Dharma – Karmapa Center 16

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.

Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses

Would you like to get closer to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings through learning the Tibetan language? Do you wish to deepen your understanding and practice of the Dharma by learning basic conversations and reading in Tibetan?

In our weekly online Tibetan Language Class, we focus on daily conversations and, especially, Dharma discourses. Mirroring our Sunday Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice series, we practice reading and discussing basic Dharma conversations in Tibetan, and explore the art of translating them into our native languages.

What: Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses
When: Every Sunday, 7:00–8:30 PM Central Time (Chicago, USA)
Where: Online on Zoom

You are warmly invited to join our Tibetan Language Class.

Registration and Offerings

Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses. You can join for free by selecting a ‘free ticket’. If you would like, you can make a donation to support our Stūpa Project or the facilitation of this class. After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email.

Learning Together

Some prior knowledge of Tibetan—or a willingness to do some (supported) self-study of the basics, especially the alphabet and pronunciation—is needed to make the class meaningful for you and for all participants.

Recordings will be made available to all participants to review or catch up when you can’t join live. If you have any questions about the class, please email communications@karmapacenter16.org

We look forward to studying, contemplating, and discussing the Dharma together through basic Tibetan discourses, and to deepening our practice on the Dharma path—for the benefit of all.

ཀརྨ་པ་མཁྱེན་ནོ།།

Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice

Inspired by the Kagyü lineage and the lives and teachings of the Karmapas, as well as our recently discussed Ngulchu Tokmé’s classical text, The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, we continue our practice under the guidance of Acharya Lhakpa Tshering through meditation and dharma talks.

Sunday Meditation for All

In each Sunday Meditation for All session, we will practice śamatha (calm-abiding) meditation together and study and contemplate on Dharma topics. We explore how to live in harmony with the instructions of the great Dharma masters to find genuine freedom, happiness, and positive change.

What: Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice
When: Every Sunday, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM Central Time (Chicago, USA)
Where: Online on Zoom and Onsite at KC16

Whether you are new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, familiar with the Dharma or just curious, our Sunday sessions are open to everyone. We hope to support each other in cultivating wisdom and compassion on the path to freedom.

Please join us onsite at KC16 or online!

Traveling Together

For online access, please register here for the Zoom link. Our sessions will begin at 10:30 am and finish around 11:30 am Central Standard Time (Chicago, US). Can’t join us live or would like to review a session? Please know that we’ll share recordings that you can (re-)view for 21 days on a dedicated resource page.

It’s our great honor and joy to practicing and traveling the path to freedom, loving kindness, and compassion with you and many others around the world, under the guidance of our resident teachers and the blessings of the lineage of the Karmapas.

Registration and Offerings

Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our Meditation for All: Dharma Talks & Practice. You can join for free by selecting a ‘free ticket’. If you would like, you can make a donation to support our Stūpa Project or make a teaching offering for Acharya Lhakpa, KC16’s resident teacher, of any amount. After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email.

KC16’s Tibetan Language Class: Basic Dharma Discourses

Alongside our Sunday morning Meditation for All dharma talks & practice, we will study and practice basic dharma discourses together with some colloquial conversations, grammar, and the art of translating Tibetan in our weekly Tibetan Language Class. Everyone is welcome to join.

Learn more and register here

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!

How to Alleviate Suffering? – 37 Practices – Reflection and Tonglen

How do we let the Dharma blend together with our minds and apply the teachings to our real lives? How can we go beyond the words and put them into practice? During this Sunday’s Meditation for All, we both reflected on the verses covered so far and the commentaries we heard from Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, and continued our training to become courageous bodhisattvas.

Present in This Moment

Following our opening chants, we started with the practice of śamatha, as usual. One way to think of this practice is as a method to let go of whatever happened before this moment and not anticipate what may be after.

By establishing a proper posture of body, speech, and mind, we bring our awareness to the present moment. This allows us to connect with the aspiration to seek genuine freedom, well-being, and happiness, for the benefit of every person, all sentient beings, without exception.

From within this posture and presence, we listened carefully to each verse of Ngulchu Tokmé’s Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva covered so far. This way, we not only became more familiar with the words but also could connect more easily with their meaning.

Reflecting on the Structure and Purpose

Based on the root text, commentaries of Acharya Lhakpa Tshering and Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen, together with teachings by His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, given in New York in 2018, we looked at the structure of the text and purpose of the various verses covered so far. A slide that was screen-shared during our practice is given below, showing the overview that was discussed.

