Tag Archives: 37 Practices

Moving in the Right Direction – 37 Practices – Session 22

How do we know we are moving in the right direction, moving forward on the path of a bodhisattva? Together with commentary on the last verses, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering offered some general reflections on how to put Ngulchu Tokmé’s instructions in the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, into practice. 

Śamatha Without Mental Engagement

Bringing to mind those near to us, as well as those far away, seen and unseen, we began our practice of śamatha by generating the heart of awakening–bodhicitta. Even if all we can do is touch the intention to seek liberation for the benefit of all, there is still great benefit. 

While connecting with this intention, we emphasized gentle attention to the movement of our minds, not mentally engaging our thoughts, following them. By gently bringing our awareness to our body, our breath, or the space around us, we can slow down and start to be present in this moment. Together with our intention, this helps prepare the ground for listening and contemplating the dharma. 

Reducing Our Self-Fixation

Whether we look from the perspective of the three baskets (Vinaya, Sūtra, and Abhidharma) together with the tree trainings (ethics, concentration, and wisdom), or whether we look through the lens of six pāramitās, the teachings of the buddha all point to the same goal: to remove the fundamental ignorance in our mindstream through giving rise to wisdom. 

This confusion consists of grasping at a self or self-fixation. This is the root of the three poisons (attachment, anger, and ignorance) which, in turn, give rise to 84.000 mental afflictions. For this reason, Acharya explained, the Buddha taught 84.000 dharmas. These can be considered as antidotes to counter each individual mental affliction.  

The last practice Ngulchu Tokmé points to, which is the culmination of all practices, is this ultimate purpose: to free ourselves from conceptualizing the three spheres that lead to self-interest and grasping at a self. 

“What I am trying to say is that the main goal of our practice is to attain the wisdom of selflessness. Whatever practice we engage in, if it helps us reduce our self-fixation, we are moving in the right direction. But if our practice leads to greater self-fixation, we may not be going the right way.” 

Acharya Lhakpa reminded us of something taught by the great kagyü master Gampopa. If we do not practice the dharma in harmony with the dharma, we risk falling into the lower realms. With that reminder, our resident teacher turned to the final verses of Ngulchu Tokmé’s text.

No Coffee Table Dharma

The first of the four concluding verses reads as follows: 

“Following after the speech of the noble ones
And the meaning of what is said in the sutras, tantras, and treatises, 
I have put forth these thirty-seven practices of a bodhisattva 
For those who wish to practice the bodhisattva path.” 
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg) 

This seems very clear: Ngulchu Tokmé points out he did not make these practices up by himself but followed the teachings of Buddha Śākyamuni and the commentaries composed by the great Indian masters. Thus, as Acharya put it, this text is not “coffee table dharma.” 

Ngulchu Tokmé’s text continues with the following verse: 

“Because I am of inferior intellect and little training, 
I do not have any poetic verse to please the learned ones. 
Yet, because I have relied upon the sutras and the noble masters’ speech, 
I believe these practices of a bodhisattva to be without error.”

Acharya explained that in this verse we can see how Ngulchu Tokmé relied upon the direct words of the Buddha and the commentaries of the noble masters, who all taught the same Dharma: how to tame and train the mind. Based on their teachings, Ngulchu Tokmé attempted to put exactly this into writing in these 37 verses, which point to the practice of a bodhisattva. 

Big Vision, Small Steps

Like the previous verse, Ngulchu Tokmé indicates in the next as well that he is aware that his capabilities are fairly limited: 

“Nevertheless, because it is difficult for someone like me with an inferior mind
To fathom the vastness of bodhisattva conduct, 
I pray the holy ones will forgive
All faults, such as contradictions and irrelevancies.” (e)

In his commentary on this verse, Acharya explained that we may sometimes feel confident that we can help all other sentient beings. However, apart from the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, we are far from understanding the interests and mental dispositions of others–let alone those all sentient beings, who are taught to be as limitless as the sky. 

As Acharya continued, he noted that Ngulchu Tokmé recognizes his limitations and writes that he described the practices of a bodhisattva only to the best of his ability. Since it is quite possible that these verses may contain “contradictions” or “irrelevancies,” he humbly asks the Buddhas and bodhisattvas for forgiveness if that is the case.

