A Human Birth, So Difficult to Obtain

by Khandro Rinpoche

A Human Life is all the more precious for being so difficult to obtain. The most direct way to look at this is to compare the vast numbers of beings in this very world system. A Tibetan term for sentient beings is drowa ('gro ba) which means "movement." Any movement anywhere signifies the presence of a mind, or mental consciousness, and a holder of that mind. The bodies and minds of living beings create the immense amount of movement in all the realms.

Compare the numbers. There are millions and millions of life forms on, above, and below the earth and in the ocean. We think that our human population is huge when actually it is very small compared to the vast numbers of beings in other forms. Just between the human and animal realms — the least populated of the lower realms — there is a vast difference in numbers. Traditionally it's said that the number of beings in the animal realm is equivalent to all the dust particles on the surface of the earth, while human beings equal the number of dust particles on the tip of a needle. Our teachers would tell anyone arrogant enough to boast of the numbers of human beings to dig a pit about four by four feet and look into it carefully. The billions of sentient beings in just that one pit would equal the whole human population.

From that point of view, we must really have a sense of the existence of life forms everywhere — and an appreciation of the vastness of karma and the preciousness of a human existence. There are innumerable beings with no such potential. And of those endowed human beings, how many recognise the cyclic existence of sentient beings and are willing to create the ground of happiness rather than the ground of suffering? How many recognise ignorance and all that arises from it? How many have the opportunities that you and I have to meet with the Dharma and truly put it into practice — and of those human beings, how many actually generate motivation and bring their potential to fruition?

Human beings who can truly let go of unvirtuous actions are rare — and rarer still are those who actually put virtuous actions into practice. Since we have this rare potential and opportunity — no matter how weak we are or how many difficulties and habitual tendencies we may have — we have far better circumstances than millions and billions of sentient beings moving about at this particular time.

We must realise how close we actually are to bringing these endowments to fruition — but we're not doing so. A single invisible thought, hesitation, or doubt can cause us to slip, disrupting everything. Not to put our potential to use would be a complete waste of a life. There is no greater waste or deception toward others than to have the ability to generate selflessness but allow distraction to completely destroy you. The understanding that should arise from this is "Do not waste a moment of this life." Do not — through one moment of non awareness or one emotional obstacle — waste the potential of your higher birth.

From the moment of your birth until now — with all these conditions that so many millions of sentient beings do not have — what have you actually squeezed out as the essence of so many years of life? If you were to die at this moment, what would be the fruition of having had this healthy body and mind and all this potential? What would be left behind, if not for others' benefit then for your own? Endowed with all these qualities, have you ended up just learning and talking about them — as you go about doing the millions of other things you do? Or have you actually planted and nurtured them in your life so they blossom? If this hasn't happened, contemplate the immense waste of mind still unwilling to put this into practice and come to fruition.

Bring awareness to the preciousness of each moment so it can truly arise as the ground of enlightenment. This is the essential meaning of the first reminder, which reminds us why we need to exert effort to generate awareness at all times.

A "higher" birth means freedom from samsara, a birth that allows liberation to arise. The cause of such a favourable birth according to the Madhyamika (Middle Way) school of Buddhist teachings is based on ethics, or discipline. In this case, discipline means binding all of our human qualities together with awareness. The binding factor of awareness will bring them to fruition. It will allow us to abandon anything useless or destructive to our human qualities and to cultivate that which will bring them to fruition. Awareness is known as the foundation of liberation, upon which we can bring the eighteen qualities to fruition. What are the benefits of bringing a precious human existence to fruition?

Only a human being can create the favourable ground of karma leading to birth in the higher realms. As a result, this present life could lead to more favourable circumstances in the next — or at the very least a better tomorrow or a better old age. Favourable circumstances can arise only from the ground of positive karma. Fruition depends on a cause; the causes of favourable circumstances are virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind — and a positive cause cannot be created without awareness. Awareness is the actual discipline that puts positive karma into practice.

We can also talk about lesser and greater fruition. Lesser fruition is the attainment of our own liberation. Individual liberation, or arhatship, is attained through hinayana practices by arhats, known as "solitary realisers." But even this liberation cannot be attained without bringing all eighteen qualities to fruition through the practice of Dharma. The greater fruition is that of a bodhisattva, a fully enlightened compassionate being who benefits all sentient beings. We cannot attain the fruition of a bodhisattva without the cause of a human birth. So no matter what we aspire to — from temporary happiness in this life to the attainment of absolute liberation — the fundamental requirement is a precious human birth endowed with the eighteen qualities.

Having attained this precious human existence, Like a ship that crosses the ocean of samsara, Without falling into distractions or laziness of mind through ignorance, Allow yourself to awaken to the preciousness of this moment.

It is not in planning for liberation that liberation arises. Liberation arises from the wakefulness of each moment. This very moment is completely endowed with all the favourable circumstances we need for enlightenment. If and when awareness is not generated, it's only because we're unaware of these fundamental qualities — which therefore are not fully utilised. The importance of strengthening awareness is understood from contemplating impermanence, the second thought that transforms the mind.