*Partial overview of Ngulchu Tokmé’s structure of the text and purposes of the verses based on commentary up to verse 14*.

Looking Beyond the Written Page

Adding to the brief summary, a few points were highlighted and illustrated with teachings by the Karmapa. His Holiness, for example, shared that sometimes people practice for a long time without any particular signs of progress. He emphasized that the main reason for this is that “they did not allow their minds to be penetrated by or blend with the preliminary practices.” This refers to the instructions expressed by Ngulchu Tokmé in verses 1 through 7. His Holiness continued by saying:

It is easy to read through a text and get a basic understanding of it, but it is more difficult to apply these teachings to your real life, which is not as simple as reading a book. Life is not that easy because things are mixed—the good and the bad, the true and the false come along together. Since life is difficult and not clear cut like a book, we need to spend time making use of our analytical mind and our wisdom. Life is not an open book, so we need to look beyond the written page to what is happening around us.”

Becoming Courageous Bodhisattvas

Looking more closely at verses 10 through 14, which Acharya Lhakpa ended his commentary on last week, we contemplated the importance of integrating the practice of both even placement and subsequent attainment, or meditation and post-meditation. We can also think of this as practice, both “on the cushion” and “off the cushion.”

As Acharya Lhakpa also has shared at various times, His Holiness teaches how the words in these verses are easy to understand but harder to put into practice. These verses also show that if we want to pursue the bodhisattva path effectively, we should be free of our attachment to the eight worldly dharmas and not focus on experiences of pleasure and pain. In that sense, the bodhisattva training can be considered difficult:

“It requires a great deal of courage and confidence, which do not arise out of nothing but come with gradual training. It is not the case that just because we adopt the Mahayana dharma, we suddenly become courageous bodhisattvas. We have to put ourselves through a process of rigorous training and study.”

Practicing Tonglen to Train Our Minds

A practice that is pointed to by Ngulchu Tokmé, and also discussed by Acharya Lhakpa and Acharya Lama Tenpa, is that of tonglen (“giving and taking”). Towards the end of our session, we engaged in this practice as a way to train in bodhicitta.

In brief, if we see and feel that all beings are worthy of affection as they, too seek happiness and not wish to suffer, we can cultivate the genuine heart of willing to sacrifice our own happiness to alleviate the suffering of all others.

Supported by visualizations and using the movement of our breath, we can deeply connect with the wish to cherish others both on and off the cushion. This includes those close to us as well as those we feel have wronged us, or those we consider to be the source of the undesirable circumstances we have experienced or face currently.

Cherishing Others, Taking Suffering

In this way, we take whatever we do and whatever situation we find ourselves in onto the path, and deeply train our minds. We can check our practice of tonglen by asking ourselves questions like: Do I feel I reduced my attachment to the eight worldly dharma? Am I more able to take on the faults and suffering of others? To what extent do I cherish others more than myself? No matter how small a step, we should look for signs of progress on our path to ensure we train correctly.

To conclude our session, and whenever we practice tonglen, we can express the aspiration: “May I cherish others more than myself; may I take their suffering upon myself.”

Following the dedication of the merit from our practice and the wish that everyone enjoy a wonderful week ahead, everyone was warmly invited to join again next Sunday to listen to Acharya Lhakpa’s commentary on the next verses and continue our training to become courageous bodhisattvas.

Karmapa Khyenno!

Please Don’t Wait to Practice – 37 Practices – Session 10

Our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, began our session by guiding our meditation practice once again. He offered some brief instructions, starting with giving rise to the enlightened intention: “Whatever positive outcome we may get from this practice, may it be the seed of enlightenment for myself and all sentient beings.” Together with a comfortable posture of body, the most important point is to meditate with a simple awareness of the present moment, without any pressure. Not being able to relax would otherwise turn into an obstacle. “So, relax,” he said.“Just be simply aware.”

Post-Meditation: Dealing with the World

The verse Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen taught last week, verse eleven, focused on the practice of Tonglen (giving and taking) from within meditative equipoise (a deep state of concentration). The next ten verses are about post-meditation practice or subsequent attainment, starting with verse twelve:

“Even if someone, out of intense desire, steals all my wealth,
Or makes another do so,
To dedicate my body, possessions, and all virtue of the three times
To them is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

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

Post-meditation practice starts the moment we rise from meditative practice and deal with the real world: our jobs, family, friends, or work for our center. The practice pointed out here by Ngulchu Tokmé is that of taking loss onto the path.

