Under the power of mental afflictions like attachment and anger, we usually cause only harm to ourselves and others. In his commentary to verses 31, 32, and 33, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering explained how Ngulchu Tokmé points out how to prevent harming others and practice for the benefit of everyone instead.
Commenting on verse 29 and 30 of Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa, explained how meditation can be considered the preliminary practice for wisdom to arise, and the main purpose of dharma practice to be realization of selflessness.
Given that a single moment of anger can destroy all the virtues that we have gathered for a very long time, and given that laziness only prolongs our time in the world of suffering (saṃsāra), we need to counter those with the practice of patience and diligence, respectively.
Commenting on verse 25 and 26 of Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva during our Sunday Meditation for All, Acharya explained how the practice of the Mahāyāna path is fully encompassed by the six pāramitās or perfections.
Starting with the practice of generosity and discipline, he taught how these can be understood as a way to work with our mental afflictions in an increasingly subtle manner.
If we would realize, Acharya Lhakpa explained, that objects seemingly “out there” or things appearing inside our mind are like rainbows and dreams, then attachment and aversion would no longer get hold of us, and we would neither cling to our happiness nor feel lost when we are facing pain and hardship.