings to the Three Jewels and to negative forces and insist: “Please send me misfortune and obstacles, so I can work on developing the strength of my practice!” At the same time, always, always stay confident, cheerful and happy.

When you first begin this training, it is vital to distance yourself from ordinary social activities. Otherwise, caught up in everyday preoccupations and busyness, you will be influenced by all your misguided friends, asking questions like: “How can you bear to put up with so much suffering...so much humiliation...?”

Besides, the endless worrying about enemies, relatives and possessions will cloud our awareness, and upset our minds beyond all our control, so that we inevitably go astray, sliding into bad habits. Then, on top of this, we’ll be swept away by all kinds of distracting objects and situations.

But in the solitude of a retreat environment, since none of these are present, your awareness is very lucid and clear, and so it’s easy to make the mind do whatever you want it to do.

It is for this very reason that when practitioners of Chöd train in ‘trampling right on top of suffering’, at the beginning they put off doing the practice using the harm caused by human beings and amidst distraction, but instead make a point of working with the apparitions of gods and demons in cemeteries and other desolate and powerful places.

To sum up: Not only so that your mind will not be affected by misfortune and suffering, but also to be able to draw happiness and peace of mind out of these things themselves, what we need to do is this: Do not see inner problems like illness, or outer troubles like rivals, spirits or scandalous gossip, as something undesirable and unpleasant, but instead simply get used to seeing them as something pleasing and delightful.

To accomplish this, we need to stop looking at harmful circumstances as problems and make every effort to view them as beneficial. After all, whether a thing is pleasant or unpleasant comes down to how it is perceived by the mind.

Take an example: someone who continually dwells on the futility of ordinary, mundane preoccupations will only get more and more fed up as their wealth or circle increase. On the other hand, someone who sees worldly affairs as meaningful and beneficial will seek, and even pray, to increase their power and influence.

With this kind of training then:

* our mind and character will become more peaceful and more gentle;

* we will become more open (and more flexible);

* we will be easier to get along with;

* we will be courageous and confident;

* we will be freed from obstacles that hinder our Dharma practice;

* we will be able to turn any negative circumstances to our advantage, meet with success, and bring glory and auspiciousness;

* and our mind will always be content, in the happiness born of inner peace.

To follow a spiritual path in this degenerate age, we cannot be without armour of this kind. Because if we’re no longer tormented by the suffering of anxiety and irritation, not only will other kinds of suffering fade away, like soldiers who’ve lost their weapons, but even misfortunes like illness will, as a rule, vanish on their own.

The saints of the past used to say:

“If you are not unhappy or discontented about anything, then your mind will not be disturbed. Since your mind is not disturbed, the subtle wind energy (Tib. lung) will not be disturbed. That means the other elements of the body will not be disturbed either. As a result, your mind will not be disturbed, and so it goes on, as the wheel of constant happiness turns.”

Also:

Horses and donkeys with sores on their backs

Are an easy prey for scavenging birds.

People who are prone to fear,

Are easy victims to negative spirits.

But not those whose character is stable and strong.

Thus it is that the wise, seeing that all happiness and suffering depend upon the mind, will seek their happiness and well-being within the mind. Since all the causes of happiness are entirely within themselves, they will not be dependent on anything external, which means that nothing whatsoever, be it sentient beings or anything else, can do them any harm. And even when they die, this attitude will follow, so that they will always, always be free and in control.

This is just how the bodhisattvas attain their meditative stabilisation (samādhi) called ‘overwhelming over all phenomena with bliss’.

However, foolish people chase after external objects and circumstances in the hope of finding happiness. But whatever happiness they do find, great or small, it always turns out like the saying:

You are not in control; it is all in others’ hands.

As if your hair were caught up in a tree.

What you’d hoped for never comes to be; things never come together; or else you make misjudgments, and there is only one failure after another. Enemies and thieves have no trouble harming you, and even the slightest false accusation will separate you from your happiness. However much a crow looks after a baby cuckoo, it can never turn it into a baby crow. In the same way, if all your efforts are misguided and based on something unreliable, they will bring nothing but fatigue for the gods, negative emotions for the spirits, and suffering for yourself.

This ‘heart advice’ brings a hundred different essential instructions together, into one crucial point. There are many other pith instructions on accepting suffering and hardships in order to practise the path, and on transforming illness and destructive forces into the path, as taught for example in the ‘Pacifying’ tradition. But here, in a way that’s easy to understand, I have given a general outline of how to accept suffering, based on the writings of the Noble Śāntideva, and his wise and learned followers.

ii. Through Absolute Truth

By means of reasoning, such as ‘the refutation of production from the four extremes’, the mind is drawn towards emptiness, the natural condition of things, a supreme state of peace, and there it rests. In this state, let alone harmful circumstances or suffering, not even their names can be found.

Even when you come out of this state, it’s not like before, when suffering arose in your mind and you would react with dread and lack of confidence. Now you can overcome it by viewing it as unreal and nothing but a label.

I have not gone into detail here.

2. HOW TO USE HAPPINESS AS THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT 

i. Through Relative Truth

Whenever happiness and the various things that cause happiness appear, if we slip under their power, then we will grow increasingly conceited, smug and lazy, which will block our spiritual path and progress.

In fact it is difficult not to be carried away by happiness, as Padampa Sangye pointed out:

We human beings can cope with a lot of suffering,

But very little happiness.

That is why we need to open our eyes, in whatever ways we can, to the fact that happiness and the things that cause happiness are all actually impermanent, and are by nature suffering.

So try as best you can to arouse a deep sense of disillusionment, and to stop your mind indulging in its usual apathy and negligence. Say to yourself:

“Look: all the happiness and material wealth of this world is trifling and insignificant, and brings with it all kinds of problems and difficulties. Still, in a certain sense, it does have its good side. Buddha said that someone whose freedom is impaired by suffering will have great difficulty attaining enlightenment, but for someone who is happy, it is easier to attain.

“What good fortune then to be able to practise the Dharma in a state of happiness like this! So, from now on, in whatever way I can, I must convert this happiness into Dharma, and then from the Dharma, happiness and well-being will continuously arise. That’s how I can train in making Dharma and happiness support one another. Otherwise, I’ll always end up where I started — like trying to boil water in a wooden saucepan.”

The main point to get here is that whatever happiness, whatever well-being, comes our way, we must unite it with Dharma practice. This is the whole vision behind Nāgārjuna’s Garland of Jewels.

Even though we may be happy, if we do not recognise it, we will never be able to make use of that happiness as an opportunity for practising the Dharma. Instead we will be forever hoping that some extra happiness will come our way, and we will waste our lives on countless projects and actions. The antidote to this is to apply the practice wherever it is appropriate, and, above all, to savour the nectar of contentment.

There are other ways of turning happiness into the path, especially those based on recalling the kindness of the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha, and on the instructions for training in bodhicitta, but this will do for now. As with using suffering as the path, so with happiness too, you need to go to a solitary retreat environment and combine this with practices of purification and accumulating merit and wisdom.

ii. The Absolute Dimension

This is the same as for turning suffering into the path.

WHAT THIS TRAINING BRINGS

If we cannot practise when we are suffering because of all the anxiety we go through, and we cannot practise when we are happy because of our attachment to happiness, then that rules out any chance of our practising Dharma at all. That is why there is nothing more crucial for a practitioner than this training in turning happiness and suffering into the path.

And if you do have this training, no matter where you live, in a solitary place or in the middle of a city; whatever the people around you are like, good or bad; whether you’re rich or poor, happy or distressed; whatever you have to listen to, praise or condemnation, good words or bad; you will never feel the slightest fear that it could bring you down in any way. No wonder this training is called the ‘Lion-Like Yoga’.

Whatever you do, your mind will be happy, peaceful, spacious and relaxed. Your whole attitude will be pure, and everything will turn out excellently. Your body might be living in this impure world of ours, but your mind will experience the splendour of an unimaginable bliss, like the bodhisattvas in their pure realms.

It will be just as the precious Kadampa masters used to say:

Keep happiness under control;

Put an end to suffering.

With happiness under control

And suffering brought to an end:

When you are all alone,

This training will be your true friend;

When you are sick,

It will be your nurse.

