HEART ADVICE OF THE KARMAPA

HIS HOLINESS THE 17TH GYALWANG KARMAPA

2008
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On the Special Occasion of the First Visit of His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa to
the United States of America in May 2008

NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

Altruism Press is pleased to present a volume of selections from the songs and instructions of
the Gyalwang Karmapas. The teachings by His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa,
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, were selected from four booklets in Tibetan published by Altruism Press in
2006, which contain a number of the talks that His Holiness gave in India between the years
2002 and 2006 at his present residence of Gyuto Monastery in Dharamsala and during the
Great Kagyu Prayer Festivals (Kagyu Monlam) in Bodhgaya. Translated into English under the
guidance of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, the stainless words in this collection provide a tiny
glimpse into the rich legacy of the Karmapas throughout the centuries.

It is with great joy that Altruism Press publishes this volume on the auspicious occasion of the
first visit of the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa to the United States of America, which marks
the tangible beginning of his activity in the Western hemisphere. May this book contribute to
the continued flourishing of the Karmapa’s enlightened actions throughout the world.

Altruism Press Dharamsala March 19, 2008

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 CONTENTS

AN ASPIRATION FOR THE WORLD 5

TEACHINGS BY HIS HOLINESS THE SEVENTEENTH KARMAPA 5

The Essence of Buddhism 7

The Unerring Practice of Dharma 9

Education and Good Conduct, A Necessity for Everyone 14

The Power of Motivation 24

Karma and Motivation 25

Does Happiness Depend on External Objects? 28

The Benefit of Knowing the Reason for Our Practice 32

The Importance of the Determination to Benefit Others 36

Compassion is the Root of All Practices 39

Appreciating all Sentient Beings 41

What Blocks us from Having a Compassionate Heart 45

Nourishing our Innate Love and Compassion 48

The All-pervasive Benefit of Beings – A Meditation on Avalokiteshvara 54

The Kind Teacher We Rely On 64

For Teachers, Loving Kindness is Foremost 67

All Lineages of Tibetan Buddhism Share the Same Views and Practices 70

Harmony, Ethics, and Power 74

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Harmony Among the Karmapas and Their Heirs 77

A Mere Reflection of the Dharma Harms Beings 80

New Year, New Opportunity 81

Bodhi Magazine Interviews His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa 83

TEACHINGS BY PREVIOUS KARMAPAS 85

Three Poems by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje 86

The Suchness of Samsara and Nirvana by the Fifth Karmapa, Deshin Shegpa 92

A Commentary on Milarepa’s Song of Realization to Gampopa by the Eighth Karmapa, 93

Mikyo Dorje

An Aspiration of Bodhichitta by the Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje 97

A Song on the View Arising from Understanding and Experience by the Thirteenth 98
Karmapa, Dudul Dorje

Selected Verses Composed by the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje 104

APPENDIX: Who Is The Karmapa? 108

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AN ASPIRATION FOR THE WORLD

World, we live and die on your lap.

On you we experience all our woes and joys.
You are our ancestral home of old.
Forever we cherish and adore you.

We wish to transform you into the pure realm of our dreams.

We wish to transform you into a land for all creatures,
Equal for all and free of prejudice.
We wish to transform you into a loving, warm, and gentle goddess.

Our hope in you is so ever resolute.

So please be the ground on which we all may live
So all these wishes may come true,
So all these wishes may come true.

Do not show us the dark side of your character,

Where natures calamities reign.

In every section of our worlds land

May there thrive a fertile field of peace and joy,
Rich with the leaves and fruits of happiness,
Filled with the many sweet scents of freedom.
May we fulfill our countless and boundless wishes.

Composed in 2005 by His Holiness Ogyen Drodul Trinley Dorje, the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa

Translated under the guidance of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche by Tyler Dewar Musical arrangement
by Christopher Stagg and Tyler Dewar

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 TEACHINGS BY
HIS HOLINESS THE SEVENTEENTH KARMAPA

6
THE ESSENCE OF BUDDHISM

The essence of the Buddhist teaching is as the following verse states:

Do not commit any evil actions. Engage in excellent virtue, And tame your own mind –
This is the teaching of the Buddha.

The entire Buddhist dharma can be summarized by the instruction to give up harming others
and to benefit them. The spiritual friends of the Kadampa tradition taught that the entirety of
the Buddhist scriptures as well as the lesser and greater yanas are included in these two. Being
a ‘Buddhist" involves three things—giving up harming others, benefiting them and taming ones
own mind. If you possess these three, you are a Buddhist. A Buddhist, or someone who
practices the Buddhist teachings regardless of their particular practice, should never harm
others; should benefit other beings either directly, implicitly or indirectly through their actions;
and should not mix their physical and verbal actions with thoughts that disturb the mind, such
as nonvirtue and mental afflictions. If you can move on the perfect path of taming your mind,
are always mindful of guarding your mind and possess the proper ethical discipline to do that,
you have properly taken to heart what it means to be a Buddhist.

For human beings in general and, in particular, for followers of a spiritual tradition, the most
important prerequisite for being a Buddhist is to give rise to altruistic motivation. Each spiritual
tradition has its own distinct views, but merely holding a distinct view and studying this view
will not make the power of the teachings merge with your own mind stream and, based on
these teachings, enable you to benefit other beings. Indeed, some people can be very hard-
headed about and attached to a view. So while it is important to uphold a spiritual traditions
distinct view, if you cling to the view alone, the complete power of that teaching will not take
hold in your mind stream nor will you be able to benefit other people on the basis of that
teaching.

In conjunction with upholding the view and maintaining an altruistic attitude, a spiritual
practitioner needs to have a peaceful and serene mind. If such a peaceful, serene mind and
altruistic attitude are present in you, and if together with that you uphold the distinct view of a
spiritual tradition, you will be able to benefit both yourself and many others.

Good view is important, but there is more. Physical, verbal and mental conduct should also be
motivated by the desire to relinquish suffering and accomplish happiness—for the benefit of
others or for ourselves as individual human beings. Based on this attitude of wishing to relieve
suffering and achieve happiness, we should strive to practice altruistic thinking in our own
mind stream. Doing so will surely benefit our minds, no matter which spiritual tradition and
view we may follow. With this attitude of not harming other sentient beings, we can
accomplish great benefit for others—and this, of course, is also true for Buddhists.

Among Buddhists, many views such as emptiness, Mahamudra and Dzogchen are explained,
but the practice of the teachings does not reach its culmination merely through these views. If
you do not blend the unsurpassable cause for attaining the fruition of buddhahood—unbiased
bodhichitta—with these views, mere pompous statements, such as, ‘The view is emptiness,’
will not help you progress to the ultimate state of buddhahood and attain the state of
liberation and omniscience. We need to study and train in what is called ‘the view of the
spiritual tradition’ and make efforts so that this view will arise in our mind streams.
Furthermore, if we blend excellent conduct together with this view, it can become very
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powerful and far-reaching. Whether we cultivate it within a spiritual tradition or amid society
at large, with this combination we will create benefit and happiness for beings.

No single spiritual tradition is primordially and naturally established through the true nature of
phenomena, nor is there one put into place by some god. However there naturally exists a
need for people who create benefit and happiness in the minds of beings. Because there are
many individual inclinations among sentient beings and because the mental energy of
individual sentient beings results in many different understandings, most of the founders of
different spiritual traditions have recognized a need for diverse spiritual traditions. This is how
various spiritual traditions have come to be taught. As practitioners of one of these traditions,
it is important that we remember this original intention. In general, ‘followers of a spiritual
tradition’ are people who act in a way that brings benefit and happiness to the world. People
who follow a spiritual tradition and thus are able to cultivate well-being and happiness have
great strength; they have great energy and mental power unlike that of others. If, based on
such sincere and heartfelt mental strength, we can accomplish well-being and happiness for
sentient beings, the savageries and gross conflicts in the world today will all but disappear.

It is crucial for us as practitioners of the dharma to infuse our general attitude with this
understanding. But it is also important for those who do not consider themselves practitioners
of a spiritual tradition to have an altruistic attitude, for it will both vastly benefit others and
bring about their own welfare. When one is concerned about the welfare of both oneself and
others, isn’t that important?

We speak about ‘the fundamental nature of a spiritual tradition,’ but the deep meanings of
spiritual traditions are very vast and profound, and it is very difficult for most people to grasp
them fully. Except for a handful of holy beings in the past, few have been able to reflect on the
profound meanings of spiritual traditions. Some today may know how to reflect in this way, but
only a few are able to actually practice them. Since it is like that, I cannot teach all the profound
meanings of the dharma tradition here today. But in general, it is very important for all of us,
under all circumstances and in every situation, to keep in mind the meaning of this so-called
‘dharma’. We need to scrutinize and spur our mind in this way at all times.

Some people relate to the dharma according to their own general likings, without practicing
the virtuous aspects taught in this dharma.

Then they keep rushing along, still attached to this and biased toward that. If they do this
consistently, it is certain that one day this ‘dharma’ will become a poison that destroys the
mind. Thus it will not be a path of benefit and happiness, but rather something that creates
harm. Therefore, it is crucial for us to be mindful and to guard against thoughts that disturb the
mind. We should continuously remind ourselves of the value of advising and training our own
mind; take very good care of it, and treasure it.

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THE UNERRING PRACTICE OF DHARMA

For Dharma practitioners, practicing the dharma is our greatest responsibility, and it is the
main path that lies before us. When we speak about the way of the dharma, mainly we are
talking about the practices of listening to the dharma, contemplating the meaning of what we
have heard, and meditating upon the meaning of what we have understood. We use this way
of hearing, contemplating, and meditating in order to bring the dharma into our experience,
and therefore these three are of the greatest importance.

When we are taking up the way of dharma, so as to bring it into our own experience, we must
go by way of hearing, contemplating, and meditating. And undoubtedly all of you have done a
great deal of this up to this point already. These three are indispensable to ones practice of the
dharma. Among the three, most especially, the practice of meditation is indispensable. Why is
it that meditation is so important? The true potency of practicing the dharma consists in
taming the mind. If all we do is listen to the dharma and think about it from time to time, that
may be beneficial, but that is not going to be sufficient in order to tame our mind. Rather, to
tame the mind, we must meditate upon the dharma again and again and become deeply
familiar with it. Thus, the primary factor for taming our mind is whether or not we meditate.
That is why I wish to stress it and emphasize it. It is something all of us must emphasize and
regard as extremely valuable and important in our practice.

It is through listening to, contemplating, and meditating upon the dharma that the real value of
the dharma comes forth in that it leads one along the paths that bring about liberation and
omniscience, the complete knowledge of everything.

One may wonder how one should approach these stages of hearing, contemplation, and
meditation. How must one go about that? In what way must one develop or turn one’s mind? If
one’s intention were erroneous, then one might think, ‘Well, if I practice in this particular way,
then other people will think I’m a really fine person’ And so one might think to take up the
dharma in order to impress other people and cause them to think well of oneself. This way of
hearing, contemplating, and meditating is only focused on this life alone. It is not hearing,
contemplation, and meditation that has as its focus the benefit of one’s future lives and the
attainment of liberation and omniscience.
Therefore, if one engages in hearing, contemplation, and meditation simply for the purpose of
this life, not only will this not become a cause for the attainment of liberation and omniscience,
it will not even lead to achieving the state of a human or god in one’s future lives. Why?
Because one is simply focusing on the benefit of this life and this body alone; one is simply
striving to attain fame and renown for this very body. If one engages in hearing, contemplation,
and meditation with such a motivation, ones motivation is faulty.

So this then brings us to ask, ‘What, after all, is the purpose of engaging in the practices of
hearing, contemplating, and meditating?’ It is so that we may follow the paths of liberation and
omniscience, the knowledge of everything, and attain those states. In other words, we engage
in hearing, contemplating, and meditating so that we ourselves may become fully awakened,
may become buddhas. Therefore, whenever we engage in hearing, contemplating, and
meditating, we should do so with the thought in mind, ‘I am doing this so that I may attain the
state of buddhahood.’ This is very important.

In the time of the great Kadampa masters, there was the master, Dromtonpa, who was a direct
9
student of Atisha himself, and Dromtonpa once encountered this fellow who was
circumambulating a tsa-tsa stupa.1 Dromtonpa, after watching him for a while, said to him,
‘Well, this tsa-tsa circumambulating and so forth is great, but if you would practice the dharma
that would be even better.’ So the fellow thought, ‘What should I do? Maybe if I read some
dharma text, that would be a good thing to do.’ So he got out a couple of books and sat down
and started reading them, and Dromtonpa looked on and after a while said, ‘Yeah, reading
books is good; it’s great to read about these things, but if you were to practice the dharma that
would really be something good to do.’ So the fellow thought, ‘Well, that didn’t work too well.
So much for the tsa-tsas and the books. Let me try something else.’ So he sat down to
meditate, and he thought that this would do it for sure. He meditated for a while and then
Dromtonpa looked at him and said, ‘Yeah, meditation. Not a bad try, but it would really be
good if you were to practice the dharma.’ So, having come more or less to the end of his
resources about what he could do, the student said to Dromtonpa, ‘I made cir-
cumambulations, I read holy books, and I even practiced meditation, but that doesn’t seem to
have made it as real dharma. If these things are not real dharma, then what is?’ Dromtonpa
replied, ‘If you would cast aside your regard for this lifetime and instead focus on your future
lifetimes and strive to attain liberation and omniscience, that would be the true practice of the
dharma.’

So if you would just give up thinking about what you could do in order to make yourself famous
or in order to achieve a big name, and instead of that, dedicate yourself towards the happiness
of future lives, and not only that, but towards the attainment of buddhahood—if you do that,
then that will be genuine dharma practice. Apart from that, simply sitting there saying you are
meditating, or simply casting your eyes upon a dharma book is not going to become genuine
dharma. This is something that you need to settle completely. You need to come to a definitive
and clear and meaningful understanding of that, beyond any kind of doubt.
Earlier, I said that the practice of meditation is extremely important. However, if you were to
take that to mean that the practices of hearing and contemplating were not so important, then
that would be a mistake. These three have to be linked together, each one to the other; there
has to be a progressive relationship between hearing, contemplating and meditating. Each one
leads to the one following and depends upon the one preceding it. If we do not do it that way,
if we just approach them in a random order, then our dharma practice will never be a complete
one. So if we are actually going to meditate, then this depends on our having listened to and
contemplated the dharma beforehand.

If someone were to try to meditate without having heard any teachings whatsoever and
without having done the slightest amount of contemplation, then this would not bring forth
any result except for being something to laugh at. Therefore, we need to rely first on hearing
and contemplating in order to remove our superimpositions about how things are. If we do not
go through that process first by way of hearing and contemplating, then our meditation
becomes the meditation of a fool, as opposed to the meditation of a clever or skillful or learned
person.

There are people who think that meditation just means you sit down in some relaxed way and

1
“Tsa-tsas” are miniature stupas crafted from barley. In the Tibetan tradition, devotees on pilgrimage routes
would heap many tsa-tsas one on top of the other as a representation of the three jewels and as an object of
circumambulation.

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don’t think about anything at all; you just blank out for a couple of hours. But, if you do that,
not much is going to come of it. It will be meaningless and a colossal waste of time. You can sit
there for years, months, however long you want, but it won’t be of any benefit. So, if you want
to meditate, if any of us wants to meditate in a way that is actually meaningful, where some
result comes forth, then we have to rely upon the causes of meaningful meditation. What are
they? Hearing and contemplating.

Still, it is not sufficient for us to rely on hearing and contemplating only. After our hearing and
contemplation, it is imperative that we put the dharma we have heard and contemplated into
practice. If all we do is listen to the dharma and contemplate it without meditating, then
probably we will just develop pride from our hearing and contemplating, thinking, ‘I’m really
quite wonderful, because I’ve listened to all of this dharma, and I’ve thought about it, so I’m
very learned and skilled.’ We could come to take on wrong ideas, maybe even asserting that
the key instructions of the genuine lineage masters of the past are incorrect. There would also
be the great danger that we would come to disregard and deny the relationship between
karmic causes and results. We could make a lot of trouble for ourselves if we do not bring the
dharma deeply into our own experience.

There is a story from the life of the great Jetsun Milarepa that speaks to this point very clearly.
A patron came to Milarepa to ask him some questions and to ask for instructions. He said to
Jetsun Mila, ‘You teach the dharma to others, and you also meditate in a very disciplined and
rigorous way, but I’m not able to do both of those. I can only do one of them. Since I like just to
meditate, how would it be if I did only that, without teaching?’ Milarepa replied, ‘That would
be excellent. After all, the reason I teach the dharma to others is so that it will be beneficial to
their meditation.’

This is a story from the life of the great master Milarepa himself, which indicates the
relationship between hearing, contemplating, and meditating; it shows that the earlier stages
of hearing and contemplating are meant as a support, as a companion, as an assistant for the
practice of meditation. We have to be very careful to connect them up in the right way. In sum,
the main point is that if we practice these three together, then our practices of hearing and
contemplating will be a constant assistant to our practice of meditation; the meditation will go
well, and our experience and realization of the dharma will progress and flourish.

This is part of a larger understanding about how we go about the practice of the dharma
altogether. In order for our dharma practice to be unerring, we must approach it in stages and
have those stages in the correct order. Some people might approach the dharma by skipping
over the many practices that need to be done as preliminaries in the beginning, and instead
proceed directly to the practices of mahamudra and dzogchen. This is a faulty approach, one
that will not bring forth any beneficial result.

If one tries to approach practices such as mahamudra and dzogchen in this way, one may end
up practicing mahamudra and dzogchen for a long time, many months and years, and since no
positive result will have come about, it is possible one will take on wrong beliefs. One might
respond by thinking there is something wrong with mahamudra and dzogchen. Well, no, there
is nothing wrong with mahamudra and there is nothing wrong with dzogchen, but there is
something very wrong with the way we have been practicing them if that is the way we have
been doing things. We did not engage in the practice appropriately; we did not get all the parts
of it together; we did not apply them correctly, and so no wonder the potency, the great power
11
of these teachings, did not come forth; we did not give it the opportunity to do so. We did not
complete the various stages and sequences that would make it possible for the profound
realizations of mahamudra and dzogchen to come forth in us.

Therefore, we have to go about things in the right order. We have to set up the stages and
begin at the beginning by taking refuge in the Buddha, dharma and sangha, and then continue
on with the practices of calm abiding or shamatha and insight or vipashyana. And slowly, stage-
by-stage, we proceed to the point where we are actually ready to properly engage in the
practices of mahamudra, dzogchen, and so on. This is true for everybody: it is true for
westerners, it is true for easterners—there is no difference here. Everyone has to go about it in
that way.

This is the way that all of the learned and accomplished persons, the siddhas and the great
masters of the past, have done it, and so this is the way we have to do it also. And if we go
about it that way, it will not be a mistake and there will not be any confusion. If we practice the
dharma in an unerring and ordered way, then the real power of dharma practice will definitely
come forth and our practice will have a wonderful result.

