Reminding us of the importance of the posture of our body – to sit straight yet relaxed – and the posture of mind – simply being aware – our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa, began the practice of śamatha, or calm-abiding meditation, for those who were present onsite and also online. Following our practice together, Acharya addressed questions that participants kindly had submitted about our previous sessions.
Knowing our capacity
In our last session, Acharya Lhakpa taught about the fragility of our compassionate heart at the beginning of our journey, likening it to a sprout. The first question spoke to this topic by asking what to do when we are exposed to a harmful environment.
While bodhicitta means having the aspiration to become fully awakened for the purpose of liberating all sentient beings, merely having the thought of benefiting others is not sufficient. Acharya pointed out that we also need the capacity to skillfully act on that intention, otherwise we risk the possibility of causing harm. He illustrated this with the example of medical professionals who are trained to help someone who sustained broken arms and legs in a car accident. The medics are those who can really help in that situation.
Bodhisattvas who have achieved one of the ten bodhisattva levels are the ones who can turn a harmful environment into something beneficial for everyone. They may even give their eyes and parts of their bodies away, if that is of benefit. As ordinary people, until we are further along the path, our focus should be on giving rise to bodhicitta and ensuring it does not lessen but rather increase. As beginners, if we see that engaging with or staying in a harmful situation is not beneficial, then it is better to keep some distance, while praying that we can change things for the better in the future. That, in itself, can be considered courageous.
Daily recitations
The second question asked about the way to integrate the 37 verses into formal practice and daily life. Acharya Lhakpa said that if we could recite these verses daily, slowly and while considering the meaning of the verse, that would be of great benefit.
He offered the suggestion to take one verse every week, using the first verse as an example: What is the meaning of that verse? How is that verse true? What are the reasons for our human lives being precious and what are the methods to make it meaningful? Reflecting on the verse in this way, no doubt, will be beneficial.
Connecting our understanding of these verses with the meaning of the dharma, Acharya emphasized that the teachings of the Buddha, like the instructions from the Mahāmudrā tradition, are all about taming and training our mind. Without worrying about how others are practicing, we should instead focus on our own mind and the cultivation of bodhicitta, for those are at the heart of the verses and instructions.
Letting go of the three spheres
The third and final question posed to our resident teacher asked about the challenge of understanding how to be compassionate and full of loving-kindness without becoming attached. In his response, Acharya indicated that it is indeed far from easy to have loving-kindness and compassion without attachment, at the beginning. “No matter how much we try not to have attachment,” he said, “there is always some level of attachment involved.”
So, what is the method to develop attachment-free loving-kindness and compassion? In the tradition of the Mahāyāna, the method to cultivate this is to begin extending loving-kindness and compassion to those close to us: our mother, family, friends, and relatives. Slowly we can strengthen and expand our loving-kindness and compassion so that it includes those we don’t like or consider enemies and beings we don’t know at all. In this way, we can slowly move towards loving-kindness and compassion without attachment.
Furthermore, Acharya Lhakpa pointed out that on the Mahāyāna path, our practice always needs to include the skilfull method of loving-kindness and compassion together with wisdom. “If the method is without wisdom,” he said, “then it actually becomes the base or ground for suffering.”
The wisdom taught in the Mahāyāna is that of loving-kindness and compassion free from the three spheres. With all our actions, we typically think in terms of the object of the action, the agent, and the act itself — these three spheres, however, are what we need to relinquish. Bringing method and wisdom together in this way will eventually help us accomplish attachment-free compassion.
Heart of awakening, breath of compassion
By way of making a bridge between the questions and the next verse, Acharya made a general comment about the 37 practices of a bodhisattva—that they are all a guide for us to give rise to bodhicitta, or the heart of awakening. This quality found within us needs to be activated and expanded, not just for our own benefit but for all sentient beings. Once we activate this heart of awakening, we must keep it alive.
For example, he said, when a heart is shocked and requires revival, it needs to start beating again. Similarly, after activating bodhicitta, we must sustain it with the breath of compassion. Just as breathing supports a heartbeat, our continuous practice of compassion sustains our bodhicitta.
Redirecting our minds
Acharya pointed out that to activate and sustain bodhicitta we must understand that “we need to mobilize the strength of our mind in the right direction and direct our thoughts toward wholesome and meaningful actions.” The mind serves as the key support for this process.”Without it,” he said, “there is no other avenue to give rise to bodhicitta.” This shows the immense capacity for our mind to cultivate bodhicitta, and the potential to benefit ourselves and others.
However, Acharya continued, our worldly habitual patterns distract us from accomplishing this purpose. We often fall under the influence of kleśas, especially the three poisons—desire, aversion, and ignorance—which form the foundation for all other mental disturbances. As a result, our minds become habituated to instant gratification instead of seeking full awakening to liberate ourselves and all sentient beings. A main point of studying Ngulchu Tokmé’s The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva is to tame and train our minds so that we can overcome these tendencies and redirect ourselves toward the heroic path of compassion.
Following the Q&A, we turned our attention to the fourth verse, which emphasizes impermanence.
Seeing and accepting impermanence as change
The fourth verse reads as follows:
“We will part from every loved one we have long associated with.
We will leave behind the wealth we have so diligently amassed.
Our consciousness, the guest, will cast away this body, the guest house.
To let go of this life is the practice of a bodhisattva.” (4)
– from: A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)
The verse itself, Acharya Lhakpa noted, is very clear and not difficult to understand. The most challenging part is how to bring it into practice. How to internalize this verse?
When we hear about impermanence, we often feel a bit depressed. However, Acharya commented that it is just change taking place from moment to moment. “Understanding impermanence is to accept the change happening around us,” he said. Gampopa extensively discusses this in Ornament of Precious Liberation, where he outlines four kinds of impermanence:
- Overall Impermanence: This refers to the universe and planets, which contemporary science confirms they are constantly moving and changing.
- Subtle Impermanence: The constant changes in seasons and other natural cycles.
- Outer Impermanence: The impermanence of others, such as our relatives and friends.
- Inner Impermanence: This concerns our own personal impermanence and is about looking within ourselves.
While it may feel challenging to reflect deeply on this, the main practice taught in this fourth verse is to see and embrace the truth of impermanence.
Why hold onto things that fall apart?
The four lines in this verse teach about impermanence, which is directly related to death. They show how all phenomena of samsara are compounded and, at some point, will fall apart. No matter how strong our connections and attachments are, there will come a day when we will be separated from everything we hold onto. This is true for our family, relatives, and friends; this is true for our possessions; and this is also true for that which is closest to us—our own body.
If this is so, does “letting go of this life,” identified in the fourth line as the practice of a bodhisattva, mean we must abandon everyone and everything worldly or neglect our bodies? Acharya commented, “That is not the point here. The true meaning of ‘letting go of this life’ is to understand that all phenomena—people, things, and our own bodies—will eventually fall apart. Realizing this allows us to let go mentally while still engaging fully with the world in a meaningful way. If we have this understanding, then all is fine.”
Concluding words of advice
To conclude, Acharya Lhakpa shared that these verses can be difficult to comprehend at first. Therefore, it is important to read and contemplate them. If, for example, we contemplate and connect with the deeper meaning of this fourth verse, then it will help us let go of this life as being permanent and to embrace change, which will be of benefit to us and to others. “So, please read this verse,” he said, “be your own teacher, and practice.”
