Using daily life as the practice of dharma

by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

I would like to present you with a few points on using our day-to-day activities as Dharma practice and on making Dharma practise effective.

According to the esoteric scriptures of Buddhism, the nature of mind, or of the undeluded mind, is Buddhahood. But the face of the true nature of the mind is obscured by ignorance and defiled emotions, just as the sun is covered by clouds. Because we do not know' the ultimate state of the mind and cling to illusory, dualistic appearances as true, we wander in the darkness of samsara and experience sorrows and dissatisfaction as if' we were in a dream. While we are having a dream we do not understand that it is untrue. Only when we have awakened do we realise that the events that took place in the dream were not real. Likewise, when we realise the ultimate state, we understand that those happenings within samsara were not real and that the various states of mental experiences were untrue and were just a reflection in the deluded mind. If the defilements of the mind are cleansed, their nature is perceived as free from conceptualisation and as enlightenment. The Buddha said: 

Beings are Buddha in their nature,

But their nature is obscured by adventitious defilements.

When the defilements are cleansed, they themselves are the very Buddha.

According to the Dharma, in samsara there is nothing but sorrow and dissatisfaction. Sometimes a person is unhappy from experiencing undesirable things. Sometimes a person is unhappy because of fear of losing what one has. Even the highest state of happiness of which a human being is capable is a state of miserable suffering in comparison to the state of ultimate nature. Samsaric happiness is like the enjoyment of an intoxicated mind.

To realise the ultimate nature of Buddhahood, free from elaborations, it is necessary first to cleanse the defiled emotions and perfect the accumulation of merit.

In the absolute, there is no distinction between good and bad or virtuous and unvirtuous actions; nor is there a distinction between positive and negative effects. But for the purpose of achieving freedom from the illusory state of samsara and realising the ultimate nature, it is necessary to undertake various meritorious practices as a skilful means for cleansing the delusions of the mind.

I am not going to go into the profound philosophical approaches to the absolute truth taught in Buddhism; but I would like to mention some practical aspects to be used in our day-to-day activities and experiences so that whatever we do, we can transmute those actions into practice. 

First, it is necessary to recognise the major defiled emotions, the negative forces that obscure the face of the ultimate nature. Generally, they are classified into three categories, known as the three poisons: ignorance, hatred, and desire. The root of defiled emotions is ignorance. Ignorance is an aspect of the deluded mind-the mind's not knowing the true face of the ultimate nature but grasping at the illusory appearances of self and objects as dual, real, and valid. Because a person accepts the subject and object as true and clings to them, there arises attachment to desirable objects and hatred of undesirable ones. By grasping objects that are conceived as real and developing defiled thoughts of liking or dislike for them, the process of karmic forces is built up, and the samsaric cycle is set in motion.

What we need at the beginning of our practice, to set ourselves upon the path of liberation from this illusory samsara, is to be mindful to watch the mind in order to protect it from falling into the defiled emotions and to devote ourselves to meritorious practices.

When a thought of hatred or dislike arises in us toward objects or people, including our enemies, we should reflect that our enemies have been our dearest friends and relatives during our countless past lives, and we should develop compassion for them as ignorant, deluded, and unhappy beings.

Anger toward others will produce the worst evil karma, and evil karma is the cause of suffering. If we get angry with someone, we defeat ourselves and afflict ourselves with a grave, negative result in future lives. If, instead, we practice patience when we encounter undesirable elements of experience, we will engage in one of the most effective Dharma practices. The great Bodhisattva and scholar Shantideva said:

There is no more harmful enemy than anger;

There is no more profound austerity than patience.

When the thoughts of desire arise in us, we should also ponder the unworthiness, impermanence, and unreliable nature of the objects of the desire.

When ignorant thoughts arise, that is, when we do not have insight into the absolute nature, we should investigate the meaning of the two truths: the relative and the absolute truth-especially the absolute truth-by means of study, pondering, and meditation.

In relative truth, all phenomenal appearances are conventionally true: that is to say, they are true in the same way that a dream, an illusion, or a reflection is true. They appear and function through the process of interdependent causation devised by the deluded mind. In absolute truth, all phenomena are void, free from conceptualisation and elaboration.