The main point is that if we’re going to be real practitioners of the dharma, then we need to
become independent practitioners, people who actually know how to practice by learning how
to be quite direct and honest with ourselves. We might think we can always be sitting in front
of our teacher or master and practice the dharma by continually receiving advice from him or
her about what we should and should not do. But if we are always in need of advice, then
someone who can give us advice is not always going to be there for us.

Therefore, we have to learn how to pay attention to what is going on in our own minds and
figure out what are our faults, what are our qualities, and what is the way to distinguish
between faults and qualities. Instead of constantly looking to something that is outside of us,
we have to develop the ability to pay attention in a mindful way and an insightful way to what
is actually happening within us, so that we can become capable, autonomous practitioners of
the dharma.

If what we want to do is become a buddha, then we definitely need our teachers’ instructions
and the path of dharma. However, buddhahood is something that requires more than just the
dharma and our teachers’ instructions. We need to apply energy to these from our own side. If
we do not put our own energy into the dharma and work to transform our own minds, then we
will not become enlightened through instructions alone. It is much more important that we
bring out what is potent and resonant within us by learning how to develop our own minds. We
do this by applying these kinds of personal instructions to ourselves directly and by looking
evermore closely at our own minds—purifying them constantly by applying mindfulness and
awareness. In this way, we will be able to abandon whatever kind of nonvirtue we have
become involved with, and we will be able to accumulate virtue in a vast and continuous way.

This reminds me of an encounter between the Jetsun Milarepa and the Indian master Padampa
Sangye. They discussed their understanding of view and meditation for a long time together,
back and forth. Milarepa would explain his view to Padampa Sangye, and Padampa Sangye
would likewise present his understanding of the dharma to Milarepa. And in the end, the
conclusion they came to is that they did not have any need of each other after all—‘I do not
need you and you do not need me, we both know our practice and that’s that,’ and they just
12
went on about things. So, that is how we have to become, to arrive at the point where we do
not have to constantly rely on somebody else, but instead actually know how to practice the
dharma.

Beyond that, I am very glad to see that students in the West have begun to learn the songs of
the Jetsun Milarepa. I, as well, have been studying these dohas with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
Rinpoche and have sung some of them with him a few times. These songs have a very deep and
powerful meaning, and there is no question that if we become deeply familiar with them, then
they will do something very helpful for us. Through singing and putting them into practice again
and again, we will bring forth a unique energy and unique experiences in our minds. By doing
this continually, we will become just like Milarepa himself. There will be no difference between
oneself and the great Jetsun, and then a good result will really have come about.

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EDUCATION AND GOOD CONDUCT, A NECESSITY FOR EVERYONE

THE PATH OF STUDY

Generally, it is said that everybody should study diligently to obtain a good education. There
are many reasons why it is necessary to do so. The main reason is given in Maitreya’s
Sutralankara:

Having accomplished training in the five sciences, One attains enlightenment.

There is no attainment of enlightenment Outside the training in the five sciences2.

In a similar manner, the great Sakya Pandita said:

If one does not study and arrives at omniscience, How would there be truth in cause and effect?
Cause and effect are unerring—
That is the distinctive quality of omniscience.

In the same way, all the scriptures of previous gurus and the words of the Buddha speak of the
various reasons for exerting oneself in scholastic training and the necessity of learning and
contemplation. In any event, outside of training and study, there is no spontaneous way to
reach enlightenment and gain knowledge. Therefore, we should work diligently as it is
necessary to study.

With the necessity for study being established by such reasoning, we should keep in mind that
we are all sentient beings and that none of us wants to suffer. In spite of the fact that
individuals may experience greater or lesser suffering, from the viewpoint of omniscient
wisdom, in the final analysis, the cause of suffering is dependent on ignorance or lack of
understanding. If you need to generate an antidote to that ignorance or lack of understanding,
you must generate its opposite, awareness-wisdom. In giving rise to awareness-wisdom one
understands that all phenomena arise or do not arise in accordance with certain causes. The
cause of that awareness-wisdom is the former training in abiding in the awareness of what is to
be known. As a consequence of such training, one will give rise to awareness-wisdom. The
belief that this awareness-wisdom arises without a cause and without conditions is held by
nihilists outside the Buddhist tradition. Buddhism maintains that what is termed awareness-
wisdom would never arise in such a manner. Therefore, owing to the necessity of study, each
individual must make their own concerted effort.

To cite another reason for education, our teacher, Buddha Shakyamuni, spent three countless
eons exerting himself in studying all that is to be known. This particular account is well known
among all the stories of his successive lives. In his final life, he was prince Siddhartha. Even
though he was the son of a king, he studied all the well-known traditional sciences at that time
in the noble land of India. Having done so, he comprehended everything and became the
Buddha. If he had been a fool not knowing anything, it would have been impossible for the
conditions of his enlightenment to come about. In brief, it was through study that he gained
that level of understanding and obtained the state of omniscience.

2
The five traditional Indo-Tibetan sciences are grammar, logic, craftsmanship, healing, and the Buddhist teachings.

14
In a similar manner, since we are all followers of the Kagyu tradition, it is very important for us
to look up with reverence at the life examples of our Kagyu forefathers. In looking at the life
stories of the Kagyu forefathers, we can only come to realize that they perfected both study
and practice. There was not a single individual who entered mountain retreat without any
understanding whatsoever. For example, the Indian Mahasiddha Tilopa was also an authentic
scholar and so was the Mahapandita Naropa. Earlier in India there were the famous scholars
known as the Six Ornaments and the Two Supreme Ones3. Later in the snowy land of Tibet
during the time of the later spread of the doc-trine, the perfect teachings of the Buddha were
translated. At that time in India there were six perfect scholars known as the panditas of the six
gates and Naropa was one of them.

In one of the songs of Marpa Lotsawa, who brought the Kagyu teachings to Tibet, it is
mentioned that he spent two thirds of his life in India. Thus, he probably spent almost forty
years staying in India. During that time he studied, contemplated, and meditated. Among
study, contemplation, and meditation, his life story mentions that he primarily studied and
contemplated. Thus, he was a scholar too.
Some people think that the lord of yogins, Milarepa, was not particularly educated, but still
attained enlightenment in one lifetime. Except for practicing meditation, the great texts do not
mention how he studied and contemplated. If one looks at this superficially, Milarepa’s
biography appears to be fabricated. However, if one analyzes this carefully, Milarepa would not
be able to attain enlightenment in one lifetime without study and contemplation.

In the history of the teachings called ‘Vast Illumination’ by the Pema Karpo of the Drugpa
Kagyu, we see that Milarepa first performed sorcery and killed many people. After that he felt
remorse with regard to his evil deeds and it took approximately fifteen years before he went to
Marpa Lotsawa. During that time, the venerable Milarepa turned his mind away from samsara
and was an individual with powerful yearning to practice the authentic dharma. Therefore, we
can say with one hundred percent certainty that he would not have remained idle. During this
short period we can say that Milarepa must have practiced owing to the clear historical
account and associated evidence of erudition. In this way, Milarepa first studied and
contemplated and then cut through doubts and misconceptions. Finally, he practiced
meditation, and wisdom arose from within. This is how it happened. When you look at the
biography of Milarepa, it says that he received the full vase of oral instructions from Marpa.
The account does not merely say that, after having met Marpa Lotsawa, Milarepa was only
constructing many buildings. Thus, his study and contemplation were vast. In this way,
Milarepa established the tradition that combines into one river the teachings of the Kadampa
tradition and Mahamudra.

The incomparable great charioteer of the Dagpo Kagyu lineage was the great Gampopa. During
his time, the best scholastic tradition was that of the Kadampas. Gampopa studied earnestly for
many years with numerous Kadampa teachers and became a perfect master of this tradition.

From among his many students, the principal disciple, who displayed the most vast enlightened
activity, was Pagdru Dorje Gyalpo. If you look at his life story, he studied all of the Kadampa
texts and became a learned scholar. Not only that, he became a perfect master scholar of the

3
The six ornaments are Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubhandu, Dignaga, and Dharmakirti. The two supreme
ones are Shakyaprabha and Gunaprabha.

15
illustrious Sakya tradition. Therefore, there is no need to say that he was a great scholar.

As for the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, he was a master in valid cognition, Madhyamaka,
and all the teachings of Maitreya. In brief, he perfected the training of a great scholar in all of
the sciences and subsequently became a great siddha.

In a similar way, Jigten Sumgon, the founder of the Drigung Kagyu, and many other Kagyu
forefathers first became learned scholars and then became siddhas. None of our forefathers
entered into dark mountain caves in the manner or way of fools who do not know anything. In
this way, all of them were both learned and accomplished in realization. Thus, we too must
study and gain understanding—this is important.

Some people may have critical thoughts here. How does the Karmapa study? Since he is the
Karmapa, he has good food and a good place to sleep, so probably he is very comfortable. It is
possible to think that, but I am not always able to study intensively. Since situations change, my
everyday schedule will vary. However, most of the time when I study, I can almost say that I
study twenty-four hours a day. Sometimes when many people come to visit, I will perform
some perfunctory study. Still, I think it is necessary to study continually and well and as much
as I can.

In brief, in thinking about the reasons, in thinking about the scriptures, in thinking about the
life stories of our forefathers, and in thinking about our understanding, we see how very
important it is to study and to be educated.

So, what is it that we should study? These days, the most abundant teachings of the completely
perfect sutras and tantras of the Buddha are preserved in the Tibetan language and nowhere
else. Thus, it is of utmost importance that we study the Tibetan language. Again, the backbone
of the language lies in the above-mentioned traditional sciences. Therefore, the study of the
traditional sciences is very important. In particular, for practitioners, the main focus of the
study of the Tibetan language and sciences is the Buddhist dharma.

The reasons why it is certainly very important for us to study the Buddhist dharma are as
follows. Long term, during our entire life, and short term, during a twenty-four-hour day, we
would like to be comfortable and avoid feeling nervous and irritated. In order to do so, we
need to be able to handle all our feelings, regardless of whether good or bad things are
occurring. If we do not study the teachings of the Buddha, it will be very difficult to accomplish
this. In a similar way, we wish to have a good life and a good direction to it, and we wish to be
happy and enjoy well-being. If you think it is necessary to have such a life, probably there is no
other way but to study the Buddha’s teachings.

In a similar manner, in later lives, in order to obtain happiness and the ultimate state of
enlightenment that is the source of all abundance, having merely commonplace knowledge will
not be of benefit. Merely knowing a number of different languages will not be of benefit. These
days everyone in the world considers science to be genuinely true, but merely knowing science
will not be of benefit either.

In classifying the Buddhist teachings, there are the teachings of the Buddha himself and those
of the commentaries. The teachings of the Buddha himself that have been translated into
Tibetan consist of about one hundred volumes, while the commentaries make up about two
16
hundred volumes. It is difficult to study all of them, but to not study them at all and simply
leave them aside is inappropriate. Therefore, it is very important for each individual to study in
accord with their intellectual capacity and their available time.

The Buddha gave eighty-four thousand teachings in dependence on the different

temperaments and interests of his disciples. If you are able to understand all of them that
would be wonderful. However, your intellect and capabilities may be weaker, conditions may
not be supportive, or you may not have sufficient time. Then, in accord with your intellectual
disposition, you should train as much as you can, beginning with abandoning the ten non-
virtues and accomplishing the ten virtues and then concluding with training in the
unsurpassable secret mantra. Even if you don’t understand more than a single word, it is still
necessary and very important to exert yourself in study. That is my way of thinking.

Traditionally, in the Tibetan tradition, those who study had to enter a monastic college and
focus primarily on the fields of knowledge. Generally, in the early days of the Kagyu tradition,
there were many schools and practice centers, but in later centuries, the study and practice
traditions of the Kagyu have deteriorated a little bit. In particular, traditional studies have
weakened and there are very few people who are learned.

In Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen’s last teaching, he mentions that, in the early days, all the Kagyu
forefathers were definitely both scholars and accomplished practitioners. But in later times,
studies were no longer considered to be of primary importance. As a result, the teachings were
not as effective and people were not as effective. This is actually true and it was the reason
why Tai Situ founded the great Tsethang study center.

Even though the teachings of the Kagyu forefathers are very profound, if one does not cut
doubts through contemplation and study, then these teachings will not be effective. Even
though you are now a human being, if you are not educated, invariably you will not be effective
and the teachings will not be effective either—that is certain. However, these days in Tibet,
people pay significant heed to education and, recently, the education in the Kagyu tradition has
improved a little.

In the monasteries, there are monastic colleges and some monastics do study. However, except
for such beginnings, the education has not reached a sufficiently high level so that we can say
that our schools are adequate and that we are completely satisfied. Therefore, I think that it is
very important to expand our schools.

The general assembly of monastics who are not in the colleges congregate for communal
spiritual practices. They learn lama dancing, making mandalas, chanting, playing music, and
many other things. Thus, they do not have sufficient time to exert themselves in studies like the
monastics who are learning the traditional sciences in the colleges.

However, the refuge and bodhicitta sections in the practice texts, inviting the deities, the
creation stage, the completion stage, the ways to prepare offering cakes and their
characteristics should all be understood. We should not be in the position of saying, ‘I don’t
know that’ or ‘I don’t know this.’

In the Kagyu tradition there are many who practice and there are many people who practice in
retreat. These practitioners know how to perform rituals, prepare offering cakes, ornament
17
them, and so forth. It is necessary to train in these activities. Still, in addition to these, the most
important practice for us in the Kagyu tradition is the path of means of the Six Dharmas of
Naropa and the path of liberation of Mahamudra. On the case of the path of liberation of
Mahamudra, there is the subject of the inseparability of clarity and emptiness. With regard to
that, when considering the clarity aspect, if we don’t understand the entire meaning of
Maitreya’s Uttaratantrashastra on buddha nature or if we don’t at least have a general
understanding of this, there is no way to understand the meaning of Mahamudra. That is why
Gampopa said, ‘My Mahamudra is the wisdom of the Uttaratantra.’ Accordingly, it is very
important for us to study the meaning of this text as a support for our Mahamudra practice.
With regard to the emptiness aspect, we definitely need the instructions found in the
Madhyamaka texts. These days, among the Madhyamaka texts, there are scriptures and
teachings. In either of these, the most popular text is Candrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara. Thus, it
would be very good to study this text. If you do not know the Madhyamakavatara and the
Uttaratantra, if you do not study at all, and if you are like the rest of us lacking the most
superior of faculties, then it will be very difficult to practice. Thus, it is certainly necessary to
study.

In the teachings of the path of means of the Six Dharmas of Naropa, it says that the Six
Dharmas are the essence of all of the classes of unsurpassable tantras taught by the Buddha.
Therefore it is very important to know the entire meaning of all tantras and the essence of all
the teachings of the Buddha. If you cannot gain such an understanding, then at least you need
to have certain knowledge of the Profound Inner Reality, the clear exposition of the nadi,
prana, and bindu of the completion stage written by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje.
Without such knowledge there is no way to proceed.

In both the path of liberation of Mahamudra and the path of means of the Six Dharmas of
Naropa, one needs to rely on the creation stage. With regard to the creation stage, the Kagyu
tradition has the custom of studying the Buddhas teaching contained in the second section of
the Hevajratantra. Thus, in any case, whether you practice the path of means or the path of
liberation, you need to study this. If you don’t study any of these texts whatsoever, I might be
exaggerating a bit to say that there would be no benefit in staying in a three year retreat, but I
certainly do doubt that it would be of significant benefit.

Men and women in the lay community may wear different clothes or have different hair styles,
but they are not different with regard to the desire to be happy and free from suffering. If you
wish to be happy and free from suffering, you first need to know the principles of how to
develop happiness and be rid of suffering. To understand these principles, it is necessary to
understand the texts and the language in which they are presented. It is then necessary to
practice accumulating virtue and abandoning evil deeds, the meaning conveyed by these texts.
Otherwise, if you say, ‘I need to be happy but I don’t need to practice virtue and abandon evil
deeds,’ it contradicts cause and effect and there will be no way to be happy. Subsequent
effects come about in dependence on earlier causes. Thus, you first need to establish the
causes, which consist of accumulating virtue and abandoning evil deeds. Generally, everyone
will then achieve the result of being happy and rid of suffering. These causes, the ways to
practice virtue and abandon evil deeds, are contained in the teachings of Buddhism. You may
think that happiness will come about without these causes, the practice of virtue and the
avoidance of evil deeds. However, other than this just being wishful thinking, it will be difficult
for happiness to arise.

18
Therefore, for male and female lay practitioners, it is very important to study with exertion.
These days, the situation is getting better. In the past, we Tibetans thought that studying
Buddhism was for lamas and monks in the monasteries. People thought it would be strange for
lay practitioners to study. In particular, if nuns and women were to study, people said that was
a serious problem. I think that was somewhat mistaken.

Our teacher, the Buddha, did not teach only for a particular class of beings. He gave teachings
about liberation, attaining the stage of omniscience, and how to free ourselves from the great
ocean of suffering in samsara for the benefit of all beings. He never said that no one other than
lamas and monks could study these teachings. Since he gave his teachings for the benefit of all
beings regardless of class, we are all entitled to study them. If a person raises an objection to
study, that person simply does not understand—there is no other reason for such objections.
Therefore, if male and female lay practitioners are able to study the Buddhist teachings like
lamas and monastics, they are certainly allowed and encouraged to do so.

In this way, I have spoken about how it is of great importance to study the traditional sciences
through discussing the way of study, what to study, and who should study.

THE PATH OF PRACTICE

My second topic is related to practice. It is generally said that we Kagyus are the practice
lineage. Therefore, it is certainly important to practice. The Abhidharmakosha says:

Holding the disciplines of study and contemplation, apply yourself in meditation.

The purpose of study and contemplation is to encourage meditation on the dharma. Surely, it is
not appropriate to separate meditation practice from study and contemplation. The Buddha
gave eighty-four thousand different classes of teachings and the benefits of these authentic
teachings are many. Approximately ten percent of these teachings benefit studying and
contemplation and approximately ninety percent benefit the quality of meditation practice. For
example, the many benefits of eating lie in filling our stomachs, bringing about strength,
sustaining our life, and so forth. If you eat, these benefits will come about. However, through
merely preparing the food and not eating, these benefits will not arise.

In a similar way, if you practice in accord with what the Buddha taught, the benefit of the
teachings will come to fruition. However, if you merely study and contemplate, aside from
merely knowing the teachings, there will be no significant benefit other than the potential
benefits called the four liberations through seeing, listening to, remembering, and contacting
the teachings of the Buddha.

However, if you do not practice meditation but merely look at, study, and recall the teachings,
it will be exceedingly difficult for great benefit to come about. The main purpose of the
Buddhas teaching is to tame one’s mind and if you do not practice meditation, you will not be
able to tame your mind. As Milarepa said:

I don't know the philosophy of calming and taming

If you tame your wild mind, that is taming
Thus, it is very important to practice in that way.

