Karma Osung – Karmapa Center 16

In Harmony With the Dharma – 37 Practices – Session 20

Instead of looking at others or clinging to one of the eight worldly dharmas, what we really should examine is our own minds and clear away all confusion. Practicing in harmony with the dharma is the main point, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering said, of verse 30 through 32 of Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. What do these instructions tell us about what to abandon?

For the Benefit of Those Near and Far

As usual, we begin our session by cultivating or generating the heart of awakening–bodhicitta. We can bring to mind the pain, sorrow, and suffering of those in our immediate surroundings: our friends, family, neighbors, and surrounding community. In addition, we can think of everyone, individuals, groups, and entire nations, who suffer due to natural disasters or human-made conflict.

We always start our session with the practice of śamatha (calm-abiding meditation) with the clearly felt intention to achieve freedom, well-being, and liberation, for the benefit of ourselves and all those beings, human and non-human alike, near and far, without exceptions.

Dharmic Actions

Our resident teacher continued his commentary by starting with the 31st verse:

“If you do not examine your own confusion,
You may, under the guise of dharma, do non-dharmic things.
Therefore, through continual examination,
To abandon one’s confusion is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

The main point of this verse, Acharya explained, is that we need to examine our own confusion. This means that we need to look carefully at our actions of body, speech, and mind–the three doors. Are they corrupted by attachment, anger, or ignorance–the three poisons? If so, he said, we may engage in the practice of the six perfections discussed before this verse, but it only looks dharmic on the outside without it being dharmic on the inside. This is also taught by Dagpo Rinpoche (Gampopa) in Precious Garland of the Supreme Path:

“You may have entered the gate of the dharma with faith, but if you don’t practice in accordance with the dharma, it will set up the causes for going back to the lower realms, and there will be no benefit.”

Further illustrated with examples from everyday life, Acharya explained that practicing in accordance with the dharma means we need to continuously examine our own confusion. Instead of looking at others, we should be mindful and pay careful attention to our own actions. It is very important to do so throughout the day, both during formal meditation practice and post-meditation. This, Acharya stressed, is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Clearing the Confusion of All Beings

The next verse, 32, makes a similar point as the previous one. It reads:

“If, under the power of the afflictive emotions,
I speak of the faults of another bodhisattva, I diminish myself.
Therefore, to not point out the faults of those who have
Entered the Mahayana is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

Through sharing a story about a disciple of the great master and well-known teacher of Dzogchen Monastery, Paltrül Rinpoche (1808-1887), and how to practice patience, Acharya further highlighted the importance of working with our own minds instead of looking at and trying to change the minds of others.

We could move away from things and beings that trigger our habitual tendencies. We could even attempt to eliminate all confusion by pointing out the faults of others. Yet, since the number of sentient beings extends as far as the ends of space, this approach is pointless. Furthermore, if we speak of the faults under the power of mental afflictions, it will only harm them, and our own practice will diminish.

Therefore, we need to control our own minds and remove poisons, like attachment, from our mindstream. In fact, it is taught that clearing our own confusion becomes the clearing of confusion for all beings, limitless as the sky.

Abandoning the Eight Worldly Dharmas

The previous two verses speak about abandoning our confusion through the lens of the three poisons. The following verse, 33, does so from the perspective of the eight worldly dharmas by using the example of honor and gain:

“Due to honor and gain, we fight with each other
And the activities of hearing, contemplating, and meditating diminish.
Therefore, to abandon attachment to the homes of
Benefactors and loved ones is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

There are eight worldly dharmas or concerns: gain and loss, fame and lack of fame, praise and blame, pleasure and sorrow. Using the pair of praise and blame as an example, Acharya explained the common underlying pattern: we like the one (e.g. praise) and dislike the other (e.g. blame). A bodhisattva, he continued, attaches little value to either and takes an attitude of equanimity:

“If we get carried away with such temporary things like praise and blame and attach great value to them, our activities of hearing, contemplating, and meditating, will diminish. Therefore, we should neither hold strongly to things we like nor to things we dislike. This is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

We might be a great king or ruler holding to all subjects in the kingdom or someone who has gone forth yet remains attached to benefactors from the lay community. Bodhisattvas, who can be found among all of them, and regardless of their position or the object, abandon any kind of attachment, without exception. Abandoning our attachment is yet another example taught by Ngulchu Tokmé of what we need to let go of.

To conclude, we dedicated the merit.

Karmapa Khyenno!

Finding Our Way Out – 37 Practices – Session 19

While there may be various methods and paths in the tradition of buddhadharmāḥ (teaching of the Buddha), Acharya Lhakpa pointed out that their intention is the same: obtaining the state of buddhahood. What role does meditation play and what is the practice of wisdom from the perspective of the heroic path of a bodhisattva? This is shown by Ngulchu Tokmé in verses 29 and 30 of his 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva.

Calm-abiding Meditation: Letting Go of Resistance

At the beginning of our practice of śamatha (calm-abiding meditation), we connect with the aspiration to obtain genuine freedom and wellbeing for the sake of all beings, and carefully pay attention to our posture of body. During this session, the emphasis was on the way we relate to the things appearing to our senses, be it seemingly outer objects or what we experience on the inside.

Whatever appears, in the practice of śamatha we do not resist. In other words, we accept or embrace whatever appears to mind and bring our attention back to this present moment. In this way, we can tame and train the mind in order to perfect the actions (pāramitās) of a bodhisattva.

Three Vehicles: Different Methods, Same Intention

As a dharma practitioner, we may come across different teachings and methods. Sometimes it may even seem that they are contradictory. However, our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa, stressed, “no matter how many different methods are taught, their intention is the same.” This intention is expressed by the following words of Buddha Śākyamuni, as recorded in the Sūtras:

“Know suffering. Abandon the causes of suffering. Attain the result. Rely on the path.”

This is the basic shared principle of the three vehicles–Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna. At the same time, the focus or outlook and method of these three is different:

On the path of the Hīnayāna, the focus is to be personally liberated from the suffering of saṃsāra;
On the path of the Mahāyāna, we not only seek individual liberation but seek complete enlightenment for the benefit of everyone;
On the path of the Vajrayāna, enlightenment is taught to be present already, right here, and not something to be attained at a later time. The focus here is: How to recognize or reveal that?

So, while the destination of the path can be considered the same, the methods, and therefore the paths, are somewhat different.