There are many kinds of practices that directly or indirectly lead to the same goal of the realisation and attainment of the absolute state of Buddhahood. These practices are classified according to two major aspects: the aspect of skilful means and the aspect of wisdom. These two aspects are like the two wings on which a bird flies to reach its goal. Skilful means is an important support practice, which leads to the attainment of the absolute nature. In the aspect of wisdom, the practice is to realise directly that all phenomena appear in the relative state as a dream, and that in their absolute nature they are empty.

At the beginning, one needs to practice skilful means, such as performing devotional practices, giving charity to the poor, observing discipline, being patient, rejoicing in others' well-being, and making offerings. But the most important thing is to develop a compassionate, gentle, and right attitude to others, without having any rigidity or selfishness. That is the essence of the practice of the Mahayana tradition.

The three major categories of Buddhism have been described as follows:

The characteristic of the Common Vehicle (Hinayana) is to develop a desire to renounce samsara for one's own sake.

The characteristic of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) is to develop beneficial thoughts toward all beings.

The characteristic of the Esoter'ic Vehicle (Vajrayana) is to purify the perceptions and to perceive the world and its beings as the pure land and its deities, in order to attain the absolute nature.

According to Buddhist teaching, the mind is the main factor in all happenings or occurrences. A deluded mind is the cause of experiencing all samsaric tastes, that is, the qualities of experience in samsara. Realisation of the true nature of the mind is the attainment of absolute nature, Buddhahood. The accumulation of merit and the development of right attitudes are the main aspects of the practice. Physical practices, which are practices using the body and speech, are a support for sustaining the right attitude of mind. Kunkhyen .Jigme Lirigpa said:

If the root (of a tree) is medicine, then the fruit will be medicinal.

If the root is poison, then there will be no question about the fruit.

Meritorious and unmeritorious qualities follow upon one's attitude;

But they are not derived from the reflection-like physical practices in themselves.

Thus, whatever we do, as long as we do it with beneficial thoughts for others and without any selfish attitude, will become a perfect practice. Defiled emotions will be spontaneously reduced. Even if a physical action appears to be unmeritorious, it will be transformed into a meritorious practice, depending on our intention, just as a few drops of milk make a cup of tea white. Thus, a person is incapable of performing unmeritorious action as long as he has a compassionate and right attitude. It is, therefore, important for anyone who wishes to be a Dharma practitioner to generate a compassionate or beneficial thought for transforming daily activities into Dharma practice.

For instance, when we take a meal, if we enjoy it with just the thought of satisfying ourselves, it will be an unmeritorious action. If, however, we visualise ourselves as divinities and take the food as an offering, or at least if we enjoy the food with the intention that we are taking it to protect· our lives in order to serve others and practise Dharma, it is a meritorious practice. In the same way, we can do whatever work we do by combining it with Dharma practice. Otherwise, even if we do retreat practice for years in solitude, reciting mantras and visualising deities, if it is done for the sake of fame or happiness for ourselves it will not become a pure Dharma practice.

The beneficial thought for all beings, without partiality and expectations, is called the Enlightened Attitude. The activities generated by enlightened thought are the Enlightened Action. These are the two aspects of the practice of Bodhisattvas. Shantideva said: 

If Enlightened Attitude has developed, from that very moment

Those beings suffering in the prison of samsara will be known as the Children of the Buddhas (Bodhisattvas).

Another important element in Dharma practice is confidence. The achievement of results through Dharma practice depends upon confidence - confidence in the teacher, confidence in the teaching, and confidence in ourselves. If we are lacking in confidence, then even if we practice day and night, our practice may produce merits, but it will hardly attain any great results. Until we reach a high stage of attainment, in which there is no effect of worldly happenings or events upon us and no difference between happiness and suffering, we should maintain confidence which is faith as the foundation of the practice. Without confidence, no spiritual attainment is possible. The Buddha said:

In people who have no confidence,

The Dharma will produce no result,

Just as a burnt seed

Will never produce a green shoot.

The point of this is that whatever we do, we should do it with a beneficial thought for all beings. Thereby all our daily activities will become Dharma practice. And we should develop a strong confidence in our practice, in our teacher, and in ourselves, so that the practice of Dharma will be effective.