Goldsmiths first remove the impurities from gold by melting it in fire, and then make it malleable by rinsing it over and over again in water. It is just the same with the mind. If by using happiness as the path, you become weary and disgusted with it, and by taking suffering as the path, you make your mind clear and cheerful, then you will easily attain the extraordinary samādhi which makes mind and body capable of doing anything you wish.

This instruction, I feel, is the most profound of all, for it perfects discipline, the source of everything positive and wholesome. This is because not being attached to happiness creates the basis of the extraordinary discipline of renunciation, and not being afraid of suffering makes this discipline completely pure.

As they say:

Generosity forms the basis for discipline;

And patience is what purifies it.

By training in this practice now, then when you attain the higher stages of the path, this is what it will be like:

You will realise that all phenomena are like an illusion, and

To be born again is just like walking into a lovely garden.

Whether you face prosperity or ruin,

You will have no fear of negative emotions or suffering.

Here are some illustrations from the life of the Buddha. Before he attained enlightenment, he abandoned the kingdom of a universal monarch as if it were straw and lived by the river Nairañjanā without a care for the harshness of the austerities he was practising. What he showed was that in order to accomplish our own ultimate benefit, the nectar of realisation, we must have mastered the one taste of happiness and suffering.

Then after he attained enlightenment, the chiefs of humans and gods, as far as the highest realms, showed him the greatest reverence, placing his feet on the crown of their heads, and offering to serve and honour him with all manner of delights. However, a brahmin called Bhāradvāja abused him and criticised him a hundred times; he was accused of sexual misconduct with the impudent daughter of another brahmin; he lived off rotten horse fodder for three months in the land of King Agnidatta, and so on. But he remained without the slightest fluctuation in his mind, neither elated nor downcast, like Mount Meru unshaken by the wind. He showed that in order to accomplish the benefit of sentient beings, again we have to have mastered that equal taste of happiness and suffering.

AFTERWORD 

A teaching like this should really be taught by the Kadampa masters, whose very lives enacted their saying:

“No complaints when there is suffering,

Great renunciation when there is happiness.”

But if it is someone like me who explains it, then I am sure that even my own tongue is going to get fed up and cringe with embarrassment. Still, with the sole aim of making one taste of all the worldly preoccupations my second nature, I, the old beggar Tenpe Nyima, have written this, here in the forest of many birds.

Reminding ourselves of how others suffer and mentally putting ourselves in their place, will help awaken our compassion.

-- Akong Rinpoche

You cannot lose it, you cannot damage it, you cannot contaminate it, you will never lose your buddha nature. But, you may not know you have it.

-- 12th Tai Situ Rinpoche

净土法门与发菩提心

智敏上师

我们修净土宗的，如果把一句“阿弥陀佛”名号，当做阿伽陀药的话，这就是无上的密。这一句“阿弥陀佛”，里面可以包涵八万四千法门，这幺多法门都摄在一句佛号里面，即是密法的陀罗尼总持法门。因此，希望大家在听开示之前，思想要有个准备，所谓密法对显教并不是矛盾的，而且是有帮助的。

我们修净土的，发愿要往生净土，在《无量寿经》里面，就有这句话，三辈往生，都离不开“当发无上菩提之心”。我们如果不学教理，单是念一句“南无阿弥陀佛”，什幺叫菩提心也不懂，如何发？更无从发起。菩提心是有一定涵义的，要发起来，也是有一定的修法的。这些教理和方法，在显教里面都有，我们密宗也必须要修这个法，菩提心是显密共同的。没有菩提心，显教里面成不了大乘，密法里面更谈不上金刚乘，密法是大乘里面特殊的一种，因为他发了菩提心，观众生苦，深心不忍，欲快速成佛，救度一切父母众生，所以要修密法。总之，都是离不开菩提心。

假使说，有念佛的人，他说我就一部《阿弥陀经》已够了，这个，当然，曾经学过很多法，达到一定高度的人来说，或许是够了，等于说，这是大学教材，讲得内容很全面，够了。但是如果你小学、中学没有念，是无法接受它的。同样，阿弥陀佛四十八愿，是菩提心愿。念佛的人菩提心有没有？如果没有，怎幺能感应呢？又怎幺能把你摄引到西方去呢？那幺，什幺叫菩提心？没有学过，不知道！大家都会说，啊发菩提心...等等，好像这样子就是发了菩提心了，大家都会。但是什幺叫菩提心呢？问问看，“哦，菩提心幺，就是菩提心幺！”哈！这句话等于没说。我们说菩提心，有世俗菩提心和胜义菩提心，是成佛的因。有了菩提心的因，才有菩提的果，佛就是菩提果。但是菩提心的涵义是什幺呢？且说世俗菩提心，就是看了众生受苦，心里不忍，要把他们一个不漏的全部救度到最极安稳之处。我们现在这样的人，不要说把众生全部救起来，就自己能不能度脱，也不敢打保票，那幺怎幺办呢？要自己快快修行，成佛，才能有办法度一切众生，这个发心，就叫菩提心。菩提心有怎幺能发起来呢？有人说，我们天天在发啊！诸如“诸佛正法贤圣三宝尊，从今乃至菩提永皈依，我以所修施等诸资粮，为利有情故愿大觉成。”还有：“无上最胜菩提心，我今正真令生起。”“菩提最胜心者生复生”等等，不是每天都在念吗？哦，这样念念，菩提心就生起了？这个是不够的！没有那幺简单。佛教是讲缘起的，一切法从缘起，因缘和合，才生起一个法。单是发一个愿，说“我要生菩提心，我要生菩提心”，这个仅仅是一个因素，而生起菩提心的各种必须的因缘，远远不够，所以是生不起来的。那幺菩提心怎样才能生起来呢？在一般宗派，它就是说把四无量心——慈悲喜舍，加以扩大，扩大以后，菩提心就因此引生而起，这是共同的修法。但是，宗大师圆满教法里面，还有特殊的两种最殊胜的修法。这两个修法“一个是弥勒菩萨，月称论师传下来的七重因果；一个是文殊菩萨，寂天论师传下来的自他交换。这两个方法能够很有效地、很快地把菩提心生起来。

我们要求生净土，修净土法门也好，或者修其它的法门也好，如果菩提心没有，那幺我们连大乘的“大”字都够不上格，怎幺“乘”呢？“乘”就是要乘此法门到彼岸了。所以说，菩提心是一切大乘的根子，没有它，根本就不能算入大乘之列。

众所周知，净土宗是大乘宗派，我们希望阿弥陀佛接引我们往生西方，如果我们连什幺叫菩提心都认识不到，如何生起菩提心的方法更没有，怎幺往生呢？真正的菩提心生起来是困难的，但相似的菩提心生起来是完全可能的。怎幺叫相似的菩提心呢？就是说与菩提心已经靠拢接近了。等于说，我们要去上海市，市区还没有进入，市郊进入了，也可以称已经到上海了。为什幺？因为是上海的郊区幺！是属于上海市的范围内了。我们要求生西方极乐世界，也有一定的希望和把握了。《广论》卷四云：“诸能受用大师所集，无数资粮所有妙果，虽不必集彼一切因，然亦定须集其一分。”就是说，我们要往生西方极乐，虽不必集阿弥陀佛的一切功德，但是一定要积集其中一分的功德才能相应，其中菩提心是不可或缺的。

佛教，是有层次高低的，一句阿弥陀佛名号，如果是高层次的人来念，即是大总持陀罗尼藏，三藏十二部都包含的有。那幺就是一即一切，一句佛号，一切法都包涵在里头了；一切法也自然汇归到一句佛号上去了。但是。这个修法是要高层次人才能修得起来。我们凡夫，一就是一，二就是二，不能是一切。那幺，怎幺办呢？一点一点把它积聚起来，譬如依止法的修法，暇满的修法，出离心的修法，菩提心的修法，还有其他各种修法，渐渐兜拢起来，积聚在一起，一起汇归到阿弥陀佛一句佛号上，那幺，一切功德就都在这句佛号里边，那时候念的佛，功德就不一样了。我们希望，在还没有达到这个高度——一即一切，一句佛号，即是八万四千陀罗尼藏！——的时候，来一个“一切即一”，一切法都是阿弥陀佛，把那些修法功德一个一个积聚起来，最后汇归到阿弥陀佛一句佛号上去。这样做，对我们来说，于修净土宗念佛求生西方，会有极大的利益。

今天向大家介绍这个方法，也就是说，我们格鲁派的修法和净土宗的修法是没有违背的，不但如此，而且相辅相成，可以帮助净土宗的行人，更容易地往生；本来能往生的，可以得到更高的品位。这就说明，我们格鲁派宗大师圆满的教义和修法，并不限于修格鲁的行人才需要，是一切宗派共同需要的，而且净土宗的行人，特别需要，因为净土宗一般是假借天台宗，没有自己独特的完整的教理和各别对治的修法。

When bad omens arise, receive them as auspicious;

Whatever thoughts arise are the treasury of bliss.