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Some people think that what is called practice is not that difficult. Mainly, they practice for this
life in order to subdue enemies, protect friends, make themselves famous or fill their stomachs.
Thus, they place the teachings off in a corner. If they want to practice, they do a little, if not
they discard it. If you practice in such a manner it’s not so good. The reason is stated in one of
our worldly proverbs:

If you do not do the difficult that causes one to shed tears,

You cannot attain the accomplishment of complete happiness.
Likewise, the teachings of the Buddha say:
If you want to taste sugarcane,
You need to eat it.
If you only take off its outer husk,
You will not be able to experience its taste.

Similarly, if you merely study the teachings you cannot savor the experience of the teachings in
your being. So what you need to do is the following:
Having put the teachings into practice,
You will experience their taste.
Therefore, in order to practice the teachings we need to take on a little difficulty. We need to
let go of a little happiness of this life and accomplish the happiness, liberation, and omniscience
of the next life. Again, some think that, when we say we need to exert ourselves with
difficulties, we have to be like ilarepa and Naropa, who underwent major hardships. But that is
going a little bit too far; we need to exert ourselves in accord with our different capabilities.
Otherwise, if we try to go beyond our capability and lack sufficient skill, Mwe will not be able to
gain accomplishment and our efforts will be useless.

In brief, in practicing the authentic dharma, even if you are not able to abandon all worldly
activities of subduing your enemies and protecting your friends, you should lessen such
ambitions—this is very important. If you don’t lessen your ambitions, your mind cannot turn to
the dharma. If you do not turn your mind to the dharma, you will not be able to gain
experience. Therefore, to turn your mind to the dharma, you need to lessen your ambitions of
subduing enemies and protecting friends.

As I said before, everyone is allowed to put the teachings into practice. It is not the case that
some people are allowed to practice and others are not. Mainly, people practice meditation by
staying in retreat or setting boundaries and doing sadhana practice. However, these days,
many lamas stay in retreat like going to school. Afterwards, they will say, ‘I have finished my
three year retreat’ and go away. If you practice that way, it is not appropriate. Why? Generally,
it is said by the learned:

The sign of study is mind being peaceful and tamed.

The sign of contemplation is cutting through doubts.
The sign of meditation is the absence of mental afflictions.

This is the way in which we need to practice, but these days someone may exit retreat with
greater afflictions, greater anger, and greater desire. In that case, I wonder what they were
practicing. Such an outcome is in contradiction to the Buddhist teachings. In the Tibetan
Buddhist tradition there are many excellent ways of practicing. Non-Tibetans are amazed about
this and say that we have such a bounty of practicing in the teachings. That is good, but if they
20
ask, ‘Show me the person who is practicing,’ there is nobody we can point to and it is almost as
if no one is practicing. This is most pitiful. Thus, it is very important to demonstrate to others
the fruition of one’s practice. If you stay in a mountain cave for twenty or thirty years with
nothing to show for it, what is the point?

When you practice meditation, there should be some signs of accomplishment. It is not a
matter of trying to see whether you can fly or not, or trying to go under the ground or not. You
need to practice with some persistence, otherwise there is no benefit.

Those of you who are students in the monastic colleges study all the teachings of the Buddha
and their commentaries. But if you don’t practice, these studies just make you good at words.
Other than that you are simply an ordinary person. In this case, there is the danger that the
teachings and the individual will go in separate directions. Thus, those who have entered the
college should chiefly study, but at the same time, they need to practice as much as they can—
this is very important. It should not happen that monastics come together and practice simply
to abide by a schedule or a set of rules.

For example, in a practice liturgy, we begin with refuge and bodhicitta, then go through all the
stages of creation and completion, and end with the concluding dedication. During the practice
it is very important that you are able to understand and concentrate on all these stages as
much as possible. When male and female lay practitioners do their individual chanting
recitation, they first need to know the meaning of their recitation. Some people do many
recitations but know neither what they are chanting nor what they are doing. If you practice
like that, practice and not practicing end up being the same. Therefore, first, when doing
practice and recitation, you need to understand the meaning. Then it is very good if you
practice as much as possible. Since the Buddha’s teachings are impartial, it is permissible for
anyone to practice. If you think about how to practice, that will be good.

THE PATH OF GOOD CONDUCT

It is very important to have good conduct. Even though many lamas talk about good conduct,
what is good conduct and what is bad conduct? Many people are confused about the boundary
between good and bad conduct. Even if a teacher tells us to have good conduct, if people do
not know what constitutes good conduct, then it is difficult to know what to do. I have studied
the principles of good and bad conduct and have read texts that discuss superior conduct.
When I think about it, that which is called bad conduct is mostly the conduct that results in
suffering for oneself and others.

The cause of such resultant suffering is the attitude that gives rise to mental afflictions. If
conduct stems from that attitude, then that conduct is naturally harmful. The best is to be able
to give rise to virtue, the cause of happiness for oneself and others. There is no need to say
that such virtuous activity is good conduct. Even if you do not act in that manner and are
unable to give rise to virtue that leads to happiness for oneself and others, it is still good
conduct to at least avoid giving rise to mental afflictions that cause suffering. If you cultivate
such an attitude, it is certain you will know how to adopt good conduct and reject bad conduct.
Otherwise, if you have no knowledge whatsoever of the boundary between good and bad
conduct, it is possible that sometimes you will conduct yourself in a bad way thinking that such
activity is good or you may think that good conduct is bad.

21
That which is called conduct has the same meaning as discipline. The Buddha said:

Discipline is like the land that supports both the animate and inanimate.
It is the foundation for all excellent qualities.

Discipline is the basis for the teachings of the Buddha. Therefore, discipline is very important.
Those who have discipline have entered the gate of the teachings. One class of such individuals
is the monastic sangha wearing robes and having shaved heads. Another class is made up of
certain yogic practitioners who wear white clothes and let their hair grow long. The monastic
sangha with robes attended our teacher, Buddha Shakyamuni, in the area of Varanasi during
the time of the first turning of the wheel of the dharma on the four noble truths. At that time,
he prescribed the appropriate robes and, from that point onward, the monastic code described
the excellent types of robes, the proper ways to wear them, and so forth.

Also later, the monastic rules were always practiced in accord with the country and time.
Earlier in Tibet, the great upholders of these rules established the type of clothing to wear in
accord with the customs of the country. There is nothing unsatisfactory or incomplete with the
traditional clothing, it is quite adequate. Generally, these days, there is a lot of discussion of
independence and rights and people engage in many different activities. But if the monastic
sangha also talks in various ways about independence and rights and wears different types of
clothing, then this goes against the tradition of the Buddha. The Buddha spoke about three
types of dharma robes for monastics to wear. Clothes other than these are the clothes of lay
people. Among the reasons for establishing this tradition, the Buddha chiefly wanted the
community to be able to distinguish monastic sangha from lay people. If monks and nuns were
to wear different clothes than these robes and participate in all kinds of non-monastic
activities, there is the danger of being unable to distinguish who is a lay person and who is a
monastic. Therefore, it is inappropriate to lack a clear distinction between the clothes of lay
persons and those of monastics.

It is said that at the time of taking one’s monastic vows, intention is very important. Also, ones
thoughts connected with the manner of wearing dharma robes and the standard of such robes
are important. Having said that intention is important, if you do not take care of your dharma
clothes and monastic bowl, that is not appropriate. Because these activities are connected with
the harmonious circumstances of pure discipline, you must perform them well.

Similarly, if you think about the conduct of all the classes of monastics, the conduct of the fully
ordained monk (bhikshu) is the most supreme. The Buddha taught two hundred and fifty-three
rules for the bhiksu and he also set forth many rules for novices. Furthermore, in the
bodhisattva scriptures, he gave many rules for monastics related to what to adopt and what to
abandon. Also within the vajrayana there are many teachings connected with monastic vajra
holders, such as bhikshu vajra holders and novice vajra holders. If you wish to summarize these
teachings in order to keep them easily in mind, these rules mean to be peaceful, tame, and
take care. These words basically say it all.

For us, being peaceful, tame, and taking care are very important. Otherwise, if you wear the
three types of dharma robes and then behave like a wild person, you will be like the priest Hari
Nagpo in the dance of the life story of Norzang, who always does bad things. Such conduct is
not the conduct of a monastic at all. Therefore, it is very good if we have elegant conduct that
is in accord with the intention of the Buddha and in accord with being disciplined. This is what
22
is relevant for monastics.

For those of you who wear white clothes, the Buddha established the garb of the tantric
practitioners when he began propagating the teachings of the vajrayana. This tradition was in
place from the beginning of the spread of these teachings in Tibet and the garb prescribed in it
is sufficient. However, some vajrayana practitioners don’t wear traditional garb, but the clothes
of ordinary people, which is a little bit problematic. Vajrayana practitioners and lay people are
different, because the former have entered the gates of the dharma, while the latter have not.
Thus, there is a necessity to make a distinction. Since there has been distinctive clothing from
the beginning, it is important to maintain that tradition.

However, these days, there are some people who are shameless and have a wife and children,
but still wear the robes of a monastic. They are degrading the teachings of the Buddha and the
ranks of monks and nuns. The reason is that the Buddha decided that monastics should wear
the three types of robes. But if people who have a wife and children wear such clothes, then
other people will think that real monks have wives and children as well and will criticize such
behavior. Therefore, in this case, the faults of one person become the faults of many and thus
create harm. Not only does this go against the teaching of the Buddha, it is also bad for one’s
reputation. Thus, it is very important that we do not go against the rules set forth by the
Buddha. In this way, both monastics and lay practitioners should wear the appropriate types of
clothes.

As for vajrayana practitioners, there are many types of conduct. In brief, as I just mentioned,
one should be peaceful, tame, and take care. Generally, the fruition of study, contemplation,
and meditation is to lessen mental afflictions. However, some people think that there is no
fault if a vajrayana practitioner does something nonvirtuous. If you think this way, you are
going against the teaching of the Buddha. Even though monastics and lay practitioners are
different, they are the same with regard to the need of adopting virtuous activity and refraining
from evil deeds.

Some people even think that vajrayana practitioners are worse than normal people, but that is
mistaken. Generally, there is no difference between sentient beings. But with regard to those
who have entered the dharma and those who have not, needless to say, the most supreme of
those who have entered the dharma are monks and nuns. Next, the vajrayana practitioners
who have entered the dharma are superior to those who have not done so. In brief, those who
truly have a connection to Buddhism should be superior to others with regard to their intention
and conduct. Please apply these teachings well.

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THE POWER OF MOTIVATION

Attachment, hatred, delusion, arrogance, envy, and our perception of them do not have to be
seen as solidly established things in our minds. However, no matter in which activities we are
involved, by virtue of the conditions of these mental afflictions and their habitual tendencies,
we always consider ourselves to be the most important person and think in inappropriate
ways. Thus, we have many improper or deceptive thoughts that are connected with the three
main mental poisons of desire, hatred, and delusion. Based on such mistaken thoughts, we
have ideas of obtaining and enjoying things we deem indispensable. Whatever we do to
achieve these goals is dominated by this initial objective. In this way, no matter what we do,
the results will be mistaken and absolutely unbeneficial for us. In addition, it is mostly from
these afflictions and thoughts that the many forms of intending to harm others arise.

Therefore, our ways or strategies to do things always depend on our having the correct
objective and the right motivation. Sometimes we expect the favorable conditions for our
strategies to come from outside of us, but they do not exist externally. There is no ready-made
external entity called ‘the right way to do things’ that we can immediately pick up from
somewhere. It is not like something that is produced by some people and when we need the
right way to act we can simply go out and buy or study it. I don’t think that the proper way to
do things is something that we can absorb in these ways.

We may find favorable conditions for how to act properly from many sources, be it in the form
of advice from various spiritual traditions or secular fields of knowledge. However, such advice
merely represents helpful circumstances, but the genuinely proper way to act comes from our
individual motivation and the manner in which we go about accomplishing what we need.
Thus, we need to expand and open our mind.

Whether our way to act and achieve our goals is or is not unmistaken primarily depends on
ourselves, our own minds. I do not think that it depends on being bestowed or not being
bestowed upon us from the outside, or whether it does or does not exist externally. If we try to
explore our path from the vantage point of our mental afflictions and the thought patterns that
accord with them, which are essentially biased and mistaken, it is very clear that we will go
astray and that the way we do things will be inappropriate.

So, we should try to cultivate a different mindset, one that does not lack love, compassion, and
virtue. If we explore the path from the perspective of a proper and unbiased motivation, I
believe that we definitely can find well-being and a happy mind in this life and also can gain
self-confidence and true satisfaction.

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KARMA AND MOTIVATION

What all spiritual traditions hold in common is the relinquishment of non-virtue and the
engagement in virtue. They all speak very similarly that engaging in virtuous deeds leads to the
result of happiness, while committing negative actions will result in suffering. In particular,
Buddhism teaches an extensive and very detailed account of how virtue and non-virtue
function and which respective results they have.

Even within Buddhism, there are various descriptions of this, but in the mahayana tradition it
taught that the main criterion for an action being virtuous or non-virtuous is whether ones
intention is or is not virtuous. If you hold the motivation in your mind to be of benefit to others
and that they may come to enjoy temporary and ultimate happiness and well-being, whatever
actions of body, speech, and mind you may perform, they will all be on the side of virtue. But if
you act with a negative mindset, out of a motivation that is afflicted by being jealous,
malicious, competitive, and so on toward others, whatever you do will be non-virtuous. In
brief, whether an action is considered as virtuous or non-virtuous depends mainly upon the
underlying motivation or mindset being either positive or negative. The results of good actions
will also be good, while the outcomes of bad actions will be negative and painful.

When we discuss the notion of karma (or cause and effect), many of us think that this only
refers to actions that have been accumulated from previous lifetimes. In other words, karma is
identified as whatever we have done in the past. However, the notion of karma is not limited to
that alone, but means the accumulation of all good and bad actions that are based on the
virtuous or non-virtuous motivations of individual persons. For example, right now, I am giving
a dharma talk. When looking at this in a superficial way from the outside, others would
consider doing such to be a virtuous thing. But what we see on the outside is a mere reflection
of virtue, like an image in a mirror. Whether or not it is genuine virtue depends on the mind
and the actual motivation of the person who is giving such a talk. As for myself, my motivation
when I speak to you comes from the desire to benefit others. If I give the talk with such a
motivation, it will probably be virtuous. Likewise, based on this motivation, it will be possible
for my physical and verbal conduct while giving the talk, such as my gestures and the way I look
at you, to also be virtuous.

However, if I did not have an altruistic motivation of benefiting you, but gave this talk based on
a motivation that is afflicted by things such as a desire for self-aggrandizement, greed, or
maliciousness, it might seem to be something virtuous, but in reality I would accomplish
nothing but wrongdoing and non-virtue.

When we talk about good and bad karma, there is of course the aspect of what we have done
in previous lives. However, it is not about putting our hopes into what we have done before or
constantly trying to look at our past lives while living this life, but it is of utmost importance
that we pay attention to the present moment and to whatever our current motivation is right
now, whether it is good or bad and whether we act in a good or bad way.

The Buddha taught, ‘This world is the realm of karma—karma is accumulated right now and it
ripens right now.’ Accordingly, in general and at present, we all are in the situation of both
having accumulated certain karmas and also of being in the process of constantly accumulating
new karma. Based on this process, we still experience many results from past karma, but there
are also many actions that we commit in the present and that very swiftly turn into tangible
25
results in the present.

For example, these days, when a world-famous singer enters the stage, many millions of
people become very happy and are in a great mood. From the singers own perspective, if their
mood and motivation are good, this will also show in their overall performance and everything
goes very well. In this way, when both the inner and the outer expressions of the performer are
in accord, many millions in the audience will be in a state of exhilaration. However, if the singer
has some mental or physical difficulties or suffering, this will serve as a condition that
negatively affects their physical and verbal performance, their physical expressions, and the
display of their skills. Then, sensing or seeing that, many millions of people will not be
enthusiastic and overjoyed.

In this way, we constantly commit actions in the present and many of their results will be
experienced as something that can be seen directly in the present too. Thus, we are not only in
the process of constantly accumulating karma at present, but of also experiencing many
present results of these present actions. Whether these actions are called ‘virtuous’ or ‘non-
virtuous’ primarily comes down to our motivation and thinking being either good or bad.

However, the question is, if we can actually develop a good motivation and avoid negative
motivations, is it then okay not to worry about anything else? From one point of view, that is
fine, but from another one, this approach is doubtful. Through developing an excellent
motivation and letting go of bad motivations, we may be able to accomplish a great deal of
excellent happiness and well-being with many wonderful pleasant things and enjoyments.

However, there are still many things that we need to accomplish. So what is wrong with this?
Merely through practicing virtue and relinquishing non-virtue, it is very difficult to attain
ultimate and lasting happiness and well-being. If we lack negative motivations and do
something with a positive one, generally speaking, we can consider this action as a virtuous
one. Though this action may represent virtue for other persons in terms of the given time and
situation, there may also be something in it that is unsuitable with regard to certain persons,
the time, or the situation. If there are unsuitable parts in this action, I think it may even happen
that it indirectly becomes harmful for many sentient beings. For example, based on the
motivation to benefit others, I may build a large monastery that houses great departments for
studying and practicing Buddhism for many people who will use these facilities. If my
motivation is pure, in a general sense, this is a virtuous action. In itself, there is nothing wrong
with it all. However, many other people have their own various interests and situations that
either accord or do not accord with establishing this monastery. Sometimes it is possible that
establishing great facilities for studying and practicing becomes a condition for causing
problems for many other people.

In this way, though such an action is virtuous in itself, there may still be some element of harm
in it and if it is harmful to other beings, that is not good. The reason for this is that we need to
acknowledge the teachings of the Buddha as being characterized by compassion. Thus, if we
can abandon all harm together with its basis and accomplish the benefits of others together
with its basis, that is of course the best. Otherwise we may end up harming others with our
actions, even if our actions bear no mistake from our own side whatsoever. If other beings
whom we wish to help do not have a positive motivation like ours, it sometimes happens that
our actions do not suit them. Based on our actions becoming temporary conditions in this way,
it is possible for harmful situations to arise.
26
From this point of view then, our actions are not really in accord with the Buddhist teachings,
since it is not enough that our own motivation is virtuous and that we have relinquished
negative motivations, but the question is still whether our actions are or are not harmful to
other beings. Thus, it is very important for us to seriously abandon negative deeds and
accomplish good ones in this wider sense. It is not just about having a pure motivation, but we
need to consider whether our putting this motivation into practice is of benefit or harm to
others. It is very important to honestly investigate whether our actions involve some selfish or
harmful elements. Otherwise, if we just focus on our noble intentions without being very much
concerned about whether putting them into practice benefits or harms other beings, it is very
difficult for this to become the pure path to accomplish the state of buddhahood or ultimate
happiness and well-being.

For example, if we deal with someone who has some personal flaws, we need to reflect upon
whether there actually is a beneficial way for us to advise and educate this person so that he or
she can enter a straight and flawless path. Otherwise, if we pretend to have a pure motivation
and consider the flaws of this person as being just their own personal problem, this just
becomes a condition for making this person more angry and there is no beneficial outcome
from it.