Like Ngulchu Tokmé, we need to recognize our own limitations. This does not mean we should not have a vast vision or great aspirations. After all, on the path of a bodhisattva, we strive to attain buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. However, we need to take small steps. What matters is to get closer and closer, step by step. This is what our practice should be like. 

Practicing Wisdom and Compassion

Ngulchu Tokmé concludes with a dedication prayer and writes: 

“By the virtue of that, may all beings
Through the supreme bodhicitta, both ultimate and relative,
Become like the protector Avalokiteshvara, 
Who does not abide in the extremes of samsara or nirvana.” 

In this verse, Acharya pointed out that Ngulchu Tokmé writes about both ultimate bodhicitta and relative bodhicitta–wisdom and skillful means (or compassion), respectively.

Since the noble Avalokiteśvara possesses both of those qualities, he “does not abide in the extremes of samsara or nirvana.” For this reason, Ngulchu Tokmé prays that this text, and engaging in the practices of a bodhisattva described in these verses, may be the cause for all sentient beings to become just like him.  

Making Progress

At the conclusion of our discussion of this text, it becomes clear that our practices is essentially about cultivating two qualities: wisdom and compassion. In other words, we are encouraged to develop relative bodhicitta (compassion) and ultimate bodhicitta (wisdom). Of course, we may not be able to fully engage in and or realize the results of these practices right away. 

Acharya offered his apologies for any confusion his explanations may have caused, and expressed his sincere wish and prayer that our exploration of Ngulchu Tokmé’s text will support us in making progress on the path of a bodhisattva–slowly, step by step. 

Although we have a question-and-answer session next time, with this prayer we concluded the our reading of the text and dedicated the merit of our practice.

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!

Taking a Step Back – 37 Practices – Session 12

With snow falling at Karmapa Center 16, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, guided meditation from our shrine room and we discussed the fifteenth verse from Ngulchu Tokmé’s 37 practices of a Bodhisattva. How can we take denigration or criticism to the path? Especially in this twenty-first century, our resident teacher said we need to learn to take a step back and slow down before we react. 

Breathing In, Breathing Out

Before starting our usual śamatha practice, our resident teacher offered some instructions about the posture of our body (straight yet comfortable and relaxed) and the importance of generating the wish for our meditation session to become the causes & conditions for all sentient beings to attain enlightenment (bodhicitta). He highlighted how we can use our breath as a vocal object: 

“Just be aware of breathing in, and breathing out. The air flowing through your nostrils. Just simply be aware of your breath. Whenever you find you are distracted, simply bring your mind back to that awareness.” 

While sitting, Acharya Lhakpa said, we can repeat this again and again. 

Great Aspiration Means Fewer Difficulties

Turning to Ngulchu Tokmé’s text, Acharya Lhakpa first made some general remarks about the path of the Mahayana. When a person makes a commitment to attain enlightenment for all sentient beings means that such a practitioner has a bold or great aspiration. As a consequence, any kind of difficulty will become less important. Therefore, “on the Mahayana path, no matter what difficulties you face, we take or use them as a path to attain enlightenment,” Acharya said. 

Verse fifteen points to taking criticism or denigration to the path: 

“Even if several people in the midst of a crowd
Should reveal my hidden faults and speak harsh words,
To hold them to be my spiritual friends
And bow to them with respect is the practice of a bodhisattva.” 
(Quoted from A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg) 

Embracing Criticism as a Spiritual Friend

If someone criticizes you or reveals your hidden faults, Acharya Lhakpa commented, we should consider this person a spiritual friend. Even if we don’t have any hidden faults at the moment, we could think as follows: “Right now, I am not involved in any nonvirtuous actions like telling lies or killing. But I risk doing such things in the future. Therefore, this person is actually helping me to be more mindful and conscientious.” 

Another way of thinking about this is to consider that the person who is criticizing me is under the influence of negative emotions. These make the person blind in the sense of not seeing reality and, thus, not having the wisdom to see clearly. 

Either way, what this verse teaches here is that “instead of reacting to any kind of action right away, we should take a moment to observe and contemplate. We should give ourselves time to step back and look at the situation clearly instead of reacting immediately.” 