Śamatha (calm-abiding) and Vipaśyanā (special insight)

With this understanding in mind, Acharya turned towards verse 29 of Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, which reads:

“Knowing that through superior insight endowed with thorough calm abiding;
The mental afflictions are completely subdued,
To meditate with the concentration that perfectly goes beyond
The four formless states is the practice of a bodhisattva.”(Quoted from: A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

This verse shows the fifth pāramitā: meditative absorption or concentration. While the different vehicles contain many meditation techniques, these can be all grouped together under two types of meditation: śamatha (calm-abiding) and vipaśyanā (special insight). Referring to the etymological meaning of the Sanskrit terms, Acharya explained these as follows:

Calm-abiding or meditative calm means that we do not get distracted by outer objects like forms, sounds, smells, and so forth, nor by the afflictive emotions that disturbs us within. While we usually think we are in control of our own mind, when we start to engage in the practice of śamatha, we discover that we don’t really have a good sense of the working and nature of the mind. Through regular practice, even if just five or ten minutes a day, we will increasingly be able to concentrate and abide in a state of calmness.
The technique called Special Insight means we start to analyze reality. Are the objects of our senses, like a pen we can see with our eyes, inherently existent and truly established? If we look carefully, we will be able to discover that things are not as they appear. We will realize that all phenomena are dependent upon one another, and the names we attach to them are merely imputations. This is true for something we label as pen, be it long or short, as well as whom we consider enemies and friends, including yourself!

In all three vehicles, these two types of meditation need to be practiced together.

The Four Formless States

Combining Calm-Abiding and Special Insight, the ability of the mind to concentrate and remain on the same object over long periods of time, will increase and take us to the four formless states referenced by Ngulchu Tokmé. These are states of concentration of meditative absorption in which we perceive phenomena differently than usual:

The sense field of infinite space;
The sense field of infinite consciousness;
The sense field of nothing-at-all, and;
Neither perception nor non-perception.

While the practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā will enable us to move to these higher states of meditative absorption, Acharya emphasized that these are all still within the world of suffering. The practice of a bodhisattva, he explained, is to go even further and leave saṃsāra behind completely. This is why Ngulchu Tokmé writes that “to meditate with the concentration that perfectly goes beyond / the four formless states is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

Preliminary or Preparations for Prajñā (Wisdom)

In the next verse, verse 30, Ngulchu Tokmé points to the sixth and last perfection: prajñā (wisdom or superior knowledge):

“Without prajñā, the five pāramitās
Cannot accomplish perfect enlightenment.
Therefore, to meditate on the prajñā that is endowed with means
And does not conceive the three spheres is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

While prajñā is taught to be the most important pāramitā and what we are ultimately looking for, Acharya pointed out that this verse shows that there is no chance for wisdom to arise without meditation. Therefore, he said, we can think of meditation as the preliminary or preparatory practice which is indispensable.

Furthermore, as pointed out in earlier sessions, for meditation to go well, we need to perfect diligence first. Diligence will only come about through the practice of patience. Patience, in turn, depends on discipline. Before discipline, first of all, we need to engage in the perfection of generosity. Thus, wisdom depends on all the preceding five pāramitās. “Without them,” Acharya said, “we will not be able to attain wisdom.”

Transcending the Three Spheres

Understanding the practice of the bodhisattvas in this way, the last two lines of the verse on prajñā also show the main purpose of dharma practice: The realization of the wisdom of selflessness.

First of all, we need to understand what is meant by the three spheres. Illustrating this with links that are connected with each other and becoming a chain that binds us to saṃsāra, the three spheres basically refer to the deeply habituated mind that holds on to a truly existing self. As a consequence, we conceive of three “spheres”: an agent, action, and object. For example, when practicing generosity, we usually think of ourselves as the subject (agent) who engages in the act of giving (action) and someone considered to be the recipient (object).

It is precisely the conceptualization of these three spheres that we are seeking to abandon through the practice of wisdom. “This is what we are transcending, what we need to let go,” Acharya said. Therefore, he continued, “the practice of wisdom is that of letting go of the three spheres. If we try to hold on to those spheres, we will continue to be bound to saṃsāra. This is like getting lost in a maze or labyrinth.” The practice of wisdom, then, can be understood as finding the way out.

Acharya concluded our session by expressing his gratitude to all present, wishing everyone to have a wonderful day, and warmly inviting everyone to join us again next Sunday. Following that, we dedicated the merit.

If We Practice Continuously – 37 Practices – Session 18

While first reminding us of the general meaning of dharma, the three trainings, and the teachings on buddha nature, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering then turned towards the third and fourth pāramitā or perfection, the practice of patience and diligence, respectively. What do we need to get closer and closer to the state of buddhahood?

Creating Space to Look Within

It was emphasized that we begin with the practice of śamatha (calm-abiding meditation), as a way to slow down our mind and create a space to look within. Through looking within, we start to see the workings of our mind. In this way, we become familiar with ourselves and will be able to tame and train the mind, which can be understood as the general purpose of the dharma.

In addition, whether we think or feel our practice went well or not, we can always end our session with a feeling of appreciation. No matter how we may evaluate our practice, we can rejoice that we took the time to work with our minds. This applies equally to listening or studying the dharma as well.

Three Baskets and Three Trainings

Acharya continued our session by encouraging us to give rise to the intention to listen, contemplate, and practice the dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings. Dharma can be understood as the teaching of the Buddha. These teachings, he elaborated, are grouped together in three “baskets”– the Tripiṭaka.

Within these three collections, we find the three trainings: the training in higher discipline or ethics, the training in higher meditative concentration, and the training in higher wisdom. Illustrated by the example of obtaining sesame oil from a sesame seed, Acharya stressed that we can all obtain the state of omniscience or buddhahood if we make an effort to do so. Why is this so? Acharya said:

“The nature of the mindstream of a buddha and the nature of the mindstream of an ordinary being is identical. All sentient beings possess buddha nature.”

In brief, he continued, buddha means the exhaustion of all delusions and the full development of wisdom. Practicing dharma, then, is to remove our delusions and expand our wisdom. In order to do this, we need to accumulate merit and wisdom through the 37 practices of a bodhisattva, as pointed out by Ngulchu Tokmé, and especially that of the six pāramitās. If we do not engage in these practices, we will unnecessarily prolong our time in the world of suffering orsaṃsāra.