In any case, it is crucial not to harm others. However, when we reflect upon whether we, in our
own present situation, can do anything that is completely without harm to other beings, this is
quite difficult. Consider our livelihood—in order to sustain our body, we need to eat food, and
we also need to sustain our health. But based on these activities, naturally, many sentient
beings are harmed. There is no way to remedy these kinds of harm, once we as ordinary
persons have assumed this contaminated existence of our five skandhas, which constitute the
truth of suffering. Right now, there is not really anything we can do about this kind of harm
that accrues by virtue of our sheer existence. Other than just aspiring and striving to rid
ourselves of this suffering- fraught existence as the contaminated skandhas in the future, it is
very difficult for us at present to actually be able to do something that is not harmful in any
way whatsoever.

Given this situation, there are many people who then simply become careless, but it is very
important that we try not to harm others as best as we can. To think that we are not able to do
anything that is not harmful to others in any way and drop virtuous activities altogether is very
different from not being able to avoid all harm completely while still making efforts in order to
be able to do so. For example, there is a big difference between a seed not growing in a field
because we did not plant it there due to thinking that this field is not a place to grow anything
anyway, and a seed not growing in that field despite our having planted it there thinking that it
might or might not grow this year.

In any case, if, from our perspective, we see something that is not harmful and we can do it, no
matter whether we are able to do a fully perfect job or not, it is crucial to make efforts to do it.
If we make such efforts, we will eventually be able to actually do these things perfectly. There
are no doubt many kinds of activities undertaken in our human life in order to sustain our
bodies that are harmful to other beings and that we cannot avoid a hundred percent at
present. However, if we strive to abandon them in the future, we will be able to gradually shed
our contaminated skandhas that entail suffering and harm for both ourselves and others, and
eventually there will be a time when we are able to accomplish the pure skandhas and
27
relinquish all types of actions performed in order to sustain our livelihood that are harmful to
others. Even if we are unable to actually not harm others, it is still, by all means, very crucial for
us to make efforts in order to be able to not cause harm eventually. If we do so, our activities
represent not only accomplishing virtue and relinquishing non-virtue from our own
perspective, but they become truly non-harmful for others as well. In brief, we should not just
be concerned with accomplishing the causes of our own purity and well-being all the time, but
in addition we should apply the proper methods for accomplishing the roots of happiness for
all other sentient beings.

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DOES HAPPINESS DEPEND ON EXTERNAL OBJECTS?

We who are assembled here are all Buddhist practitioners, but none of us is beyond our basic
inborn objective of wishing to achieve happiness and be free from suffering. Therefore,
speaking from the point of view of a Buddhist practitioner, we should not have the same
motivations as people in general. I think it would be very excellent if we practiced the dharma
in this lifetime and achieved some profound fruition, because we have this great opportunity to
practice the dharma, which others do not have.

Having obtained this opportunity, I think there should also be a special fruition that is unlike
those of others and we should make efforts in order to make this happen. It is very important
to understand in this context that we need to make efforts that go beyond those of other
people. Likewise, we need to know what kind of mindset and motivation we should cultivate
and maintain. The bottom line is that it is our responsibility to practice in such a way.

In general, ordinary people focus on external objects in order to achieve happiness.

Westerners, in particular, have a very strong sense of ego-clinging that is based on external
objects. Of course, there may be some degree of temporary achievement of happiness and
benefit in someone’s life through their mainly associating themselves with external things.

When we speak from the point of view of Buddhist practitioners in general, they seem to be
happy people. Of course, that does not mean that they spend all their time just laughing and
smiling—there are also lots of difficulties while practicing the Buddhist teachings. However,
even if Buddhist practitioners encounter problems on the outside, it is possible for their inner
happiness to remain unshaken through external conditions. I believe that this is the greatest
advantage of being a dharma practitioner.

Our so-called happiness and joy are just something temporary; our happiness and our being
joyful about it are basically just fleeting feelings. We cannot make them last or maintain them
in the present or at any other time. When we do obtain some happiness or joy at present, we
feel it is so vivid and real. If someone is joyful, we can even see this from the outside from his
or her looks. However, just through looking at their outward appearance, it is hard to know
whether they really are happy.

It is hard to say whether someone is truly happy inside by virtue of enjoying good
circumstances or unhappy due to not having such things around them. In the same way, it is
difficult to say whether somebody is or is not truly happy just going by his or her physical
expressions. We obviously cannot judge this from mere external signs.

Therefore, the only person from whom our happiness or unhappiness is not hidden is
ourselves—it is our very own internal affair. Our inner happiness is not something that is
completely dependent on our external surroundings, nor is it entirely dependent on our
physical body or outer objects. Therefore, such inner happiness is very important to achieve for
Westerners in particular, because their situation is one of living in very busy environments,
experiencing a lot of pressure and commotion of their psycho-physical energies, and always
having to strive hard in their everyday work. From all this, they become exhausted. Thus, they
need some inner mental happiness.

29
If we have true inner happiness and peace, which cannot be indicated externally by our
physical body, such happiness and peace of mind will never become shaken or disturbed, but
will remain stable, no matter how busy or agitated the environment may be, no matter how
much our psycho-physical energies may be in turmoil, and no matter how tired and exhausted
our bodies are. So, I guess we could say that there is no choice but to have this kind of inner
happiness.

I think it is very important for everybody who lives in this twenty- first century, not just the
religious people, to search for inner peace and happiness, rather than spend most of our time
doing research on outer things.

In order to attain such inner peace and happiness, it is basically not necessary to have faith in
the Buddhist teachings and to follow the Buddhist spiritual path. What we need is a stable
focused mind and an ability to establish and maintain some proper mindfulness within this
mind. You can find many ways to attain mental peace and happiness in other spiritual paths
besides Buddhism. If you trust in and are practicing Buddhism, I dont need to explain more
about this. However, speaking to those who are not interested in Buddhism per se, you can
attain inner happiness through other suitable paths and means. Thus, you just need to
contemplate on this and then make some effort.

So, how can we truly find inner peace and happiness? We will be able to find it if we work in an
unmistaken way on what is suitable to accomplish it and reject what is unfavorable to it. This is
just as in any other activity that we may be involved in—we always need to relinquish what is
unsuitable and adopt what is conducive to it.

To put it simply, it is always taught, not just in Buddhism, but in any other spiritual traditions,
that the main factors which make our mind uneasy and agitated and cause us to stray from
happiness into something else are the inner mental poisons. We can also see this from our own
individual experience. These poisons are desire, hatred, delusion, and so on, which are the
stains or flaws of our mind. If we directly speak about these poisons of desire, hatred, and
delusion, we cannot help but acknowledge them as something really obvious when they
become active or arise in our mind stream in very vivid or coarse manners. Thus, when we
speak about desire, hatred, and delusion arising or not arising in our mind, we usually refer to
their very obvious and clearly manifest forms being present or not.

When these mental afflictions arise vividly, we know that they bring a great deal of suffering
and unhappiness and are conditions that disturb our inner peace and happiness. Therefore, it is
important to apply the antidotes to these mental poisons that work against us, which is the
way to gradually relinquish them. However, sometimes it is difficult to experience inner peace
and happiness merely by virtue of the absence of desire, hatred, and delusion. When we
normally do not give rise to any manifest anger, attachment, or delusion, our mind is in a state
of equanimity, or more informally speaking, remains ‘cool.’ However, in this case it is a little
difficult to have an experience of actual peace and happiness—we are simply not getting angry
and so on, which, in itself, is not sufficient to give rise to a happy mind.

For that reason, it is very important to not only avoid adverse conditions such as the above, but
to also engage in what is conducive to furthering our inner peace and happiness. This means
that we should cultivate loving kindness and compassion. If we cultivate these conducive
factors properly and thus make efforts in both relinquishing what is harmful and accomplishing
30
what is beneficial, we will be able to attain the goal of inner peace and happiness in a
fundamental manner.

Most of us who are gathered here today may not have the three poisons of desire, hatred, and
delusion actively arising in our minds, but we may still suffer from being afflicted by some
sense of dissatisfaction, some yearning for happiness, or a sense of lacking something within
our mind. Thus, again, the sheer absence of the adverse conditions represented by the mental
poisons is not fully sufficient for feeling truly happy. If we are able to develop our mind through
creating the favorable conditions for inner happiness, such as love and compassion, then we
will be able to achieve such happiness. It is crucial to understand this.

As I said earlier, I haven’t had an opportunity to give a talk for a while and as a result have
become somewhat talkative. I am not able to speak very well, but just said what came to my
mind. Nevertheless, this was just a brief talk, but if you want something more extensive, I
believe the best kind of talk is if we are able to talk to ourselves based on our own mind.

31
THE BENEFIT OF KNOWING THE REASON FOR OUR PRACTICE

As most of us know, Avalokiteshvara is one of whom the Buddhist tradition calls ‘bodhisattvas.’
Avalokiteshvara is also a Buddhist practice. But if we were to ask, ‘What really is the meaning of
the practice of Avalokiteshvara,’ the answer would be loving kindness and compassion. There is
no practice of Avalokiteshvara apart from loving kindness and compassion.

To speak loosely, we could say that anyone in this world who, out of a motivation of loving
kindness and compassion, endeavors to benefit others, along with anyone who practices
compassion, is a practitioner of Avalokiteshvara. This is definitely a fitting description. It
matches the inner reality of what Avalokiteshvara is.

The practice of Avalokiteshvara is special because it is so widespread. Because it is so

widespread, it is a good method by which I can create dharmic connections with others. Today,
in order to deepen our dharmic connection of loving kindness and compassion, I have offered
you a reading transmission of Avalokiteshvara. I have confidence that this will instill in us a
positive dharmic connection.

These days more and more people in the world are becoming interested in loving kindness and
compassion. Today, loving kindness and compassion are the basis of the teaching by which we
will make a connection.

Training in loving kindness and compassion can bring far-reaching benefits to our spiritual
paths, but it can also bring immediate benefits to our day to day lives. However, the way in
which we train in loving kindness is of utmost importance. Basically, you could say there are
two styles through which we could approach the endeavor of cultivating loving kindness in
compassion. In one style, we attempt to train in loving kindness and compassion without being
clear about why we should develop these qualities. Rather, we have faith that it would be a
good thing to do and we set about the practices with this faith as our main motivation. In the
other style, we search for the precise reasons as to why cultivating loving kindness and
compassion would be a good thing to do.

It is this latter approach that is the most beneficial. For beginners especially, searching for the
reasons why we would train in compassion really brings forth the minds strongest qualities. To
understand why this is so, let us look at the example of how we may find ourselves generating
anger, a mental quality starkly different from compassion.

When we feel that someone is our enemy, the mere identification of that person as an enemy
will not be enough to produce intense anger or hatred in our minds. To produce intense anger
or hatred, we must remember the things they did to us that led us to label them as an enemy.
We have to remember all the harmful actions: perhaps they hit us with a stick or gave us an
awful look. Whatever the situation was, we remember all of the negative things the person did
to us. We bring this recollection to our minds again and again. It is this continuous recollection
of the reasons why we believe this person to be our enemy that makes us feel, in the end,
intense hatred and anger.

The process of generating compassion is actually very similar, in terms of the basic process by
which the feeling is generated. If we simply try to start with the idea that compassion is good
and go about generating compassion with this general faith, a strong feeling of compassion will
32
not arise in us. Conversely, if we seek to clarify the reasons why we might engender
compassion, and have these reasons form the basis of our practice, we will definitely have
strong enthusiasm in our minds toward cultivating compassion further and further. We will be
full of conviction and certainty and the desire to further our compassion.

So it is important for our meditation on loving kindness and compassion to go beyond simply
receiving an order to practice the meditation. Rather, we should clearly see the reasons why
we meditate.

In the Buddhist texts, we are encouraged to cultivate compassion for the reason that all
sentient beings have been our mothers. We are encouraged to recognize that all beings have
been our mothers. How can that be? To understand how all sentient beings have at one point
in time been our mothers, we must first understand the reasoning behind the existence of past
lives. This reasoning is founded in the causal process by which consciousness is produced.

As human beings, we have two main components of our personal existence: we have a body
and a mind. The continuum of our bodies began when the subtle substances of our parents
coalesced in the womb. But we cannot say the same for the mind, because mind is not a
physical substance like the body is. Mind is not composed of any physical matter. In order to
have mind or consciousness in the present, there would have to have been a cause of
consciousness in the past. Something immaterial such as mind cannot be produced by
something material, such as the subtle physical substances of our father and mother.

Moreover, if we look at the similarities and differences between twins, we can see that many
twins are physically very similar, but in terms of mind, they can be very different. They can have
distinct differences in terms of their likes and dislikes and their mental dispositions. Though the
physical substances from which their bodies began were similar, two twins must necessarily
have two separate mental continua.

Therefore, the cause of mind must be a preceding moment of mind. The cause of our present
moment of consciousness is the moment of consciousness in the preceding moment. If we
trace the continuum of our consciousness back to the womb, we can see that, although the
continuum of the body had its beginning with the meeting of our parents’ regenerative
substances, the mind that is present in the womb would have to have relied on a cause of its
own type in order to be produced. Therefore, the consciousness present in the womb had to
have arisen from a previous moment of consciousness—the consciousness of the previous
lifetime. It is impossible for that consciousness in the womb to have been produced randomly,
without any cause whatsoever.

When we further retrace the continuum of our mind, we will see that the process of mind’s
causality is beginningless. One cannot identify a point at which all of these moments of mind
began. Therefore, we have also been taking countless births in samsara throughout all of these
moments of consciousness, and there is no beginning to the series of births we have taken.

During each individual birth, we have had a father and mother who produced our physical body
and cared for us. Thus, if our births in samsara have been countless, we must also have had
countless fathers and mothers. Therefore, from among all sentient beings, there are none who
have not been our parents. This is what the Buddhist teachings say.

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Just as no sentient being has not at some point been a parent to us, there are also no sentient
beings who have not at some point been our kind friends. When we use the contemplation of
the past kindnesses of sentient beings as a reason for developing compassion, there is no rule
that we absolutely must reflect on sentient beings having been our mothers, or having been
our mothers and fathers. We can reflect on the relationships that for us represent the greatest
degree of closeness, friendship, and love.

For example, there was a great spiritual master in Tibet whose mother passed away at a very
early age. He was raised by an aunt who he came to regard as the source of the greatest
kindness and love in his personal life. For this reason, when he engaged in the traditional
contemplations of loving kindness and compassion, he used the reference point that had made
the most sense experientially for him: he contemplated how all sentient beings have, at some
point in the past, been his kind and loving aunt. The result of this contemplation is the same
result we strive to obtain from contemplating sentient beings as mothers: the master
cultivated great compassion for all sentient beings.

We can also follow in this master’s footsteps by contemplating whoever we feel to be the
greatest source of friendship and kindness to us. It is not the case that we have received this
kindness in this life alone; we have received kindness like this throughout all our lifetimes, from
all sentient beings. If we can understand how the kindness we have received—from whatever
source—is related to all sentient beings, that is sufficient.

No matter how we come to the conclusion that all sentient beings have been kind to us and
thus are worthy of our loving kindness and compassion, it is important to engage in this level of
reflection first. This way, when we enter into the main practice of generating compassion, the
practice will be one that is clearly informed by the correct reasons.

For the sake of convenience, and notwithstanding the above-mentioned caveat, I will refer to
the initial stage of developing appreciation for sentient beings as meditating on sentient beings
as ones own mothers. What is the measure or sign by which we can know we have engaged in
a penetrating reflection of the kindness of our mother sentient beings? How do we know we
have reflected on this topic thoroughly enough? We may be sitting around in more or less a
neutral state of mind. While sitting in this way, we may hear a dog barking outside. If, without
contrivance, we automatically think of the dog, ‘That is my mother,’ we have reached the
culmination of contemplating all sentient beings to be our mothers. If we hear a bird chirping
outside at a time when we are not even especially meditating on compassion and naturally
think to ourselves of the bird, ‘That is my mother,’ then our practice of knowing sentient beings
as our mothers has reached its full maturity.

I think it is also helpful to note that, while in general all parents are kind, we must acknowledge
that there are some human parents that are not models of kindness toward their children.
Furthermore, some types of sentient beings, such as animals, do not actually parent their
offspring at all. The young part from their parents immediately after birth and are able to raise
themselves. However, the examples of the mother in Buddhist teachings on loving kindness
and compassion should be understood to invoke the best models of motherhood, or
fatherhood, in the human realm. Again, the purpose of the contemplation is to recollect
situations in which we have been the recipients of great kindness and affection. Most parents
in the human realm live up to this ideal.

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When we have such parents, we receive tremendous kindness and assistance with regard to
clothing, food, the ability to talk, and in countless other ways. We can understand this through
our experience.

Generally speaking, when people are in a situation where their lives are saved by someone
else, we regard the life savers as heroes who are incredibly kind to us. We reserve a high level
of regard and appreciation for people who save lives. But if we reflect carefully on our
relationship with our mother, we will see that she has saved our lives hundreds of times. In the
case of human beings, from the moment we leave the womb we literally depend on our
mothers to survive every day. For if our mothers were to immediately abandon us at birth, we
would surely die. Therefore our mothers have saved us from death literally hundreds of times.
For every day that passed while we were under her care, there is another instance of our
mother rescuing us from death.

Thus all sentient beings who have been our parents have extended to us this level of kindness.
However, we might be tempted to refute the validity of contemplating this kindness because of
the logical conclusion that we have also been kind parents to sentient beings. We may think, ‘It
is fine that sentient beings have been my kind parents in the past, but why would I be
especially grateful to them when, by the same logic, I have also been a kind parent to each and
every sentient being?’ There is certainly no logical flaw in thinking in this way, but we must
examine where the greatest benefit lies. We do not engage in these contemplations of loving
kindness and compassion in order to create a water-tight logic. We engage in these
contemplations in order to bring about benefit by increasing our loving kindness and
compassion. Therefore, although it is true that we could spend all our time thinking about how
kind we have been to others in the past, it is clear that our mind will receive greater benefit by
focusing on appreciating the kindness of others. For it is this appreciation that is the gateway to
developing boundless loving kindness and compassion.

As we discussed previously, the main factor that will prepare us to fruitfully engender loving
kindness and compassion for sentient beings is knowing the reasons why such loving kindness
and compassion are both sensible and worthwhile. If we try to engender compassion for
sentient beings without knowing the reasons why, that is a sad approach.

When we know the reasons for our practice, our practice becomes much more beneficial. If the
reasonings, I have explained above are not beneficial, then you should forget about them.
Whatever reasons you use, it is essential to apply the practice of dharma directly to your own
mindstream. In closing, I aspire that there will be something in what I have said here that will
be of some slight benefit to your minds.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DETERMINATION TO BENEFIT OTHERS

Among those who are gathered here today, in one’s individual life there may be the possibility
of becoming exhausted from suffering and from many thoughts of dissatisfaction. However,
generally we are self-sufficient, have found sufficient happiness for ourselves, and even though
there may be certain problems, we have not fallen into any extreme difficulties. We have been
living in a comparatively good situation. Thus, at present, we have come across happiness and
lack any major hardships. Of course, we wish to continue to maintain this happiness in the
future, not to part from it, and to always keep it with us. We also hope to avoid even a small bit
of suffering. These hopes are continuously on our mind and we feel that we must keep this
situation safe.

