The commitments of the mind training

by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Always train in three common points.

These general points are: to be consistent in the pledges of the Mind Training, not to be affected and theatrical and not to have double standards.

Consistency in the Mind Training. We should give happiness without regret and attribute all good things and qualities to others. We should take upon ourselves all their sorrow and unwanted situations, accepting suffering with joy. We should strive to free others from their pain, offering them happiness, great or small, sincerely and without second thoughts, in particular towards those who do us harm. And we should not neglect the lesser commitments with the excuse that 'we are practising the  Mind Training.' Never forgetting the Mind Training, we should nevertheless respect and practise all the commitments, from the Shravakayana to the Vajrayana, that we have promised, drawing them all together into a single way of life. If we are able to do this, it is an extraordinary stepping stone to all the paths of the great vehicle. Therefore let us observe all the vows with equal attention.

Not being affected. In our daily lives, our words should correspond with the actual way we practise Dharma. Moreover, we should avoid doing things in front of others in order to give the impression that we are renunciates and which therefore redound to our advantage. And we should refrain from actions calculated to make others think that we are free from ego-clinging, such as a cavalier attitude with regard to traditional religious sensibilities, or ostentatiously touching lepers or others suffering from contagious diseases. We should not do anything that the Kadampa masters would not do.

No double standards. For example, we might be patient with the harm that human beings inflict on us but intolerant when it comes to the attacks of spirits and demons. We should be courteous to the poor as well as to the powerful. We should avoid attachment to relatives and animosity toward enemies, ridding ourselves of all partiality. But let us be especially respectful towards poor, humble people of no importance. Do not be partial! Love and compassion should be universal toward all beings. Change your attitude and maintain it firmly.

From time without beginning, our ego-clinging has caused us to wander in samsara; it is the root of all our sufferings, it is indeed the culprit.

Considering others to be more important than ourselves, we should give up our self-cherishing attitudes and decide to act without hypocrisy, emulating in body, speech and mind, the behaviour of friends who live their lives according to the teachings. Mind Training should be engaged indiscreetly. It should not be done with external show, in a way that attracts attention and creates a reputation; it should act as the inward antidote to our self clinging and defiled emotions. We should bring our minds to ripeness without anybody knowing. 

Do not discuss infirmities.

We should not discuss the handicaps of others. If they cannot see or walk well, if they are not intelligent or even if they have transgressed their vows, we should not call them blind, cripples, idiots, etc. In brief, we should not say anything that is unpleasant for others to hear.

Do not have opinions on other people's actions.

When we see defects in others, people in general but particularly those who have entered the Dharma, who are disciples of the same Teacher, or who, being clothed in the banner of the monastic robes, are the support for the offerings of gods and men alike, we should understand that it is the impurity of our perception which is at fault. When we look into a mirror, we see a dirty face because our own face is dirty. In the same way, the defects of others are nothing but our impure way of seeing them. By thinking in this way, we should try to rid ourselves of this perception of the faults of others, and cultivate the attitude whereby the whole of existence, all appearances, are experienced as pure.

Work on the strongest of your defilements first.

We should scrutinize ourselves and examine which of our defiled emotions is the most powerful. If desire is strongest, we should try to concentrate upon its antidote, which is ugliness. If anger is to the fore, we should try to generate the remedy of patience. If by nature we are inclined to ignorance and dullness, we should exert ourselves in the cultivation of wisdom. If we are jealous, we should work to develop equanimity. In this endeavour to subdue these defilements, we should concentrate all our Dharma practice. For if we are able to free ourselves of the grosser defilements, the lesser ones will also naturally subside. 

Give up hoping for results.

The general effect of Mind Training is to free the practitioner from hope and fear. We should practise the exchange of happiness and suffering without expecting any reward. We should not hope, for example, that because of our practice many non-human beings will gather round, obeying us and displaying miracles, and that people, prompted by them, will also serve us, bringing us wealth and influence. We should rid ourselves of all selfish ideas and ulterior motives, such as working for others but with the wish for our own individual liberation or rebirth in a pure realm.

Give up poisoned food.

There is a saying: 'Wholesome deeds performed with selfish aims are just like poisoned food.' Poisoned food might look delicious and even taste good, but it quickly leads to certain death.