Patience Without Malice

After covering the pāramitā of generosity and discipline in the previous sessions, Acharya continued with verse 27, which expresses the perfection of patience:

“For bodhisattvas who desire a wealth of virtue,
All harmful actions done to them are like a precious treasure.
Therefore, to practice patience that is
Without any malice toward anyone is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

Practicing patience may not be easy. In fact, Acharya said, it is quite difficult. Both the sūtras and bodhisattvas like Śāntideva teach that patience is even more difficult than to bear suffering. Yet, it is of great importance. Why? Drawing from Śāntideva’s Entrance to the Way of a Bodhisattva and Bodhisattvapitaka Sūtra, Acharya explained that a single moment of anger can destroy all the virtue that we have gathered for a very long time. Therefore, “[…] to practice patience that is without any malice toward anyone […],” as taught in this verse by Ngulchu Tokmé, is the key practice.

Getting Closer to Buddhahood by Taking Small Steps

Despite the difficulty of practicing patience, Acharya shared various practical ways to strengthen our patience in daily life and when practicing the dharma, and to do so one step at a time:

Instead of thinking of those who cause you harm as enemies and trying to destroy them, we should look at them as a treasure, turn inward, and tame our mind of anger. “Taming the angry mind is equal to taming all outer enemies,” Acharya said.
In everyday situations, like someone cutting the line at the grocery store or when the coffee we ordered isn’t quite right, we reflect on ourselves and on the unseen difficulties that may be behind those actions. This way we can gradually expand our patience.
Whenever we encounter difficulties during dharma practice, like physical pain in meditation, or hearing about very subtle and profound teachings on karma or emptiness which may be difficult to grasp, instead of resisting or turning away, we need to open our mind and develop endurance.

In short, if we are able to carry such situations onto the path and consider them as treasures, then we will be able to get closer and closer to the state of buddhahood, the wealth of omniscience.

Ending Laziness

The next verse, 28, teaches about the practice of exertion or diligence:

“Though the hearers and solitary realizers practice only for their own benefit,
They exert themselves like their hair is on fire.
Seeing this, to practice diligence, the source of qualities,
For the sake of all beings is the practice of a bodhisattva.” (28)

Just like we need to strengthen our patience by taking small steps, we need to gradually increase our diligence. Whereas anger is the affliction to be removed through developing patience, the obstacle we are working with in the context of the pāramitā of exertion is laziness. Acharya explained that the teachings speak about three kinds of lazinesses that we need to put to an end:

Laziness of inactivity: our regular kind of laziness of being passive, like just sitting on a couch.
Laziness of clinging to non- virtuousnonvirtuous actions: rather than practicing the dharma to attain enlightenment, we engage in non- virtuousnonvirtuous activities like duck hunting or something similar.
Laziness of lack of self-confidence: thinking, for one reason or another, that it would not be possible for us to obtain buddhahood.

As mentioned earlier, Acharya reminded us about the teaching on buddha nature: all sentient beings possess the same essence or potential to become a buddha. Therefore, he said, “if we put in an effort and exert ourselves, if we are diligent, we are all able to recognize our buddha nature and obtain the state of buddhahood.”

Making a Real Effort to Benefit Others

In this verse, Ngulchu Tokmé points to the effort made by śrāvakās (hearers) and pratyekabuddhas (solitary realizers). While they practice dharma solely for their own benefit, following the path of individual liberation, they exert themselves “like their hair is on fire.”

Knowing or seeing that hearers and solitary realizers exert themselves in this way, there is no need to speak about the effort we should make to obtain enlightenment. After all, Acharya taught, we seek to benefit all sentient beings on the Mahāyāna path. So, our diligence should surely be even greater than the hearers and solitary realizers. If, Acharya continued, we would practice dharma in a continuous manner and engage in virtuous activity, even when starting with just a couple of minutes a day, we would be able to achieve the state of omniscience.

Applying this to studying Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, Acharya closed our Meditation for All session by encouraging us to practice or, at least, to read these verses regularly. If time allows, every day.

“Even if you don’t understand the meaning,” Acharya said, “if you read with the intention to benefit others, having an altruistic mind, the meaning of these verses will naturally come to us.”

Acharya thanked everyone for joining in this practice, and we dedicated the merit.

Karmapa Khyenno!

Without Hope and Craving – 37 Practices – Session 17

In verse 22, Ngulchu Tokmé teaches us about ultimate bodhicitta. Last week, our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, offered an explanation of this verse and the two following verses, which show how to cut through our confusion and see reality directly. The next couple of verses, Acharya said, instruct how to put the teachings on ultimate bodhicitta into practice in post-meditation or subsequent attainment: through the six pāramitās or perfections .

Working with Our Breath and Distraction

Acharya first guided us in the practice of śamatha (calm-abiding meditation) following the recitation of our opening chants. He highlighted how we can calm the mind through focusing on the movement of our breath, with the air coming in and going out through our nostrils. Whenever we find that our mind gets distracted or we enter into a state of daydreaming, we can simply bring our awareness back to our focal object: in this case, the movement of our breath. We do this practice repeatedly, Acharya instructed.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you get distracted,” he said. “Whenever that happens, just be aware of it. Distraction is nothing bad, and we are not trying to not get distracted. We are simply aware of it, and return to our focal object.”

We engage in this practice with the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of everyone. Therefore, whatever merit we gain through it, we wish it to be the cause for fulfilling this aspiration.

A Beginner Bodhisattva Practicing Generosity

Previously, we discussed the topic of ultimate bodhicitta. Today, we turn to the question: How to put this into practice in post-meditation or subsequent attainment? On the path of the Mahāyāna or great vehicle, this is done through the six pāramitās or perfections, starting with the practice of generosity as expressed by verse 25:

“Since, if you wish for enlightenment, you must give even your body away.
What is there to be said about giving material objects to others?
Therefore, to have generosity without hope of
Being paid in return is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

Nguclhu Tokmé’s main instruction, Acharya explained, is to practice generosity without “hope of being paid in return.” No matter what kind of generosity we engage in, this is something we should remember all the time. Yet, as a beginner, this is very difficult. We have a strong habit of wishing to get something in return for our actions. Therefore, our resident teacher elaborated, many dharma practices make use of this habit and encourage us to think: “Through this practice I will accumulate the two accumulations of merit and wisdom, and will obtain the state of buddhahood.” Thinking thus, we will engage in practices like generosity as a beginner bodhisattva.