Speaking from our life experience, sometimes when we see people who encounter suffering
and hardships, whether we know those people or not, we suddenly feel compassion. We do
not have an order to feel like that from anyone, such a feeling arises spontaneously. Also, this
feeling arises not only for other humans; even if we see animals suffering, compassion for them
arises naturally. I think it is accurate to say that we all have such compassion.

Therefore, I believe that this kind of feeling gives us a clear message. From this special
message, we learn that, in order to live in peace and happiness, we must rely on other beings.
Let us take someone who has a good life with harmonious conditions and does not have to rely
on others for his or her own happiness. Such a person lives in great conditions, but when he or
she sees some other beings suffering, they will suddenly realize that their life is not satisfactory
merely by virtue of pleasant surroundings and circumstances. They may always have a sense of
dissatisfaction if they cannot liberate those other beings from suffering.
Let me tell you an illustrating story. You may have heard about Sarnath, the place where the
Buddha gave his first teaching to his disciples. Due to this fact, it is a holy place for all
Buddhists. However, it is considered to be so special not just because of the Buddha’s first
teaching, but also by virtue of this amazing story, which also occurred in the same pleasant
place when the Buddha was practicing on the path in a previous life before his enlightenment.
At that time, ancient Sarnath was ruled by a king named Kashi Narash, who liked deer meat
very much. Therefore, his attendants killed many deer and offered the meat to the royal
kitchen. During that time, when the Buddha was on the path of a bodhisattva, he took birth as
a deer-king. Due to the kings taste for deer meat, many deer were shot every day, and
gradually hundreds and thousands of deer lost their lives.

The deer-king had great compassion toward them, so one day he went to see the king. Since he
was a bodhisattva, he had an extraordinary quality, which was the fruition of having
accumulated merit in his many previous lives. For the sake of other deer, he was able to
converse with the king in human language. He asked, ‘Your Majesty, how many deer do you
need in one day?’ The king replied, ‘I need the meat of one entire deer a day for my meal.’ The
deer-king said, ‘You don’t have to hunt hundreds of deer a day for your meal. Give me
permission, and I will send a deer for your meal everyday.’ The king understood the situation
and agreed to the deer-king’s suggestion. After this, the deer-king started to send a deer
everyday for the king’s meal, and in that way, there was no need for many deer to lose their
lives every day. In this way, all deer went, one after the other, to the king.

One day, the choice fell upon a pregnant doe, but instead of going to the king, she stayed in a
corner and cried. The deer-king saw her crying and he started wondering about this, because,
36
when the time had come for the other deer to go to the king, they all went happily to show
respect for the deer-king’s order and because they knew that many other deer’s lives would be
safe. The deer-king asked the pregnant doe, ‘What made you cry, when your turn came to go
to the king?’ She answered, ‘I am not crying because I’m afraid of losing my life; I am concerned
about the young one which is in my womb. I feel sad for my child, because it is not the time for
my child to die. There are lots of things to see in the world. My child is going to die without
ever seeing the green grass that we so enjoy eating. My child will not even be able to walk on
earth with my family. That is why I am sad, thinking of all this.’

When she told him this, the bodhisattva deer-king felt great compassion and said to her, ‘You
do not have to go today’’ However, he did not send anybody else that day, but decided to go
himself instead of the pregnant doe. When he arrived at the royal kitchen, the king’s chef saw
him and he did not think that he was there to offer his own flesh. He thought the deer-king
might have something to say to the king and so he sent him inside the king’s room. The deer-
king went to the king and told him the reason why he came. The king said, ‘You should have
sent another deer instead of the pregnant deer. Why did you come?’ The deer-king replied,
‘Today is not their turn to come to die. They have at least twenty-four hours to live their lives in
the world, and some have months and years. I could not bear to send them. I thought it was
unfair to do so, and this is why I came here.’

Once the king understood the situation, he thought, ‘The teachings in the scriptures say that
killing humans is a greater misdeed than killing animals. However, just for the sake of filling our
stomachs and bringing pleasure to our tongues morning and noon, we kill and enjoy the lives of
animals heedlessly. I am probably the worst example of doing harm to animals.’ He thought
that the deer-king was a symbol of love and, becoming inspired, he gave up harming the deer
and eating their meat. He then created a deer park for the deer so they could enjoy their lives
without harm. Therefore, at Sarnath, as a memorial, we can still see that deer park even today.
I have been there several times.

So, this brief story shows that merely having enough material things for our living cannot
complete our lives. We need a strong heart to face the problems and sufferings of others. This
is very important and necessary, because of the many reasons mentioned in the story. The
motivation of taking others’ suffering is not difficult, nor is it the cause of problems. Rather, we
need to strengthen our motivation to face whatever problem there is. We need an openness of
mind that accommodates good and bad. For example, when stricken ill by some kind of
disease, most of the time patients are cured by their determination and strength of mind
rather than through medicine.

In Tibet, if we catch cold, instead of having a poor and depressed attitude, we say that, if we
eat well without fear, then we will get better and the flu will go away. I don’t know whether or
not the flu will go away through that, but the pain of the sickness will be somewhat pacified.
We don’t have to be so fearful. If we think we have caught the flu and panic, it will just cause
our sickness to get worse and worse. As we say, the condition of that flu then becomes the
cause for the arising of all diseases.

However, if we are not able to have the strength of mind to face the difficulties of this world, it
will be hard to enjoy happiness. Therefore, we should strengthen our mental power for the
sake of all other sentient beings. We have to be confident in our motivation to benefit other
beings, not thinking that it might be beneficial for some beings or maybe not. If we apply the
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profound motivation for the sake of others, the main benefit is for ourselves. I think this is very
important to keep in mind.

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COMPASSION IS THE ROOT OF ALL PRACTICES

THE BUDDHA presented the three baskets as the vehicles for his teachings. The teachings that
these baskets contained are known as the three trainings. All of these teachings are based on
refraining from harming others and engaging in helping others. It is therefore of great
importance for Buddhists to have these two principles as the ground of their practice. The
roots of Buddhist practice are the attitudes of altruism and non-harm. In other words, the roots
of Buddhist practice are loving kindness and compassion.

From among these two qualities, I think that compassion is foremost: in general, we develop
loving kindness by relying on compassion. In the beginning, therefore, compassion is in a sense
more important. Our compassion must have a broad focus, not only including ourselves, but
including all sentient beings.

Why must it include all sentient beings? Because all sentient beings, oneself and others, want
to be happy and free of suffering. This basic desire is the same for everyone. Nevertheless,
most of the sentient beings we see at present experience only suffering; they cannot obtain
happiness. Just as we have a desire to clear away the suffering in our own experience and to
enjoy happiness, through meditating on compassion we come to see that all other beings have
this desire as well. So other beings are not only worthy of our compassion, they are also the
cause for our meditation on compassion to become possible.

According to the Mahayana teachings, all sentient beings are ‘our parents of the past, present,
and future.’ This means that, of all sentient beings, some have been our parents in the past,
some are our current parents, and some will be our parents in the future; there are no beings
who are not, in the end, our parents. For this reason, all sentient beings have a connection of
affection toward us. They have a connection of kindness toward us. These affectionate and
kind parents are trapped in a state of suffering, unable to actualize their desire for happiness. It
is crucial for us to begin meditating on compassion for them, in this very moment. I think that
this explains clearly why it is necessary to include not only the benefit of ourselves but the
benefit of others as well in the purpose of our meditation on compassion.

When we practice the meditations on compassion, it is not enough for us simply to feel a
compassionate sensation in our minds. We must bring our meditation on compassion to the
deepest level possible. In order to make our compassion as deep as possible, we reflect on the
suffering of sentient beings in all six realms of samsara. These sentient beings who are
undergoing such intense suffering are the same beings who are our kind parents of the past,
present, and future. In short, all of these sentient beings are individuals with whom we are
connected.

Therefore, since we are connected to all of these beings, it is possible for us to further our
connection to them by bringing them benefit. The most excellent connection we could possibly
make would be to cultivate the heart of compassion for them and to think of ways we can
reduce their suffering. Reflecting on our connection to these beings, we must engender a
compassion that cannot bear their suffering to endure any longer. This great, unbearable
compassion is extremely important. Without it, we might be able to feel a compassionate
sensation in our minds from time to time, but this sensation will not bring forth the full power
of compassion. It cannot form the basis of a comprehensive practice.

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On the other hand, once unbearable compassion takes birth in our hearts, we will immediately
be compelled to altruistic action. We will automatically start thinking about how we can free
sentient beings from suffering. Therefore, the way to develop altruism is through meditating on
compassion. When our compassion becomes genuine and deep, our actions for the benefit of
others will be effortless and free from doubt. That is why it is so crucial for us to deepen our
practice of compassion until our compassion becomes unbearable.

Unlike our usual approach to compassion, where we meditate here and there on the general
notion that sentient beings experience suffering, unbearable compassion penetrates and
moves our heart. If we were to see someone trapped in a raging fire, we would not postpone
our assistance to that person. Right then and there, we would immediately begin thinking of
and engaging in ways to extract him or her from the fire. Similarly, with unbearable
compassion, we witness the suffering of all sentient beings of the six realms and immediately
seek out ways to free them from that suffering. Not only do we genuinely try to free them from
suffering; we are also completely willing to endure any obstacles we may encounter on our
path to freeing them. We are unfazed by complications and doubts.

All sentient beings have basic compassion. Even people we would generally consider ill-
tempered have compassion; they simply have not brought their basic compassion to a refined
level. If ill-tempered people did not have any compassion at all, it would be impossible for them
to develop their compassion by practicing on the path. All beings have compassion, but their
door to the mastery of compassion has thus far been locked. So even though it may seem that
some people have no compassion whatsoever, everyone has at least a small seed of
compassion. That small seed can grow into great compassion; the potential we all have for
great compassion can be made manifest.

Though the great, noble beings can let the full extent of their potential for compassion shine
through, we ordinary beings cannot. Though we have the seed of compassion, we do not have
the compassion we want. Precisely when we need compassion the most, we cannot access it;
the door of our compassion is closed.

To make our compassion strong and to make our seed of compassion ripen, we need the path.
When we enter the path of compassion, we begin to connect with the compassion that we
need in order to help others, and we begin to develop the compassion we need in order to
attain enlightenment. We already have compassion, bodhichitta, wisdom, and many other
positive qualities, yet our mental afflictions are far stronger than all of these most of the time.
It is as if the afflictions have locked all of our positive qualities away in a box.

One day, when we open that box and all of our good qualities spring forth, we will not have to
go looking for our compassion. It is not available for purchase anywhere. We will discover that
compassion is present in our minds spontaneously. A wealth of excellent qualities will become
available to us.

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APPRECIATING ALL SENTIENT BEINGS

Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva who represents the great compassionate heart of all the
buddhas, so his true nature is to be full of love and compassion. Thus, when doing the practice
of Avalokiteshvara, it is very important for us to understand how to cultivate compassion. In
order to develop a good practice of love and compassion, having collected the causes and
conditions for practice, it is necessary to be capable of fostering our innate seeds of love and
compassion, which is like a preparation for love and compassion to flourish. Generally
speaking, whether we have or do not have the fully qualified love and compassion as explained
in Buddhism, most of us have some degree of love and compassion that concords with or is
similar to it; it is on the basis of this potential that we engage in Buddhist practice. Other than
further developing and enhancing the seed of love and compassion that we already have in our
minds, we don’t need to be concerned with developing any other religiously inspired sense of
‘love’ and ‘compassion’ as some kind of formal spiritual discipline.

Before love and compassion for others can arise in our mind, first we need to think of others as
pleasant, positive, and delightful. In order to have such positive thoughts about other beings
arise, we should investigate the relationship between us and others in an affectionate
friendship. We should see that the principle of a relationship that occurs in such a friendship is
the mutual exchange of benefit and to be friendly in a harmonious way with one another. By
cultivating such a relationship, pleasant thoughts about each other arise naturally. This is what
is meant by love and compassion.

When we speak about this from the Buddhist point of view, we not only generate such
pleasant thoughts about one or two persons, but for the vast realm of all sentient beings in the
universe whose number is as limitless as space. If we cannot do that, then we should at least
give rise to positive thoughts for all the types of beings who live in this world. Before we are
able to create those kinds of thoughts, we need to know whether or not there is an
affectionate relationship of mutual valuing and cherishing between us and all those beings. If
there is such a relationship, it will generate positive thoughts.

With these positive thoughts comes the basic mindset of wishing for other beings to have
happiness and freedom from suffering. In this way, we come to have an affectionate
connection with all sentient beings. In order for this to happen, the main thing to acknowledge
is that all sentient beings have the nature of being beneficial to us and of showing us great
kindness. In this regard, it is taught in the Buddhist scriptures that there is not even a single
sentient being that has not once been our father, our mother, our relative, and our friend.

There is a story from the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni that illustrates this point. One day,
while he was out walking on his alms rounds, the Buddha came upon a road on the other side
of which an old woman was doing some farm work. Upon encountering the Buddha on the side
of the road, she immediately thought of him as being her son.

‘My son! My son!’ she cried out and ran toward the Buddha, trying to hug him, but the
Buddha’s attendants stopped the old woman in her path. Nothing like this had ever happened
to the Buddha before, so his retinue asked what the reason for such a thing could be. ‘That old
woman was the rebirth of my mother five hundred lifetimes ago,’ replied the Buddha.

The causes for this old woman meeting the Buddha face to face in this way were her latent
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habitual tendencies of having been mother and son in an earlier life. Due to the Buddhas
extraordinary capability and power, this potential was awakened and she came to see the
Buddha as her son again. The Buddha is a person who does not speak falsehood and who has
abandoned hypocrisy, and although it was five hundred lifetimes ago, surely the mother-son
connection still existed.

All of us have a good connection of affection with all sentient beings in that same way.
Whether or not we know it, we have all been mothers and fathers for each other and thus have
many affectionate and friendly connections with all sentient beings, even if we cannot explain
them. In brief, there is not even a single being that has not once been our father and mother in
an affectionate and friendly relationship.

However, it is not just due to the sheer fact of all beings without exceptions having been our
parents that we should have great gratitude for their kindness, but there are many more
reasons for us to think of them with gratitude. Usually, mothers and fathers actually have a lot
of genuine love and affection for their children. Also, most beings who wander in samsara
needing a lot of care— especially as children—have to rely on their mothers and fathers for
their livelihood and well-being. Since this is generally how it is, we should consider parents with
gratitude because of their great kindness in mind and action for us. In particular, we usually
consider this kindness as providing us with food, clothing, teaching us to speak, and so on. But
we might say that their greatest kindness is that we are loved, whatever kind of person we are.

When we fear for our life or we come close to death and someone saves us from that danger,
that unique person comes to be valued as having provided us with a very special kindness.
Having our life saved one time we consider a very great kindness. But what about all those
parents who nurtured us and on whom we depended for care countless times? If it were not
for their looking after us, we would not have been able to survive. It is because of that care that
we have a life to live. Our parents do not just watch over us for one day, they care for us year
to year, month to month; every single day we are protected by our parents, which is an
extremely great kindness.

Thus, when other sentient beings become our close friends or our mother or father, they are
very kind to us, but not only then. We should consider them as being extremely kind even
when they are not our mother or father. If we look at it from the point of view of this human
life now, except for some friends and relatives like our mother and father, all sentient beings
are obviously not our direct relatives, let alone our mother or father. But still I say that all these
beings are extremely kind even when they are not our mother or father. Why is that?

To answer from a broad perspective, when we think of all sentient beings whose number is
unfathomable like the sky, we should consider the issue from the point of view of one
individual family. If an individual has happiness and well-being, other than in mutual
dependence on everyone in that family, it is extremely difficult for that happiness to be created
by just one person. Similarly, as we are born on this earth, if the entire environment and
society of this world enjoy happiness and wellbeing, then happiness and well-being will also
arise for individual people. But if the environment becomes a cause for hostility or harm, there
will be suffering and difficulty, and hardship will arise.

Invariably, the happiness of one sentient being depends on the happiness of other sentient
beings. As soon as we are born in this world, whatever food, clothing, and talk, whatever kind
42
of name and fame we want and need, on our own we will not be able to bring about our
happiness and well-being without depending on other sentient beings. Thus, from the moment
we enter this world, happiness and well-being can grow only on the basis of others, but cannot
be planted firmly by just one individual independently. We need to rely on all other beings.

Thus, though all the sentient beings of this world are not our mothers and fathers at this time,
in one way or the other they all show us some kindness and become the source of our
happiness and well-being. When they become the conditions for our happiness and well-being,
we speak of them as being very kind to us. So when some benefit comes to us via other
sentient beings, it is very much in order to consider all those beings as very kind. On the other
hand, however, a lot of harm and hardship may also come to us via other sentient beings and
then we grasp onto a thought of a familiar kind. We feel contempt for those other sentient
beings, which leads to anger and aggression. We feel contempt and we think that what is
happening is not okay. That type of thought arises, doesn’t it?

Why does it arise? Because if it is fine to think others as very kind when they benefit us, then
there’s no reason why we shouldn’t think that it is fine to consider them as bad when they
harm us. Generally speaking, it is not unreasonable to think that way, since so much harm
comes to us via other beings. Moreover, most sentient beings have not tamed their minds and
do not think in terms of love and compassion for themselves and others.

So when many problems arise for us due to that, from the perspective of these difficulties we
think that other beings are bad. But on the other hand, this way of thinking will only cause
misery for us. Not only will it promote unhappiness, it is also of no benefit to us whatsoever.
Moreover, we already encounter many different types of hardship and suffering, so we don’t
need to add to them at all. We don’t need to seek out pain and suffering in the world—-it falls
on our heads all the time! On the one hand, human beings have extraordinary judgment: we
think it is very important to strive to accomplish a perfect happiness that is different from other
beings. What other reason should we have to practice the Buddhist teachings? Having thought
about obtaining happiness, we should focus our attention on it. If we think only in terms of the
harm that may or may not come to us, there are many examples and reasons which show that
such thinking is not beneficial and that because of it many negative things occur. Instead, if we
think about how other beings provide benefits for us, we can nurture a motivation that is
helpful for both us and those beings.

We need to consider which of these two ways of thinking is the principle that brings more
benefit to us. I think it is very important that we choose between thinking in terms of the harm
that comes from other beings and thinking in terms of the benefits that come from them. If we
compare being self-centered and just following our own desires with seeking real benefit for
both ourselves and others, in the long run it is the latter that works well.