When illness arises, this brings benefit;

Whatever arises are a treasury of Bliss.

When Death occurs, take it onto the path;

The Lord of Death is a treasury of bliss.

-- Mahasiddha Padampa Sangye

Set Your Intention & Rejoice in Your Day

by Geshe Thupten Jinpa

In the Tibetan tradition, we recognise compassion as both the highest spiritual ideal and the highest expression of our humanity. Even the Tibetan word for compassion, nyingje, which literally means the “king of heart,” captures the priority we accord compassion.

In Compassion Cultivation Training, an eight-week program which I developed, we begin every session with a practice called setting your intention. This is a contemplative exercise adapted from traditional Tibetan meditation, a kind of checking-in where we connect with our deeper aspirations so that they may inform our intentions and motivations.

In everyday English, we often use the two words, intention and motivation, interchangeably as if they mean the same thing, but there’s an important difference: deliberateness.

Our motivation to do something is the reason or reasons behind that behaviour, the source of our desire and the drive to do it. We may be more or less aware of our motivations.

Intention, on the other hand, is always deliberate, an articulation of a conscious goal. We set and reaffirm our best intentions to keep us inclining in the directions we truly mean to go. But, we need motivations to keep us going over the long haul. If our intention is to run a marathon, there will be times when we’ll ask ourselves, quite reasonably, “Why am I doing this?” We need good, inspired answers to get us over such humps. Conscious or unconscious, motivation is the “why,” and the spark, behind intention.

You could do this intention-setting exercise at home, first thing in the morning if that is convenient. You could also do it on a bus or a subway on your commute. If you work in an office, you could do it sitting at your desk before you get into the day. You only need two to five uninterrupted minutes. Our intention sets the “tone” of whatever we are about to do. Like music, intention can influence our mood, thoughts, and feelings — setting an intention in the morning we set the tone for the day.

PRACTICE: SETTING AN INTENTION

First, find a comfortable sitting posture. If you can, sit on a cushion on the floor or on a chair with the soles of your feet touching the ground, which gives you a feeling of being grounded. If you prefer, you could also lie down on your back, ideally on a surface that is not too soft.

Once you have found your posture, relax your body as much as you can, if necessary with some stretches, especially your shoulders and your back.

Then, with your eyes closed if it helps you to focus, take three to five deep, diaphragmatic or abdominal breaths, each time drawing the inhalation down into the belly and filling up the torso with the in-breath from the bottom to the top, like filling a jar with water. Then with a long, slow exhalation, expel all the air from the torso, all the way. If it helps, you can exhale from your mouth.

Once you feel settled, contemplate the following questions: “What is it that I value deeply? What, in the depth of my heart, do I wish for myself, for my loved ones, and for the world?”

Stay on these questions a little and see if any answers come up. If no specific answers surface, don’t worry; simply stay with the open questions. This may take some getting used to, since in the West, when we ask questions we usually expect to answer them. Trust that the questions themselves are working even — or especially — when we don’t have ready answers. If and when answers do come up, acknowledge them as they arise and stay with whatever thoughts and feelings they may bring.

Finally, develop a specific set of thoughts as your conscious intention. You could think, “Today, may I be more mindful of my body, mind, and speech in my interaction with others. May I, as far as I can, avoid deliberately hurting others. May I relate to myself, to others, and to the events around me with kindness, understanding, and less judgment. May I use my day in a way that is in tune with my deeper values.”

In this way, set the tone for the day.

Once we become more familiar with intention setting, we can do this practice in a minute or less. That means we can find opportunities during the day to check in with our intentions. We can even skip the three-phased formal practice and do a quick reset by reading or chanting a few meaningful lines. You could use the four immeasurables prayer:

May all beings attain happiness and its causes.

May all beings be free from suffering and its causes.

May all beings never be separated from joy that is free of misery.

May all beings abide in equanimity, free from bias, attachment, and aversion.

PRACTICE: MAKING A DEDICATION

The intention-setting practice is paired, in Tibetan tradition, with another contemplative exercise called dedication.

The role of this exercise is to complete the circle, as it were. At the end of a day, or a meditation, or any other effort we have made, we reconnect with the intentions we set at the beginning, reflecting on our experience in light of our intentions and rejoicing in what we have achieved. This is like taking stock at the end of the day. It gives us another opportunity to connect with our deeper aspirations.

At the end of day, for instance, before you go to bed or as you lie in bed before sleeping, reflect on your day. Briefly review the events of the day (including significant conversations, moods, and other mental activity) and touch back on the spirit of the morning intention setting. See how much alignment there is between the two. It’s important not to get caught up in the details of what you did and did not do. The idea is not to keep exhaustive scores, but to broadly survey to see the synergy between your intentions and your life that day.

Whatever thoughts and feelings this reviewing might bring, just stay with it. There’s no need to push them away if they have a negative quality, or grasp at them if they seem positive. Simply stay with whatever you experience for a while in silence.

Finally, think of something from the day that you feel good about — a helping hand you gave your neighbour, an empathetic ear you lent a colleague in distress, not losing your cool in the drugstore when someone cut in line. Then take joy in the thought of this deed. If nothing else, take joy in the fact that you began your day by setting a conscious intention.

Keep this exercise short; three to five minutes is a good length. If you normally do some reading before bed, you could set aside three to five minutes at the end for dedication time. If your habit is to watch TV, could you watch three to five minutes less? Or go somewhere quiet during commercials?

Taking joy in the day, even in the simple fact of the effort we have made, is important. It gives us something positive to carry into the next day, and helps us harness motivation in the service of our intentions. Joy plays a crucial role in our motivation, especially in sustaining motivation over a prolonged period of time.

EXERCISE: FOCUSED REVIEW

Sometimes it’s helpful to do a more focused review. This is especially true if we are struggling with a particular issue or are engaged in some endeavour, such as an eight-week compassion training course! Each week in Compassion Cultivation Training we work on certain qualities and attitudes we seek to foster. Say, one week it’s self-compassion. During this period, we set intentions around being kinder to ourselves. In turn, at the end of a day, our dedication might pay special attention to kindnesses we may have shown ourselves that day.

Now, when we undertake such a targeted assessment, most of us will find that we fall short. We will see the gaps between our intentions and our behaviour, between our aspirations and our actual life.

When this happens, it’s important not to beat ourselves with negative judgment and self-criticism. We simply acknowledge the difference and resolve to try again the next day. This awareness itself will help us be more attentive the next day, opening opportunities to bring our everyday thoughts and actions into closer alignment with our goals.

Whenever I help others, I do so gladly. However I should expect no reward, not even a 'thank you'. Otherwise, I shall have programmed an injury. Friendship is not a business deal!