The Ground for Ultimate Reality

From the perspective of ultimate bodhicitta and realized bodhisattvas, there is no accumulator, nothing to be accumulated, and no object of accumulation. Ultimately, those do not exist. While realizing this is our ultimate goal, Acharya said, “without relying on relative bodhicitta, there is no way to reach ultimate reality.” He illustrated this with an example often taught by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche: An airplane taking off to the sky (ultimate) needs the ground (relative) to make speed to get up there.

Turning to the practice of generosity, Acharya taught that there are three kinds of generosity:

The generosity of material goods
The generosity of protection from fear or offering refuge
The generosity of giving or sharing the dharma

The bodhisattva who fully gives rise to the aspiration of attaining enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, Ngulchu Tokmé writes in this verse, even gives their own body away. Acharya explained that we need to see this in the context of the Mahāyāna path. Bodhisattvas who have seen the truth of emptiness directly will indeed be able to do this. This does not trouble them. For beginner bodhisattvas, we instead focus on the three kinds of generosity.

Only Give What is Beneficial to Others

The practice of generosity, Acharya stressed, does not mean that we give away whatever we have nor give things to anyone at any point in time. Instead, as the Indian Buddhist master, Śāntideva, teaches in bodhisattva-caryā-avatāra, we carefully look at what the other really needs and would benefit from.

Illustrating this with various examples, Acharya explained that we give what is beneficial. If this consists of giving something small, then that is what we should do. Furthermore, giving is not limited to some kind of object. Showing respect through our physical actions, speaking gently, and being kind are also acts of generosity. We can think of offering a smile or protection to those who seek refuge out of fear.

Although sharing the dharma is considered the most supreme act of generosity, this may not always be what the other needs. The intention, therefore, may be good, but we really should be giving what the other needs at that moment — not what we want to give.

A key thing to remember: We should practice generosity without the hope of being paid in return. Otherwise, our practice will become ingenuine and cause suffering to come our way.

Getting To a Place of Coolness

The six perfections taught through these verses by Ngulchu Tokmé follow a certain progression. The perfection of generosity, which is mainly to liberate ourselves from the attachment or clinging to samsaric (i.e. worldly) things, prepares us for the practice of discipline taught in verse 26:

“If, lacking discipline, you do not accomplish your own benefit,
Wishing to accomplish others’ benefit is laughable!
Therefore, to engage in discipline
Without samsaric craving is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

The English word “discipline” and Tibetan tshül thrim are trying to capture the Sanskrit word “śīla,” which means something like “coolness.” Acharya explained that we can understand this from the context of the burning sun in the places where Buddha lived: If you sit under a tree or in the shade on a sunny day, you will be able to feel this coolness. The heat, in this case, is a reference to the experience of attachment and other mental afflictions. The coolness refers to the place we experience through guarding or watching the actions of our body, speech, and mind, with an emphasis on the first two. This is the so-called discipline.

Benefiting Ourselves and Others

If we contemplate this practice of guarding or disciplining ourselves, Acharya said:

“Then we can see that if we are not capable of guarding our body, speech, and mind we can easily see in today’s world how this gives us a lot of problems, a lot of hardships, a lot of suffering. On the other hand, if we are capable to discipline ourselves, that will become the foundation for all kinds of virtuous qualities and the ground for the accumulation of merit. This, in turn, enables us to benefit both ourselves and others.”

If, as Ngulchu Tokmé points out, we are not able to practice discipline, then benefiting others is laughable. How can you benefit others, if you can’t even keep yourself out of trouble?

Progressing Towards the State of Buddhahood

To conclude, and responding to a question asked by one of the participants, Acharya explained how the practice of the Mahāyāna path is fully encompassed by the six pāramitās. Therefore, if we are able to practice those, we can realize the truth of emptiness and obtain the state of buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. This, however, is not easy. Why?

As human beings, Acharya elaborated, we have many mental afflictions. Particularly strong is the affliction of desire or clinging to worldly things and, especially, the grasping at a self or self-fixation. Since attaining buddhahood requires the realization of emptiness and the absence of a self, it is very difficult. Therefore, we need to work with mental afflictions in a gradual manner and, for example, make our attachments smaller and smaller.

The practice of the six pāramitās can be understood as working with increasingly subtle mental afflictions. The first pāramitā, the practice of generosity, has as the main instruction to let go of the hope of being paid in return. This consists of working with very coarse forms of attachment. The second pāramitā, the practice of discipline, has as the main instruction to practice discipline “without samsaric craving.” This will help to prevent attachment to samsaric things from arising and further reduce our clinging. As we progress through the practice of the six perfections in this way, we get closer and closer to the realization of emptiness, and the realization of buddhahood, for the sake of all beings. Our goal, Acharya said, “is to have the understanding of emptiness. But, without clearing away these obscurations like attachment, there is no way to reach that goal.” This is why we practice the six pāramitās on the heroic path of compassion. These are the practices of a bodhisattva.

Following those words, we dedicated the merit.

Karmapa Khyenno!

Mind and Its Confusion – 37 Practices – Session 16

In verses 11 through 21, Ngulchu Tokmé teaches us about relative bodhicitta. With verse 22, we arrive at the topic of ultimate bodhicitta, which leads us into investigating the nature of mind. How to cut through our confusion about reality is pointed out in verse 23 and 24.

These three verses, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, our resident teacher, explained, are at the heart of the highest teachings of secret mantra, Dzogchen, and Mahamudra. So, if we understand these verses, we have all we need. If we don’t, none of the instructions of these profound lineages will benefit us.

Relative Bodhicitta in Meditation and Post-Meditation

The main instruction of Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva is how to give rise to bodhicitta or the awakened heart. This consists of relative and ultimate bodhicitta. The first can be divided into the practice of bodhicitta in meditative equipoise or single-pointed meditative state; the second is about post-meditation or subsequent attainment.

Among these two, cultivating bodhicitta in a single-pointed meditative state is expressed in verse 11, and concerns exchanging your own happiness with the suffering of others. How to cultivate bodhicitta in post-meditation is pointed out in verse 11 through 21.

Ultimate Bodhicitta: Where or What is Mind?

