Tag Archives: Progress

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!

Cultivating an Expansive Mind and Boundless Heart on the Spiritual Path – 37 Practices – Session 8

Acharya Lhakpa Tshering welcomed everyone onsite and online and led us in the practice of śamatha (calm-abiding meditation). Reminding us of some key points during this practice, our resident teacher emphasized the importance of openness and relaxation. In particular, he gave instructions on how to relate to our breathing during meditation, saying:

“If your breathing is shallow, let it be shallow. If your breathing is deep, let it be deep. Don’t try to alter your breathing because you are doing meditation.” 

What is important is to simply feel and be aware of our breath as it comes in and goes out. This practice helps bring the mind to the present moment and allows us to stay with present awareness. 

Three Beings or Capabilities: How to Make Progress on the Path? 

During our previous Meditation for All session we spoke about the eighth verse from the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, written by the great Tibetan master, Ngulchu Tokmé. This verse, Acharya Lhakpa reminded us, speaks about those beings who fear the sufferings of the lower realms and seek to maintain the happiness of the realms of humans or gods. As a sidenote, he mentioned that we can think of gods as beings who live,  perhaps, in a high-end neighbourhood but still remain in the cycle of saṃsāra, falling down into lower states when their merit is exhausted. 

Acharya stressed that while beings who pursue the comforts of the higher realms are described as “lesser” or “inferior,”  this has little to do with looking down on or criticizing them. It is more about the capability of a person engaging in practice. The next two verses describe the path of the middling and supreme beings, respectively, illuminating how to make progress. 

The Middling Being or Capacity: Seeking Personal Liberation

The ninth verse shows the practice of the middling beings or those with a middling capacity: 

“The pleasures of the three realms, like dewdrops on a blade of grass, Are objects that perish in an instant. 
To strive for the supreme state of liberation 
That is never changing is the practice of a bodhisattva.” 

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

The person with this middling ability understands that the happiness of all three realms is like a dewdrop on a blade of grass: without essence, impermanent, and ever-changing. This includes the form and formless realms. 

This is similar to what Acharya taught during previous sessions about the lower realms reflecting our mental afflictions; the form and formless realms also do not point to some kind of place “out there.” They refer, instead, to a state of mind that is accomplished through meditation practice. In this case, while these states of mind may be free from  attachments and material desires, they are still within saṃsāra. Clearly seeing this, middling beings strive for the never-changing state of liberation. 

Leading us in an analytical meditation practice, Acharya Lhakpa helped us to understand how the happiness in our human lives is indeed like a dewdrop on a blade of grass. While the beings with lesser ability are content with the comforts of human life and/or the higher realms, those with middling capacity realize samsaric happiness to be like a dewdrop during a serene early morning–beautiful, perhaps, but disappearing with the slightest vibration or sunlight. Because they want to get out of this trouble only for themselves, this is known as the path of the middling beings. 

The Path of the Mahāyāna: Connecting with Other Beings

The next verse from our root text concerns the third and highest capacity, and was translated by Christopher Stagg as follows:

“From beginningless time, my mothers have loved me. 
If they suffer, how can I worry about my own happiness? 
Therefore, in order to liberate sentient beings, which are boundless, 
To engender bodhicitta is the practice of a bodhisattva.”

The way of thinking taught in this verse, Achara Lhakpa explained, is that we have taken birth again and again since time without beginning. This being so, all beings have been our mother at some point and kindly have taken care of us. Therefore, with a feeling of gratitude and understanding of the equal importance of all beings, we seek complete enlightenment for the benefit of everyone and not narrowly limit ourselves to personal liberation. 

If we find it difficult to relate to this notion of beginningless time, rebirth, and/or considering all beings as our mother, Acharya pointed out that the key point is about making a connection. Seeing someone as a caring mother is like an example. We could also think in the following way: Yesterday was our past life, today is the present, and tomorrow will be a new one. Contemplating our existence in this way allows us to realize how our well-being depends on countless others. Without them, we wouldn’t even be able to survive.

To connect with other sentient beings, we can bring to mind someone–a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, anyone we feel close to–and cultivate a feeling of an intimate relationship. Taking this approach, we practice loving-kindness and compassion. This is the foundation of the Mahāyāna. “Without this practice, there would be no path of Mahāyāna,” Acharya said.

Bodhicitta as Supreme Ability: Boundless Compassion

Slowly we begin to understand the equal importance of all sentient beings. Generally, Acharya Lhakpa shared, we have the habitual tendency to think in limited ways and are oftentimes not able to practice loving-kindness and compassion for a certain individual or group of beings. We might even have the desire to benefit others, but only to a certain degree. “I want to be kind to all sentient beings, except that uncle. Something like that,” he said.

In contrast, those with the supreme capacity are able to open their hearts for all sentient beings. Not thinking in terms of “mine” and “yours,” or any other kind of limitation, their compassion is beyond measure. The Four Immeasurables that we usually recite at the beginning of our session relate to this. Making our minds as vast as the sky and opening our hearts in this way, is known as giving rise to bodhicitta–the heart of awakening. 

Beings with middling capacity share the same wisdom. They see that all samsaric happiness is like a dewdrop on a blade of grass. However, they lack the methods of loving-kindness and compassion for all sentient beings. Therefore, those who bring method and wisdom together, are known as supreme beings who practice the way or vehicle of the bodhisattvas. 

A Guide on the Path

Summarizing verse eight, nine, and ten, Acharya shared his own understanding of these verses. Rather than thinking in terms of classes or categories of different beings, Ngulchu Tokmé teaches us about our motivation for our practice and offers a guide to progress on the path. 

First, we contemplate the suffering of the lower realms and strive for the happiness of the higher ones. Second, we develop the insight that this happiness is only temporary and impermanent. Thus, we strive for unchanging liberation, which means that we will not fall back into the world of suffering. Seeing the narrow or limited quality of this individual liberation, we open the heart of compassion and strive for complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. 

“The intention of the author here is not to describe three different beings but rather how one can develop on the path through practicing step-by-step, and making progress to attain complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.” 

With this note, Acharya Lhakpa concluded our session and expressed his gratitude to everyone onsite and online for joining. Next Sunday we will continue our meditation practice and contemplate this further. After dedicating the merit, Acharya wished everyone a wonderful day.