Slowing Down

Acharya Lhakpa shared various examples from his own life to illustrate how in this twenty-first century we indulge in instant gratification and little patience. Driven by social media, instant messaging, and so forth, we react instantaneously, especially with emotions like anger. 

The things we say, the emails we write, and any kind of action we engage in, our immediate emotionally-driven responses lead only to further trouble and regret. Therefore, instead of retaliating, we should not react. In fact, we should not only consider a person who denigrates us as a spiritual friend but take all such conditions onto the path. 

If we are not able to do this at the beginning, Acharya Lhakpa pointed out what we could do first: “Even if you fall into that kind of situation. Once you cool down, you should reflect on the situation. How did I respond? Is my practice working? Am I able to transform negative emotions and take them onto the path?” Our resident teacher continued saying that “if we are able to control ourselves from the very beginning, this might not only help ourselves, this will also help the person who criticizes you.” 

Seeing our Faults

Spiritual friends are not always nice. Nor do they always praise us. In fact, if teachers would only say good things to us, it would lead to a stronger ego and a growing sense of pride. This would kill the seeds of enlightenment, so to speak. Therefore, be it our teacher or someone else who reveals our faults or shortcomings, we should “bow to them with respect.” 

This does not mean, Acharya clarified, that we need to go, find this person, and literally bow to them. We can just bow mentally with a sense of appreciation (for this) to those who have pointed out our faults. 

Inner Journey as Our Practice

This fifteenth verse is not very difficult to understand. Ngulchu Tokmé has explained the practice of the bodhisattva in a very simple manner. The difficult part is to internalize and take this into practice. What this means is that we should be disciplining ourselves. While telling someone what to do or not to do can sometimes be helpful, the first and foremost thing, Acharya explained, “is how to discipline yourself and take things onto the path. The practice of the Mahayana is an inner journey to improve your own practice, and working with your own mind.” 

During a short question-and-answer session, Acharya stressed again how disciplining ourselves is very difficult because of our very deep habitual tendencies. These are not easily overcome. Yet, he said, 

“If we work diligently, if we work mindfully, with awareness, then we might be able to overcome our habitual tendencies. Then, we may not need to accumulate wisdom and merit for three countless eons and attain enlightenment in this lifetime.” 

In response to one of the questions, Acharya Lhakpa emphasized that the most important thing in practice is our intention. Even if the immediate situation might not seem to improve, we do not need to be discouraged. Instead, we should be appreciative of our intention and diligent efforts to move closer to enlightenment. “We keep the candle lit and are still going strong. That is something to appreciate.” 

KC16 About to Start Groundwork

Acharya Lhakpa concluded our session with a few remarks about developments at KC16. He mentioned that we are planning to start the groundwork very soon and get things ready to build a temple and parinirvana stupa to commemorate His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, and expand our activities further to study, contemplate, and put the teachings of the Mahayana, especially those of the lineage of the Karmapas, into practice. 

Dedicating our merit, may this and all our practices be of benefit! 

Karmapa Khyenno!

Intermezzo: Embracing Genuine Dharma Practice: Observing and Directing the Mind

Following our opening chants, we began our śamatha practice by establishing a firmly grounded yet balanced posture. Everyone was invited to look at the movement of  mind, which might be drawn to thinking about activities before our session or pulled towards what might follow. Without any judgement, we can practice śamatha through simply seeing this movement. In case the mind is attracted to any present sensory input such as sound, smell, memory, feeling, or something else, we simply notice it. In this way, along with being in touch with our body, we turn inward and observe the movement of mind. 

Once the mind starts to rest, we then can direct  its movement by giving rise to the thought of awakening. We connect with that intention, thinking: “May the stream of this mind be oriented towards buddhahood, towards awakening, for the sake of all other beings, without exception.” Sitting together is part of putting this into practice. 

Contemplative Meditation: When do We Practice?

One of the key functions of śamatha practice is to create a space for contemplating, allowing us to look deeper into the movement of our mind and the life that flows from it (when we take illusory thoughts to be real). During our meditation, everyone was invited to lightly reflect on the question: In which moments during a day do I feel I am practicing the dharma? Are there moments when I feel I am on the heroic path of the bodhisattvas? 