Consider the following experience of a professional speaker who is a learned person or

consultant giving advice on worldly matters and is an expert lecturer. Suppose that one day he
was making his preparations for giving a talk in a large hotel. Many well-known businessmen,
famous people, and distinguished scholars had planned to come to the speech. But suppose
that the manager of the hotel was greedy and wanted a little more money, so he decides to
raise the rental price for having the speech in the hotel. The lecturer would probably become a
little bit angry at this, wouldn’t he? If he became angry, but thought well about what to do, he
would probably give a slick reply to the manager, such as, ‘These days, everyone is focused on
43
the wealth of the market. Someone like me who gives lectures in your hotel provides a lot of
your business. These days, everyone focuses on how important it is to chase after money, but
today, if that is how you are going to play it, I won’t give my speech in your hotel, but will speak
in another hotel instead. You will not be able to invite so many people to your hotel anymore
and you will lose the patronage of the many scholars and famous people that usually come to
your hotel. You should really think about what is more profitable.’
Now, if he said something like that, the manager, concerned for his profits, might forget about
increasing the rent and might even lower it. But suppose that the lecturer spoke in a different
way, being very direct and concerned only with his own profit. Then, because both of them
were being selfish, neither would ever surrender to the other and both would loose. In terms of
thinking about their own as well as the benefit of others involved, these people should be
focused on how best to accomplish this benefit. If they are able to do so, a long term result that
is good for both is likely to come about. Consider that selfishness is not the principle way to
accomplish profit or benefit. We should think mainly in terms of what can bring more benefit in
terms of our long term goals.

Put simply, to think in terms of the harm that comes to us via all sentient beings engenders
hatred toward others and is based on a principal belief in selfishness. We should not think, ‘Oh,
lots of horrible things have been done to me’ and get stuck on that. Instead, if we nurture the
other principle of benefiting others, then through our altruistic attitude benefit will come to
ourselves too. All happiness and well-being necessarily come to us in dependence upon others.
What goes around comes around, and if we do good for another, then good will come to us.
This is what we should call real benefit and profit. It is very impor-tant that we place this
principle in the forefront of our mind, making this kind of profit our priority and considering our
long term goals in this way.

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WHAT BLOCKS US FROM HAVING A COMPASSIONATE HEART

Today, I will give you an oral reading transmission of the six syllable mantra of noble
Avalokiteshvara and some explanations on it. In essence, love and compassion are the names
that represent the practice of Avalokiteshvara. What we call the practice of love and
compassion is not biased or partial to any religion or human race. For all persons who strive for
happiness, cultivating love and compassion is necessary and all are allowed to do so. No matter
which religion or race we belong to, we all wish for happiness and we all wish to be free from
suffering. Thus, this is a practice that will be of benefit to people who think in that way.

The practices of loving kindness and compassion are incredibly relevant for everyone.
Moreover, training in these qualities provides a common bridge between all different religions
and areas of our world society. No matter whether we are people who teach a spiritual path or
someone else, everybody can practice love and compassion, but it is important that we do so in
an impartial way.

For example, I am a Buddhist, but I still have to live my life as a member of the larger world
community. I must be a member of society. In society, Buddhism is not the only spiritual
tradition. There are many different forms of religion and spirituality, and there are also many
different types of people— those who are inclined toward religious or spiritual approaches and
those who are not. Furthermore, there are many different nationalities and many different
religious and non-religious philosophies that people follow. Our world community is very vast.

Therefore, it is important for us to be respectful of the entire range of religious and spiritual
traditions, not setting ourselves up as ‘opponents’ of any other tradition. The way to
accomplish happiness in the world is to do meaningful work in one’s own life with a positive
motivation that sees all people and all traditions as equal.

I believe that humans can be set apart from other types of sentient beings by their ability to
naturally connect with sharp intelligence and nonviolence, loving kindness, and compassion.
From the moment we are born onward, we are constantly chasing after happiness, thinking of
ways we can become happy and free from suffering and actively trying to bring those desires to
fruition. The propensities toward loving kindness, compassion, and nonviolence that we display
when following this quest, I think, show in many ways how humans are unique.

When we are born as children, no matter whether we are powerful or not, we are always
naturally motivated and behave in ways so as to strive for happiness and seek to avoid
suffering. I believe that humans are different from other beings by virtue of the many signs that
exhibit their having a nature that is nonviolent and replete with love and compassion.

For example, we humans laugh and smile, while animals do not do so. Like us, animals can cry
out and moan, but humans are distinct in that, when we are happy, we automatically smile and
laugh; we can clearly see who is happy by their outward expressions. This is a unique feature of
humans as opposed to animals and I believe that it is one of the features that shows our
human nature of possessing the qualities of love and compassion.

For any species of sentient being to continue existing, the members of that species must have
affection for each other, and they must support each other. We experience this directly in our
lives. Therefore, for human beings as well, in order for us to survive as humans we must
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nurture and sustain connections between us of love, compassion, nonviolence, and altruism.
These connections are not only the most important conditions that will allow us to survive, but
also the most important conditions to make our lives meaningful. If we concentrate on
ensuring that these connections are present, that in itself will be enough.

Even as we understand that loving kindness and compassion are so important, we will also find
it is quite difficult to fully and genuinely incorporate them into our experience. I believe that to
make genuine love and compassion powerful we must overcome difficult obstacles. We must
genuinely nurture the seeds of love and compassion that we all have within us already. This
refers to a mindset of wishing for freedom from suffering and the attainment of true
happiness. All humans, whether they are of high or low status, have that. Even if we do not
have a great amount of genuine love and compassion, we at least have some element of
affection and loving kindness for ourselves and others, and it is important to further cultivate
this potential in order to make it flourish fully.

However, what prevents us from cultivating our heart of loving kindness and compassion
further is the mental afflictions, and especially anger. Emotions such as anger inflict the
greatest harm on our path to authentic compassion. It is critical that we stabilize our love and
compassion in the face of their adversaries—mental afflictions such as hatred. These afflictions
disturb our cultivation of love and compassion and can disrupt our experience and expression
of them. For this reason, we must take an honest look at our emotions and ask ourselves, ‘Is
this emotion benefiting me or not?’ We need to engage in a detailed introspective analysis of
this question. If our investigation reveals that these negative emotions are of no benefit, their
nature is obviously problematic. Thus, the vital next step is for us to actually acknowledge
these emotions for what they are—problems and shortcomings.

Let us consider the example of anger. We can all clearly see that anger entails a lot of problems
and shortcomings. From a Buddhist point of view, anger and aggression do not only produce a
slew of t unpleasant results in this life, but also in future lifetimes. Of course, the latter only
applies for those who actually believe in the existence of future lifetimes, but the descriptions
of the shortcomings of anger are still relevant for those who do not hold this belief even from
the perspective of just this present life—anger has many flaws. For example, when we become
angry, our face changes and we take on a frightful appearance. We become unattractive to
others; even those who are close to us and love us find it difficult to be around us. Since anger
in us instills fear in others, it greatly hinders our relationships.

Take snakes, for instance. Many people are afraid of snakes. Snakes can look harmless, even
gentle, like they don’t have any power. But from another point of view, we view snakes as
unpleasant because of their external display when they become angry. It is instantly clear from
their abruptly arising ferocious behavior that they are angry. The reason why we are afraid of
snakes is that their aggression arises in such an abrupt and intense manner.

When we clearly reflect on the shortcomings of anger and the positive qualities of loving
kindness, we will be able to see anger as a flaw. Likewise, we can recognize love and
compassion as positive qualities. Through this, our practice of love and compassion becomes
strong, firmly anchored in our mind, and we feel delighted about training in these qualities.
When we are delighted about training in these qualities, we exert ourselves all the more
strongly in training in them. When we exert ourselves greatly in such training, the results we
experience also become much more powerful. Having discernment about what is beneficial
46
and what is faulty, therefore, is very important.

Without such discernment—the firm belief that our mental afflictions are flaws to be avoided,
and resolute efforts to relinquish them— even if we have the best intentions, our practice of
compassion and so on can become susceptible to the same old habits. For example, while we
may be somewhat experienced in practicing compassion, if we are treated angrily by someone
and not sufficiently habituated to this practice, we may habitually respond by looking at that
person in a negative light and have resentment toward him or her. But if we have a deep
understanding of the problematic aspects of our negative emotions and are able to regard
them like illnesses, we will no longer see aggressors who harm us as bad in themselves. Rather,
we will understand that these aggressors are not acting out of their own free will or in full
control of themselves—they are afflicted by the illness of their own negative emotions, being
controlled by them. Once we clearly see this situation of the other person, we become freed
from our own resentment toward them. Likewise, our practice of loving kindness and
compassion will be affected less by their angry behavior.

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NOURISHING OUR INNATE LOVE AND COMPASSION

As I always say, the practice of Avalokiteshvara is to refrain from harming others and to
cultivate the wish to help others. Through this practice, we cultivate a loving attitude toward
others, like the love we have for our fathers and sons, mothers and sisters. Cultivating this
outlook of closeness and friendship toward sentient beings is the intention of Avalokiteshvara
practice.

However, there are many obstacles and adverse conditions that stand in the way of this
practice becoming powerful and effective. For example, in this modern world many obstacles
arise in dependence on the external environment. Due to these negative environmental
influences, we come to adopt unhealthy states of mind. Our motivation becomes impure in a
variety of ways due to outer influences.

These negative motivations obstruct the loving kindness and compassion that are naturally
present within us. From among all of these adverse conditions, the foremost is jealousy.
Jealousy can rob us of our freedom and interrupt loving relationships between people. Jealousy
occurs when we cannot tolerate others encountering situations that seem to involve more
happiness than what we have. When we continually feel the need to have others beneath us
and none equal to us, that is jealousy. When we are controlled by jealousy, we only feel
comfortable when others come to us for assistance; we only feel at ease when others are
looking to us with hope. We cannot stand being in situations where others have something that
we need.

Moreover, in this era many people in society feel that these manifestations of jealousy are
justified. Many people seem to believe that when we have a competitive attitude toward
others, and when we want to vie aggressively against others for some reward, this is not only
acceptable but to be encouraged.

There is also a lot of talk about ‘freedom’ these days. There are two kinds of freedom. One is a
natural freedom; the other is a freedom that is limited to certain situations. Natural freedom
simply refers to our freedom to do whatever we want. No matter what it is, we are free to do
it. No matter what desire we have in our minds, we are free to attempt to accomplish that
desire. Ultimately, there is no one who can say ‘You are not allowed to do that’ If we really
want to do something, we are free to go ahead and try.

The more limited type of freedom could be described as a qualification of the first type of
freedom. We may have the inherent natural freedom to do as we please no matter what, but
that freedom will often be put into context by conditions within our environment. Due to our
society and other circumstances we may find ourselves in situations in which we must only
partake of our inherent freedom to a degree that befits and complements our external
situation. For, if we partake of our freedom in a way that does not complement and harmonize
our external situation, we run the danger of destroying all paths of opportunity that may exist
for us in the future. We also put the happiness and wellbeing of our fellow members of society
in jeopardy.

Let us look at the example of a monk or nun. Monks and nuns, on the level of natural freedom,
have no restrictions inhibiting them from doing whatever they may think of doing. They have
the right to do whatever they want to do. However, their karmic lot is that they have willingly
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accepted the behavioral guidelines for ordained monastics. Therefore, it is incumbent upon
them to partake of their natural freedom in ways that limit what they do to only the conduct
that is appropriate for monks and nuns. If they go beyond that limit, their conduct will render
meaningless the opportunities they had created for themselves through choosing the path of
monasticism and others will look down upon them. In other words, no benefit will arise when
natural freedom expresses itself in this way.

As human beings who share this world, we all have the freedom to pursue happiness and
remove the obstructions to attaining happiness. We are free to pursue happiness wherever we
can find it. In the same way that we want to pursue happiness, others, all sentient beings, also
wish to pursue happiness and actively search for happiness from wherever they can find it. Yet
if we hinder others in their pursuit of happiness, or if we try to pull them down after they have
attained a certain degree of joy, this is inappropriate. Thus, we must remember that other
beings are exactly the same as ourselves in terms of the desire to be happy. To remember this
is extremely important.

Another important thing to contemplate is how much we rely on others to be happy. When we
reflect on any degree of happiness we attain, we can ask ourselves whether this happiness was
attained solely due to our own efforts or if it involved conditions that were provided by others.
When we really look at our experience, we will definitely see that no happiness that we enjoy
comes through our own efforts or our own wishes alone. We rely greatly on others, all sentient
beings, for whatever happiness we may enjoy.

Society is thus a group of individuals, with none of the individuals in society being truly alone or
isolated. The happiness we obtain from society is a happiness born of the coming together of
many individuals. However, when we become jealous, we are not willing to see the positive
qualities of others. Whether we are alone or in a group, when we are overcome by jealousy our
eyes are not willing to see the good things in others; they are constantly looking for others’
faults. We build up intolerance toward the faults of others. In particular, when we see others
enjoying good fortune that exceeds our own, we cannot stand it. In this way, we create extra
and superfluous difficulties for our minds to deal with.

A better approach would be to pay more attention to our own conduct than to the conduct of
others. Allow me to illustrate this point using an example, which I hope will make things very
clear for everyone.

In the olden days in India, in a city called Shravasti, there was a very wealthy householder. One
day, this householder hosted the Buddha and the Buddha’s sangha for a meal. However, many
more monks than would usually attend such a luncheon arrived for the meal, and so extra
preparations of food and so forth had to be made.

The householder had one female servant who was responsible for the bulk of these
preparations. This woman was not happy about the additional guests, and she began thinking
many suspicious thoughts about them. ‘The house owner is being fooled by their tricks,’ she
thought to herself. ‘All the monks want is to consume whatever of his he will give them, and he
is prepared to give them whatever they want.’ In this way, animosity toward the monks grew
and grew inside her. What she failed to realize was that there was nothing negative or
malicious happening on the part of the monks or the householder. Rather, the servant had
been overcome by her own thoughts of miserliness, but she did not have the self-awareness to
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recognize this.

Driven by her intense and ever-increasing anger and miserliness, the woman finally blurted out
a perverse aspiration to the assembled monks: ‘In the future,’ she said, ‘I hope you yellow
robe-wearing monks die and that I never see you again!’

News of her ugly utterances spread quickly throughout the whole city of Shravasti. Eventually,
the queen of Shravasti heard too. Since the queen was friends with the householder who was
the servant woman’s employer, she paid a visit to his house to look into the incident. She
inquired of the householders wife, ‘Who is this demon lady that appears to be working for you?
What are you doing to rectify the situation?’

The lady of the house responded: ‘This situation is no big deal. The Buddha travels to many
different kingdoms and performs the benefit of beings in a variety of ways. For example, he
tamed even hateful evildoers such as the serial killer Angulimala, extending to them loving
kindness and friendship and transforming their character into one of peacefulness. Therefore,
there is no need to become too upset about whatever things were done by the old servant
woman. This kind of thing happens. We don’t need to own these actions as our own.’

The queen said, ‘If that is the way things are, so be it. Tomorrow, I am hosting the Buddha and
his sangha in my palace. Please send your servant and make sure she is in attendance.’

The next day, the servant was sent to the royal palace of Shravasti. After she had arrived and
entered into the palace, she suddenly became afraid of encountering the Buddha again, not
knowing what the Buddha may think of her or say to her in response to her angry words of the
past. She attempted to flee the palace, but got lost on the way out. Circling right and left, she
couldn’t find a way to leave the palace grounds and ended up running into the Buddha, seated
with his retinue, teaching the dharma to the queen and members of the queen’s retinue in the
palace’s backyard.

She stopped and listened to the Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha was talking about why
bodhisattvas must mentally let go of everything: their bodies, their life force, and their
enjoyments. The Buddha talked about why the bodhisattvas practice giving their possessions
away so intensely: bodhisattvas do not give these things away because they themselves want
to be free and powerful. If that were their motivation, they would not be selfless. Rather,
bodhisattvas mentally let go of everything because they want to establish others, all sentient
beings, in a state of genuine happiness. Bodhisattvas, not being deceived by their own
possessions and so forth, take others, all sentient beings, as their highest priority. They strive to
benefit others in any way they can.
‘As an extension of that striving,’ the Buddha said, MI along with my retinue are continually
traveling to many different lands and begging alms from many different types of people. The
reason we do this is to make positive connections with as many beings as possible. By making
positive, virtuous, and friendly connections with all sentient beings, we can continually bring
pleasure and happiness to beings’ minds. These connections are like a bridge of positivity
between ourselves and sentient beings. This is why we are always traveling and begging alms.’

When the woman heard this teaching of the Buddha, the following realization dawned in her:
‘By offering alms to the Buddha’s monks, I am sustaining their lives. Theirs, moreover, are not
simply ordinary lives, they are the lives of monks who make positive connections with and give
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happiness to many sentient beings. Therefore, how beneficial is it that I may sustain their lives
and in this way have a positive effect on many others.’ Thinking in this way, she abandoned her
miserly attitude of the past and engendered lucid faith for the first time. In sum, we must make
our minds as vast as the sky and give rise to an attitude of love and altruism toward others, all
sentient beings.

In relating to other sentient beings, it is helpful to remember that words are very powerful. We
can see through our experience that if someone criticizes us harshly, it causes our minds to
become disturbed and ill at ease. Harsh words can actually change the state of our minds. If
this is possible for negative words, then the same level of power must also be accessible in
relation to positive words. We can use positive words of loving kindness, friendship, and
compassion to effect positive changes in our relationships with others.

One of the most powerful ways of connecting with positive words is studying and
contemplating the dharma. There are of course countless dharma teachings that we could
study and contemplate. We will not be able to hear and contemplate all of these teachings, but
it is of vital importance that we study and contemplate those dharma teachings that have the
capacity to bring real benefit to our minds.

Our main goal in society is to try to bring as much benefit to others as we can through reliance
on non-harm and altruism. To that end, there is a traditional teaching in the Buddhist scriptures
on the seven cause-and-effect stages of giving rise to bodhichitta.

The first stage is knowing sentient beings to be ones mothers. When we have good
relationships with our parents and when our parents have treated us well, it is generally no
problem for us to engage in this contemplation. However, if our relationship with our parents
has not been so good, this contemplation may prove difficult. For this reason, I discussed
earlier a technique of substituting the concept of ‘mother’ for someone else who has been kind
to one if one does not have a strong connection of pure appreciation for ones mother or
father.

In any case, at this stage we recognize all sentient beings—regardless of whether they are now
happy or in a state of suffering—to be our mothers. Why do we recognize them to be our
mothers? All sentient beings have at one point been our mothers—or our fathers, or our close
friends—because we have been taking birth in samsara since beginningless time. Sentient
beings have been taking turns being our parents since beginningless time.

Let us look at the logic that supports the existence of past and future lifetimes. As sentient
beings, we have two main components to our existence: our bodies and our minds. In the case
of humans, in order to attain a human body we need to rely on the subtle substances of our
parents coalescing in the womb. The merging of these substances produces a continuum that
eventually becomes our body. But it is not this way with the mind. The continuum of the mind
must have a different cause, for the mind, since it is immaterial, cannot be produced by
physical substances, such as the regenerative essences of our parents. In order for the mind to
be produced, it needs a cause that is of a class of phenomena similar to itself. Therefore, the
first moment of consciousness in the womb must have been produced by a previous moment
of consciousness. That moment in turn must have been produced by a previous moment of
consciousness, and so on.

