Human Life: Using It Well

by Kalu Rinpoche

Among the myriad possible lives, only human life is endowed with the faculties that allow for an understanding and practice of Dharma. But merely being human is not always enough for spiritual progress; the value of human birth is actually quite variable. There are three kinds of human life: unfortunate human life, ordinary human life, and precious human life.

Unfortunate human life is one in which a person commits negative acts because he or she is subject to mental afflictions that in turn create a painful future.

Ordinary or banal human existence, while not used for negative ends, is not particularly positive either. This is the type of life most people lead: not doing anything particularly positive or negative.

Finally, there is the precious human rebirth: a human life in which a connection with a spiritual path and a guide have been established and in which, with faith in that path, it is possible to practice; all the favourable circumstances for practice are in place. That kind of life is said to be precious because it is the basis of spiritual realisation. Through it we can reach enlightenment, or buddhahood. It is also precious because of its extreme rarity-like a star in the daytime. Consider its rarity among the numerous nations on our planet: the civilisations of a great many nations make no reference to the spiritual path. Hundreds of millions of people live in an environment that completely lacks Dharma. Even in countries where Dharma is accessible, look how few people actually study and practice it.

Notice how in our city, our town, our immediate surroundings, so few people have the right circumstances for practice: freedom, motivation, the spiritual inclination to really devote themselves to the path. This precious human life is rare also because it is so hard to obtain. That we even have a precious human life is no accident; it is the result of positive actions accomplished on the path by morality, love, and compassion. All these acts left karmic imprints that have brought us to the present situation into which we were born: endowed with a precious human life. Among you there are some with faith in Dharma and others who are curious or sympathetic. Just by virtue of that, you possess the precious human rebirth.

In the past, we have been born and reborn an incalculable number of times in cyclic existence. Right now we have a precious human rebirth. If we do not devote ourselves to Dharma practice, this will be a loss much worse than that of a poor man who won't take a treasure he has just come upon. Ultimately, we will continue to err indefinitely in the cycle of lives. If we know how to use this life, it can be the point of departure for our liberation.

We are at a fork in the road: one route ascends to higher realms and freedom; the other descends to lower realms. We have the choice of taking the high road or the low road. To use this precious human life as a support o Dharma practice and liberation is to give it its true meaning. 

Just as light destroys darkness,

Generosity destroys miserliness,

Discipline destroys harmfulness.

Patience destroys intolerance,

Perseverance destroys laziness,

Concentration destroys distraction,

Wisdom destroys ignorance.

-- Chamtrul Rinpoche

戒定慧在一念间

净慧长老

居士到寺院是为了学习佛法而来，为了修行而来。修行就是修正我们的行为心念，因为我们一般人平常生活在世俗生活当中，不免有许多习气毛病，或者说有许多与佛法不相应的地方，有许多与我们的修行目标不相应的言行。所以我们要学佛，到寺院来，不断改变世俗的生活行为和心态。要改变行为和心态就得从一言一行一举一动做起，一言一行一举一动，都是我们心念的反映，我们有什么样的心念，就会有什么样的言行。所以我们时时刻刻要留意自己的心念，使自己的心念不断净化。

修行的目标，就是要做到三业清净。三业就是身口意这三个方面。我们平常都有很多烦恼，心安静不下来，那就是三业不清净。三业不清净就要修，慢慢地修。修就是改正，所谓改往修来，慢慢修，三业就会逐步清净，修行就会上道，念佛就会相应，我们学习佛法的目标就真正能够落实。所以，在寺院里，在佛堂，在大殿，要保持安静，说话声音小一点，动作能够安详，时时刻刻要关心他人，关怀同道，关心左右的人，经常能够谅解他人。我们坐在那里或许挤了点，或许不舒服，大家一定要委屈一下。我们寺院对每一位居士都抱着感恩的心、分享的心、结缘的心。因为大家到寺院来，使我们的道场兴盛，使佛法得到弘扬，使祖师道场陈旧破败的景象，慢慢恢复过来，重现昔日的庄严。

要重现昔日的庄严，必须是大众一砖一瓦来成就。大众成就了祖庭，祖庭也要在佛法的分享上，在修行的分享上来成就大众。只有在相互成就当中，僧俗二众才能同时进步，佛法才能真正兴旺。僧俗二众如果不能相互成就，佛教真正的和合团结就不会有。僧团感恩居士，居士也要感恩僧团。僧团感恩居士，是因为居士护持了道场；居士感恩僧团，是因为僧团在佛法上能够引导我们，使我们走在正信正行的道路上，落实修行的目标。既要相互成就，也要相互感恩。彼此相互尊重，形成良性互动，这也是佛法兴旺的标志。

从僧团来说，居士不会一年到头住在寺院，来寺院的次数也很少。既然来了，我们就要在佛法上分享，在生活起居上也要分享。常住的一草一木，一粥一饭，都是十方善信提供的。我们也要用这些十方善众提供的资源回报大众，跟大众分享，这是我们僧团的责任。

我们分享，居士感到真正回到家了，很亲切，对佛法更有信心，在温暖和法喜中学习佛法，在亲切和蔼的气氛中得到修行。所以，我们僧团尽管条件有限，粗茶淡饭，有盐同咸，无盐同淡，共同分享，这就是佛门的规矩。

佛门是四众弟子的，道场是四众弟子的，僧团只是替四众管理这个道场，感恩分享，进一步结缘，结未来的缘，结无穷无尽的善缘、法缘。

有缘千里来相会，无缘对面不相逢。缘在佛法里是一个非常重要的概念，缘在人生也是非常重要的一法，可以说，离开了缘就没有人生，离开了缘就没有社会，离开了缘也没有佛法。佛法处处讲因缘，人生处处是因缘，社会的一切都是因缘和合。所以我们要处处结缘，结人缘，结善缘，结法缘，不要结恶缘。处处结法缘，以佛法相见就是结法缘，结法缘的目标就是为了成就佛缘，种下成佛的种子，这是无上因缘。

佛法是缘起法，无缘无一切法。缘就是各种各样的条件，没有条件就没有一切。一切皆空，把一切条件去掉，一切的缘没有了，不就是空？一切法当下就是空，缘生即是空。空不是没有，空是实实在在的存在，是因缘的存在。大家不要把一切事情看假了，也不要把一切事情看真了。看假了，没有积极性，看真了，执著太重。一切随缘，这是佛法对待事物的正确态度。所以，我们要感恩，要分享，要结缘。

今天跟大家讲一点修行佛法的根本宗旨。大家一听，根本宗旨，也许是高深莫测，也许是从来没听过的，实际不是的，这个根本宗旨就是现现成成，就是“诸恶莫作，众善奉行，自净其意，是诸佛教”。这就是根本宗旨，也叫“七佛通诫偈”。不只是七佛的教诫，也是十方三世一切诸佛的教诫。不准做什么？“诸恶莫作”；应该做什么？“众善奉行”。菩萨的戒叫三聚净戒：摄律仪戒、摄善法戒、饶益有情戒，这三大善法和“诸恶莫作，众善奉行”，密切相关。我们要持戒，然后修定。念佛是修定，打坐是修定，无一不是修定。

我们平常的人，心念妄想纷飞，不得安详，不得自在，所以要使我们的心净化。“诸恶莫作，众善奉行”，使我们的心净化。心净化了，就有定。心能够安定下来，持戒就更有力量。心静不下来，持戒就没有力量。戒和定可以互相促进，互相推动，互为因果。我们能“诸恶莫作，众善奉行，自净其意”，有了戒，有了定，就能够产生智慧。修行的最终目标是要大彻大悟，是要有智慧。有智慧才能断烦恼，没有智慧，即使有戒有定，要想根本断烦恼，还是不可能。所以对戒定慧三学，古人有个比喻：我们的烦恼就像强盗，戒把强盗抓住了，定就把强盗捆起来，慧就把这个强盗杀掉。把烦恼比作贼，只有智慧具足，智慧开发，才能最后杀掉我们内心的烦恼贼。开智慧是根本，只有开了智慧，才能断烦恼。智慧长，菩提生，离地狱，出火坑。修行就是持戒，修定，证慧，所谓戒定慧三无漏学，这是修学一切法门的根本。修行的过程，无一不和戒定慧三学密切相关，是立地成佛还是往生西方，无一不从戒定慧三学做起。