All participants were asked to consider three aspects of practice: how we think about it (seeing), how we sense it emotionally (feeling), and how it interacts with our surroundings (living). We ended our contemplative meditation by asking ourselves if any insight stood out, and then simply let go, and sat  at ease.  

After a brief conversation, we continued with commentary by and advice from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, in Traveling the Path of Compassion, in which he put the question of practice at the heart of his teachings about the first verse: a precious human existence. 

Having the Freedom to Practice, Today

The first practice of a bodhisattva pointed out by Ngulchu Tokmé in this verse is that of hearing, contemplation, and meditation. His Holiness notes that we can think of the first as the desire to practice, the second as a way to gain certainty, and the third as the method to bring this into experience. He emphasises the importance of practicing now when we have the freedom to do so. 

Before our session started today, there was a brief informal conversation about wildfires, snowstorms, earthquakes, and similar natural circumstances. Along with a heart of compassion, wishing all affected to be safe and receive the support needed, the teachings also remind us there is no guarantee that our current conditions will remain supportive. What seems stable today might not be so tomorrow. Therefore, reminding us of Acharya Lhakpa’s commentary on this verse, we need to seize the opportunity to practice once it appears to us. 

Real Signs of Practice

His Holiness emphasizes the importance of understanding what genuine practice means by recognizing our freedom and sincerely wishing to practice,  To illustrate this, he recalls a story from the Kadampa tradition, the lineage to which our text, The Thirty-Seven Practices, belongs. During our session, the story was retold in detail, raising the question about the genuine practice of dharma. Below is a brief summary: 

There is a  person who is really determined to follow the dharma path and engages in practices like circumambulation (doing Korra), reading scriptures, and recitation. Each time he does so he encounters a Kadampa master, (most likely Atīśa’s main disciple Dromtönpa), who is offering words of praise while also asking: Wouldn’t it be better if you practiced the genuine dharma? 

This person decides to practice meditation as well. Yet, he receives the same questions and feels at a loss. “If none of these practices is considered dharma practice, then what is it?” The Kadampa master points out the answer by saying: “To cut through your attachments. That is the practice of Dharma.”

In his commentary, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa offers similar advice in the context of Ngöndro practice. He shares that he often hears people speak about the difficulty or ease of this practice, while others speak about certain special experiences. Meaningful as those may be, similar to the Kadampa master, His Holiness says: “The real sign of our practice should be how we work with our afflicting emotions.” 

Reflecting on these examples, it was pointed out during our session that any practice, including Korra, reading scriptures, recitation, and so forth, can all be a method to cut through our attachments and, more generally, work with our afflictions or mental disturbances. When we do so, each of these can become the genuine practice of the dharma. In addition, following His Holiness’s commentary, we need to go beyond separating our minds from dharma and bring these together. If we want to generate bodhicitta, for example, it can only arise in this moment, not in any other moment or somewhere else. It needs to arise in this mind right now, which is where bodhicitta can be present.

Making our Meditation Sessions and Sleep Matter: Two Pieces of Advices

In his commentary on the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, His Holiness refers to a Tibetan saying that can be understood as “bringing flesh and bone together,” meaning we should become one with our practice, in every aspect of our daily lives. In a teaching on the life of the Eighth Gyalwang Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje, he also emphasizes that genuine dharma practice consists of working with and changing our minds. Since our mind is with us 24/7, our practice is also 24/7. Not paying attention to our mind could, he taught, result in non-virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind. So, how do we practice throughout the day? To this end, His Holiness offered two practical pieces of advice. 

  • Before ending our formal meditation sessions, to prevent our practice from leaving us as swift as a finger snap or fading slowly , we could tell ourselves: “After I finish this session, throughout the rest of the day, I will try to retain the flavor of this experience and state of mind.” 
  • Before going to sleep, we can reflect on what our day was like. What did we do during the day? What was virtuous and what was not? “When we have separated one from the other, we can make a commitment that the next day we will try to increase positive actions and decrease negative ones.” If we can go to sleep in this way, His Holiness notes, “our sleep will not be useless or without purpose; it will turn into a positive state of mind, and thereby the power of what is virtuous will increase.” 

With these two practical pieces of advice from His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, we brought this session to a close and ended with dedicating the merit. In our next session, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering will continue his commentary and teachings on Ngulchu Tokmé’s text, resuming with the eighth verse.