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Furthermore, if we look at the situation of twins, we see that the physical appearances of twins
can often be similar, but there will always be differences with regard to the minds of twins.
Even twins will have different thoughts and think in different ways. This is further evidence that
mind does not arise from physical elements. If the mind arose from physical elements, then the
twins would necessarily have similar thoughts all the time, just as they appear to be similar
physically. But as we know, it doesn’t happen that way.

There are also individuals who are capable of knowing and talking about the situations of their
past lifetimes. Thus there are many reasons why we should be quite suspicious of the position
that there are no past and future lifetimes.

There is no point at which we can say the continuum of our births in samsara began. If we
could trace the continuum of our births back in time, we would have to trace our births
infinitely. At each stage of birth, we had a mother and father who generated our physical body.
Thus, given this infinite continuum, there are no sentient beings whatsoever who have not
been our mothers and fathers in the past. Even when we are in a situation where sentient
beings are not presently serving as our mother or father, we are still in a field, a realm of
sentient beings, that is filled with our mothers and fathers of the past.

There are two types of parents: parents that physically generate our body and parents that
nourish, guide, and sustain us, even though they are not our biological parents. Furthermore,
some people have been so kind to us in our lives that we may think of them as being like
parents to us.

In this way we can think of all sentient beings—even in the present lifetime—as being our
parents. This is because we rely on our societal environment as a whole to sustain us. The other
people in our societies nurture us, both directly and indirectly. It is impossible for us to survive
by relying on our own efforts alone. Since all of society brings benefit to us, everyone in the
world is like our parents. Thus everyone in the present world is a mother or father to us.

When we recognize all beings to be our mothers and fathers in this way, we create an
opportunity to have a very positive outlook and connection with them. However, simply
understanding that all beings have been our parents is not sufficient. Simply knowing this
logically will not cause us to extend to them love and beneficial wishes. For example, small
children may know who their parents are, but it is difficult for them to be aware of how many
difficulties their parents have undertaken on their behalf, or the degree to which their parents
have benefited them.

Therefore, in addition to recognizing beings as one’s mothers and fathers, we must also reflect
on the great kindness that beings have extended to us as our parents. Our parents extend great
generosity to us by giving us our body and ensuring our survival. They do this, moreover, out of
a motivation of great love—not simply because they have been forced to. The ones who
brought about the beginning of our lives are our parents. The ones who have given us our
precious bodies are our parents. It is necessary for us to realize that, from the day of our birth,
our parents have played the most important role in fulfilling our basic needs.
We usually regard someone who saves our life as being incredibly kind to us. But in reality, our
mothers and fathers have saved our lives hundreds and even thousands of times. Every single
day, until we were able to care completely for ourselves, our parents saved us from perishing
by providing for us whatever we needed to live. If it were not for their efforts, it would have
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been very difficult for us to stay alive. Therefore, we must expand our awareness of how kind
our parents have been to us.

It is possible that we might have doubts about this manner of contemplating kindness. We may
think, ‘If so many sentient beings have been kind to me, then it is also possible for many
sentient beings to have harmed me. Why shouldn’t I spend an equal amount of time
contemplating the harm they have done?’

With regard to this question, the key point is whether or not we receive benefit from the
contemplation. When we reflect on those who have benefited us and generate the wish to
benefit those beings in return, we certainly receive great benefit in our minds. But when we
contemplate with resentment the harms that others have done to us, our minds become
disturbed and no benefit arises. Therefore, we must choose the path that most benefits our
mind.

When we generate the wish to benefit others, we can easily enter into actions that benefit
others. Needless to say, this in turn benefits ourselves.

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THE ALL-PERVASIVE BENEFIT OF BEINGS – A MEDITATION ON AVALOKITESHVARA

Noble Avalokiteshvara is the embodiment of the compassion of all Buddhas. He is a bodhisattva

and, among bodhisattvas, one of the eight great heart sons of Buddha Shakyamuni. It is said
that the love and compassion for all sentient beings in the mind of Avalokiteshvara are
inconceivable. The Buddha said in the sutras that Avalokitesh- vara’s love and compassion are
unrivaled even by other Buddhas. Also, Avalokiteshvaras mantra and his name are prophesied
in many sutras and tantras. In particular, in Tibet, many great masters, scholars, and siddhas
were emanations of Avalokiteshvaras body, speech, and mind, foremost among them today
H.H. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

In general, there are many practice texts of Avalokiteshvara in Tibet and India. Among them,
the most well-known, which also has the greatest power and the greatest blessings, is the one
by the great siddha Thangtong Gyalpo, called ‘All-pervading Benefit of Beings.’ Thangtong
Gyalpo is an emanation of Avalokiteshvara and a yogin blessed by Avalokiteshvara. He did not
compose this practice text in a random way or as something that he had thought of himself,
but it was transmitted to him directly by Avalokiteshvara in a vision. Thangtong Gyalpo was
also famous for building many iron chain bridges over rivers in Tibet. His practice text was and
is still used by many great scholars and siddhas in Tibet. In general, it is the most widely used of
such texts in all of Tibet and throughout the Himalayan region.

Therefore, every week when I make dharma connections here in Gyuto monastery with others,
I always give some explanations based on this practice text, which I myself recite every day.
Thus, first, I will recite this entire text for meditation and recitation to you. Those who know to
meditate should meditate by combining your meditation and this reading transmission. After
that, I will give an explanation that is based on the text. The head of the committee for
organizing the Kagyu Monlam, Lama Karma Chotrak, suggested that we should have a melody
for this text, so I composed a tune while I was staying in Varanasi and was asked to chant it
here today.

Ever since I was born, I had a connection to this text called ‘All- pervading Benefit of Beings.’
This connection showed in my always listening to the sound of the text being recited and never
being able to turn away from this sound, even though as a small child I did not understand its
meaning. Thus, from my birth, I was a child who always felt compelled to count the Mani
mantra of Avalokiteshvara. As a Tibetan habit, we like to accumulate one hundred million of
OM MANI PADME HUM. Generally speaking, to recite the Mani mantra is easy, you can recite it
even while you are at work. Take my mother as an example— from rising in the morning until
falling asleep in the evening, no matter which kind of physical work she was doing, she was
continuously reciting the Mani mantra. So what does this show? No matter which everyday
activities you are involved in, through these activities being connected with the Mani mantra
and the loving kindness it bestows, you will perform your activities in a manner of not being
separated from peacefulness and well-being.

Before, in Tibet, I accumulated Mani mantras and prepared to reach one hundred million of
them, but I lost track on the numbers. Now, Fm still making efforts to accumulate one hundred
million by having started all over. This is my connection to this mantra and when Fm asked in
conversations about what hopes I have and what aspiration prayers I make, there is nothing
other than being able to recite one hundred million of this mantra and that we can meet each
other. That’s all Fm striving for. When I was small, I saw my maternal grandmother and she said
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that she had accumulated one or two hundred million of Mani mantras. She was blind, but still
kept devotedly reciting Mani mantras. We others around her saw her as always having a happy
and beaming smile. For example, if we become blind, it is very difficult for us to be able to see
as before with normal eyes and even show a smile on top. So if you wonder what happened to
her, when she underwent this experience of going blind, she had a very strong hope, thinking, ‘I
will recite this Mani mantra and then in the future these ordinary eyes will clear up and I will
see the sun of happiness.’ Through the power of this aspiration, she did not experience that
much suffering. To not experience the feeling of suffering seems to come from the power of
hope and trust. In our family, there are many people who practice on the same basis of putting
their trust in noble Avalokiteshvara and making prayers to him.

My mother came from her mother, I came from my mother, and what is communicated to you
today comes from me. Thus, the dharma is transmitted from one person to the other, from one
guru to the other. Likewise, the possessions and things of one family generation are passed on
to the next one. In my family, we don’t have a lot of wealth and possessions, so what I have to
pass on is just based on the dharma. In this case of my family possessions or heritage, I pass
them on to you with the best intentions. This is something you should understand well.

The manner in which to practice the meditation and recitation of Avalokiteshvara in the text
‘All-pervading Benefit of Beings’ has six parts:

1) Refuge and generating bodhicitta

2) Main practice, meditating on the deity
3) Reciting the mantra
4) Bringing the three doors of body, speech, and mind onto the path
5) Dedication of virtue
6) Benefit

1) TO TAKE REFUGE IN THE THREE JEWELS AND TO GENERATE BODHICITTA ARE THE SPECIAL
AND INDISPENSABLE FEATURES OF BEING A BUDDHIST.

In general, there is no Buddhist teaching that is not connected to taking refuge. Likewise, there
is no mahayana teaching that is not connected with generating bodhicitta. This particular
practice text of Avalokiteshvara is a Buddhist teaching in which we visualize this bodhisattva as
a deity, recite his mantra, and meditate. Therefore, it is needless to say that we must start with
refuge and bodhicitta.

As for taking refuge, it is very important to bring the object of refuge clearly to mind. We
imagine that, in the sky in front of us, Avalokiteshvara is present as the nature of all objects of
refuge, being inseparable from the guru. We need to take refuge by way of giving rise to ‘the
confidence of complete surrender.’ This means that we think, ‘We put our hopes into you,
Avalokiteshvara, alone and in nobody else. You know all happiness and suffering, everything
that is good and flawed.’ Also, we should develop the striving of thinking, ‘I will go for refuge to
Avalokiteshvara who embodies all three jewels that are the objects of refuge.’ Thirdly, we
should have the trust of thinking, ‘If I take refuge in Avalokiteshvara, this will be undeceiving in
terms of accomplishing the path to liberation and omniscience.’

For example, no matter which work we do, we must have some trust in our individual work.
55
Likewise, we need trust in those who show us the way. If we have such trust, we will be able to
fully direct our individual mental power toward these people and our work and be able to
withstand whatever adversities that may arise through directly and powerfully seeing before us
what we are authentically connected with. Thus, what is called ‘refuge’ is what accompanies
our path that is in accord with the individual things we are to accomplish. If we have trust in
the actual aids for accomplishing our tasks and do not put our trust in what is not trustworthy,
our work will be powerful.

Likewise, in terms of generating bodhicitta, whether we are able or not able to accomplish vast
activities and whether we will have a famous name and so on depend on the manner in which
we set out with our plans being vast or not so vast. Also, sometimes, someone may have a
small plan at first, but then in the end, after having gone through the path, something great
may come out of it. For example, when we fled from Tibet, we did not have any objectives in
our mind at all, we only thought, ‘If we could just be free over there in India!’ Other than that,
we had no notion of earning famous names and we had no plans for reports about us
everywhere in the news. We simply went on our way and in the end these things just
happened.

However, most people prepare their plans and then set out on their path. In most cases, our
work depends on whether we are or are not skilled in making our plans and whether we have
vast or not so vast objectives in our mind. As a result, our activities will be or not be
encompassing and powerful. Primarily, this depends on our manner of setting up our
fundamental objective. Thus, refuge is very important.

So when we practice the dharma, in order to find trust in the dharma we basically need to trust
the teacher who taught the dharma. Though there are many Buddhas who teach the dharma,
Buddha Shakyamuni is the most important one in terms of the present Buddhist teachings.
When we think about Buddhas in general, it may be difficult for us to have some intense or
profound feelings about them, but Buddha Shakyamuni is different from other Buddhas. When
we consider history or his lifestory, Shakyamuni came to this world, he ate the same food as we
do and had the same kinds of behavior as us—he was a man in this world of ours, staying very
close to us. If we think about it, we actually experienced his presence. If we can develop trust in
such a Buddha who is so close to us, we can see that other Buddhas equally have the same
excellent characteristics.

Among the many reasons for such a close Buddha being worthy as our refuge, the most
important ones are his being endowed with the qualities of wisdom and loving kindness. What
kind of person who can show us the way do we need? The main reason that we encounter
difficulties and problems lies in our basic situation of ignorance. So what do we need to do
about encountering problems arising from ignorance? We must rely on knowledge or insight to
eliminate these problems that are based on our lack of insight. To eliminate not knowing we
need to know. If we wonder whether this knowing means that we have to know everything,
this is something for us to think about. However, it is hard for us to immediately think about
what is called ‘omniscience.’ Therefore, what do we need to do that is authentically necessary?
In other words, whether we speak about omniscience or ignorance, what is the crucial point
that we need? We need someone who knows the essential point of what benefits us. Whether
we need or do not need omniscience is to be investigated.

For example, though a physician is able to administer many thousand types of medical
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treatments, a person who has a cold certainly has no need for all these many thousands of
treatments. Such a person only is in need of the medicine that cures a cold, but does not need
the complete set of the many thousands of treatments available. Thus, the Buddha does not
need to know such things as all the distances in the world— just knowing all kinds of things is
of no benefit to us. What primarily helps us is to know only the essential point of what benefits
us. Thus, knowing everything has these two aspects, but we should not think that knowing
everything means to have a big brain. If we take our refuge solely in a big brain, we are in
trouble. This alone does not help.

As I said earlier, the Tibetan students who go to the Tibetan schools that exist in India have
great interest in the sciences. Also, some Western scientists have great interest in Buddhism
too. However, at first, when we started to engage with scientists, they were not interested in
Buddhism. They were thinking that the Buddha is just someone like a learned scientist with a
big brain and great analytical faculties but in fact we need to rely on the Buddha through
making him close to our heart. We need to connect to the Buddha; it is not that we are glued
together through some sort of glue. The scientists did not know that it is not just a matter of
the Buddha being someone with a great education; what we need to connect with him
individually is to become close to him at heart. They just thought that ‘Buddha’ means
someone with a big brain.

So what is the main element in making a connection with the Buddha at heart? The Buddha has
the quality of loving kindness, which means that he loves all sentient beings without any bias,
but the scientists did not know this. Thus, there is great doubt that a person is worthy as our
refuge or protector merely by virtue of this person having knowledge, great analytical faculties,
and a big brain. If someone has no loving kindness for us, they have no motivation of wishing to
benefit us. Thus, without loving kindness, that person’s great analytical faculties will not help
us. So what kind of person do we need who can benefit us? That person must have great
analytical faculties, be able to explain the essential points to be adopted and to be discarded,
and have loving kindness for us. If that person has only our welfare in mind and we truly rely on
such a person, there will be benefit for us.

Thus, the main reason for the Buddha being a caring refuge for us is his mind of loving kindness
for all sentient beings without exception. Through having focused on all sentient beings, he
trained in this mindset again and again and thus expanded his mind of loving kindness more
and more. This is the most important point. At this point, almost two thousand five hundred
and fifty years have elapsed since the Buddhas passing into nirvana, but we can still feel the
power of the Buddhas loving kindness and compassion. We can still feel his motivation of
loving care for other people and all beings. This is not just a story or history, but we can still feel
this today. As an example for this, it may be good to tell you a story. The Buddha’s cousin
Devadatta was envious of the Buddha and thought he must compete with him. One day,
Devadatta took some medicine, but could not digest it properly and fell ill. When the Buddha
heard this, he said, ‘I do not have any attachment toward Rahula, my son, nor any hatred for
Devadattta, such as thinking that Rahula is my friend and Devadatta is my enemy. If my words
are true, may Devadatta be relieved of his illness right now.’ At that point, Devadatta indeed
became free of his disease.

From one point of view, we may think this is something like a miracle, but in my opinion, it is
not a miracle. When we speak of ‘true words’ here, this does not just refer to a true statement,
but to the power of true words that comes from having spoken the truth throughout many
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lifetimes. Such power means that a person who has done so then can say, ‘If my words are
true, may such and such happen’ and it will happen.

In general, for what we call ‘love and compassion,’ there are no enemies. Therefore, the power
of love and compassion is able to pervade all whom we now may label as friends and enemies.
The reason for this is that the root or the light of love and compassion already exists in all
sentient beings. Since there is this tie or seed, there will be a mutual connection between the
Buddha and others. Also, the fact that the Buddha possesses such heartfelt loving kindness is
something that shows directly. I think that in such supreme places as Bodhgaya, where the
Buddha dwelt, his loving kindness is able to reach many of us in a direct and immediate
manner. However, even if not, the power of the Buddhas loving kindness and motivation to
benefit others remains without decline even after more than two thousand five hundred years,
which is very important.

In terms of the explanations that I gave above about taking refuge and giving rise to bodhicitta,
without leaving these as mere words, how should we meditate when we practice? My habit is
to do the following.

In the sky in front of me, I visualize Avalokiteshvara, inseparable from the root guru, upon a
throne of rainbow light surrounded in all directions by flowers and clouds. There are many
reasons to make such a connection, but the main one is that the mantrayana says one should
never at any time and under any circumstances be separated from one’s guru. Thus, when
meditating on Avalokiteshvara, one should also not be separated from the body, speech, and
mind of the guru. His essence is the root guru and the way he appears is not in human form,
but in a form that is beyond being human, thus being generated as Avalokiteshvara. In his form
of the four-armed Avalokiteshvara, he should be visualized as the essence that embodies the
three jewels and the three roots.

What is the reason for that? There are people who take refuge in a sequential manner; taking
refuge in the jewel of the Buddha alone, then in the jewel of the dharma, and so on. In this
way, the jewel of the Buddha stands alone and is not something in which all others are
included. ‘Buddha’ is taken as a distinct person, the dharma as something separate from him,
and so on. If we combine these into someone like Avalokiteshvara who embodies them all, we
do so for the sake of there being a greater power of gathering the accumulations of merit and
wisdom. For example, if we have a severe illness, medicine, a physician, nurses, and so on, all
have to come together to cure us. Likewise, in order for us to gather the accumulations in a
vast manner, we practice by combining all three jewels into an inseparable union—the Buddha
(who is like a physician), the dharma (which is like medicine), and the sangha (which resembles
nurses). This is a powerful essential point for gathering the accumulations.

In what way are the three jewels included in someone like Avalokiteshvara? In general, the
Buddha said in many sutras and tan- tras that noble Avalokiteshvara is primordially
enlightened. This does not mean that he was enlightened from the very beginning, but that he
became enlightened a very long time ago in the distant past through having completed the
accumulations and having purified the obscurations. Before he displayed the conduct of a
bodhisattva, it was difficult for him to benefit many sentient beings by way of them connecting
with a fully enlightened Buddha. Therefore, for the sake of beings, he started to display the
style of a bodhisattva who is still a person prac-ticing on the path of learning and made
connections to beings in this way. When doing so, this means that his essence or nature—his
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wisdom mind—remained still as nothing but buddhahood.

As for the dharma, how is it fully complete in Avalokiteshvara? What we call ‘dharma’ is taught
to be primarily the truth of the path (that which makes us free from desire) and the truth of
cessation (that which is free from desire). These two truths of the path and cessation represent
the truths of the path and cessation that exist in the mind streams of noble persons. This is
what the dharma consists of. Hence, the element of being free from desire, with which the
mind stream of Avalokiteshvara is endowed at all times, represents the truth of cessation.
Here, ‘desire’ does not only refer to desire, but all mental afflic-tions are labeled with the name
‘desire.’ Thus, the element of being free from all mental afflictions is the truth of cessation that
exists in Avalokiteshvaras mind stream. Likewise, the truth of the path (that which makes us
free from desire) consists of Avalokiteshvaras enlightened mind—his various forms of wisdom.
Such wisdom, which is the remedy that makes us free from desire, is the jewel of the dharma.
It is in this way that the jewel of the dharma is complete in Avalokiteshvara.