-- Dagyab Rinpoche

佛教哲学对宗教的超越探析

文 ｜汪文忠

佛教从印度传入中国，印度佛教之兴起，在理论立场上可看作一革命性之理论，对古印度传统有抗拒及否定。人生烦恼痛苦的原因是愚痴无智的无明，那么打破烦恼的解脱之路也就在于打破无明，正确认识世间事物的非恒常性，建立智慧认识，从事物中重新找回自己的心性。佛陀系统地提出苦、集、灭、道四谛的解脱之路。无关乎祭祀、苦修外在的宗教活动，万能主宰的神是不存在的，一切人生痛苦的解脱都在于自己。佛教在创立之始，其根本理论分析已超越了宗教的范畴。尽管佛教在传播的后期形式上发生了重大变化，但其究竟义理却是贯彻始终。

一、人因无明产生痛苦烦恼

与基督教宣扬的因违背上帝旨意所犯的原罪说不同，佛教始终认为人生痛苦的原因在于因人的认知失真─不识外在事物的无常性─而形成的，佛教称之为“无明”，即在变动迁流的事物中妄取攀缘心从而掩盖了自我本心本性。《佛说不增不减经》说：”一切愚痴凡夫，不如实知一法界故，不如实见一法界故，起邪见心。”《维摩诘经》说：“何为病本？谓有攀缘，从又攀缘，则为病本。何所攀缘？谓之三界。”没有明白了觉世间事物现象的人，佛教称之有病，究其原由就是将自己心识依附于外在变动的事物，丧失了人在事物中的主动性， 从而错将人之悲欢建立在事物上。《圆觉经》云：“云何无明？善男子，一切众生从无始来，种种颠倒，犹如迷人， 四方易处；妄认四大为身相，六尘缘影为自心相。”《楞严经》也说：“一切众生，从无始来生死相续，皆由不知常住真心性净明体，用诸妄想，此想不真故有轮转。”又说：“以动为身，以动为境， 从始至终，念念生死，遗失真性，认物为己，转回是中，自取流转。”

二、自我解脱之路

既然人生痛苦烦恼是内不识自我本心、外不明事物无常，那么从烦恼解脱出来也就只能依靠自己的力量去认识本心、去认识事物的无常，从事物中解脱出自己的心。所以《坛经》强调：”智慧观照，内外明彻，识自本心。若识本心，即本解脱。”《金刚经》解说的从事物中解脱心使得惠能开悟，其说：”应如是生清净心─不应住色生心，不应住声香味触法生心，应无所住而生其心。”《维摩诘经》一直强调当净其心，?直心是菩萨净土，⋯⋯深心是菩萨净土，⋯⋯若菩萨欲得净土，当净其心；随其心净， 则佛土净。”

佛教的这种内在解脱与马丁路德的“因信称义”有着根本不同。如马克思对路德的评论：“路德战胜了信神的奴役制，只是因为他用信仰的奴役制代替了它。他破除了对权威的信仰，却恢复了信仰的权威。⋯⋯他把人从外在宗教解放出来，但又把宗教变成了人的内在世界。他把肉体从锁链中解放出来，但又给人的心灵套上了锁链。”路德将对基督教的信仰以及人死后得到上帝拯救的主动权内化在人自身，突出信仰对解救的直接作用。佛教从根本上否定永恒的存在，也就不存在对“永恒存在”的信仰，所谓的解脱是对事物的正确认识，以智慧知见为现世除去痛苦。

三、佛菩萨改变不了因缘

大乘佛教引入了超人间力量的十方三界诸佛和众多的菩萨摩诃萨，同时也强调因果不可动摇的规律，要求依赖自我心性解脱的方法。《仁王般若经》说：“乃至诸佛三乘七贤八圣亦名见。⋯⋯三界之外别有一众生界藏者，外道《大有经》中说，非七佛之所说。?《圆觉经》说：“于实相中，实无菩萨及诸众生。何以故？菩萨众生皆是幻化，幻化灭故，无取证者。”《坛经》说：“若言归依佛， 佛在何处？”佛不过是消除烦恼后的结果，《仁王般若经》说：“一切众生断三界烦恼报尽者名为佛。”佛不是外在的神圣存在而在自心本性中，所以《坛经》说：“本性是佛，离性无别佛。”又言：“自心归依自性，是归依真佛。自归依者，除却自性中不善心、嫉妒心、谄曲心、吾我心、诳妄心、轻人心、慢他心、邪见心、贡高心及一切时中不善之行。”

四、对佛法教义的超越

佛教以缘起论解释事物现象，包括对佛法的认识。众生因无明而产生诸多痛苦，佛陀为引化众生解除烦恼才讲述了佛法，惠能称：“佛本为凡夫说，不为佛说此理。”佛法被认为是“智药”，可除去人思想认识方面的病，《宝积经》说：“以慈心观治于恚，以因缘观治于愚痴，以行空观治诸妄见，以无相观治诸记想分别缘念，⋯⋯以诸有为皆悉无常治无常中计常颠倒，以有为苦治诸苦中计乐颠倒，以无我法治无我中计我颠倒，以涅寂静治不净中计净颠倒。”佛陀也将这种智药比喻为以手指指物之手， 认为佛法是指示他人认识事物的手指，愚痴之人才会迷悟佛法而取执著，如《金刚经》云：“如来所说法皆不可取不可说，非法非非法。”佛法只是方便义， 是依妄说法，而非为究竟义，应当舍弃远离，《楞伽经》说：“何者是法？所谓二乘及诸外道，虚妄分别说有实等为诸法因，如是等法应舍应离。不应于中分别取相，见自心法性则无执著。?佛教义理的落脚点都归结在自心本性上， 认识自我真心，不被外物包括佛法蒙蔽。

五、修持仪轨戒律的指向

佛教设立有大量的戒律和修行的道场仪轨，从此层意义上说，不可否认佛教有宗教性的一面，如佛教也要求归依，持名念佛和西方极乐信仰，《楞严经》讲如何坐入道场修行。同佛法教义相同，戒律也是为引导人们思想和行为活动，客观上减少人们受外在事物的牵绊，《宝积经》说：“善持戒者，无我无我所，⋯⋯不以戒自高，不下他戒，亦不忆想分别此戒，是名诸圣所持戒行。”《坛经》更直接明白地讲：“心平何须持戒，行直何用修禅。”不仅如此，一切的修行只为安放自己本心，不在于外在的布施修行，“日用常行饶益，成道非由施钱。菩提只向心觅，何劳向外求玄。”《维摩诘经》说：“若言我当见苦断集证灭修道，是则戏论，非求法也。”因此，仪轨和戒律最终都指向了人的本心，是人认识本心、灭除妄见的手段而非结果，“众生幻心，还依幻灭”，在仪轨戒律上也不可取执著相。

六、对神情感体验的破除

依据修行者的不同层次的体验，佛教设有不同阶层的果位，但是又如佛所说的方便设城，《法华经》有“向者大城我所化作为止息耳”之言，佛陀为思想疲惫的人们建立思想层面的休息场所，供人们调息不生畏惧退意，而这些体验都非实有， 应当远离。《圆觉经》云：“一切菩萨及末世众生，应当远离一切幻化虚妄境界。由坚执持远离心故，心如幻者，亦复远离。”任何贪求执著的修行体验都当远离，见诸华相、得诸神力、贪求福德， 都是魔道，“凡所有相，皆是虚妄。” 所以《心经》称：“以无所得故，菩提萨埵，依般若波罗蜜多故，心无挂碍；无挂碍故，无有恐怖，远离颠倒梦想，究竟涅槃。”佛教追求的彼岸世界即涅，是人无明永除、烦恼灭尽的状态，《大般涅经》说：“灭烦恼火，则名寂灭。烦恼灭故，则得受乐。”《楞伽经》说：“涅者，自证圣者所行境界，远离断常及以有无。”在终极义理上，佛教否定了神秘境界体验，《圆觉经》说：“一切如来妙圆觉心，本无菩提及与涅，亦无成佛不成佛，无妄轮回及非轮回。”依人们的妄想心，佛教虚设了佛国净土，其实在世间之外并没有一个实存的神圣世界，《坛经》说：“佛法在世间，不离世间觉。离世觅菩提，犹如求兔角。”《宝积经》说：“譬如有诸莲花，生于水中，水不能著，菩提亦尔，生于世间，而世间法所不能污。烦恼泥中乃有众生起佛法身。” 《华严经》云：“不舍一切世间事，成就出世间道。”

When Buddhas don’t appear, and their followers are gone, the wisdom of awakening bursts forth by itself.

-- Nāgārjuna

See the Universe in a Sunflower

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Listen Shariputra, all phenomena bear the mark of emptiness;

their true nature is the nature of no being, no nonbeing…

—The Heart Sutra (Thich Nhat Hanh translation)

I live in Plum Village, in the Dordogne region of southwest France, an area known for its sunflowers. But people who come to Plum Village in April do not see any sunflowers. They hear people saying that there are many sunflowers around, but they cannot see them anywhere. However, if you ask the farmers in the region, they will tell you that they can see the sunflowers very well, because they have already sown the sunflower seeds. They have ploughed the earth, sown the seeds, and spread manure. They know that there only needs to be one more condition for the sunflowers to manifest. That final condition is warmth. As the weather begins to warm up, the sunflower seeds will sprout, and, if the weather continues to be warm in June or July, the sunflowers will bloom.