Intermezzo: Following in The Footsteps of the First Karmapa

Our first session of the international New Year, 2025 was dedicated to commemorating the parinirvāṇa anniversary of the First Karmapa, Düsum Khyenpa. His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, shared a beautiful verse on Facebook, on January 3rd. While it is difficult, if not impossible, to capture the profoundness and beauty of His Holiness’s writing in Tibetan, we wrote an English translation for our session, which we read together:

“Water cascading from the ocean of all that can be known in the three times
Flowing into a single vessel of omniscience –
The great sage who takes in the whole universe of appearance and existence at once,
Glorious Jetsün Lama, today I fondly remember you.”

— Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Resting our Minds, Opening our Hearts

Since Acharya Lhakpa Tshering will not resume his teachings on The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva until January 19, we began our session by contemplating the verses covered so far, along with additional quotes from the sūtras and commentaries by His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa and His Eminence the 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche. Before discussing those, we started with the usual practice of śamatha (calm-abiding). 

Reminding ourselves of the importance of our physical and mental posture, everyone present was encouraged to sit comfortably in an upright position—firmly grounded yet relaxed, not minding the past nor the future, resting in the present moment. Sitting with a sense of ease, everyone was invited to open their hearts and give rise to bodhicitta. Paying attention to the movement of our minds–what to do when there are a lot of thoughts and distraction or when we lose our mindfulness because of being sleepy–we practiced śamatha to let the mind settle. As Acharya Lhakpa usually says, simply be aware. 

The Thirty-Seven Practices: A Lamrim Text

In his introduction to A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, Christopher Stagg writes about the format of Ngulchu Tokmé’s root text, which follows the lamrim, or stages of the path teachings. This means it stands within the long lineage of the Kadampa tradition, considered to be first taught by the great master Atīśa (c. 982–1054) who wrote the foundational text Bodhipathapradipa (In Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་ལམ་གྱི་སྒྲོན་མ།), In English: Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment). 

Ngulchu Tokmé is a later commentator in this lineage, which traces back to Atīśa via the great Kadampa teachers Chekawa, Sharawa, Langri Thangpa, Potow, and Dromtönpa, Atīśa’s main disciple. Like Atīśa, Tokmé’s text follows a key aspect of the lamrim teachings: He categorizes the various practices progressively based on three types of beings’ or (humans’) ability–lesser, middling, and great. In verses 8, 9, and 10, he points to these, which Acharya Lhakpa will likely comment on in his upcoming teachings. 

It seems a somewhat auspicious coincidence to pause and contemplate verses 1 to 7. What we have covered so far can be taken as a collection of preliminary practices with one single wisdom intent: turning the mind away from saṁsāra and towards the Dharma. This ends with the verse about taking refuge–both outer and inner–as explained by Acharya Lhakpa during our previous session. 

Lojong: A Pithy Set of Verses for Everyone to Cultivate Bodhicitta

Ngulchu Tokmé also stands in the tradition of lojong. Christopher Stagg explains that this genre “concentrates specifically on the cultivation of relative and absolute bodhicitta, and on working practically and directly with one’s personal situation in everyday life.” 

To make the teachings workable for everyone, including those who have little time to study the many sūtras and commentaries, the text is composed in verse form and is only forty-three verses long. We can see this quality of the text already reflected in the first seven verses, which speak directly to our hearts. In his commentaries, Acharya Lhakpa further highlighted this by often relating the verses to our own lives and today’s world. Below is an overview of summaries of his teachings: 

The Meaning of the Instruction “Give Rise to Bodhicitta” 

With verse 10 pointing to the Mahayana path, the remainder of Ngulchu Tokmé’s text presents the practices for those with the third and highest kind of (human) ability. Here, cultivating bodhicitta is put at the very heart of each instruction. While Acharya Lhakpa will surely elaborate further on this in upcoming sessions, we briefly looked at a definition of the widely used term bodhicitta. 

In the great Kagyü master Gampopa’s Ornament of Precious Liberation, as translated by Ken Holmes and edited by Thupten Jinpa, bodhicitta is defined as follows: 

“The ‘thought of awakening,’ an altruistic resolve to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.” 