Verse 22 teaches us about ultimate bodhicitta and reads:

“Whatever appears is one’s own mind.
Mind is primordially free from extremes of elaboration.
Knowing this is so, to not mentally engage
The signs of perceiver and perceived is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

Regardless of whether we are thinking about worldly activities or practicing the dharma, the mind is that which considers things to be in a certain way. We have thoughts like, “Oh, this is what it is” and “Maybe it is like that.” If we investigate closely, however, does the mind truly exist?

Acharya encouraged us to consider this carefully by looking at the way our sense faculties interact with their objects, which eventually leads to mental afflictions like attachment and aversion, depending on whether we consider something attractive and pleasant or unattractive and unpleasant.

This is true for all our senses and their objects: It is solely due to our own mind that we consider things to be attractive or not. The objects themselves have no such inherent quality. Therefore, mental afflictions arise due to how we think of objects when we make contact with them through our sense faculties. Furthermore, whether we consider something pleasant or unpleasant is due to habitual tendencies.

Free from the Beginning

If we look closely, notions of attractive and pleasant, and their opposites, as well as habitual tendencies, are not part of the essence of mind. In fact, the mind is primordially free. Elaborations about existence and non-existence, and how we think of something, are not inherently part of mind.

Reflecting on how people in the Himalayas and scientists speak about the location of mind, Acharya points out that mind cannot be found anywhere. This does not mean it does not exist. As the verse indicates, from the very beginning, mind is free from extremes such as existence and non-existence.

If we understand the meaning of what Ngulchu Tokmé is pointing out with this 22nd verse and know how to put it into practice, then there is nothing more to be learned from the highest pith instruction like Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Furthermore, Acharya emphasized, “if we don’t understand this, then no matter what higher pith instruction we study or practice, we will not be able to understand or get the taste of those.” In other words, all teachings of secret mantra are brought together in this particular verse and, when contemplated carefully, help us to give rise to ultimate bodhicitta.

Seeing through Mind’s Confusion

The two following verses concern our own confusion about appearances. In verse 23, Ngulchu Tokmé points to our confusion about seeming outer objects and the experience of happiness. In verse 24, he teaches about taking mind’s inner appearances as real and the subsequent suffering. In both cases, the practice of a bodhisattva consists of seeing through this confusion as is expressed by Ngulchu Tokmé in the following way:

“Encountering pleasurable objects
Is like seeing a rainbow in the summertime.
Although they appear beautiful and real, to see them as not being real
And relinquish attachment is the practice of a bodhisattva.” (23)

“The different kinds of suffering are like your child dying in a dream.
Taking confused appearances as real, how tiring!
Therefore, when meeting with adverse conditions,
To see them as confusion is the practice of a bodhisattva.” (24)

Despite appearances and our usual way of thinking, objects that are seemingly “out there” or show up inside the mind do not inherently exist. This is our confusion. They appear only based on the coming together of many causes and conditions. We can easily understand this, Acharya explained, through the examples given by Ngulchu Tokmé. We know that outer appearances, like rainbows, do not truly exist by themselves. Likewise, we know that things we dream during our sleep are not real either. Yet, taking them to be real, and considering them to be pleasant or not, we experience either happiness or suffering, respectively.

While it is somewhat more difficult to see through our confusion in moments of suffering, when we recognize that these external/internal objects do not truly exist, then our mental afflictions associated with them no longer arise. Although the objects appear, they do not exist in the way we habitually think about them as being solid, permanent entities that we like or dislike. Rather, they are like rainbows or dreams. Knowing this, we should not cling to moments of happiness nor feel lost when we suffer.

When Meditating on Emptiness is (Not) Beneficial

Summarizing the meaning of the two verses about our confusion, Acharya explained that no matter whether we experience suffering or happiness, we should not fixate or cling strongly to either experience as both the objects and the associated mental afflictions are based on confusion.

Recalling instructions from the great Kagyü master Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Acharya said that this does not mean that you do not drink anything when you are thirsty, eat nothing when you are hungry, or do not take medicine when you are sick. In those moments, this practice of seeing through confusion will not benefit you. If we are thirsty, we should drink something. When we are hungry, we should eat something. And when we are sick, we should take medicine. However, when we strongly cling to happiness or feel lost in moments of suffering, then we should recollect this view on emptiness and see through our own confusion. That is the practice of a bodhisattva cultivating ultimate bodhicitta.

Following those concluding words, we dedicated the merit.

Karmapa Khyenno!

Bringing Aggression and Attachment onto the Path – 37 Practices – Session 15

Before beginning our usual meditation practice, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, our resident teacher, described the onsite groundwork set to commence this spring at Karmapa Center 16 and the special pujas held ahead of time to remove any obstacles and promote environmental harmony. This is a significant next step forward for the second phase of KC16’s Stupa Project.

Recalling the Mind

Following our opening chants, our resident teacher resumed guiding us in the practice of calm-abiding meditation (Sanskrit: śamatha). Together with emphasizing the need for being well-grounded and keeping our back straight, Acharya Lhakpa also stressed the importance of letting go of any expectations during our meditation. We can put aside thoughts about having a good or bad meditation. Likewise, whenever you observe the mind wandering off, moving towards an object outside, “you are simply aware of that situation and bring your mind back to this moment.” In this way, during this type of practice, we recall our mind again and again.

Utilizing Afflictive Emotions

During this session, we discussed verse 20 of Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. It reads:

“If I do not tame the enemy of my own anger,
I may subdue external enemies, but they will still increase. Therefore, with the army of loving-kindness and compassion,
To tame one’s own mind stream is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

When aggression, or any kind of afflictive emotion, takes control of us, we no longer are the same person. On the path of the Foundational Vehicle or Hīnayāna, as Acharya explained earlier, it is emphasized to stay away from such disturbed states of mind. The path of the Great Vehicle or Mahāyāna, on the other hand, teaches us how to utilize such seeming obstacles as a practice and as a way to usher in loving-kindness and compassion.

Making the Same Mistake

The verse itself, Acharya said, is very clear, and we can easily recognize the practical value in our daily life. We can observe, around the world, how nations try to subdue each other, turn into enemies, and so forth. However, this attempt to eliminate external enemies only leads them to increase. “You can see,” Acharya said, “that kind of practice will never work. Still, we are making the same mistake, again and again.”

What we really should be doing is taming the most dangerous enemy: aggression or anger within ourselves. And we should be fighting this enemy with an army of loving-kindness and compassion. It is taught by great Indian masters like Shantideva and Atisha that there is no point in trying to defeat outer enemies. However, if we are able to tame our own minds, it is like defeating all the enemies or obstacles outside at the same time. Acharya invited us to contemplate this deeply: Do we really think we would be successful if we were to try to defeat all outer enemies?