So the farmers can see things that the visitor cannot yet see. We say that there isn’t a sunflower here because we cannot see all the latent causes and conditions lying in wait. We have the tendency to think that as long as we can’t see the sunflowers, they don’t exist, and that once we can see the sunflowers, they suddenly do exist.

The words “do not exist” are not really correct, but the words “do exist” are not correct either. When something has not yet manifested, we tend to think that it’s in the realm of nonbeing, and when it manifests we say that it’s in the realm of being. But the two categories of being and nonbeing do not correspond to reality. That is why we shouldn’t wait until we see big yellow flowers blooming in the fields to say that the sunflowers are there. They are there, just hidden, and whether or not we see them is only a matter of time and latent conditions.

Our body is also a conditioned thing. It is a manifestation, and there are causes and conditions that need to come together for it to manifest. Like the sunflowers, if one of these elements is not yet there, the body will not yet manifest. The Buddha teaches very clearly that when something manifests it does not come from anywhere, and when it no longer manifests it does not go anywhere. It is not born. It does not die. It does not pass from the realm of being into the realm of nonbeing.

THE ULTIMATE AND THE RELATIVE 

We can speak of two levels of truth: relative (or conventional) truth and ultimate (or absolute) truth.

Ideas of birth and death, being and nonbeing, above and below, coming and going, sameness and difference, defilement and purity, increasing and decreasing, can all be called conventional truths. They are concepts that we use in daily life, and they are useful in the historical dimension, at the level of conventional truth. If we do not have a birth certificate proving our date of birth, how can we get a passport or an identity card?

So birth and death are important. Above and below are important. Left and right are important. Politically you have to know whether you are on the right or on the left. If you are following your GPS, you need to know that left is not right and right is not left.

At the level of conventional truth, these pairs of opposites are everywhere. There is “you” and “me,” there is “father” and “son.” Father and son are not each other; they are distinct from each other. People are different from animals. Animals are different from plants. Plants are different from minerals. At the level of conventional truth there is discrimination and separation. Things are outside of each other. One thing is not another.

But when we observe more closely, we see something different. We see the ultimate truth that things are really inside of each other. We think that father and son are two different people, but there is really no boundary between them. The father is the continuation of the son into the past, and the son is the continuation of the father into the future. This is the realm of the ultimate, where everything is in everything else. Everything interpenetrates, so the notions of inside and outside do not apply.

The same is true for the notions of above and below. If we are standing in front of an elevator, we need to know if we are going up or down. We need the notions of above and below in order to know whether we will stay on the tenth floor or go to the ground floor. The ground floor must be below and the tenth floor must be above.

But if we ask people in Japan sitting on the other side of the planet, they wouldn’t agree. If they could see us in the elevator going “up,” they would say we are going down. So the notions of above and below are only relatively true. In the ultimate truth there is no below, there is no above. The same is true for all other pairs of opposites: coming and going, birth and death, being and nonbeing.

FINDING A MIDDLE WAY

Birth and death, being and nonbeing, coming and going, same and different — these cannot be applied to the ultimate truth of any phenomenon. In order to touch the true nature of all phenomena, we need to find a middle way between all these pairs of opposites.

When we encounter polarities, or pairs of opposites, we have the tendency to believe that one must be right and the other wrong. For example, we think that either everything exists, everything is real, or that nothing exists, nothing is real. These are the two extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Either we believe that we have an eternal soul which will live on forever, or we believe that we are just a meaningless collection of atoms and that when we die, we will be extinguished for ever and nothing will be left.

If we are wise, the Heart Sutra can help us to find the middle way between these extremes. This middle way between being and nonbeing is a state of coolness, peace, and nonfear that can be experienced in this very life, with this body and with our five skandhas. It is nirvana.

The traditional Chinese and Sanskrit versions of the sutra do not mention “no being and no nonbeing.” Traditionally, there are just three pairs of negations in the sutra: “no birth and no death,” “no defilement and no purity,” and “no increasing and no decreasing.” But in order to touch the ultimate truth, we need to transcend all pairs of opposites –– all duality.

I have added “no being” and “no nonbeing” in this new translation so that people do not fall into the trap of thinking that emptiness means nonbeing or nonexistence. The understanding of “no being and no nonbeing” helps us to understand “no birth and no death.” It helps us avoid falling into the trap of describing things as either existent or non-existent.

DOES GOD EXIST?

In Western theology and philosophy we waste a lot of time trying to prove whether something exists or doesn’t exist. We are preoccupied, for example, with the question: Does God exist? For over 2,000 years people have been debating this without ever coming to any satisfactory conclusion. One group says that there is God, and the other group says there is no God. But in Buddhism, for more than two thousand years, we’ve been saying that the ultimate transcends both being and nonbeing. So if God is the ultimate, then God must certainly transcend both being and nonbeing. We cannot say that God exists, nor can we say that God does not exist, because existence and non-existence are only two faces of one reality.

The view of “being” is one extreme view, and the view of “nonbeing” is another extreme view. We need to transcend both these notions. The term interbeing can help. By adding the prefix “inter” to the word “being” we have a term that is no longer the opposite of nonbeing. Interbeing has no opposite, so we can make use of it to avoid falling into the trap of dualistic thinking.

The term “interbeing” still uses the word “being,” but it helps us to get out of the notion of being. So the notion of interbeing, although it is a notion, helps lead you to the ultimate truth.

Interbeing means you cannot be by yourself alone; you can only inter-be. Interbeing can connect the conventional truth and the ultimate truth, so it can lead you gradually to emptiness. Emptiness represents the ultimate truth, the true nature of reality. On this level, there is no beginning and there is no end. There is no birth and there is no death. And the notions of being and nonbeing are removed.

The two notions of being and nonbeing oppose each other, and so we have to struggle. But when we speak of the ultimate truth, we use words like “emptiness,” and emptiness when used like this also has no opposite. At first, we think emptiness is the opposite of fullness, but emptiness is fullness. You are empty of a separate self, but you are full of the cosmos. So “emptiness” is an expression that we could say is equivalent to “God.” God is the ultimate, and emptiness is the ultimate. Emptiness is the absence of notions and concepts. You cannot describe God with notions and concepts. You cannot say that God is or is not. To say that God exists is nonsense, and to say that God doesn’t exist is nonsense, because notions of being and nonbeing cannot be applied to the ultimate.

In the West, “to be or not to be” has been the question for more than two thousand years. But in Buddhism, being or nonbeing is not the question. We practice transcending the notions of being and nonbeing, and erase the boundary between being and nonbeing in order to see the true nature of reality.

When the Buddha was asked what is the “right view” to have of reality, he described it as the view that transcends being and nonbeing. This is what in Buddhism we call “right view.” So now if somebody asks you whether or not you exist, you can answer, “I am not caught in the notions of existence or non-existence, I am not caught in being or nonbeing, I can only inter-be with everything!”

This one life has no form and is empty by nature. If you become attached by any form, you should reject it. If you see an ego, a soul, a birth, or a death, reject them all.