Looking carefully at this definition, we can see that it is characterized by an object–the full awakening of buddhahood, and a purpose–the fulfillment of other’s welfare.

Furthermore, bodhicitta is typically divided into two parts, often translated as relative bodhicitta and ultimate bodhicitta. Whereas the first relates to the altruistic resolve, the second is about the direct realization of the emptiness of the fully awakened mind. 

What is called relative bodhicitta is again divided into two, described by Gampopa as follows: 

  • Aspiration bodhichitta: the wish to attain the genuine thought of awakening.
  • Engaged bodhicitta: the actual training in the thought of awakening. 

At the beginning of our practice, we are typically invited “to give rise to bodhicitta.” Knowing the above may help us to understand what that actually means, realizing that it is probably already a great sign of accomplishment if we genuinely feel the wish to attain the thought of awakening (aspiration bodhicitta). Acharya Lhakpa’s usual instruction is, therefore, illuminating and greatly supportive: “Give rise to positive thoughts, thinking ‘may this practice be a cause for all beings to attain enlightenment.’” 

Practice Brings Scriptures to Life

After delving a bit further into the background of the text and the thread of bodhicitta running through all verses, we had another look at the second opening verse: the purpose of the composition. 

In a commentary by the contemporary Kagyü master Sangye Nyenpa, only available in Tibetan and translated especially for Meditation for All, the meaning of “sources of benefit and happiness” is highlighted in connection with “depends on understanding their practices.” What does this mean? First, he posed the question: “How are the perfect buddhas the sources of benefit and happenings?” This is about the fact that the Buddha not only came to the world but that he also taught the genuine dharma, “without it, there would be no genuine dharma for us to practice to begin with.” 

So, we have the great fortune of a Buddha who came to our world and taught the dharma. However, that is not enough. Sangye Nyenpa somewhat playfully notes that we could stack many scriptures of the Buddha’s words together, yet, if we never study and contemplate them, forget about putting them into practice, that would be entirely pointless. 

On the other hand, if we engage with one single scripture, it could remove our mental afflictions and deal with the root of our confusion. “If we somehow separate the dharma from ourselves, putting one thing here and another there, so to speak, there is no benefit whatsoever.” Therefore, Ngulchu Tokmé points out the practices of the perfect buddhas so we can engage with those. 

I Have Given You the Lamp, but You Must Walk the Path

To further support the explanation given above, Sangye Nyenpa frequently quotes from the sūtras. During today’s session, we contemplated two phrases from the sūtras. Translated into English, the first reads as follows: 

“I have shown you the methods of liberation. Yet, know that freedom depends upon yourself.” 

Sangye Nyenpa comments that these two lines encompass all dharmas (in the sense of the  teachings of the Buddha). It illustrates that the Buddha taught what to reject–misdeeds,and what to adopt–virtue. He also taught how to attain freedom and traverse the five paths and ten bhumis. Yet, Sangye Nyenpa humorously comments: “The Buddha can’t just throw a stone in the air and then suddenly everyone is liberated.” Liberation, he says, depends on us. For that, we need to practice.

The second line from the sūtras says:  

“You are your own protector; you are also your own enemy.”

This is closely related to something Acharya Lhakpa also explained during one of our previous sessions. We may think of others as our protector or enemy. We may think that the hell realms, and so forth, are somewhere out there. We may think other forces lead us to fall into darkness and misery. However, as these words of the Buddha indicate, it is not like that. When we are very angry, our resident teacher noted, “hell is right there.” In this way, we are our own enemy.

This also means that if we engage in studying, contemplating, and meditating, as the very first practice of a bodhisattva, and work through the three higher trainings, then we can attain liberation and Buddhahood. In that sense, we are our own protector. 

In concluding today’s session, we summarized Sangye Nyenpa’s commentary by saying that we must know the practice and put it into action ourselves, otherwise we will not be able to accomplish the genuine Dharma. Reflecting on direct words of the Buddha and connecting them with Atīśa’s teaching, we can say that, like Ngulchu Tokmé with our text, they have given us the lamp, but we need to walk the path. 
Noting that we will do a contemplative meditation and look at commentary from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, during our next session, we ended today’s Meditation for All with the dedication of merit: May we follow in the footsteps of the First Karmapa, and all attain the state of omniscient Buddhahood.