Gathering the Armies of Loving-Kindness and Compassion

Illustrated by Shantideva, who said we should cover our feet with leather to protect ourselves from any harm instead of attempting to cover the entire world with leather, we shouldtame our own mindstream and gather the army of loving-kindness and compassion. This means we develop the wish for all beings to be happy and have the causes of happiness (loving-kindness), and for them to be free from suffering and the causes of suffering (compassion). Out of these two, Acharya pointed out, we begin by gathering the army of compassion and then, naturally, we will start gathering the army of loving-kindness. Thus, it is also compassion that is taught in the sutras as the supreme practices. For example, in the Sutra of the Condensed Perfection of Wisdom we read:

“For those who have great compassion, it is like having all spiritual practices in the palm of their hand.”

Therefore, if we are able to cultivate great compassion, it will be (relatively) easy to obtain the state of omniscience or complete Buddhahood. This verse teaches us how taking the object of aggression onto the path is part of this practice.

Salt Water

The next verse (21) speaks about taking objects of attachment onto the path:

“The sense pleasures are like salt water;
However much you partake, that much your craving will increase. Whatever objects of attachment arise,
To immediately abandon them is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

When we think about sense pleasure, Acharya explained, we can simply think of the five sense faculties and their objects. For example, seeing pleasurable forms, hearing pleasurable sounds, and smelling pleasurable odors, these are the sense pleasures Ngulchu Tokmé has in mind with this verse. Sharing a story about visiting the ocean and experiencing salt water for the first time during his stay in India, Acharya highlighted how these sense pleasures are really like salt water. “If we are thirsty and try to quench our thirst by salt water, our thirst just increases. We will never be able to quench our thirst.” Therefore, this verse teaches us that we should abandon the sense pleasures immediately.

The Practice of Contentment

What does it mean to “abandon” objects of attachment? Acharya explained it does not necessarily mean that we need to go to another place and leave this object behind. Rather, the main point of this verse is to cultivate the quality of contentment. Any particular object we may have, we should generate the thought: “Oh, having this is sufficient. I need nothing else.”

If we were to accumulate wealth for the benefit of others, it could be part of our path. Yet, if it is just to accumulate things for ourselves, this is not considered the practice of a bodhisattva. For this reason, Nagarjuna said: “The teacher of gods and humans said / Among all wealth, contentment is supreme.”

Abandoning Outer Objects

In addition to contentment, this verse teaches us that all outer objects are of the nature of suffering. Why is that? It is because they are compounded phenomena, they are not singular or permanent. This relates to what in the Buddhist view is known all-pervasive suffering. At the point of obtaining something, protecting an object once we possess it, and once it falls apart, at all times there is suffering present. Acharya illustrated this with the example of getting our favorite car that may run perfectly at the beginning. However, given its compounded nature, it will break down and cause suffering from the moment we own it.

Therefore, the main practice verse 21 is pointing to is that of cultivating contentment. In addition, we need to understand that all outer objects are compounded and therefore of the nature of suffering. Realizing this equals abandoning those objects. So, like with aggression, we need to learn to take attachment onto the path and turn seemingly unfavorable circumstances into something beneficial, for the benefit of all beings. We do so, not by trying to fix things outside, but by improving our own mindstream. That is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Taming and Training our Minds

Taking us back to the beginning of our session, Acharya Lhakpa connected the teachings with the meaning of practicing the dharma in general. First and foremost, this consists of taming our own mind. This is the main aspect. On top of that, in the Mahāyāna, we cultivate loving-kindness and compassion, and seek buddhahood or enlightenment not just for ourselves but for the benefit of all sentient beings. This reminded Acharya of his precious teacher, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who always emphasizes how all practices of a dharma practitioner are subsumed or summarized by these two aspects: taming the mind and training the mind. Rinpoche teaches: “If we want to evaluate our practice, we just need to look inward and see how much improvement is happening in our mindstream.”

With those words, we concluded our session and dedicated the merit.

Traditional Pujas and Vase Ceremony Ahead of Onsite Groundwork

Showing a architectural drawing of the landscape and Karmapa Center 16's Stupa Project

From April 11 till April 19, special pujas (meditation practice with melodic chants and instruments) will be held at Karmapa Center 16 in preparation for the onsite groundwork that will begin later this spring. This is a significant step forward in our three-phased project and will literally create the foundations for the Parinirvāṇa Stupa Temple, a residence for His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, and two retreat houses.

The pujas are intended to remove any obstacles, create the most auspicious conditions for the engineers, all workers, and volunteers to start our work together, and to promote environmental harmony. You are warmly invited to join our practices onsite or online, and make offerings in support of the lamas, practices, and the second phase of our Stupa Project. A link will be sent after an offering of any amount.

Schedule

Friday April 11 to Thursday, April 17

time (Central Time, UTC-6)	puja
9:00–10:00 AM	ཟབ་ཏིག་སྒྲོལ་མ། Green Tara
10:30–12:00 PM	མགོན་པོའི་བསྐང་གསོལ། Mahakala Practice 1
2:00–3:30 PM	མགོན་པོའི་བསྐང་གསོལ། Mahakala Practice 2
4:00 – 5:30 PM	མགོན་པོའི་བསྐང་གསོལ། Mahakala Practice 3

Schedule for KC16 pujas onsite in Wadsworth, IL, USA from April 11 to April 17, 2025
Click here to see the start time in your local time zone.

Saturday, April 19th, 2025

time (US Central Time, UTC-6)	puja
10:00–12:00 PM	ལོ་ནག་བཅོས་བུམ། Vase Ceremony

Schedule for KC16 ceremony onsite in Wadsworth, IL, USA on April 19, 2025
Click here to see the start time in your local time zone.

Be Inspired by the Lineage of the Karmapas

We feel very fortunate to take this next step as part of creating a place for pilgrimage, study, and practice of the Dharma, the Kagyü, and especially the lineage of the Karmapas. In particular, to commemorate and be inspired by the life and teachings of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. May all be auspicious!

Karmapa Khyenno!