希望大家在学习佛法的过程中，明白修习佛法的宗旨，明白修行佛法围绕什么中心来进行，最后达到什么目的。戒定慧三学，因戒生定，因定发慧，不要看成是截然不同的三个阶段。因戒生定，因定发慧，是同时的。坚定不移地持戒，就说明有定有智慧。没有智慧的人，叫他修善修道，他总是迟疑，总是徘徊，不肯去做。所以说，因戒生定，因定发慧，是同时的，当下的，就在这一念心当中。明白了修行的这个诀窍，把一切看成是当下的，是同时的，看成是一念之间，才真正有受用，否则不会有受用。

奉劝在座的居士，在家修行，也会遇到很多说法，这个光盘，那个磁带，这个法师说什么，那位法师讲什么……还有很多小册子，弄得大家眼花缭乱、莫衷一是。希望大家记住，修行是在当下。修行在一念之间，修行不要等待。修行就是持戒修定证慧，持戒修定证慧就是一念之间。一念是什么呢？就是当下。

我总是提醒大家要将修行落实在当下，能够知道修行在当下，就念念知道修行。念念知道修行，我们的生命就没有空过的时候。不明白这个道理，我们有很多时间是空过的，很多时间在等待，很多时间是被无明烦恼妄想把智慧覆盖了。

This unceasing dharmata is self-luminous insight without obstruction. Within innate insight, unity, spontaneous wisdom is the view.... The essence of realisation is nowness, occurring all at once, with no plus or minus. Self-emancipation, innate great bliss, is the fruition free from hope or fear. 

-- Marpa

Change Your Mental Habits

by His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen

We can’t often change the physical reality of a given situation, but our minds have quite an amazing effect on how we perceive, interpret and therefore cope with it. In Buddhism, we talk about the ‘dualistic’ mind, which basically describes how the human mind tends to try and see everything in black and white, good or bad, while knowing that life rarely fits into such neat boxes. Even when we have a conversation, we often feel like we are on one side or the other – that we have to take a stance or a point of view and defend it with all our intellect and verbal skills, ideally so the other person will back down and we will ‘win’. But lucky is the person who sees every conversation as a chance to learn and see something in life from another person’s perspective.

Kashyapa, consider the world of three thousand great thousand worlds and the grasses, trees, forests, as well as the medicinal herbs, in their many varieties, with their different names and colours which the mountains, streams, valleys and flatlands produce. A thick cloud spreads out, covering the three thousand great thousand worlds, raining on them equally everywhere at the same time, its moisture reaching every part. The grasses, trees, forests and medicinal herbs – those of small roots, small stalks, small branches and small leaves, those of medium-sized roots, medium-sized stalks, medium-sized branches, medium-sized leaves or those of large roots, large stalks, large branches, and large leaves, and also all the trees, whether great or small, according to their size, small, medium, or large – all receive a portion of it. From the rain of the one cloud each according to its nature grows, blossoms, and bears fruit. Although they grow from the same ground and are moistened by the same rain, still, all the grasses and trees are different. THE LOTUS SUTRA

Just as all the herbs and flowers and trees in the Lotus Sutra have unique potential, even though they all receive the rain from one cloud, so is true for us human beings. We each see things from our own unique perspective, made up of our experiences, our personalities and emotions. All of these different ways of seeing are interesting and valid, and so if we can encourage ourselves to look at situations from alternative angles, we might dissolve some of the blocks between us and our happiness. Life is full of surprises. Why would we use the phrase, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ if it were as simple as saying one thing is good or another is bad?

SAME EXPERIENCE, DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE 

Life rarely goes perfectly according to our plans; it’s up to us whether we see that as a problem or a blessing, as Cathy discovered while on retreat with us at Druk Amitabha Mountain:

When we go on retreat to the nunnery at Druk Amitabha Mountain, we walk down the steep hill to the famous Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu for kora or circumambulation, which means walking around the circumference of the stupa a certain number of times before giving an offering. This time we went in the evening and so made an offering of lights by lighting as many candles as possible to send out good wishes to the world.

His Holiness always walks at an incredible pace and I always try to stay with the front group. I was running to keep up when I managed to trip where the side of the road falls away into the gutter and twisted my ankle quite badly, so that I could only walk very slowly and gingerly around the stupa.

I soon fell way behind the main group at the front. This was new for me; I had been forced to slow down by an unfortunate occurrence, but it turned out to be a wonderful and new experience. As I walked I noticed so much more along the way. Life around the Swayambhunath Stupa is there in all its colours. It is a very raw place where the most unfortunate people will go to die, spending their last days under a sheet of plastic if they are lucky and then finally laid to rest under a white sheet, with the charity of strangers paying for the funeral cremation. It is also a place of constant activity, a whirl of colour, community, commerce and gathering.

As I reached the place where we would make the offering of lights there were already some nuns there, quietly lighting dozens upon dozens of thin white candles up the steps of the stupa. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I knelt down and began to light candles, enjoying the quiet company and taking in the energy of the place while thinking about the offering.

By slowing down, I was able to see the same experience with new eyes. It was a good lesson for me, both to not always push to be at the front, which I must admit I do as much in life as I do during the kora, and also to be open to seeing things from different perspectives. I hope I will be able to apply that lesson, whether it is in being more relaxed about differences of opinion or that it’s ok if things don’t go according to plan – it might end up being very interesting!

THE MIND IS LIMITLESS

Through his advanced mind training and meditation, the Buddha was known to go through walls, through solid rock and even fly across mountain tops. Of course, this defies our usual logic and the laws of physics. But, through the power of his unlimited mind, Buddha was able to go beyond accepted conventions, beyond all labels and understand that what we see as a wall is a perception and so might easily be walked through.

Perhaps an easier example to think about is water: for fish, water is home, but while we humans might be given life by drinking it, water would kill us before it could be our home. So the meaning or purpose of water changes depending on the angle from which we are looking at it. In other words, we don’t need to cling to any one definition. The same is true of happiness: we don’t need to try and define it – it can mean different things to different people. As the Zen saying goes: ‘To her lover a beautiful woman is a delight; to a monk she is a distraction; to a mosquito, a good meal.’

Many years ago when white people first arrived in Tibet, the people there were very scared of them because they looked so strange with their yellow hair and blue eyes – they had never seen people like this before. They would clap at the white people, as was their custom to shoo something scary away; but the white people, for their part, felt very happy when they were clapped, as in their culture it was a sign of appreciation. 

As you begin to make more of a conscious choice to step outside of your usual mental habits, you will naturally learn to see things differently, as you will no longer be so firmly rooted in your usual position – or at least you will notice that you are looking at the world through your own individual set of filters. Why would this help when it comes to nourishing happiness as your state of mind? As you can imagine, if we always look at things from the same angle, we begin to set very fixed ideas of what we believe to be right or good; we get into a mental rut, rather than allowing our state of mind to flow and be flexible. We even begin to set our definition of happiness into stone: if the picture of our lives looks a certain way, it’s ok and we can be happy; but if anything changes in that picture, we resist and feel anxious that we will no longer be happy. When we only allow ourselves one way of seeing we are easily angered or irritated when other people don’t fit in with our opinion of what is appropriate behaviour; we have a long list of ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts’ that make us highly critical and judgemental.

If we can’t develop the ability to step into another person’s shoes, then it is very difficult to make meaningful connections or have empathy and compassion for others. We can become quite isolated in our own minds, unable to bend or adapt – which is why giving our minds a bit of a workout every now and then is a very good idea. Just like a car engine, if we leave the mind alone for too long, it becomes rusty and what should be moving parts become stiff or stuck.

SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

If you develop the ability to see things differently sometimes, then your idea of happiness will be flexible. Perhaps you have always seen the glass as half empty; now is your chance to choose to look from another angle and see it as half full.

Take money as an example. Whether people have a great deal of money or not very much at all, there will still be different ways of seeing it. I know men and women who have become very successful through their work. Some feel very comfortable with this, they truly appreciate the fruits of their labour and are not terribly attached to material things; they are very happy that they are able to give a great deal away while also having a nice roof over their head and providing a good education for their children. But I also meet people who have so much one might think they could never have any worries about money, yet who, from their own point of view, worry constantly about losing their riches or feel jealous of a neighbour whose house or car is even bigger than theirs. They live in fear that it will all disappear, even to the point of being miserly. I feel sorrow for these people who put off their happiness because of a way of seeing. When I connect with people who are very fixed or solid in their views like this, my hope is that gradually, with practice, the ropes that hold their minds down will loosen and dissolve. Then they will understand the great good they might do with their success, and how they might accept that it’s ok for them to enjoy themselves too.