-- Bodhidharma

知道因果报应，心结就打开了

净空法师

结怨里最重的，一个是杀生，这个怨结的重；第二个是偷盗。偷盗什么？想占别人便宜，欺负些老实人，这个罪更严重。老实人是好人，恶意欺负他，夺取他的财物，这个罪更重。

众生不知道，杀生是要偿命的，欠债是要还钱的，因果报应丝毫不爽，这个事情决定不能干。宁可饿死，不能抢劫，为什么？聪明人总是会想到，人生到这个世间来决定有死，生死是个平常的事情，不能造业。希望多活两年杀害众生，死了以后地狱去了。饿死的人，不侵犯别人的人，这个人虽然是饿死，因为他的心善、行为善，死了以后升天，享福，好事情，不是坏事情。

宁愿饿死，宁愿冻死，也不愿意去抢劫，善人决定有善果，恶人一定有恶报。所以，因果这个道理跟事实真相不能不清楚。清楚、明白了，自己心是定的。心地清静，心在定中，往往很自然的平安度过灾难。人不起妄念，消耗能量就少，一个星期不吃不喝能活得下去。所以在这种情形、这种状况之下就是考验，看你还能不能守住，你的善心、善念、善行是不是能保持得住。能保持住，你的命还没有绝、还有寿命，肯定有人来帮助你。

信心比什么都重要，特别是净宗法门，能不能成就全在信心。蕅益大师跟我们讲六个“信”字，第一个是信自己，信自己“本来是佛”，信自己“是心是佛”，信自己“是心做佛”，这非常重要！

一切都要作还债想，我们心里就欢喜。纵然遇到非常的环境，我们的财产都散失了，要知道作还债想。如果命里有的，这个地方散掉了，不久、未来它又来了，你命里头有的。因果要一定相信，我学佛六十多年，老师教导我们这些道理、这些境缘我们都经历过，是真的不是假的。只要存善心，有善的念头，利益众生，业障就消了，烦恼就轻了，可以转祸为福，转灾难为吉祥。

如果知道这些因果报应，心里面的结就打开了，应当反省，不怨天、不尤人，决定要想到是自作自受。经过这场灾难之后，要勤修道德，要改过自新，把自己的毛病全部改正，从新做人，这是一个很好的转机。遇到这些灾难要会转，不要把它当作灾难去想，看它是一个转机，我在这个环境当中超脱。这个是智慧的想法。真正化解了灾难，中国人所谓“逢凶化吉，遇难呈祥”，这是有智慧的人。能把一切事相看清楚、看明白，通通是转机。转的枢纽就在你自己的念头，你向善转还是向不善转，权不在外人，在自己。

纵舍就是放下。他不肯放下，总是不服气，这个念头折福，完全错了。命中纵然有福报，这个地方损失，那里会来。但是这个念头生起来，该去的去了，该来的不来了，为什么？你障碍了他。恶的报应现前，你还有善心，你还有善德，但是这一念嗔恨、一念不平、一念报复全障碍了，这个是决定错误、真正聪明的人受了大的伤害、大的损失，若无其事，这有福，后福无穷，不怨天，不尤人，真能放得下。能舍，后头就有得，佛法里面讲舍得。舍得是佛学的名词，舍是因，得是果报。欢欢喜喜舍，欢欢喜喜得，这得来容易；难分难割的舍，得到也很难，也吃尽苦头才得到。这什么样的因得什么样的果么，因果丝毫不差了。

尤其是这一生闻佛法的这个功夫不够，离开六道轮回就非常困难。所以闻法的时间要长，长时间的熏修，慢慢就觉悟了，叫你舍，你很容易放下。释迦牟尼佛当年在世，讲经教学四十九年，很有道理，表演给我们看，长时间的接受大乘经典的熏修，有很大的利益。

我们对大乘要相信，决定不要怀疑。怀疑那是我们很大的过失，怀疑就不相信了，这种大法、妙法不就当面错过。要是净宗有一点点怀疑，就不能往生了，这个损失太大了。

妙用（是什么）？善于应用你的缘，这个缘一定是帮助你觉悟，帮助你境界提升；第二个，帮助你积功累德，这个积功累德是要帮助别人，帮助别人越多，功德越大。帮助别人这里头最重要的，不着相；绝不求人天的果报，完全回向求生净土，这个人一等聪明人，这个人是佛菩萨，这不是凡人。

The ground of purification is the universal ground wisdom, which is like the sky. The incidental stains are the object of purification, which are like the clouds. The agent of purification is the truth of the path, which is like the inexorable wind. The result of purification is the separated result, which is like the sky, free of clouds.

-- Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen

Seeing Ourselves Clearly

by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

From one point of view, personal liberation without freeing others is selfish and unfair, because all sentient beings also have the natural right and desire to be free of suffering. Therefore, it is important for practitioners to engage in the practice of the stages of the path of the highest scope, starting with the generation of bodhichitta, the altruistic aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Once one has cultivated bodhichitta, all the meritorious actions that are supported by and complemented with this altruism — even the slightest form of positive action — become causes for the achievement of omniscience.

Omniscience is a wisdom that is able to perceive directly all phenomena, both the ultimate and the conventional natures, simultaneously. It is a state where all the potentials of one’s wisdom are developed fully and where there is also a total freedom from all the obstructions to knowledge. It can be achieved only by purifying all the faults of one’s mind, and only by complementing the practice of wisdom with the practices of method: bodhichitta, compassion and so forth. Without bodhichitta, even though one might have great wisdom realising emptiness, one will not be able to achieve the omniscient state.

In order to cultivate a genuine bodhichitta, you have to depend upon the proper methods and the instructions outlining these. There are two major systems of instructions, one the seven-point cause and effect method, the other the equalising and exchanging oneself with others. The different methods will suit the various mental dispositions of the different practitioners; some might find one more effective than the other. The tradition is that these methods are combined and practiced together.

THE SEVEN-POINT CAUSE AND EFFECT METHOD

THE PRELIMINARY STEP OF CULTIVATING EQUANIMITY 

The foundation for practicing the seven-point cause and effect method is cultivating a mind of equanimity. Without this foundation you will not be able to have an impartial altruistic view, because without equanimity you will always have partiality towards your relatives and friends. Realise that you should not have prejudice, hatred or desire towards enemies, friends or neutral persons, and thus lay a very firm foundation of equanimity.

To do this, first visualise a neutral person whom you do not know at all. When you clearly visualise that person, you will find that you don’t feel any fluctuations of emotion, no desire or hatred — you are indifferent. Then visualise an enemy; when you visualise the enemy clearly you will have a natural reaction of hatred, feeling all sorts of ill will. Next, clearly visualise a friend or relative to whom you feel very close. With that visualisation, the natural reaction will be a feeling of affection and attachment. With the visualisation of your enemies, you will feel somewhat distant and will have hatred and a sense of repulsion. Reflect upon your justification in reacting so negatively to them. Although it is true that they have meted out much harm in this life, have they always done such things and been like this? You will find that they have not: in the past they must have engaged in actions beneficial to you and many others. Right now, because of being under the influence of ignorance, hatred and so forth, they have these faults; it is not their essential nature.

Reflect that delusions are within your own mind also. Although there might be a difference in the force of these delusions, in terms of being delusions they are delusions equally. You should decide that there is not much point in emotionally reacting to the people you have categorised as enemies.

Then examine how you react, on the other hand, to your relatives and friends. Although it is true that they have been kind to you in this life, in the past they might have been your enemies, and even gone to the extent of taking your life. Therefore, there is no point in being absolutely or permanently attached to such people, categorising them as your friends and relatives.

Thus, there is not much difference between enemies and friends as far as yourself is concerned. They have both had times of benefiting you and they have both had times of harming you. Your having partiality towards them is groundless. Therefore, develop the mind of equanimity directed towards all sentient beings. This mind cannot be brought about by meditating just once or twice, but rather through repeated meditations over months or years.

1. RECOGNISING SENTIENT BEINGS AS HAVING BEEN ONE’S MOTHER

The first step of the seven-point cause and effect method is to cultivate the recognition of all sentient beings as having been one’s mother. To do this, it is first necessary to reflect on your beginningless lives in this cycle of existence and that through many of your lives you have had to depend on your mothers. There is not a single living being that you can definitely point to as not having been your mother in the past. Perceive all sentient beings as having been your own kind mothers. If you are able to understand the beginninglessness of your lives, you will be able to understand that you have taken many forms of life that require a mother. You will find that there is not a single sentient being that has not been your mother in the past.

Next, examine whether you stand to gain or lose by cultivating this recognition of others as mothers. Since you are concerned with cultivating bodhichitta, the altruistic aspiration, you should recognise that if you do not have this basic factor of recognition of others as having been your mothers, you will not have success in its cultivation. So by not developing this recognition you stand to lose.

A recognition of others as being your dearest ones need not be confined to recognising them as mothers alone. As Maitreya recommends in his Abhisamayalankara, you can also view them as having been your best friends or closest relatives. For example, you can view all sentient beings as having been your fathers, if you relate better to your father than to your mother, or as children to whom you feel closest and for whom you have the deepest affection. The point is to bring about an effect within your mind and to develop a state of mind that will enable you to perceive all living beings as the closest objects of affection and kindness. That is how you cultivate the recognition of sentient beings as having been one’s mother.