It is All in Our Hands – 37 Practices – Session 14

Wishing everyone onsite at KC16 and online on Zoom a good morning, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering resumed guiding our practice and continued his commentary on The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva as taught by Ngulchu Tokmé. Looking at verse 18 and 19, the question to ask ourselves is: How to take loss and gain onto the heroic path of compassion?

The Heroic Intention of a Bodhisattva

Part of our śamatha practice is to always connect with the intention to seek enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings–bodhicitta. At the beginning of our session, our resident teacher stressed the heroic quality and the importance of this intention. It is heroic since we open our hearts to all sentient beings. We do so with a sense of gratitude since they have supported us in one way or another in the world of samsara, from beginningless time. The importance can be seen in the eighteenth verse:

“Even when I am made destitute, people constantly berate me,
And grave illness and evil spirits strike me,
To take on still the suffering and misdeeds of all beings for myself Without losing heart is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
Quoted from: A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg.

“Without losing heart,” Acharya pointed out, refers to bodhicitta or heart of awakening. Why is this important? “If the intention of benefiting others is not present from the very outset, we will not be able to take hardships and suffering onto the path,” he said.

“Why me?” is Not the Question

Usually, when we face difficult situations like those pointed out in this verse, we think: “Why me? Why is this always happening to me?” Furthermore, we then typically blame others or are upset with the outside world. However, as a dharma practitioner, we should ask ourselves: “Is this going to contribute to the cause of enlightenment for myself and others?” Counter to our habits, we seek to make good use of adverse situations. The main point, therefore, is how to take suffering, hardships, and whatever discomfort in our lives, onto the path. How do we make use of them in our practice?

The Manure for Enlightenment

In the Mahāyāna sūtras, the Buddha illustrated the notion of taking any situation onto the path with cow dung. Like farmers use this to enrich their fields, bodhisattvas use all conditions, no matter what difficulty they encounter, as a way to further their practice and use it to attain the state of omniscience–buddhahood.

What if others are free from such difficulties? Rather than thinking about why they have what we are lacking, we should remember that we are engaging in the practice for their sake. We wish them to be free from any kind of hardship and discomfort. Seeking to free them from suffering, we take everything onto the path, not only our own difficulties but the difficulties of others as well. We do so “without losing heart.”

While this is surely not an easy practice, Acharya emphasized that we can always start with small steps. Slowly we will be able to take the challenges we encounter onto the path and exchange our happiness with the suffering of others.

Appreciating Wealth and Renown with Mindfulness and Mental Alertness

While the eighteenth verse speaks about taking loss onto the path, the next verse, nineteen, teaches about gain. In A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg, it reads:

“Even if I become renowned and everyone pays me respect,
Or should I obtain wealth like that of Vaishravana,
To see the wealth of samsara as having no essence
And not have pride is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

The verse points to Vashravana, the god of wealth, according to traditional buddhist teachings. However, Acharya shared that we can simply think of rich people in our present-day world. Regardless of who we think of, and however wealthy that person may be, the same message expressed in this verse applies: It is impermanent.

The impermanent nature of things applies equally to material wealth as to other things that Ngulchu Tokmé is pointing to with this verse: being renowned, respected, and so forth. This is not difficult to understand. We can find countless examples of people who gained a lot at some point in their lives and later on lost everything again. This does not mean that such things are inherently bad. It means that they simply have no essence.

What does this mean for us as a dharma practitioner? If we gain some kind of renown and wealth, we can appreciate that. However, through the qualities of mindfulness and being mentally alert, we can remain aware of their impermanent nature and develop contentment.

Blowing Up the Balloon of Pride

The benefits of mindfulness and mental alertness, or introspection, is that it will prevent pride to arise in our mind-stream. Acharya Lhakpa taught that pride can be compared to a balloon. “The more we blow up the balloon of pride, the farther away we will be from attaining the qualities of nirvāṇa and the state of buddhahood.”

Pride contaminates, Acharya explained, the vessel or container which holds the qualities of enlightenment. Therefore, no matter whether we have a lot of wealth, are renowned, and so forth, or not, we always need mindfulness and introspection. Seeing that phenomena are impermanent, changing every second, will reduce our pride. If, he said, “we will contaminate the container of enlightenment of pride, that will neither benefit ourselves nor others.”

Does It Make Any Sense to You?

The main practice of the Mahāyāna, for all who tread the heroic path of compassion, is to always consider how to take happiness and suffering, comfort and discomfort, onto the path. More particularly, bodhisattvas take the mental afflictions like attachment, aversion, and ignorance–the three poisons–onto the path. Therefore, Acharya Lhakpa said: “We don’t have to get rid of the mental afflictions. Rather, we make use of them to move farther along the path.”

As a way to conclude our session, Acharya reminded us of something he mentioned before: Sometimes we may look at a verse and think, ‘How is this possible? It does not make any sense!’ However, instead of immediately responding in that way, we should carefully investigate and contemplate these verses, wondering: What is the point here? What does make sense to me? “If,” our resident teacher said, “you find one verse that makes sense to you, that helps you to transform your mental afflictions into path, that’s it. That’s your practice.”

Thanking everyone onsite and online for joining our practice, we dedicated the merit.

Karmapa Khyenno!

16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Practice: Every First Saturday of the Month

To find happiness and support on the path to full awakening for the benefit of the world, we need to rely on spiritual friends. The practice of guru yoga is, therefore, a profound method to connect with the heart of our teacher and lineage of dharma masters, to receive blessings and help us move away from negative qualities, and cultivate positive qualities in terms of body, speech, and mind.

Rainfall of Nectar

The Guru Yoga Sadhana, “Rainfall of Nectar,” composed by the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, is elegantly concise and contains the essential pith instructions of the Vajrayana tradition.

Every First Saturday of the Month

Every first Saturday of the month, we will offer an opportunity to practice His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga together. Regardless of whether you are familiar with the practice and who you consider to be your personal teacher, this practice allows us to connect with the enlightened qualities of the Buddha and, in a way, truly become the activity of the Karmapa, embodying the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion.

What: 16th Gyalwang Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Sadhana
When: First Saturday of the Month, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM Central Time (Chicago, USA)
Where: Online on Zoom and Onsite at KC16. (Liturgies will be screenshared)

Registration, Offerings & Donations

Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our monthly 16th Gyalwang Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Practice. You can join for free by selecting a ‘free ticket’. If you would like to make a donation to support the stupa project or make an offering to our teachers and resident monastics, please choose an option below.