I have visited many holy cave retreats and monasteries where masters practised and attained enlightenment. Visiting these holy places gives us great encouragement, but when I see ruined buildings and statues, I feel quite sad and ask why would humans destroy beautiful things? I know it is because they are holy places, and that very sadly some people of different religions will fight over their beliefs and end up destroying places of prayer. I wish for people to forget about them being holy, at least try to appreciate the beauty. It is the same if we have a mind that is limited and only able to accept our own ideas of right and wrong, we would become like those people who destroy beautiful things in others’ cultures, traditions and countries, we would become those unhappy ones living in a box. When things do not follow our way, they have to be destroyed. This is the same as relationships, when our friends or family do not follow our instructions, we have the tendency to be angry and mad at them, though never at ourselves.

This is why I always say, watch your mind, if you can guard your mind, your speech and actions would be okay. Most of the time, we don’t do that. Instead, we are always looking outward, measuring others against our own peculiar standards. Do not expect others to follow our ways, each of us has our own path, some may be similar, but never exactly the same.

OUR MINDS CREATE OUR WORLD 

It is a joy for me to see how the experience of our Pad Yatras may bring moments of true understanding to volunteers, like Joanna, who then take these moments into their lives:

One of the most inspiring experiences I have had is a quiet joyfulness just in the middle of turbulent emotional and strong physical challenges during the Pad Yatras. What I appreciate mostly is the inner space which opens spontaneously within, while strong emotions arise, dissolve, arise and dissolve … and still joyfulness radiates from within. Like a lotus in the middle of mud. I will never forget the taste of a piece of old bread which I first refused to take, but soon took the decision: this is our dinner. Then I stopped wanting something else and the old bread became delicious and yummy. Later I realised it is how the mind creates realities. Often, since then, similar experiences have happened in my daily life and the piece of old bread reminds me how to change my mind and be satisfied with what is there now.

Growing awareness of my own behavioural patterns helps me to offer a better support to my clients. This simple understanding and acceptance towards myself goes automatically to my closest relationships, to my clients and to others. I listen better, think more clearly and take care with my words. The changes I have experienced within myself keep giving me a deeper confidence in everyone’s abilities to change towards wellbeing and to meet without fear the challenges of life.

PAUSE TO REFLECT 

If you were to look into a still pond at night and see the reflection of the moon, it would look exactly the same as if you were looking directly at the moon itself. To our eyes there is no difference and yet we know that the moon in the lake is just a reflection, an illusion.

You can use your own mirror for this exercise: simply take a minute to look at yourself in the mirror. You can see every little detail – how tall you are, how many grey hairs you have today. But despite appearances, it is not real. Like the moon in the lake, the face you see is just a reflection.

This is a contemplative meditation that helps us to understand that nothing in the world has a fixed reality. It improves our ability to understand how it is our minds that give meaning to everything around us – that there is no one truth, but only perception and appearance. This explains why two people who have experienced exactly the same situation might have very different perceptions of it. As a simple example, think of when you are on holiday in the countryside – when it rains you are very disappointed, but the farmers are rejoicing. So is rain good or bad? There is no fixed answer.

The aim of such contemplation is to train our minds, so that we are able to step into another person’s shoes to try and see things from their point of view, even when we are initially angered or upset by their actions. It’s so easy to judge others, and we often forget to pause and see that usually there are many conditions involved in a given situation and that we might not be perfect ourselves. After all, if we were perfect, we would be Buddha, and Buddha wouldn’t have had an argument in the first place! It’s up to us: we always have a choice whether to cling on to one narrow view of the world or open our minds up to embracing difference and seeing the beauty in variety. 

THE ILLUSION OF REALITY 

It can be difficult to consider that our concept of reality is just that – a concept, rather than a universal truth. How can we have anything concrete to show for our lives if reality is just an illusion of the mind? Trevor is a lawyer, which can be a very adversarial role – on one side of the ‘truth’ or another:

The Gyalwang Drupka frequently says that we need to cultivate a view that the world around us is like a dream or an illusion. Frankly, it had scared me to put his words into practice because it felt as though I would lose touch with reality. Recently, I have tried following his teaching, and it has had the opposite effect. I feel more grounded and open to possibility.

Like many people, my world is frequently governed by anxiety, anger or fear. I work as a lawyer and constantly feel scrutinised by opposing counsel or even my colleagues. It is the nature of a profession – that in the United States at least – is deliberately designed to be adversarial. This sense of scrutiny leads to a pervasive sense of insecurity that causes me to feel anxious or angry a lot of the time. 

By attempting to cultivate a view that the world is dream-like, the anxiety and anger have begun to dissipate. I believe that these feelings were the result of me tightly grasping to my expectations, my views and even my own sense of self. Seeing these things as a dream gives me space. I do not need to worry so much if the reality in which I live is not substantial.

Seeing the illusion-like nature of our reality is not a sojourn into nihilism. To the contrary: viewing reality as dream-like has allowed me to let go of negative emotions and act with more compassion. When I hear nasty, unfounded words from opposing counsel, I grow less angry because these words – and the emotions to which they give rise – hold a less concrete meaning. Likewise, if I need to confront someone with whom I am working over a difficult issue, I am better able to do so without anger. I can take the time to focus on what the other person needs because I have the space to see my views as no more or less important than theirs.

Rather than losing touch with reality, I have gained a better grasp of it. I am given space and openness to see vast, dreamy possibilities – including the possibility of acting with love to others, even in my own most difficult moments. 

If you are brave and look at yourself openly and honestly, willing to learn from your experiences, to change yourself and develop your life for the better, then you will certainly feel vulnerable and you might even be a little fearful of what you might see. But if you have the courage to look at your own imperfections, quirks and things that you would like to improve, then you will also be understanding of the imperfections and vulnerabilities of others. Rather than being quick to judge or criticise, you will have more patience because you will know we are all in the same boat, doing our best to be happy. You will be more accepting of difference, which makes for a much easier, happier way of life.

A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just bloom.

-- Zenkei Shibayama

心理学正念与佛学正念

文｜王春华

历史的发展表明，人类文明发展离不开世界各民族文化互鉴共进。当代心理学领域的正念正是东西方文化交融的产物，本文将浅析西方心理学正念 与东方佛学正念，并尝试通过两者的对比，就将来正念研究提出自己的见解。 

一、心理学正念的提出 

当代心理学领域经常提及的“正念”，源自KabatZinn运用正念疗法的临床研究报告。在1979年，研究者 kabat-zinn将佛教语境中“正念”这一说法以“美国式语言”引入，并且他在1982年首次将正念治疗应用于长期慢性疼痛的临床案例中，使得正念疗法成为一种心理治疗方法应用于医学领域。发展至今，心理学领域已经形成了代表性的正念疗法包括：正念减压疗法 （Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction，MBSR）；辩证行为疗法（Dialectical Behavioral Therapy，DBT）以及正念认知疗法（Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy，MBCT）等。已有正念研究显示，正念不仅针对抑郁症、强迫症、边缘性人格障碍、焦虑障碍、躯体疾病都有很好的治疗缓解作用，还对普通人群的正性心理品质以及个体幸福感的提升也具有很大的帮助。 

A.关于心理学正念的描述性和操作性定义 

心理学界关于正念描述性定义方面，较为认同的说法是“正念是一种通过将注意指向当下目标而产生的意识状态，不加评判地对待此时此刻所展开的各种经历或体验”。而学者则将正念操作性定义为一种对注意的自我控制，或者解释为“当注意随惯性活动而随意转移时，意识到并将注意力保持在当下，以接纳、好奇、开放的态度面对当下的体验”。 

B.心理学正念的核心 

在将正念引入心理学领域伊始，受到去宗教化的影响，正念概念在方便普世传播的同时，也同样面对定义界定不统一，机制核心众说纷纭的问题。在已有的正念疗法研究中，由于正念机制核心的探讨难达成一致，造成了在进行干预治疗时，干预时长、被试数量选取难以达成统一标准，这也一定程度影响了正念实证研究的继续推进 。所以再明确正念概念界定的同时，研究探讨正念发挥作用背后机制核心也就显得尤为重要。 

国外学者在正念机制核心方面做了大量研究，学者提出再感知是正念机制的核心，并通过研究在原有机制的基础上提出了正念可能的四种衍生机制： 

（i）自我管理； 

（ii）价值辨析；

（iii）认知、情感和行为的灵活性； 

（iv）自我暴露。 

另有学者在运用正念疗法中的注意力训练和慈心禅训练后发现，与对照组相比，注意力训练组和慈心禅训练组被试的负性情绪和焦虑情绪都显著减少，再进一步分析后，研究者认为训练功效是通过认知曲解的减少而实现的。 