Bringing Enlightenment Closer Through Dedication

The first two lines, Acharya Lhakpa commented, have a very deep meaning. While the verse speaks about the person who steals our wealth as the one having great desire, this is something that applies to all of us. Perhaps the degree differs, but we all have some kind of desire and continuously try to accumulate things for ourselves.

As a consequence, if someone steals what we have accumulated, we typically react with anger and seek revenge. When we do so, Acharya pointed out, we are no different from the person who stole our wealth. “That will not make us a bodhisattva,” he said.

What bodhisattvas do, in contrast, is to dedicate everything they have to this person–their body, wealth, and all merit–and wish that negative karma does not come to fruition for him/her/them. Instead, we wish this person to be free of suffering. “If we are able to dedicate in this way, it will bring our full enlightenment closer to us,” Acharya said.

Making Dedication Meaningful

The questions you may have, Acharya Lhakpa said, are: “Why should I be kind instead of punishing this person? Why should I give my body, possessions, and virtues I have accumulated?” What we need to do, he continued, is to change our mindset. We can do so in two ways.

One way of thinking is how all beings have either served us in some way or another in previous lives (since we have been in samsara from beginningless time) or that we perhaps stole from this person. Another way of thinking is that this person actually has no freedom or autonomy because of being under the influence or compelled by the afflictive emotion of desire. It is like the example given by Śāntideva in The Way of the Bodhisattva: if someone hits us with a stick, we will be angry with the person. But the person (or thief) here is like the stick. The intense desire (or the mental affliction) is the one controlling the action; the person/thief has no autonomy, as he is overpowered by the intense desire.

In one way or another, it shows how it makes no sense to be angry at this person and, instead, be kind and dedicate all we have to them. It is important to do that with one of these views in mind. If we would merely think, “I will give this to you,” then our dedication has little meaning.

Letting Go

In a previous verse, Acharya Lhakpa reminded us, Ngulchu Tokmé already taught that we cannot take anyone or anything with us at the time of death, including our own body, which we so dearly cherish. Therefore, a bodhisattva lets go of this life; but what about the virtue we accumulate?

As a beginning dharma practitioner, we speak about accumulating merit as a method to generate interest and a joyful mind towards practicing the dharma—just like we play games and introduce all kinds of arts to children to educate them. In this way, we think we will be getting something. This makes use of our very strong habit of wishing to accumulate things.

“However,” our resident teacher taught, “when we practice dharma, there is nothing to accumulate. We have to let go as much as we can. Doing so, we will realize emptiness and attain enlightenment.” There really is nothing collecting nor something to be collected. So, we let go and dedicate everything to other beings.

Practicing Right Now

To conclude, what is the main practice pointed out by Ngulchu Tokmé in this verse? Is it about the person who is stealing all our wealth and possessions? “No,” Acharya Lhakpa said.

“The main thought and practice pointed out is about us holding on, cherishing and being attached to our body, possessions, and all virtue of the three times. It is this that we need to let go of. If we can’t let go of that, it will turn into an obstacle for obtaining the state of buddhahood.”

“Furthermore,” Acharya Lhakpa added, “we should not wait until someone with intense desire comes and steals our wealth. We should practice letting go of our body, possessions, and virtue now.” While practicing fully and directly, truly giving these away to others, may be very difficult; what we can do right now, without a thief coming along, is to reduce our attachment and decrease our holding onto things. “Please, don’t wait till someone comes and forcefully pushes you to practice. We should engage in the practice right now,” concluded Acharya Lhakpa.

Following those words, we ended our session by dedicating the merit.

Seizing the opportunity: Embrace life’s meaning: 37 Practices – session 2

At the beginning of our second Meditation for All: Thirty-Seven Practice of a Bodhisattva session, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering kindly requested everyone to give rise to the heart of awakening – bodhicitta – and sit in śamatha (calm-abiding) meditation.

The Foundation: A Genuine Heart of Compassion

Following the practice of śamatha and before continuing our discussion of Ngulchu Tokmé’s text The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, our resident teacher reminded us that this text outlines the Mahāyāna path. Engaging in this practice means seeking full awakening or complete buddhahood to liberate ourselves and all sentient beings.