2. RECOLLECTION OF ALL BEINGS’ KINDNESS

The next meditation is on the recollection of the kindness of all beings. For this, you should visualise the person to whom you feel closest — be it your mother or father — when she or he is quite old. Clearly visualise the person at an age when she or he depends upon others’ cooperation and assistance. Doing this has a special significance, for it will make your meditation more powerful and effective.

Then think that your mother, for example, has been your mother not only in this lifetime, but also in past lives. Particularly in this life her kindness was boundless at the time of your birth, and before that during gestation she had to undergo all sorts of hardships, and even after birth her affection was such that she was able to surrender her own happiness and pleasure for the sake of the happiness and pleasure of her child. At the time of your birth she felt as joyful as if she had found a treasure, and according to her own capacities she has protected you. You were thus protected until you could stand on your own feet.

After reflecting upon the kindness of mothers, particularly of this lifetime, you should visualise other beings whom you find quite distant and repulsive, even animals, and take them as your object of visualisation. Think that although these enemies are harmful to you and are your adversaries in this life, in past lives they must have been your most dear parents and must have even protected and saved your life countless times. Therefore their kindness is boundless. In such a manner you should train your mind.

3. REPAYING KINDNESS

The meditation on the recollection of kindness should be followed by meditation upon repaying that kindness. The thought to repay the kindness of mothers will come about naturally when you have been successful in recollecting this kindness — it should come from the depths of your heart. Not to repay their kindness would be unfair and ungrateful of you. Therefore, you should work according to your own capacity for the benefit of others; doing this repays their kindness.

4. LOVING-KINDNESS

Having cultivated equanimity and the recognition of all sentient beings as having been one’s mother, you will see all sentient beings as objects of affection and endearment. And the more forceful your feeling of affection towards them, the stronger will be your aspiration that they be free from suffering and enjoy happiness. So the recognition of others as having been one’s mother is the foundation for the subsequent meditations. Having laid that proper foundation, recollected their kindness and developed the genuine wish to repay it, you gain a state wherein you feel close to and affectionate towards all living beings. Now reflect that all these sentient beings, although they naturally desire happiness and wish to avoid suffering, are tormented by unimaginable sufferings. Reflect upon the fact that they are just like yourself in desiring happiness, but they lack this happiness. By such reflection, cultivate loving-kindness.

5. GREAT COMPASSION

When you do the meditation on compassion, reflect upon the manner in which sentient beings undergo the experience of suffering. First, in order to have a very strong force of compassion, visualise a person undergoing active sufferings. You can visualise any situation that you find unbearable. Doing so will enable you to have a strong force of compassion and make it easier to develop a genuine universal compassion.

Then think about the sentient beings in other categories; they may not be undergoing manifest sufferings right now, but due to indulging in negative actions that will definitely produce undesirable consequences in the future, they are certain to face such experiences.

The wish that all sentient beings who lack happiness be endowed with happiness is the state of mind called universal love, and the wish that sentient beings be free of suffering is called compassion. These two meditations can be undertaken in combination, until there is some kind of effect or change in your mind.

6. THE UNUSUAL ATTITUDE

Your cultivation of love and great compassion should not be left in a state of mere imagination or wish alone; rather, a sense of responsibility, a genuine intention to engage in the task of relieving sentient beings of their suffering and providing them with happiness, should be developed. It is important for a practitioner to work for and take upon himself or herself the responsibility of fulfilling this intention. The stronger your cultivation of compassion is, the more committed you will feel to taking this responsibility. Because of their ignorance, sentient beings do not know the right methods by which they can fulfill their aims. It is the responsibility of those who are equipped with this knowledge to fulfill the intention of working for their benefit.

Such a state of mind is called the extraordinary attitude or special, unusual attitude. It is called unusual or extraordinary because such a force of compassion, committing oneself to taking on such a responsibility, is not to be found in the trainees of lower capacity. As the oral traditions explain, with this extraordinary attitude there is a commitment that one will take upon oneself the responsibility of fulfilling this aim. It is like striking a deal in business and signing a contract.

After generating the extraordinary attitude, ask yourself whether or not, although you have developed the strong courage and the determination to work for the benefit of other sentient beings, you really possess the capacity and capability to bring them genuine happiness. It is only by your showing living beings the right path leading towards omniscience, and by living beings on their part eliminating the ignorance within themselves, that they will be able to gain lasting happiness. Although you may be able to work for other sentient beings to bring them temporary happiness, bringing about their ultimate aims is possible only when these beings take upon themselves the initiative to eliminate the ignorance within themselves. The same is true of yourself: if you desire the attainment of liberation, it is your responsibility to take the initiative to eliminate the ignorance within yourself.

As I just mentioned, you must also show the right path to living beings — and for that, first of all, you must possess the knowledge yourself. So long as you yourself are not completely enlightened there will always be an inner obstruction. Therefore, it is very important that you work for your own achievement of the completely enlightened state. By thinking in such terms, you will be able to develop the strong belief that without attaining the omniscient state you will not be able to fulfill what you set out to do and truly benefit others.

7. BODHICITTA

Based on the foundation of love and compassion, you should generate from the depths of your heart the aspiration to achieve the completely enlightened state for the benefit of all sentient beings. The cultivation of such a mind constitutes the realisation of bodhichitta.

After the meditation on generating bodhichitta you should engage in the practice of cultivating bodhichitta that takes the result into the path. Visualising the spiritual guru at your crown, imagine that the guru expresses delight, saying that it is very admirable and you are very fortunate that you have generated bodhichitta and have engaged in the path of cultivating it, and that he shall take you under his care. Imagine that, as a result of the guru’s delight, he dissolves through your crown and into your heart. Then you dissolve into emptiness and from emptiness arise in the aspect of Buddha Shakyamuni. See yourself becoming inseparable from him, and rejoice. At your heart visualise all your virtues accumulated through the practice of bodhichitta. These emanate, in the form of light rays, toward all living beings and actively work for their benefit, relieving them of their suffering, placing them in the state of liberation and favourable rebirth and eventually leading them to the omniscient state.

EQUALISING AND EXCHANGING ONESELF WITH OTHERS 

Next follows the instruction on the cultivation of bodhichitta according to the method of equalising and exchanging oneself with others. This meditation has five sections: 1) equalizing oneself with others; 2) reflecting on the disadvantages of the self-cherishing attitude from many perspectives; 3) reflecting on the advantages of the thought cherishing the welfare of others from many perspectives; 4) the actual exchange of oneself and others and 5) taking and giving.

1. EQUALISING ONESELF WITH OTHERS

This phrase refers to the practice of reflecting upon the equality of oneself and others in having the natural and spontaneous wish to enjoy happiness and avoid suffering. For the generation of this type of equanimity, the instruction by the late Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche on the nine-round meditation is very powerful and effective.

MEDITATION ON EQUANIMITY 

The nine-round meditation is comprised of training the mind in equanimity with a mental outlook based on the dual nature of things and events: the conventional and the ultimate. Based on different perspectives, the first in turn is divided into two sections, one from the viewpoint of others and the second from the viewpoint of oneself.

The rounds of visualisation on cultivating equanimity from the viewpoint of others are divided into three:

Develop the thought that all sentient beings are equal insofar as the natural wish to avoid suffering is concerned and that therefore there is no point in being partial or discriminatory.

Reflect that all sentient beings equally desire happiness and therefore there is no ground for discriminating between them when working for their benefit. The situation is analogous to one where you encounter ten equally wretched beggars who are desperately asking you to relieve their hunger. In such circumstances it is senseless to have any feeling of preference.

Develop an equanimity based on the reflection that all sentient beings are equal in lacking genuine happiness although they have the innate desire to possess it. Likewise all sentient beings are the same in having suffering and the wish to avoid it.

With the above three types of practice you train your mind in the attitude expressed as follows: “I shall never discriminate between beings and will always work equally to help them overcome suffering and gain happiness.”