国内对于正念机制的核心研究，具有代表性的是彭彦琴等人，他们从佛教，思维模式改变，禅修实践和正念实验四个方面，对于正念机制的核心提出了自己的看法。认为正念的核心机制——注意， 即将注意作为正念技术起作用的决定性因素。 

二、传统佛教中的正念 

在佛教经典中，正念作为佛陀的“八正道” 之一，主要被当作一种教义和方法（即冥想）用来缓解修行人的苦楚和实现自我觉醒。正念禅修源于佛学的四念处禅修，是佛学修行的精髓。在原始佛教中，四念处是极为重要的修行方式，“念” 是心理作用（心有所法之一，就是记忆不忘的心理作用），“处是指观察的观境”，唯有运用智慧对某一指定的观境，作审实的观察而不转移、不动摇方可称为“念处”，“四念处”即观身不净，观受是苦，观心无常，观法无我。根据巴利文《杂阿含经》，正念修行是佛教的核心，因为仅凭正念就可以觉悟，在《杂阿含经》对于正念的表述可以看出，佛教修行对于正念的重视。 

A.传统佛教正念中的忆念 

“忆念”不仅指用念对于过去的回忆，同样也包含着未来的忆念，也就是说，通过正念的使用， 可以使我们记得现在正发生和未来即将发生的事。 

与西方心理学传统的坚持正念的当下本性对比，佛陀更强调使用忆念回忆过去的重要性。并且在正念这一内涵中还包含了对“未来的忆念”，也就是说，通过正念的使用，可以使我们记得现在正发生和未来即将发生的事。总之，传统佛教正念与现代心理学正念相比，不仅具有立刻忆持刚逝去的心理活动的能力——给意识流赋予一个更强大的连贯性和联接性的感受能力；也具有回忆很久以前所发生的事件的能力。 

B.传统佛教 “八正道”中的正念 

“八正道”亦称“八支正道”、“八支圣道” 或“八圣道”。意谓达到佛教最高理想境地的八种方法和途径：即正见、正思维、正语、正业、正命、正精进、正念、正定。 

可以看出“八正道”中的正念与现代心理学正念不评判而仅做单纯体验的思维和感觉不同，“八正道”中的正念被说成是明确地认知与评估，区别善与不善、有利与有害。正念所具有认知、评价、伦理的范畴完全被现代西方的解释所忽略。对比西方的这种无论任何念头在心中生起都不做评判的方式，依据上座部著名僧人菩提比丘的观点，没有“完全摒除伦理评价与立意方向”的念。按照八圣道（佛陀所教授的离苦得乐的修行方式）来说，正念必须由正见及正思引导，以及以三项伦理因素（正语、正业及正命）作为基础，并与正精进和正定联合才能培养。因此，必须结合八正道进行正念修行，在八正道的事先引导下，就可以在修行时区分并选择处于善念或非善念状态。要进行念处的修习（应用正念），必须以“受过道德引导 和‘正直’观作为必要基础”。通过正念修行，使修行之道德基础进一步增强，这也是修行的预期目的之一。 

三、总结与启示 

正念的概念、思想体系以及正念冥想等练习方式，都是源于传统佛学。然而，反观目前的正念课程或是临床领域的正念疗法，无不使用了世俗化和 刻意去宗教化的策略，让当前正念疗法中“佛法” 元素隐而不显。通过传统佛教心理学正念与现代心理学正念的对比，可以看出尽管现代观念中将正念理解为纯粹观察这一说法并非完全错误，但这仅是对正念训练相关解释中的一部分。只要正念的忆念、“八正道”中的认知与伦理因素被忽略，那么正念将继续被当作仅仅是用以改善人类心理烦恼症状的一种治疗工具，而不会成为从根本上断除烦恼的方式。而在佛学中，运用正念断除烦恼则是佛教菩提道修行的基本目标。

The taming of an elephant is a traditional metaphor for training the mind in calm abiding meditation. Like elephants, the mind is powerful; when untamed it can do a lot of damage and when peaceful it can do a lot of good. 

-- Ribur Rinpoche

See Things as a Hallucination

by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Think of the five aggregates: [form, feeling, discriminative awareness, compositional factors and consciousness]. Be mindful of how you label the aggregates, how in the beginning they are just merely labelled. Watch that.

In the next second, the “I” is supposed to appear back to you merely labelled by the mind. That is what happens in reality, but that doesn’t happen.

The “I” is merely labelled by mind but it only appears like that to a Buddha because Buddhas don’t have even the subtle negative imprints — the obscurations to knowledge (Tib: she-drip) — left by the ignorance holding the “I” as truly existent. Having totally purified these, these have ceased [in a Buddha's mindstream]. There is no dualistic view, no hallucination, no projection when the “I” and all phenomena appear as truly existing from their own side, as real. A Buddha does not have this hallucination at all. You have to understand that. What appears to a Buddha is what is merely labelled by the mind.

But for us ordinary sentient beings, in the next second [Rinpoche snaps his fingers], it appears back not merely labelled by the mind. It appears back as the total opposite of that. That, in the Prasangika view, is the gag-cha, the object to be refuted. According to the Prasangika Madhyamaka, the second [subschool] of the Madhyamaka, gag-cha, the object to be refuted, is the total opposite to that; it appears back to you as not merely labelled by the mind. The real “I” that appears to you is the subtle gag-cha.

The Svatantrika subschool’s view is grosser. For them it appears as not labelled by mind and existing from its own side. Before I said “not merely labelled” but here it is not even labelled by the mind. They see the “I” that appears to you as truly existing from its own side, as real. It is much grosser.

Also, there’s the Mind Only school. They say the real “I” exists without depending on the imprints left on the seventh consciousness, [the mind basis of all, Skt: alaya vijnana], from which both subject and object arise.

According to the lower schools, what is one hundred percent to be abandoned is believing that the “I” truly exists and is self-sufficient and independent, that is to say, independent of other things such as the aggregates. That’s the very gross wrong view to be refuted.

The “I” appears to us as permanent, existing alone [unitary] and independent. When the “I” appears to you, all this is there. This way that the “I” appears to you is extremely gross. It’s the grossest hallucination. This is what is believed in Hinduism and for them this is the right view. For us, however, the way the “I” appears is the wrong view.

So, you see how all the other schools’ views of what gag-cha is — how the “I” appears to us — are to be totally abandoned as they are all the wrong view.

Not only the subject, the “I”, but also the action, the object, all the sounds, smells, tastes and tangible objects — all the six sense objects — are all merely labelled by the mind, by your mind. However, in the next second they don’t appear as merely labelled by the mind. They appear as not merely labelled by the mind. Everything that appears back to you — all these wrong views, right up to Svatantrika — appear as permanent and existing alone [as unitary], and with their own freedom [as independent.]

When you walk, there’s one meditation you can do. Everything, even subtle things, should appear merely labelled by mind — the “I,” action, object, everything. But, that doesn’t happen for us sentient beings. They do not appear not merely labelled by mind, even when you go to the supermarket. Whatever you look at — all these forms, all these many thousands and millions of things: the sky, the road, the people — all appear to you according to the wrong views described by all those schools. Meditate on that.

If you can recognise even what’s asserted by the lower schools, gradually you can recognize the wrong views to be refuted by Madhyamaka schools, first the Svatantrika’s and then the Prasangika’s.

The main thing is to think that all these things are like an illusion. As I’ve said before, ignorance is like the magician. It leaves a negative imprint on the mind, like a magician who uses mantras to cause hallucinations. The audience’s senses are “hallucinated,” seeing lapis lazuli palaces and all kinds of things. The magician has hallucinated the audience. Their senses are “illusioned.”

You’re illusioned by your ignorance. The magician is ignorance; you are the audience. All this is an illusion. I’m sitting here, you’re sitting there. We’re here having tea, but all of this is illusioned as real – real “I,” real restaurant, real tea, real snacks. All the rest is the same, appearing real.

Recognise all the wrong views, that in the end, all these are like hallucinations. You’re walking and you hallucinate the “I,” you hallucinate the action of walking, you hallucinate the road, you hallucinate the car, you hallucinate the building.

The other way to see it is as like a dream. Everything you look at is like a dream. You walk and you talk but [at the same time] the mind is practising mindfulness, seeing it all as like a dream. You walk, talk, eat and so forth, but the most important thing is to recognise that this is all like a dream, like a hallucination, like an illusion, like a mirage.