Thinking of an enemy as someone to be hated, thinking of a friend as someone to be loved, being jealous of others' happiness and good fortune: all this is rooted in ego-clinging. And wholesome actions, infiltrated by a clinging to the 'I' conceived as something real and solid, turn to poison. We should try to forsake all self-centredness.

Do not be hidebound by a sense of duty.

Faithful to the memory of their parents, people exchange favours - or pursue vendettas against their ancestral enemies. We should not allow ourselves to be ruled by this kind of prejudice.

Do not meet abuse with abuse.

If people say to us, 'You are not a good practitioner. Your vows are useless,' we should not respond, by pointing out their defects, for instance telling a blind man that he is blind, or a lame man that he is a cripple. If we act like this, then both parties will be angry. Therefore let us not utter a word that will harm or make others unhappy. When things are not going well, we should not blame anyone else. 

Do not wait in ambush.

'Ambush,' in this case, means remembering the harm done to us by others and biding our time for a moment of weakness when we might strike back, seeking the help of the powerful or even resorting to witchcraft, and so on. We should relinquish any thoughts of this kind.

Do not strike at weaknesses.

Do not strike at the weak points of others or do anything which will cause them suffering. In the same way, do not recite destructive mantras which will harm nonhuman beings.

Do not lay the dzo's burden on an ox's back.

The meaning of this is that we should never allow any injury or blame that we deserve to fall on others. An ox cannot carry the load of dzo. Moreover, we should endeavour to keep from harming the poor and the weak, by burdening them with heavier taxes than others, and so on. All such evil actions should be completely forsaken.

Do not praise with hidden motives.

If, for example, we hold some wealth in common with other people, we should not cajole them with flattery into giving us their share, saying things like, 'You are famous for your kindness,' or 'By being generous, you will accumulate much merit.' We should not do anything in fact to make someone happy so that he might give us money: all that kind of thing must be abandoned.

Do not misuse the remedy.

We would be misusing the remedy if we were to take upon ourselves the misfortunes of others, but with a wish for personal happiness or that others might say of us that we are patient and loving Bodhisattvas, trying thus to build up for ourselves a good reputation. We should free ourselves of all such intentions and never assume the misfortunes of others for these reasons.

Another example of this kind of behaviour would be wanting to practise the Mind Training in order to be cured from a disease, or out of fear of ghosts and spirits. This is just like practising exorcism with the intention of punishing the spirits with wrathful mantras; it is something which should be completely abandoned. We should not reduce the mind training to the level of mere sorcery by trying to use it as a means of repelling evil influences. Evil spirits and ghosts harm others because they are deluded. We should not practise the Mind Training against them, but to free them from their bad karma. When they create obstacles, we should practise chod with compassion; then they will not harm us. Our practice should be the antidote only for our own negative emotions.

Do not bring a god down to the level of a demon.

Worldly people use their religion, in order to have success in business, to acquire power and situations of prosperity; but if they fall sick,  lose their position and so on, they think their gods are displeased and begin to think of them as demons.

If through the Mind Training we become proud and boastful, it will be as Gampopa once said: Dharma not practised properly will bring us down to the lower realms. If we become pretentious and conceited, we will certainly not be practising Dharma. Because of our pride, the Mind Training, instead of taming us as it should, will make us all the more hard and obstinate. We will become so arrogant that, even if we were to see a Buddha flying in the sky, or someone suffering greatly, with his intestines hanging out, we would feel neither devotion for the qualities of the Buddhas nor compassion for the sufferings of beings. The whole point of the Dharma will have been missed. It does not help to station soldiers at the western gate when the enemy is in the east. When we have a liver complaint, we should take the proper liver medicine. When we have fever, again, we should take the appropriate remedy. If the medicine we take is unsuited to the illness we have, our condition will be all the worse. In the same way, we should apply the teachings so that they act as an antidote to our ego-clinging. Towards everyone we should consider ourselves as the humblest of servants, taking the lowest place. We should try really very hard to be modest and self-forgetting.

Do not take advantage of suffering.

If, at the death of relatives or friends, we were to try everything in order to get possession of their belongings, food, money, books etc.; if our sponsor were to fall ill or die, and we were to go to his house with the intention of performing ceremonies in the hope of being remunerated; or if again, at the death of a meditator on our own level, we were to feel pleased at being henceforth without a rival-or at the death of an enemy, to feel that we were no longer threatened, we would indeed be taking advantage of the suffering of others. That is something we must not do.