Fulfilling Our Aspirations

After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email.

We warmly invite you to join us and together fulfill all aspirations for ourselves and others through our devotion and virtuous activities.

Karmapa Khyenno!

Responding with Love and Appreciation – 37 Practice – Session 13

Why do we always begin our Meditation for All session with meditation? Following our usual opening chants and the practice of śamatha, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering offered some reflections about the practice of meditation itself. He then continued with his commentary on the sixteenth and seventeenth verse of Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, which discuss how to take ingratitude and contempt onto the path of compassion.

Helping Others through Meditation

At the beginning of our meditation session, we bring to mind the main reason for our practice: to attain genuine freedom, enlightenment, for the benefit of all others. Thinking about the current hardship of people close to us as well as the current state of affairs in the world, we connect with the feeling and wish for everyone to be free from hardship, pain, and any form of suffering.

Meditation, our resident teacher pointed out, is the tool that allows our wish to benefit others to become reality. “Without meditation, no matter how much knowledge we would gather, we will not be able to kindle the light of enlightenment.” Why is this so?

Although it may not be easy to say what change you would gain through meditation, Acharya Lhakpa shared, “I have full confidence that I am staying out of many troubles because of the practice of meditation.” We have the aspiration to attain enlightenment to free ourselves and others from suffering. To accomplish this, we need to know ourselves very well. Only this allows us to work with our own mind-stream, so we can change things for the better. By not doing so, there would be no reason to expect any good result to arise. Acharya, therefore, said:

“The practice is mainly to learn how to work with our own mind-stream. It’s not about changing others or merely teaching the Dharma. Practicing the Dharma is about improving ourselves. As we improve ourselves, we naturally become more capable of benefiting others.”

Changing our Habitual Mindset

You may wonder what engaging in the path of the Mahayana might look like. This is what is taught by Ngulchu Tokmé, in a pithy manner, in the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. The essence of the Mahayana teachings are all encapsulated in his brief instructions. The next verse shows the sixteenth practice:

“Even if someone I cared for like my child
Should act as though I were their enemy
Like a mother toward her child stricken will illness
To love them even more is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

This verse, like the others before, is also about working with our own habitual tendencies. Our current mindset was likened by Acharya Lhakpa to a “trading mindset” or “business mindset:” “If I do good to you, then you should do good to me.” So, if a person harms me, we tend to wish that person to be hurt and inflict harm in return.

However, if we want to attain the state of buddhahood, and benefit ourselves and others, even if someone we have treated well were to act as if we were their enemy, we should not retaliate or even think badly about such a person. In fact, if that would be our response, we would be further and further removed from our goal. Instead, what would help us, would be to look closely to what extent mental afflictions are still present in our mind-stream since they are what we need to clear away.

Extraordinary Love for Everyone

In this sixteenth verse, Ngulchu Tokmé doesn’t just say we should not react in a harmful manner in return to someone who hurts us; rather, we should “love them even more,” he writes. Why? Because this person is also moving away from liberation and the state of buddhahood through such negative actions which, in turn, are driven by the afflictive emotions.

Acharya Lhakpa commented that this does not mean we should let this person continue to harm us or anyone else. This would actually be a sign of lacking compassion since you would let such a person continue to engage in unwholesome behaviour.

The example given is that of the love of a mother for her child. While it may look harsh on the surface, a mother or any caretaker never intends to inflict any harm but always does good and acts for the benefit of their child —just like a teacher does with his student, Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche notes in his commentary to this text.

The question we should be asking ourselves when we face the kind of situation Ngulchu Tokmé writes about is what would be the right thing to do given the current circumstances? What is beneficial in this present situation? Should we allow some distance or perhaps engage in some mindful conversation?

Cutting the Chain

Part of the message of this verse is that we need to let go of the so-called three spheres: subject, object, and actions. Acharya Lhakpa compares this to a linked chain and the example of giving someone (object) a slice of pizza (action) you consider to be yours (subject). If we don’t let go of these three spheres or do not cut this chain, it will bind us more and more in the world of samsara. Furthermore, it will prevent us from practicing compassion, especially if someone we care for is harming us.

Since the practice of the Mahayana consists of gathering the accumulations of merit and wisdom, we need to engage in acts of generosity and so on (merit) without holding onto the three spheres (wisdom). Only this will lead us to enlightenment, whereas acting out of anger and any disturbing emotion will only put us at an increasingly longer distance from it.

Breaking Our Ego-Clinging

While the sixteenth verse can be described as taking ingratitude to the path, the seventeenth verse is about taking others’ contempt to the path. The first means that even if someone we care for does not show us any sign of kindness or give us something in return, we still respond with genuine love. With the second, we regard someone of equal status or lower in some way or another, who speaks to us in a harsh manner, as an actual teacher:

“Even if someone my equal or lower
Should insult me influenced by pride
To place them with respect, as if they were a guru,
to place them at the crown of my head is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

In his commentary, Acharya Lhakpa said that our spiritual teacher, guru, or lama, is usually pointing out our mistakes or what we are lacking. He/She/They will tell us what to study and practice to change this. In a similar way, a person who is saying something painful is also pointing out something to us. What is that? It is that pride is present in our mind-stream.

This pride or ego, and the kleśas and nonvirtuous actions that follow from it, will again remove us further and further from attaining enlightenment. Since attaining enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings is the goal on the path of the Mahayana, we do not react or retaliate in such a situation as that is in immediate contradiction with our aspiration. Instead, we realize through such situations that mental afflictions are still very much part of our own mind-stream, and that is what we should learn to work with.

This verse, our resident teacher explained, shares the same message as all the previous verses: They all point to what is lacking in ourselves to attain enlightenment. This is a key point of Ngulchu Tokmé’s text, in the words of Acharya:

“Recognizing mental afflictions within our mind-stream and learning how to work with them and taking them onto the path is part of the practice of a bodhisattva. There’s no need to regard these afflictive emotions as something bad or negative. The question to ask ourselves is: How can we clear away these mental states, which keep us from attaining our goal, and use them in such a way that they help us reach enlightenment?”

This is a main point of all the verses that Acharya Lhakpa kindly told us to keep in mind at the conclusion of our session. Thanking everyone for joining us, we dedicated the merit together, and he expressed the wish for everyone to have a wonderful rest of the day, no matter where they are. We look forward to seeing everyone again for our next session.

Karmapa Khyenno!