When you do that, attachment doesn’t arise, anger doesn’t arise. There is no reason for anger or attachment to arise. That’s how it becomes the antidote to samsara, the antidote to ignorance.

Then, if it’s done with bodhicitta, thinking, “I must achieve enlightenment to benefit sentient beings, to free them from the oceans of samsara and bring them to enlightenment,” it becomes the cause of enlightenment.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise. 

-- Nāgārjuna

开发智慧烦恼断

明一法师

生活中有各种各样的烦恼障碍着我们的生活、学习与工作。烦恼产生的原因多种多样，根本的原因就是没有智慧。所以，我们常常说，有智慧就没有烦恼。佛教所教导我们的就是如何断除烦恼，如何转化烦恼乃至开发我们的智慧。因为智慧这个如意宝珠是我们每一个人都本自具足的。

佛教中把烦恼归纳为“八风”，所谓“称、讥、毁、誉、利、衰、苦、乐”，这八风基本上把所有的烦恼都包括在内了。大家可能会难以理解，要说“讥、毁、衰、苦”这四个是烦恼好理解，怎么把“称、誉、利、乐”也说成是烦恼了呢？这个问题我们慢慢地来解释。

佛教有个说法叫“冤亲债主”，大家很容易明白，冤家是债主，而很难明白亲家也是债主，这都是二元对立的问题。我们遇到冤家都知道“冤家路窄”要避开，而不知道“亲家路窄”也要避开，故常被爱缠，缠得死死的。

大家都知道如何去面对冤家，知道要无悔、无怨地面对冤家，而不知道如何去面对亲家，这个时候就忘记了也要用无悔、无怨去面对自己的亲家，结果纷纷在亲家面前缴械投降，在爱缠的旋涡里沉溺而亡。即使是学佛的人，也常常避免不了。亲家也路窄这回事，在大家的心目中往往是没有地位的。

八风也是一样，都是一对一对的。一般人都只知道“讥、毁、衰、苦”是烦恼，而不知道“称、誉、利、乐”也是烦恼。知道被“讥”是烦恼，知道被“毁”是烦恼，知道有“衰”是烦恼，知道有“苦”是烦恼，而把“利”看成是好的，把“乐”看成是好的，把“称”看成是好的，把“誉”看成是好的。

“讥、毁、衰、苦”大家一看就想避开，想着如何去断除或者转化，知道要用无悔、无怨的态度去面对它们，或者说承担这些由自己以前的过失而产生的后果。而看到“称、誉、利、乐”就不同了，不但不知这也和“讥、毁、衰、苦”一样，要去处理、转化，反而想牢牢地抓住，牢牢地当作宝贝抱住。我们正是因为无止限地追求这些宝贝，所以引发无尽的烦恼。而且不但自己把这个宝贝拿来享受，还分给大家，结果一起陷进烦恼的深渊。

我们看看八风中的“称、誉、利、乐”是如何引发烦恼的：“称、誉、利、乐”可以说大家都喜欢，每个人都想得到。所以，你要那个好的，别人也同样盯着那个地方，结果就发生矛盾了，觉得分配不公，觉得表扬不公，觉得赞誉不公，我吃亏了。处处都把我放在前面，什么事情都把我放在第一位，根本就不考虑他人，这就是烦恼产生的根本所在。

我们学佛的人，经年禅修之后，应该说心地比较清静。但是在八风面前，很多人照样透不过这一关。为什么呢？因为他觉得跟我的利益有关，跟我的面子有关，或者说跟我的寺院有关，跟我的师父有关，跟我的信仰有关，跟我的……有关。

“我”，因为有“我”在，烦恼的根本就在这个地方，他不会把“我”当成处理品。把“我”当成处理品，就是把“我”破掉了，如果把“我”处理掉了，就能证圣果了。或者说跟“法”有关，认为有一个真理非坚持不可，事物的发展一定要按照某种模式，离开了这种模式就无法接受。

烦恼不断，或者因为“我”，或者可以不要“我”，但是要坚持某种规律或者自认为的真理。我们就是放不下这些，我们每一个人不管是佛弟子还是俗人，我们不只执著于“我”，还执著于“法”。结果，给自己套上了一层坚固的枷锁，牢牢地被自己喜欢的这个宝贝锁定在烦恼中。

我们不可能生活在一个孤岛上，而是生活在人群当中、人际关系当中，每时每刻都有一个自他关系存在，一切的问题都在自他的关系当中表现出来，而表现得最突出的，就是彼此都是我第一，首先考虑的是我。有的人可能能够舍去“我执”，但是“法执”一样坚固不舍，一定要坚持自己认为的真理或形式。

所以，处理烦恼的第一方法就是要求自己。要怎样要求自己呢？你不要老用眼睛盯着别人，早上一上殿就用眼睛盯着别人，看今天来了多少人；出坡的时候用眼睛盯着别人，看看都有谁在卖力做事情；过堂的时候也用眼睛盯着别人，看今天怎么只有这几个人吃饭；坐香的时候，还是用眼睛盯着别人，看看谁来了、谁没来、谁坐得稳……

乃至看看得到“称、誉、利、乐”的人，觉得他们处处还不如自己，这些“称、誉、利、乐”应该归自己得到。所以，在《六祖坛经》的《无相颂》中说：“世人若修道，一切尽不妨，常自见己过，与道即相当……若真修道人，不见世间过，若见他人非，自非却是左。他非我不非，我非自有过，但自却非心，打除烦恼破。”

心生则种种法生，有了佛法，就会知道处理烦恼的方式。那就是当我们遇到烦恼的时候，用“断烦恼”或者“转烦恼”这两个方法。现实生活中，我们对待事情都说处理，为了使大家更容易理解，这里就借用“处理”这个词。

“处理”这个词有一语双关的作用，一个是说你要怎么样解决烦恼，第二个意思是你把烦恼当成什么东西。如果我们把烦恼当成一个处理品，我们大家一定不会自找烦恼。但是，我们大家往往就没有把烦恼当成处理品，而是当成宝贝，总是牢牢抱着不放，觉得烦恼很好，所以烦恼很多。

在现实生活中，我们大多是这样，把烦恼当成宝贝，一点一点地享受这个宝贝，而且还要分给别人。结果不但自己烦恼个没完，还连累着大家一起烦恼个没完。反过来，如果我们把烦恼当成处理品，不要去享受这个烦恼，而把它处理掉，那么烦恼就会被断除或者说被转化掉了。

如何才能把烦恼断除或者转化掉呢？这就要用百丈禅师说的“烦恼以忍辱为菩提”的办法。如果你明白了这个，就会知道烦恼不过是个处理品，跟自己一点关系都没有，自然会认识到不应该保留这个处理品，而应该把自己本有的智慧发掘出来，用忍辱的方式把烦恼转化掉。

把烦恼当成宝贝的人比比皆是，他们舍不得扔掉这些烦恼。大家不要觉得好笑，这是实实在在的事情。包括我自己在内，也并没有完全觉得烦恼就是处理品，也往往自觉不自觉地把烦恼当成了宝贝，舍不得扔掉。这就是“我执”和“法执”在作怪，或者说“觉的能力”被迷惑了。

如果我们能够真正把烦恼当成处理品，我们每个人都能这样做，那么烦恼障、所知障老早就断掉了，老早被抛到九霄云外去了，哪里去找“我执”与“法执”的影子？关键就是我们死死地抱着烦恼不放，没有把烦恼当成处理品，而是把烦恼当成了宝贝。

大家如果从这个角度去理解烦恼、看待烦恼，那么我们要断烦恼、转烦恼成菩提就会容易一点。所以说，我们往往是自己跟自己生烦恼，自己跟自己过不去。不管是学佛的人还是没有学佛的人，大多如此，甚至学佛的人还多了一个学佛的烦恼。

有的人平常烦恼很少，为什么会这样呢？因为他们的贪、嗔、痴相对少些，或者说他们在小的贪、嗔、痴面前不会心动。那么，如何去防止因贪、嗔、痴而产生的烦恼呢？我们通过种种修行，把不受贪、嗔、痴影响的能力或者叫免疫力提高，渐渐地，我们就不被一般的贪、嗔、痴左右；继续下去，我们就能对稍微大点的贪、嗔、痴有了免疫力……