As Buddha Shakyamuni taught in the Sūtras, the only method leading to this state is through loving-kindness and compassion. These form the sole foundation before practicing anything else. What is the genuine heart of compassion? Acharya referred to his teacher, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who says “it is a genuine concern and willingness to give anything of ourselves that is necessary to alleviate the sufferings of sentient beings.” (Quoted from: https://www.shambhala.com/snowlion_articles/entering-the-trainings-in-compassion/)

This altruistic heart is indispensable foundation for those on the bodhisattva path. Following the two opening verses discussed last week, we turned to the verse that expresses the first practice: seizing the opportunity offered by a precious human existence.

Precious human life: A rare opportunity

The verse that points out the first practice of a bodhisattva is about our precious human birth as a rare opportunity, as indicated by the first two lines:

“Now we have this great vessel of freedoms and resources, so difficult to obtain.
So that we may liberate ourselves and others from the ocean of samsara.”
– from: A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg)

Acharya Lhakpa explained that just being born as a human being, according to this text, is not fully considered to be precious. It becomes precious when it offers the potential or abilility to free oneself and many other sentient beings from the ocean of samsara. This relates to the ‘freedoms and resources’ mentioned in the text which Gampopa has extensively taught in Ornament of Precious Liberation. For now, Acharya said we can understand this as an opportunity to practice the Dharma — not only to cross the ocean of samsara ourselves but also, as indicated by the example of a ‘great vessel,’ to accommodate many others.

Understanding our precious human life as an opportunity to free ourselves and many others from sufferin means that we must seize it. Why? Because this opportunity is difficult to obtain and easy to lose. Who knows when we might have it again? So, for someone with a genuine heart of compassion —bodhicitta— the question now becomes: How do we seize this opportunity?

Seizing or Missing the Opportunity

Acharya Lhakpa explained that the two last lines of this verse show us how to seize this rare opportunity to free ourselves and all beings from the ocean of samsara:

“Day and night, without distraction,
To listen, contemplate, and meditate is the practice of a bodhisattva.”
– from: A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, translated by Christopher Stagg

In his comments, our resident teacher shared that ‘without distraction’ refers to a form of samsaric laziness. While this could indicate doing nothing, it could also mean getting attached to nonvirtuous actions of body, speech, and mind. When making this samsaric distraction a habit, we risk falling into the lower realms or miserable states of being. If we do fall into those states, we will remain there for a very long time without being able to obtain the freedoms and resources that constitute a precious human existence. “That means,” Acharya said, “the opportunity knocked only once and we missed the opportunity.”

The text says to practice without distraction ‘day and night.’ Does this mean we don’t rest at all? Acharya shared that he thought it probably doesn’t mean that; instead, it suggest that we should make a continuous effort.

So, to fulfill our intention to liberate ourselves and other sentient beings from the ocean of samsara, what should a bodhisattva do? Ngulchu Tokmé teaches us clealry in this text that we need to listen, contemplate, and meditate. This, Acharya emphasized, is very important.

First of all, we listen or study the teachings of the Buddha as taught in the Sūtras, together with the commentaries and treatises of the great masters, enabling us to eliminate the darkness of not knowing. Yet, we don’t just leave it with that. As taught by Buddha Shakyamuni, we analyze the teachings like a goldsmith accepts gold as true only through heating, cutting, and rubbing. Through contemplating and thoroughly investigating the teachings, we dispel any doubts and things that were not yet clear to us.

Finally, we practice meditation. Acharya shared that we often hear that it is important to meditate. While this is true, it is essential to understand the main point of meditation: to bring whatever we understand through hearing and contemplating into practice. “To internalize whatever we have studied or practiced, that is meditation.”

In sum, Acharya commented that to liberate ourselves and others from the ocean of samsara—a great responsibility—we need to engage in listening, contemplation, and meditation to fulfill it. This is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Embrace life’s meaning

Sometimes we ask questions about the meaning or purpose of life. This verse, Acharya Lhakpa said, offers an answer to such questions. Rather than asking ‘what is the meaning of life?’ or ‘what is its purpose?,’ we could ask ‘How to make life meaningful and give it a purpose?’. This is the question answered by this verse: Through listen, contemplate, and meditate upon the teachings of the Dharma and engage in the practice of the bodhisattvas—the path of the Mahāyāna.