The next three rounds of meditation enforce the thought that there is no justification for discrimination between sentient beings from the point of view of oneself or from the viewpoint of others. This training is divided into three sections:

You might have the thought that although reflection upon the equality of others is fairly persuasive regarding the futility of your being discriminatory towards other beings, surely when viewed from your own side the situation will look quite different. After all, some people are friends and help you, whereas many others harm you. To counter this thought which attempts to give false grounds for being partial towards others, reflect that all sentient beings are equally kind to you: they have all been at one time or other your closest friends and relatives. Hence there is no rational basis at all for being biased towards or against any.

Perhaps you have the idea that although people have been your friends in the past, they have equally been your enemies and have caused harm as well. Such notions should be countered by reflecting that sentient beings’ kindness to you is not confined to when they are friends and relatives alone; their kindness when they are your enemies is boundless. The enemy provides you with the precious opportunity to train yourself in the noble ideals of patience and tolerance, traits vital for the perfection of your generation of universal compassion and bodhichitta. For a bodhisattva who emphasises the practice of bodhichitta, the training in patience is indispensable. Contemplating upon such lines of reasoning will persuade you that there are no grounds for neglecting the welfare of even a single sentient being.

Reflect that, as Shantideva wrote in Bodhisattvacaryavatara, there is no sense in someone who is himself subject to suffering and impermanence being selfish and discriminatory towards others who are also tormented by the same fate.

The next three rounds of meditation deal with the cultivation of equanimity based on an insight into the ultimate nature of things and events. (This “ultimate” should not be taken to refer to the ultimate truth in terms of emptiness — rather, it means that the outlook adopted in these visualisations is deeper and hence relatively ultimate in comparison to the earlier meditations.)

Consider whether or not there are any “true” enemies in the real sense of the word. If there are, then the fully enlightened buddhas should perceive them as such, which is definitely not the case. For a buddha, all sentient beings are equally dear. Also, when you examine deeply, you will find that it is in fact the delusions within the enemies and not the enemies themselves that actually cause harm. Aryadeva said in his Chatu-shataka Shastra:

Buddhas see the delusion as the enemy;

And not the childish who possess it.

Therefore, there is no justification at all for you to hold grudges against those who cause harm, and neglect the welfare of such beings.

Secondly, ask yourself whether these so-called enemies are permanent and will always remain as enemies or whether they are changeable. Concluding that they are not permanent will enable you to overcome your disinterest in their welfare.

The last meditation is a reflection upon the relative nature of “enemy” and “friend,” and touches upon the ultimate nature of phenomena. Concepts of enemy, friend and so forth are relative and exist only at the conventional level. They are mutually dependent, as are the concepts of long and short. A person may be an enemy in relation to one person while at the same time being a dear friend to another. It is your misapprehension of friends, relatives and enemies as inherently existent that gives rise to your fluctuating emotions towards them. Therefore, by realising that there is no such inherently existent enemy and friend, you will be able to overcome your biased feelings towards all beings.

2. REFLECTION ON THE DISADVANTAGES OF THE SELF-CHERISHING ATTITUDE

The next step is the contemplation — from many different perspectives — upon the disadvantages and faults of the self-cherishing attitude. As Geshe Chekawa said in his Lojong dhon dun ma (“Seven Points on Thought Transformation”): “Banish the one object of all blame.” It is the self-cherishing attitude that is the source of all miseries and therefore is the only object to be blamed for all misfortune.

Since the self-cherishing and self-grasping attitudes abide strongly fortified within our minds, we have never been able to shake them in the least. We have so far not been able to disturb them even as much as a small pebble in a shoe would disturb a person.

If we remain with our present outlook and way of thinking, we will still be under the influence and command of these two factors. We should reflect that these factors have always caused our downfall in the past, and that they will do so in the future if we remain under their influence.

In deeper terms, we will find that all the sufferings and problems and anxieties of not finding what we seek, of being separated from our loved ones, of physical illnesses, of suffering from want, lack of contentment, quarrels and so forth, come about because of our underlying attachment to the self and the self-cherishing attitude that tries to protect such a self within ourselves. The more selfish a person is, the more sufferings and anxieties he or she will have. This self-cherishing attitude manifests in all sorts of ways, which results in problems and anxieties. Yet we never recognise the truth — that these are all the doings of the self-cherishing attitude. Rather, we have the tendency to blame others and external factors: “He did it, and if he had done something else, it wouldn’t have happened.”

3. REFLECTION ON THE ADVANTAGES OF THE THOUGHT CHERISHING THE WELFARE OF OTHERS

Having realised the enormous disadvantages of holding on to a selfish thought cherishing your welfare alone, you should now reflect upon the kindness of all mother sentient beings, as discussed earlier. The kindness of other beings towards us is boundless while we revolve in this cycle of existence. This is particularly true when we first embark upon a spiritual path and thus begin the process of untying the chains that bind us to this cyclic existence.

We find that if a person lives a very selfish life and is never concerned about the welfare of others, he will have few friends, and people will not take much notice of him. At the time of his death, there will not be many people who will regret his passing. Some deceptive and negative persons may be very powerful and wealthy, and therefore some people — for economic reasons and so forth — might portray themselves as friends, but they will speak against such persons behind their backs. When these negative persons die, these very same “friends” may rejoice at their death.

On the other hand, many people mourn and regret the death of a person who is very kind and always altruistic and who works for the benefit of others. We find that altruism, as well as the person who possesses it, is regarded as the friend of all, and it becomes the object of veneration and respect by others.

I often remark, partly in jest, that if one really wants to be selfish, one should be “wisely selfish” by working for others. By helping others, one will receive help and assistance in return, particularly when one is in a hard situation — the time when one needs assistance from others the most. But if one tries to be very selfish, then when one is in difficult circumstances, one will find fewer people who are willing to help and one will be left to resolve the situation and difficulty on one’s own. It is the nature of human beings to depend upon the cooperation and assistance of others, particularly when facing difficult times; during such times and during hardship it is only true friends who will be beneficial and helpful. By living an unselfish life, one will be able to earn genuine friends, whereas selfish thoughts and a selfish life will never gain one genuine and true friends.

The essence of Mahayana practice is really to teach us the methods by which we will be able to succeed not only in this life but also in the future. Such instruction is, in fact, very practical and relevant to all — believers and nonbelievers alike. If we are able to derive practical benefits within this lifetime by living a virtuous life, we will be able to fulfill the wishes of future lifetimes as well.

4. THE ACTUAL EXCHANGE OF ONESELF WITH OTHERS

To exchange oneself with others is to reverse a former attitude: the thought of endearment and cherishing of oneself with its feeling of indifference towards others should now be reversed as follows. One should feel indifferent to oneself, reduce the force of clinging to oneself, and rather hold the welfare of other sentient beings as precious. That is the meaning of exchanging oneself with others. The degree of high value one feels towards oneself should now be turned towards others.

For this practice, one should also be knowledgeable about the commitments and precepts of thought transformation practices. If one undertakes such a practice one will be able to transform any adverse circumstances into favourable conditions of the path. In this age of degeneration when one meets with all sorts of problems and adverse circumstances, the practice of thought transformation is very effective. If someone lacks the practice of thought transformation, even though that person might be a very serious meditator he or she will meet with many hardships and hurdles.

5. GIVING AND TAKING

The practice of the actual exchange of oneself with others should be followed by the practice of giving and taking. The latter is begun by reflecting that although all mother sentient beings desire happiness, they lack it, and that although they do not desire suffering, they undergo it. Think that it is the ignorance of sentient beings that impels them to work for the fulfillment of their selfish aims.

You should develop the unusual, extraordinary attitude of wishing that all their sufferings ripen upon yourself. Induced by the strong sense of compassion for other sentient beings, visualise taking all their sufferings upon yourself; and then, induced by the strong wish of love, visualise giving away from the depths of your heart all your virtuous collections, happiness, wealth, possessions, even your body, to other sentient beings. If you can conjoin such practices with the breathing process — that is, imagining taking when inhaling and giving when exhaling — you will be able to engage in a powerful practice, leading you to the strong commitment that you will engage in the bodhisattva deeds. If you are able to engage in such a powerful practice, then due to the strong determination and commitment that you make as a result of cultivating bodhichitta, you will be able to alleviate the forces of the powerful and vast stores of negative actions committed in past lives, and also accumulate great stores of merit.

This is how you should undertake the practice of bodhichitta.