当然，还有很多的贪、嗔、痴，是在我们不知不觉中发生的，连自己也没有发觉。比如，我们往往喜欢观察别人的举动，用别人的举动来作衡量比较。

我们要学会时时刻刻反省自己，而不要把眼睛老盯着别人。在利益面前、名誉面前，在一切好事坏事、吃苦享乐等等面前，总要先检点自己，吃亏上当的事我自己去做，有好事让给别人，这就是在提高自己的素质。怎样对待“我执”，是一个素质问题。现在整个国家都在提倡素质教育，要提高全民族的素质，我们学佛的人更要不断地优化素质。优化素质实际上就是提高觉悟、增长智慧，就是在八风面前慢慢地做到如如不动。在八风面前如如不动了，我们的素质就算真正达到了优化的标准。

时时刻刻知道功德天与黑暗女的关系。知道带来好处的功德天与带来坏事的黑暗女是孪生兄妹，功德天出现的时候，黑暗女必然跟着就来了。不要想着只有功德天没有黑暗女的事情，不可能天下的好事全让自己一个人独享，更不可能天下的坏事都与自己无关。

这样一来，我们就能慢慢地淡化“我执”，慢慢地在处理“我”。这样做在开始时是很勉强，久而久之，就会变成一种自觉的行为，我们的素质就这样慢慢被优化提升了。这就是创建和谐社会与减少自心烦恼的妙药。

我们的烦恼很多，原因很简单，就是因为我们没有觉悟。我们常常被自己狭隘的思维骗了，迷惑得很深很深。所以往往做出错误的判断，增加更多的烦恼，走进了死胡同，掉进烦恼的深渊而难以自拔。这一切都是因为我们没有觉悟。

我们的眼睛只能看到电磁波的百分之三，这像是深井里面的青蛙了；而我们的耳朵呢，能听见振动波中的百分之十；我们的身体……可见我们对外界的了解是如何地贫乏。在这样贫乏了解的前提下，我们想正确判断事物的关系是不可能的，按这样的数据来看，我们就是瞎子。

所以，一旦发现问题的时候，首先应想到是自己的智慧缺乏，想到是自己对事物缺少洞察力。应自念言“我们只见贼吃肉，不见贼挨打”，“我们笑的时候都是在大庭广众面前，而哭的时候往往是在角落”……我们知道了自己的弱点以后，就可以少受点因为没有觉悟而带来的烦恼。

《六祖坛经》更绝，直接就不让我们去看这些，而说：“世人若修道，一切尽不妨，常自见己过，与道即相当……若真修道人，不见他人过。”这样就直接杜绝了我们因为缺少觉悟而带来的烦恼，让我们与烦恼尽量少地接触，使自己修行的道路顺畅一些。

所以，当我们有了觉悟之后，我们就不会再去埋怨自己命运不好，并且不再关心命运好与不好；就会明白为什么要过去无悔、现在无怨、将来无忧，并且如理如法地在日用中去做；就会明白行无为法的好处，并且用努力耕耘不问收获的心态去做；就会明白要对自己看不惯、看不顺眼的事情进行包容……

这样良性循环下去，我们就会减少在不知不觉中做坏事的机率。尽管我们现在还没有大彻大悟，心量眼界还没有完全放开，但是我们能够想象到大彻大悟与心量眼界完全放开的好处。按照智慧的人生去生活，走上快乐学佛的人生道路，把烦恼抛在脑后。

这样才能慢慢地知道为什么做人要有“信仰、因果、良心、道德”，为什么做事要“感恩、包容、分享、结缘”。才能知道要如何去落实净慧老和尚提出的这个做人做事的“二八”方针，以及做到这“二八”方针后，做人做事是如何的轻松自在与顺利，慢慢地向道靠拢，从而走上自利利他的菩萨之道。

Without the slightest trace of anything to cultivate or focus upon in meditation, don't allow yourself to drift even for a single instant into ordinary confusion. Instead, remain aware and undistracted during all activities, and train to recognise all sights and sounds and sensory experience as the play of illusion. In so doing, you will gain experience for the bardo state. 

-- Longchenpa

Guidelines for the mind training

by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Here is some further advice on how to apply the Mind Training to ourselves, consolidating and enhancing our compassion and Bodhichitta. Do everything with one intention.

We should try to think altruistically. For example, as regards our food and the way we dress ourselves, when we are given something delicious to eat, we should think: 'May all beings also have good food to enjoy; would that I were able to share this meal with all who are hungry.' Likewise, when we receive good clothes, let us think, 'May everyone have good clothes like these.'

Apply one remedy in all adversity.

In the course of our Mind Training, when we fall sick or are a prey to negative forces; when we are unpopular and suffer from a bad reputation, when we have increasingly strong emotions and lose the desire for Mind Training: at such times we should reflect that in this world there are many who are afflicted in the same way and whose conduct is at variance with the teaching. Even if we were to explain the doctrine and the methods to develop good qualities, nobody would want to listen-our words would fall upon deaf ears. On the other hand, people take to lying and stealing naturally without having to be taught. Their actions conflict with their desires-where else could they be but in samsara and the lower realms? We should therefore feel sorry for them and, taking all their defects upon ourselves, we should pray that their negative actions might cease and that they might start upon the path of Freedom. We should pray that they might become weary of samsara and want to turn from it, that they might generate Bodhichitta and that all the effects of their laziness and indifference to the Dharma might fall upon us. In other words, we should practise the exchange of good for evil.

Two things to be done, at the start and at the finish.

In the morning, on awaking, we should make the following pledge:

'Throughout the whole of today, I will remember Bodhichitta. Eating, dressing, meditating, wherever I go, I will practise it constantly. Should it slip my mind, I will remind myself. Mindful of it, I will not allow myself to wander into states of anger, desire or ignorance.' We should make a concerted effort to keep this vow and at night before going to sleep, we should examine ourselves as to how much we have been able to generate Bodhichitta, how much we have been able to help others and whether all our actions have been in accordance with the teachings.

If we find that we have acted against the teachings, we should reflect that though we have entered the Buddhadharma and received the teachings of the Great Vehicle from our Teacher, we are still incapable of putting them into practice. This is because for countless lives we have turned our backs on the doctrine. If we carry on like this, there will be no end to our wandering in samsara and the lower realms. We should chide ourselves in this way, confessing the day's faults and resolving that, from the next day onwards, within twenty four hours, or a month, or at least within the year, we will have some signs of improvement. We should steel ourselves so as not to be daunted by the work of abandoning defects. If during the day our actions have not been contrary to the teachings and we have maintained an altruistic attitude, then we should be happy, thinking, 'Today has been a useful day, I have remembered what my teacher has taught me and this is to accomplish his wishes. Tomorrow I will do better than today, and even better the day after.' This is how to ensure the growth of our Bodhichitta.

Bear whichever of the two occurs.

Through faith in the Three Jewels and the practice of generosity, it could happen that, by way of karmic fruit, we become rich, gain a high position in society and so on. This might lead us to think, 'I am rich, I am important, I am the best, I have come out on top.' If we practitioners have this kind of arrogance, our clinging to this life will increase and a demon will enter our hearts. If, on the other hand, we manage to enjoy happiness, possessions and influence without pride, we will understand that they are nothing but illusions, insubstantial dreams, all of which will one day fade away. For as it is said of all compounded things, 'what is accumulated will be used up; what is raised up will fall; what is born will die; what is joined together will separate.'

'Who knows,' we should tell ourselves, 'perhaps tomorrow I shall have to say goodbye to all of this. Therefore, I will offer to my Teachers and the Three jewels the best of my contentment and possessions. May they accept it with joy and bless me so that I might have no obstacles on the path. All of it is just a pleasant dream, but may all beings experience such happiness as mine, and even more.'

On the other hand, when we are in such poor shape that we cannot even practise, that we have strong emotions and feelings of irritation, fighting and quarrelling with everyone, we should reflect: 'I know that everything is illusory; I will therefore not allow myself to be carried away by my feelings. I will not be a coward! I will shoulder the weakness, poverty, illness and death of other beings.' To put it briefly, we should be able to think that, provided that the precious Bodhichitta does not decrease in us, who cares if we have to go to the lower realms, who cares if we lose our possessions? Come what may, like beggars with a precious jewel, we will not forsake Bodhichitta.

Even if it costs you your life, defend the two.

This refers in general to the vows of the Shravakayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana and particularly to the special vows of Mind Training. The vows of the Mind Training are: to give victory and benefit to others and to take all loss and failure, especially that of our enemies, upon ourselves. If we act accordingly, the Mind Training will take effect. On the other hand, if we fail to practise these two vows, we will achieve neither the short term benefit of happiness in this life and rebirth in the realms of human beings or of gods, nor the long term benefit of rebirth in a pure field. We should therefore observe these vows at all costs, just as we guard our eyes from thorns when we are walking through the woods.