The freedom and resources mentioned earlier refer to the eight freedoms and ten resources. These include references to various types of rebirth in the desire realm, from the hell beings up to the devas. [include a footnote to mention all of them] While we have identified planets like Mars and Saturn, we haven’t found any hell realms, hungry ghost realm, et cetera. Consequently, many people have ask Acharya where these realms, if they indeed exist.

The Ornament of Precious Liberation and Abdhidharmakosa teach in great detail where these realms are located. However, Acharya said, trying to find these as physical realms somewhere would be missing the point. These texts all say that we are born in a particular realm due to particular kleśa (afflictive emotions/mental disturbances). Due to strong anger, for example, we fall into one of the hell realms. “We don’t have to be born in the hell realm to understand it. Whenever we encounter this kind of kleśa like strong anger, the hell realm is right there, within ourselves.” Not only will this burn ourselves, so to speak, but also others; thus, we need not look elsewhere for these realms—they exist within our own experiences.

Acharya Lhakpa continued his commentary on this by stressing that we must understand that the teaching of the Buddha is to tame and train our mind. This means that we should not be looking for a hell realm, hungry spirit realm, and so forth, outside. If we carefully consider this notion of the various realms, it is about working with our afflictive emotions or disturbed states of mind. All the teachings about this are methods to tame and train our mind. That is the most important, essential point.

By way of conclusion, Acharya mentioned again that the verse of this second session is about the precious human birth. How to make this life meaningful? Through listening, contemplating, and meditating the Dharma. As taught by Gampopa, this is not something we do stage by stage, while that is also good, but in an integrated matter. We constantly move back and forth between these three practices of a bodhisattva.

Acharya then led us in our dedication of merit: whatever merit or virtue we have gained through this practice and session, we dedicate it to all sentient beings.

Fourth Story Update: James Gimian Shares His [Video] Recollections About His Holiness the 16th Karmapa

“The 16th Gyalwang Karmapa seldom gave Dharma teachings through words but taught intensively through physical gestures and tamed beings through his mere presence. One of his major activities was to liberate all those who saw him … so there is undoubtedly great value in any visual connection made with him.”*

— His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa

During this difficult time of the global coronavirus pandemic, we can find solace and inspiration by seeing images, watching videos, and perhaps recalling one’s own experience of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa. His spontaneous and joyous actions benefited beings wherever and in whatever way conditions permitted, despite any obstacles.

We are pleased to present a way to visually connect with the 16th Karmapa by sharing photographs and videos about him. Contemplating his life and the lives of other lineage masters can benefit our mind stream and help us find the courage to open our hearts as we move through distressing times. When we benefit ourselves in this way, we are better equipped to support others both directly and indirectly.

We hope these offerings about His Holiness are indeed uplifting and an inspiration for yourself, your family, friends, colleagues and communities. We will soon include new ways to share acts of kindness so that those positive actions may ripple outward to be felt far and wide.

This week’s video features James Gimian, who first became involved with Buddhism in 1972, as a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Two years later, he held a lead role during His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s first visit to the United States for the ten day Dharma Festival in San Francisco, in 1974. In the video interview Mr. Gimian, who is the publisher of Mindful Magazine, describes how His Holiness was a vital catalyst for introducing Buddhism to the West by facilitating “the diaspora of the teachings coming to the west.”

Knowing that His Holiness was instrumental in the blossoming of Buddhism in Western culture, Mr. Gimian also recognizes how the Stupa in Wadsworth, in the Heartland of America, will serve as “ground zero for the dharma becoming deeply rooted in North American soil.”

The story of His Holiness’ positive influences on those who cared for him at the end of his life in Illinois, reminds us of the power we all have to make a difference in the lives of others and vice versa. It made us think with tremendous gratitude and prayers for the safety of the millions of brave and selfless pandemic healthcare workers around the world. We can also follow His Holiness’ example and express gratitude, kindness, joy, generosity, and compassion in our everyday interactions regardless of challenging circumstances. We can be the positive change we all long for.

We give great thanks to everyone who has generously donated to help bring this vision to fruition by supporting our campaign for the Stupa. While the campaign will continue through June, we understand that making a donation is not possible for many at this time. Should you be able to give or feel moved to support the campaign at any point, your gift will be gratefully received.

We wish you all good health and well being, and look forward to sharing more about His Holiness with you next week.

*Excerpted from Dharma King: The Life of the 16th Karmapa in Images