Train yourself in three hard disciplines.

These are the difficult practices of mindfulness, of expulsion and of 'interrupting the flow.'

As for the first of these, the difficult practice of mindfulness, it is necessary to recognise afflictive emotions as soon as they arise and it is hard, at first, to remain sufficiently aware to be able to do this. However, when negative emotions arise, we should identify them as anger, desire or stupidity. Even when emotions have been recognised, it is not easy to drive them out with the antidote. If, for instance, an uncontrollably strong emotion comes over us, so that we feel helplessly in its power, we should nevertheless confront it and question it. Where are its weapons? Where are its muscles? Where is its great army and its political strength? We will see that emotions are just insubstantial thoughts, by nature empty: they come from nowhere, they go nowhere, they remain nowhere. When we are able to repel our defiled emotions, there comes the difficult practice of 'interrupting the flow.' This means that, on the basis of the antidote described, defiled emotions are eliminated just like a bird flying through the air: no trace is left behind. These are practices in which we should really strive.

Have recourse to three essential factors.

The three essential factors on which the accomplishment of the Dharma depends are: to meet with a qualified teacher; by receiving his instructions, to cultivate the correct attitude; and, finally, to have the necessary material conditions.

If we do not follow a genuine master, we will never know how to practise the teachings. If the Buddha had not turned the Wheel of Dharma, we would not know what actions we should do and what actions we should refrain from. How can we, who have not had the fortune to meet the Buddha in person, practise the path of liberation if we do not follow a master? How else could we recognise paths which are mistaken and inferior? Moreover, just as we treat stiff leather with oil to make it smooth and supple, so too we should practise the teachings correctly, with a calm and docile attitude, undisturbed by afflictive emotions. Finally, living in the realm of desire, as we do, we find it impossible to practise the Dharma if we lack food to fill our stomachs and clothes to cover us against the wind. If we have these three essential factors complete we should be happy at the thought we have all that is necessary to practise the teachings. It is as though we have been equipped with a good horse for an uphill journey - the way will be without difficulty. And we should pray that all beings might be just as fortunate.

If, however, we do not possess all of these essential factors, we should reflect that though we have entered the Buddhadharma and received plenty of teachings and instructions, we still lack the conditions suitable for practice.

As a matter of fact, there are many disciples who are unable to practise properly because of this shortcoming. They have what is known as 'good karma going wrong.' As was explained before, 'Old yogis getting rich; old teachers getting married.' We should feel sorry for such people and pray from our hearts that the cause of their not having such favourable conditions might ripen upon us and that, as a result, their situation might be improved.

Meditate on three things that must not deteriorate.

These are devotion, enthusiasm and Bodhichitta.

Devotion to our Teacher is the source of all the qualities of the Mahayana. If the Buddha himself were to appear in front of us and we were lacking in the devotion to see his qualities, his blessings would be unable to enter us. The Buddha's kinsmen, Devadatta and Lekpe Karma, failed to see him as an enlightened being; they mistook and criticised all his actions and, abandoning themselves to their jealousy, were reborn in the realms of hell. If we have perfect confidence and devotion to see as positive all the activities of our Teacher - even if he is not a superior being-the wisdom of realisation will effortlessly arise in us, as it did in Sadaprarudita, who through devotion to his Teacher realised the nature of emptiness. Thus our devotion is something that we must never allow to deteriorate.

This Mind Training is the quintessence of the Mahayana. It is the butter which comes from the milk of the doctrine. Of all the eighty four thousand teachings expounded by Buddha, if we can but practise the Bodhichitta, that is sufficient. Actually, it is like an indispensable medicine: it is something we simply cannot do without. It is the distilled essence of all the teachings. To hear it is fortunate indeed, and great is the kindness of the teacher who explains it, for its greatness is simply inconceivable. By contrast, if we were to use the instructions on the four tantric activities, for the purpose of lengthening our lives or getting the better of our enemies, bandits and so on, we should be working only for our present lives.

But this precious teaching of Bodhichitta! If only we can experience it just a little in our minds! One instant of negative thought will bring us suffering for innumerable ages. Conversely, one instant of Bodhichitta can obliterate the effects of all the evil acts of infinite kalpas. All accumulations of merit and all acts of purification are gathered in a single thought of Bodhichitta. Any action grounded in this attitude partakes of the ocean-like activity of the Mahayana. Therefore we should practise Bodhichitta with joy and enthusiasm which we must never allow to lessen.

To accustom oneself to Bodhichitta is like keeping a garden neat, without undergrowth, insects, lumps of wood and weeds. Let us practise it, bringing together all the qualities of the greater and lesser vehicles, so that we are like containers gradually filled with grain, or pots with drops of water. Whether we practise Pratimoksha, the Bodhisattva training, or the stages of generation and completion of the Mantrayana, all that we do should act as a support for our vows of Bodhichitta. Even if we practise the Mantrayana, it should uphold and confirm our commitment as Bodhisattvas.

Whatever we do, listening to the teachings, contemplating or meditating upon them, we should take it all as an aid in our training. If we are able to use the Bodhichitta to bring everything onto the path, wholesome states of mind and positive thoughts will develop extraordinarily. By using the antidote, we should reverse all negative emotions that have so far arisen. In that way we should keep the Bodhichitta as our constant friend. Three things maintain inseparably.

Our body, speech and mind should always be engaged in positive activity. When we are performing virtuous actions such as prostrations, circumambulations and the like, our speech and mind should be in harmony with our bodily movements. When accumulating positive actions of speech, recitation for instance, our body and our mind should also be engaged. If we undertake some positive mental act, the body and the speech should also be in attendance. For example, if, while performing prostrations or circumambulations, we chatter, or entertain a lot of negative emotions, this is just like eating polluted food. Therefore, while performing virtuous actions, our body, speech and mind should act inseparably and in unison. Train impartially in every field; Your training must be deep and all-pervading.

We should practise the Mind Training impartially without picking or choosing, and in relation to everything, whether animate or inanimate. We should practise so that whatever thoughts arise, they will serve as a path for the Mind Training, rather than being occasions for hindrances. Let this not be something that we merely talk about, but something deep within our hearts which we actually do.

Always meditate on what is unavoidable.

We should constantly meditate on difficulties that we cannot escape. Towards people, for instance, who do us harm, who want to compete with us, who are at one moment friendly but who suddenly turn against us unprovoked, or towards people who for no apparent reason (due to our karma) we simply do not like, we should try to generate the Bodhichitta even more intensely, especially when it is difficult.

We should serve and reverence our elders, parents and teachers. As Guru Padmasambhava said, 'Do not be a sorrow to your elders; serve them with respect.' If we help them and those who are in need of help, we are treading the path of the Bodhisattvas. We should give up whatever is at variance with that attitude.

Do not be dependent on external factors.

When we have enough food and clothes, enjoy good health, have whatever we need and are without troubles of any sort, we should not become attached to these benefits nor dependent on them. Conversely, when we do not enjoy such good conditions, and when everything is going badly, we should use such a situation as a trigger for our courage and take them as the Bodhisattva path. We should not give up when conditions are difficult; on the contrary, that is precisely when we should practise the twofold Bodhichitta, bringing all our experiences onto the path.

This time, do what is important.

Throughout our many lifetimes in the past, we may have taken many different forms. We have been rich. We have been beaten by our enemies and lost everything. We have had all the pleasures of the gods. We have been victims of political oppression. We have been lepers or have suffered from other diseases. All those experiences of happiness and suffering have brought us nothing. But now, in this present life, we have entered the path set forth by the Buddha, we have met many learned and accomplished spiritual teachers: this time we must make such circumstances meaningful and do what is important.

If a merchant, visiting an isle of jewels, were to return empty-handed without his cargo of gems, he would be ashamed to show his face in public. It is the same for us, who at this very moment, have such favourable conditions for the practice. If we can give rise to genuine Bodhichitta, it does not matter if we are poor, unknown and of no account.

The Dharma has two aspects: exposition and practice. Exposition is only the work of the mouth, and many there are who do not practise the teachings explained. As the saying goes: 'Many have heard the doctrine but those who implement it are few. Even those who have practised a little, are sidetracked and get lost.' As far as the Dharma is concerned, practice is more important than teaching and talking about it; the Dharma is something that we really have to do. Furthermore, we may recite millions of mantras, and do any number of good works, but if our minds are distracted, nothing beneficial will come of it; the teachings will not have benefited us and Bodhichitta will have had no chance to grow. Let us adopt Bodhichitta, therefore, above all other practices.

As it is said:

One deity, Chenrezig, embodies all Buddhas;

One mantra, the six syllables, embodies all mantras;

One Dharma, Bodhichitta, embodies all practices of

the development and completion stages.

Knowing the one which liberates ll, recite the six syllable mantra.

Bodhichitta is thus the chief of practices; it is better moreover to follow single-mindedly the instructions received from our Teachers than to practise on the basis of our own book-learning and intelligence. To the extent that they are processed and refined, gold and diamonds become pure and proportionately more precious. So too through the assiduous practice of the instructions received from our Teacher, our understanding of them will become increasingly profound. The Buddha himself said, 'Treat my words like gold, cutting, melting and refining; examine my doctrine well, for it is not to be accepted simply out of respect for me.' Just as with the smelting and refinement of gold, likewise the teaching of Buddha: by listening, we gain an understanding, which, the more we meditate, will become increasingly profound and vast. It is most important therefore to practise with a steady concentration. Of all our activities, the most important is to sit and practise. We should not move around too much, we should just remain on our seat. We will only stumble if we get up! We should sit properly, not too stiffly, and remember that the best practitioners wear out their meditation cushions, not the soles of their shoes. Indeed, to apply the antidote to the emotions is even more important than to leave our homeland. For, if, on leaving home, we have even stronger attachment, desire and anger, our actions have not helped, but only harmed, our practice. The most important thing, therefore, is to use the antidote.

Do not make mistakes.

There are six errors or misconceptions which we should guard against.

Mistaken patience or endurance. Religious people, who bravely put up with hardships and persevere in the practice even though they have nothing in the way of food and clothing, suffering from cold and so on, may well be a sorry sight. They may in fact lack material possessions, but they do not need us to feel sorry for them. After all, their discomforts will be short lived and are the means through which they will finally come to liberation. Quite different from that sort of courage is the mistaken bravery of ordinary heroes who, in order to destroy their opponents and protect their own side, undergo unbearable hardships in the fight against their enemies, or suffer the cruel discipline and fury of their leaders.

Misplaced interest. It is also a mistake to be intent on the accumulation of wealth, power and comfort for this life at the expense of Dharma practice.

If you wish to practise properly,

Sustain yourself with Dharma,

Your Dharma with a humble life,

Your humble life with the thought of death,

Your thought of death with a lonely cave.

Our intention should be to help all sentient beings, who have been our mothers, and to bring them to the state of Buddhahood. We should never be self-satisfied and rest on our laurels, thinking that we have meditated well, that we have done retreat and are familiar with the rituals, or that we can chant and know all there is to know about the practice. This is an obstacle on the path.

Taking delight in worldly pleasures instead of in the Dharma. This is also mistake. 'Learning comes from listening to the teachings; evil is reversed through listening to the teachings; futile ways are shunned by listening to the teachings.' Bear this in mind. We should try to understand whether the teachings are expressed in the relative or the absolute sense, and we should make an effort to grasp the ultimate meaning beyond the words. Then we should practise it with an undivided heart. That is how to make sure progress. However, having experienced a taste of the Dharma, most 'experts,' armed with their intellectual knowledge, allow themselves to be side tracked into arguments and disputes with opponents, all for worldly satisfaction. Their taste of Dharma has played them false.

Misplaced compassion. It is a mistake to feel sorry for practitioners who endure a lot of difficulties for the sake of the Dharma, staying in lonely mountain hermitages without much food or warm clothing. It is incorrect to worry and think, 'These poor practitioners! They are going to die of starvation!' By contrast, the ones we should really feel sorry for are those who commit evil actions, such as army leaders and military heroes who kill hundreds and thousands of people, and whose hatred will drag them down into the realms of hell. We should show compassion to those who need it.

Being helpful in the wrong way. It is a mistake, too, to introduce our relations and dependants to worldly happiness and success instead of bringing them into contact with the Dharma. If we really care for them, we should help them to meet religious teachers and instruct them in the practice. Day by day, we should show them how to tread the path of liberation. Good people are like medicinal trees: whoever frequents them becomes good also. But if, by contrast, we teach people how to do business, how to trick others and stand up to their enemies, they will become as vicious as we are.

Rejoicing inappropriately. It is wrong to rejoice at the sufferings of enemies instead of at whatever is joyful and virtuous. By contrast, when people engage in work for any kind of good cause, or when Dharma practitioners undertake innumerable nyungne fasts, when they do a lot of work, building temples, constructing stupas and images or printing books, we should pray: 'In this life and their lives to come, may they always practise virtue, may their good actions bring about the birth of Bodhichitta in their minds.' This is the proper way to rejoice. But if, on the contrary, we feel pleasure and satisfaction when someone we dislike is punished by his superiors, or even killed-thinking that he only got what was coming to him, we are rejoicing wrongly.

These, then, are six wrong actions that we should forsake if we wish to follow the unmistaken way.

Be consistent in your practice.

When we are content and our lives are going well, we feel inclined to practise; but when, for instance, we are hungry and have nothing to eat, we lose interest. This is because we lack perfect confidence in the teachings. As the saying goes, 'Well fed and warm in the sun: that's when we look like practitioners. But when things go wrong, we are very ordinary people. The Dharma and our minds never seem to mingle. Bless us with the proper attitude!' And it is said too, 'Meditators whose behaviour has drifted into ordinary ways will never be free. Reciting many mantras for the sake of appearances will not help us on the path.'

Be zealous in your training.

Let us train ourselves wholeheartedly, completely saturating ourselves with the Mind Training: sometimes meditating on emptiness, sometimes on detachment from this life and sometimes on compassion towards beings. Through investigation and examination, we should endeavour to practise the methods of cultivating the Mind Training more and more.

Free yourself by analysis and testing.

Let us first examine which of our emotions is strongest. Then let us make a concerted effort to generate its antidote, investigating whether the emotion increases when we are confronted by certain specific situations. We should observe whether it arises or not, recognise it and, with the help of the antidote, rid ourselves of it, persevering until it no longer arises.

Don't take what you do too seriously.

If we help others by providing them with food and clothing, by freeing them from prison, or by promoting them to some position of importance, it should not be with the expectation of some kind of recognition. If we practise intensely and for a long time, or if we are knowledgeable and disciplined, we should not expect to be respected for it. If, on the other hand, we find that others know a great deal, we should pray for them to become really learned; if they are very disciplined, we should pray for them to be like the disciples at the time of Buddha; if we see people practising, we should pray that their minds be blended with the practice, that their practice be without obstacle and that their paths might lead to the final goal. That is how we should meditate, caring more for others than for ourselves. But if we manage to do so, we should not congratulate ourselves on having done something great or extraordinary. 'Do not rely on other human beings; just pray to the yidam.' Such was the advice of Radreng. Therefore, do not count on others for help with food, clothing, etc. Rather have a confident faith in the Three Jewels. As it is said: 'Trusting in the Teacher is the ultimate refuge, working for the benefit of others is the ultimate Bodhichitta, therefore do not brag about your accomplishments.' We should always have this attitude, because if we depend on others, the results may not be as we wish...

Do not be bad tempered.

If it happens that we are slighted in public, we should never think to ourselves that despite the fact that we are such good practitioners, people have no regard for us and do not come to pay respects or to receive our blessings. We should not react with annoyance and harsh words. At the moment, because we have not used the teachings as an antidote for ego clinging, our patience and forbearance are more fragile than a blister and we are as irritable as a bear with a sore head. All that because we have failed to use the instructions as an antidote.

Do not be temperamental.

Because of its transparency, a crystal ball takes on the colour of whatever it is standing on. In the same way, there are some practitioners, who, if they are given a lot of money, will have all sorts of positive thoughts. 'Oh, this is such a kind sponsor,' they will say. But if they get nothing, they will say bad things and hold a grudge. We should not be swayed by such trivial things.

Do not expect to be rewarded.

If we have been of help to others or have managed to practise, we should not expect thanks, praise or fame. If we practise the two Bodhichittas all our lives, perform our meditation and post-meditation properly, and if we mingle our minds with the view of meditation, our experience in day to day life will not be ordinary. Furthermore, if we are not distracted in our daily lives, this will help our meditation to progress. If, however, we meditate single mindedly during the sessions, but afterwards are completely distracted, we will not gain confidence in the view of meditation. Conversely, if we develop virtuous habits in post-meditation but during the meditation session engage in useless activities, again our practice will be meaningless. Therefore we should make sure to train ourselves correctly.