What we call ‘sangha’ is explained to consist of the bodhisattvas who dwell on the ten bhumis
and who are endowed with the eight qualities of awareness and liberation. In brief, the
bodhisattvas who dwell on any of the ten bhumis represent the sangha of the mahayana. Thus,
the physical appearance of Avalokiteshvara represents the physical sangha, which means that
the sangha is complete in his physical form. In actual fact he is also the ultimate sangha.
Likewise, our ultimate sangha is the Buddha. In general, any bodhisattva who dwells on the
great bhumis (that is, the three pure bhumis) represents our sangha.

The other day, we visualized the objects of refuge, which includes focusing on the objects of
refuge with our three doors of body, speech, and mind. We imagine that we—as the ones who
take refuge—and all the people who surround us exhibit a uniform activity of these three
doors. This ‘uniform activity of our three doors’ means that we are able to focus our body and
speech on the very same object on which our mind is focused.

In this way, when focusing our mind on the focal object, in what kind of view and mental
outlook should we take refuge? When we are doing the practice of noble Avalokiteshvara,
there are three features that should be complete in our mental outlook. It is in this way that we
combine our mental focus with our body and speech. These three features are confidence,
striving, and trust. We speak of ‘the confidence of complete surrender.’ ‘Complete’ stands for
surrender without exception, which means that we entrust or offer all our individual happiness
and well-being to noble Avalokiteshvara. As mentioned above, we put our hopes into
Avalokiteshvara alone and in nobody else. Such pure confidence or trust within our mind is
called ‘the confidence or trust of complete surrender.’ Such complete and utter trust without
having any doubts or second thoughts as to whether we are able or not to take refuge is a
characteristic of our mind in general and not only in terms of the dharma.

To give rise to such trust and confidence has great power. In terms of the dharma, when this is
explained in a psychological manner, there lies great power in such confidence. As I explained
the other day, if people have confidence free of doubt, the burden of suffering that they may
have to bear becomes lighter. Now, whether there is or is not an externally established object
of their confidence is a different issue, but in any case, their suffering will be eased and they
will gain new and special mental strength that enables them to progress into what lies ahead in
their lives.

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As for striving by thinking, ‘I take refuge,’ in general, this means to rely on someone or
something as ones refuge, which means that the mental states of ones confidence and trust
are complete in it. So what special striving does one need to cultivate here when thinking, ‘I
take refuge’? One needs the striving of thinking, ‘I take refuge until all sentient beings have
attained enlightenment.’

In one way, what is called ‘the trust into protection being certain’ and the above-mentioned
confidence of complete surrender are alike in the manner of giving rise to confidence, but in
terms of causes and conditions, they are slightly different. Through seeing ‘the trust into
protection being certain’ as the reason, one seeks out Avalokiteshvara as the one who is able
to protect one with certainty. What power does he have to protect us? We are seeking out
Avalokiteshvara not just as an outer person who is a cause of our protection, but we also seek
on the inside. Thus, we seek out the causes and conditions for Avalokiteshvara being able to
protect us on both the outside and the inside. Based on knowing such reasons, we can gain
certainly that he actually is our refuge and protector. We trust that Avalokiteshvara as our
object of refuge is able to protect us. Likewise, when we see the causes and conditions in our
own mind stream, we gain the certainty of thinking that he is the one who is suitable to protect
us. This certainty is called ‘the trust into protection being certain.’

In the above order, I first explained the confidence of complete surrender, then the striving of
taking refuge until all sentient beings have attained enlightenment, and finally the trust into
protection being certain. However, the order in which these should arise in our mind is not at
all the same as the order in which they were explained here. In fact, the order of these three
arising in our mind is the reverse of the order in which they were explained. First, we need to
give rise to certainty through seeking out the reasons for the trust into protection being
certain. Once we have gained such certainty, we give rise to the thought, ‘I go for refuge’ and
the confidence of complete surrender. Maybe the latter two can also arise together, thinking, ‘I
go for refuge with the confidence of complete surrender.’ Or, the thought of taking refuge may
arise first and then when we reflect in which way we take refuge, it is by way of the confidence
of complete surrender. In any case, the order of explaining these three and the order of their
arising in the mind stream are reverse, and what we need to train in is the manner in which
they arise in the mind. After that, we should recite the refuge section in the text. Sometimes,
we should bring the object of meditation clearly to mind while we are reciting the words.
Sometimes we can also recite the words first and then rest a bit in the interval thereafter. Or
we can bring the object of meditation clearly to mind first and then recite the words. Thus
there are different ways here and you can do this as you prefer. However, no matter whether
you read all the words at the beginning or at the end or whether you read parts of them, it is
important to say them out loud.

The reason for this is that not only the intentions in our mind, but also our physical and verbal
actions have direct great power. The power of our speech is what we communicate with. The
power of our speech is revealed when some people become angry merely through one
speaking badly to them and other people becoming happy merely through speaking nicely to
them. Thus, it is crucial to recite the words aloud. But just saying the words aloud is not enough
either; we also need to have a mind free from confusion.

When we recited the text the other day, I had a cold and my voice was hoarse. I guess many of
you here have a cold too, but this doesn’t matter. In any case, we need to bring about a change
in our mind. If we can recite the words aloud even with a broken voice without being
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embarrassed in front of others, we can bring about a certain power in our mind.

If we just think about another person, ‘May you be in a bad way,’ this person will not become
angry. But if we say out loud, ‘May you be in a bad way,’ the person will be really angry. Thus, it
is not enough to merely make a mental aspiration. There is a story that illustrates this. Once
there was a husband and his wife who had a disagreement and thus did not speak with each
other. One day the husband needed to accomplish a great deal of work the next morning. Since
he did not speak to his wife, he wrote a note to her, saying, ‘Tomorrow morning, I must get up
at seven. Please give me a wake-up call at that time,’ and put it next to the bed. When it was
seven o’clock the next morning, nobody called, but when the husband awoke by himself later,
he just found a note by his wife, saying, ‘It is seven o’clock now, get up!’

Making aspiration prayers is like that—just leaving it at writing down, ‘Get up at seven’ is of no
benefit. For example, if I need to get up at three o’clock, I have to make sure that someone
calls me or sets the alarm to beep. However, even without doing so, when I make the
aspiration, ‘May I get up at three o’clock,’ I will be able to get up too. That is, when I give rise to
the intention and the firm resolve, ‘I will get up at three and I will do such and such after I have
gotten up’ and project the power of this motivation into the future, I will be able to get up at
three, even if there is no wake-up call.

Likewise, when we make the aspiration and think that we are under the protection of
Avalokiteshvara, the great compassionate one, and pursue this intensely in our mind, even if
we practice this just once in the morning, we will spend our entire day in an atmosphere of
being in a happy, warm, and gentle mood. To make just a single resolved aspiration prayer is
quite powerful. Therefore, it is very important.

After having recited the refuge section in the text, we continue by generating bodhicitta. The
main point here is to focus on all sentient beings who are as vast in number as the sky and have
all been our mothers before and reflect as follows: ‘They are all immersed in the ocean of
suffering of samsara at present, being tormented by many mental afflictions and karmas. Since
beginningless time in samsara, when they have been my mothers, they all showed great
kindness to us. Now, I must repay their kindness by liberating all of them from this ocean of
suffering. However, I do not have the power and capability to do so. Therefore, through
reciting and meditating on this text of Avalokiteshvara, just as Avalokiteshvara trained in the
perfect path during his time of being on the path of training, I too will train in the six paramitas
and so on.’ In this way, we bring to mind the bodhicitta of both aspiration and application in a
clear and intense manner.

The other day, we brought to mind the visualization for taking refuge, in which we imagine
many sentient beings in front of us, who all recite the refuge formula with ourselves as the
leader. After this, when we do the visualization of giving rise to bodhicitta, we do not have to
change this visualization. We likewise focus on these sentient beings in front of us and
meditate on giving rise to bodhicitta. There are many pith instructions on how to join giving rise
to bodhicitta with our mind stream. Among these, the two most well-known ones are the
manner of cultivating bodhicitta by way of exchanging oneself and others as transmitted by
Nagarjuna, Shantideva, and others, and the manner of cultivating bodhicitta by way of the
sevenfold pith instruction in terms of cause and effect. Actually, the latter is included in the
former. In general, we practice the sevenfold pith instruction in terms of cause and effect and,
in the Kagyu lineage in particular, there is also a different sevenfold pith instruction in terms of
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cause and effect by Drikung Jikten Sumgon.

Finally, we imagine that Avalokiteshvara, whom we were visualizing in front of us, dissolves
into light and melts into us, thinking that Avalokiteshvaras blessing has entered us.

2) MAIN PRACTICE, MEDITATING ON THE DEITY

Then, we visualize, above our head and the heads of all sentient beings, an eight-petaled lotus.
On top of it is a moon disc, on which a white letter HRIH (the nature of Avalokiteshvara)
appears. From the HRIH, light radiates, which becomes an offering to all Buddhas, purifies the

wrongdoings and obscurations of sentient beings, and accomplishes their welfare. Then, the
light is gathered back into the letter HRIH, upon which the HRIH turns into the physical form of
Avalokiteshvara, which is clearly visualized as being white in color, having four arms, and being
dressed in the thirteen-fold peaceful attire. Having brought Avalokiteshvara clearly to mind, we
visualize that he is surrounded by five-colored light while keeping in mind that he is the
embodiment of all Buddhas.

3) RECITING THE MANTRA

The mantra of Avalokiteshvara is OM MANI PADME HUM. Before we recite the mantra, we
need to do some preparations, starting with supplicating Avalokiteshvaras mind. In the text
‘All-pervading Benefit of Beings,’ this corresponds to the following verse:
Lord, white in color, untainted by flaws,
A perfect buddha adorning the crown of your head,
You look upon beings with your eyes of compassion.
Avalokita, to you we bow.

While we recite this supplication, we think that we and all sentient beings pray to
Avalokiteshvara with great one-pointed devotion. Thereafter follows the seven-branch prayer
and the supplication of calling Avalokiteshvara with longing.

Next, based on the visualization oflight radiating from Avalokiteshvara coming back, we recite
the mantra in order to make everything impure pure. From Avalokiteshvaras body above our
head, surrounded by five-colored light, white light radiates out and touches the entire outer
world with all its sentient beings, all of which represent our present impure deluded
appearances. Through this, the outer impure world becomes the buddha realm of Sukhavati
and all the beings who inhabit this world turn into the physical form of Avalokiteshvara. Thus,
all these impure appearances become the pure appearances of wisdom.

Holding this visualization one-pointedly in mind, we recite the mantra. In some cases, the
mantra reads OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH PHAT SVAHA, but apart from it having more or
fewer syllables, its meaning is the same. After the mantra recitation, we dissolve the
visualization and rest in meditative equipoise in the very nature of the deity and the mantra.

4) BRINGING THE THREE DOORS OF BODY, SPEECH, AND MIND ONTO THE PATH

When we rise from this meditative equipoise, we need to bring the three doors of body,
speech, and mind onto the path. When we do so, this means that all phenomena that appear
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as forms clearly appear as the physical form of Avalokiteshvara. All animate and inanimate
sounds appear as the nature of the six syllables of Avalokiteshvaras mantra. All thoughts of
ourselves and all sentient beings, be they good or bad, do not go beyond the nature of
Avalokiteshvaras mind, which is great bliss. Thinking that all these appearances are
Avalokiteshvaras creative display, we bring our three doors of body, speech, and mind onto the
path. We need to train in this way during our daily behavior.

5) DEDICATION OF VIRTUE

In the end, we need to dedicate our virtue from having recited and practiced this text of
Avalokiteshvara so that all sentient beings may obtain the same virtue, attain the same state as
Avalokiteshvara, and thus be freed from the sufferings of samsara and the lower realms.

6) BENEFIT

What benefit results from practicing the meditation and recitation of this text of
Avalokiteshvara? Some of the benefits of taking refuge and generating bodhicitta were
explained above. In particular, on the benefit of meditating on the physical form of
Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist tantras and the teachings of Padmasambhava and others say
that it means to be inseparable from meditating on the physical forms of all Buddhas and
equals all their blessings and qualities. When meditating on the perfect physical form of
Avalokiteshvara, if we are able to meditate in a way that its being lucid yet empty are
inseparable, that is the best. But even if that does not happen, if we can meditate based on
pure openness and aspiration for it, there will be great benefit.

As for the benefit of reciting the mantra, it serves as the cause for ourselves attaining the path
to buddhahood, the highest form of liberation. Also, when other beings, such as animals, hear
the mantra, there are numerous benefits, such as their being reborn either in Sukhavati or at
least in excellent states within the higher realms in samsara. Of course, such benefits depend
primarily on our preceding practice. Therefore, I think that it is important to practice well.

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THE KIND TEACHER WE RELY ON

In order to practice meditation correctly, one must train one’s mind in the stages of the key
instructions. In order to go through those stages of key instructions, one needs to rely on a
qualified teacher—the kalyanamitra or ‘spiritual friend.’ One must receive the instructions by
relying on a master in person, someone who can unerringly teach you what to adopt and what
to reject.

Therefore, no matter what dharmas we are practicing, it is important to discuss the meaning of
what a spiritual friend is at the very outset. This is a topic we must pay a lot of attention to.
Particularly, the Tibetan tradition of practicing the dharma places great emphasis on receiving
the instructions of a qualified master and willfully accepting any hardships involved in
practicing those instructions. This principle is emphasized in all Tibetan Buddhist lineages:
Sakya, Geluk, Kagyu and Nyingma. Examples of this principle are illustrated in the life stories of
these lineages’ genuine masters.

These days I am approached frequently by those who are new to dharma practice. They want
to know more about why it is so important, even as a beginner, to rely on a guru. They are
curious about why Tibetan Buddhism has been called ‘lamaism’ by some, or why, even further,
the teachings of the dharma sometimes speak of the guru as being of even greater kindness
than the Buddha.

This statement about the gurus kindness may at first be mystifying, but it is actually true from
certain perspectives. Even the Buddha, in many sutras and tantras, described the tremendous
importance of the guru who is an ordinary person from whom we receive the essential points
of instruction. This teacher who is an ordinary person, the Buddha said, possesses even more
kindness to us than the buddhas and bodhisattvas on the bhumis. This is so because we do not
have the good fortune to study directly with the buddhas or the realized bodhisattvas. We
must study the dharma in reliance on our own guru, whom we are able to see and meet with in
person.

The teacher who is an ordinary person teaches us the correct path at a time when we are
following a mistaken path. Therefore, he or she is the gateway to freedom from suffering. That
is why he or she is even more kind than the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Because of this
kindness, we call such people our ‘gurus,’ ‘spiritual friends,’ or ‘guides on the path.’

This attitude toward teachers is in harmony with the intention of the perfect Buddha. It was
not something invented by Tibetans. It is not the case that this explanation did not exist before
and was an idea created by Tibetans later on in order to make the dharma easier to understand
for them. Rather, this outlook toward teachers was specially prescribed by the Buddha himself
in many sutras and tantras.

Some students in these modern times have demonstrated tendencies of being fickle about
studying with teachers. They study with one teacher for a while, but then they may hear that
another ‘great teacher’ has come along. So they leave their original teacher and become a
student of another. This lasts until once again the sense of novelty fades away, and they must
find yet another teacher. Without connecting thoroughly with one teacher or one lineage, they
wander in all directions in a state of muddy-minded confusion.

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It is of course important to be free from bias with regard to where we place our faith and to
whom we give rise to sacred outlook, but fickleness will not benefit anyone. If we wander
around from lineage to lineage with no stability, in the end our studies will result in our having
wrong views toward all lineages’ teachings. It will be extremely difficult for us to tame our
minds. Conversely, if we plant our feet well with one guru and one lineage, when we study the
instructions of other teachers and other lineages the results will be stable and beneficial for the
long term.

When we move about at random from teacher to teacher, we become illustrations of the
Tibetan saying, ‘When children have many fathers, they lose their ancestry.’ This means that, if
a child were to have many men acting as his or her father, the child would eventually become
confused as to who his or her main father was. They would not know their true ancestry. On
the other hand, if one man is clearly identified as the child’s main father, then if many other
men act as guides and supporters of that child, the child will only accrue further benefit, free
from confusion.

Another example that shows this tendency is that of hiring too many lawyers. We might hire
legal counsel to help us through a problem we’re having. We have to spend a lot of time with
our attorney to describe the situation in detail, along with all of our background information
that is relevant to the situation. After some time, we might hear of another ‘powerful,
effective’ lawyer, so we decide to hire this new lawyer instead. But instead of making progress
in our case, we have to spend hours and hours bringing the new lawyer up to speed with all of
our case information and background history. In the end, we have spent a lot of our resources
on legal representation, but none of our original legal problems have been taken care of.

Relating to a teacher or guru is very much the same. We cannot expect our teachers, through
some sort of clairvoyance or higher perception, to immediately know everything about our
attitudes, disposition, and capabilities. They can only give us profound instructions that will
benefit us in the long term by getting to know us deeply and by becoming familiar with who we
are. Therefore we must give our teachers the opportunity to get to know us over time. If we
switch teachers following our every whim, this process will be difficult to complete.

If you stay with one teacher as your root guru or your principal spiritual friend, he or she will,
due to his or her familiarity with you, be able to give you instructions that benefit your mind to
the greatest degree possible. However, you should understand clearly that I am making this
suggestion based on the assumption that you have found a qualified and authentic guru. It is
important to analyze a teacher thoroughly before requesting to become his or her student. For
once we have been accepted as a student, we say things such as ‘I offer my body, speech and
mind to the guru.’ So you had better be sure the guru to whom you make these offerings is
authentic!

These days, however, some students will say the words, ‘I take refuge in you’ to their teachers
and pretend to be students, but really they do not want to give themselves over to their
teachers at all. Yet if they do not give themselves over to their teachers at all, it will be very
difficult for their teachers to benefit them. We must give our teachers the necessary authority
to transform our habits.

For example, if we have a physical illness, we need to give our doctor a certain amount of
authority to examine us, determine the nature of our illness, and prescribe a remedy. We need
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to give the doctor permission to touch us and also permission to administer needles that might
be painful. If we do not give the doctor this permission, then no matter how skilled the doctor
is, he or she will not be able to help us.

In the same way, from among the triad of our body, speech and mind, it is important for us to
open our minds to the teacher and allow him or her to help us transform our minds. This
requires trust. Without this trust, it will be challenging to move our relationship with our guru
forward. We might say things like ‘I take refuge,’ but if we are unwilling to follow the gurus
advice, if we instead cling to our own ‘human rights’ and individual freedoms as excuses for not
submitting to our gurus wisdom, we will only be guided by our own pride. It seems that the
main obstacle preventing us from surrendering to our teachers is pride.

The degree to which we are able to offer, or surrender, our body, speech, and mind to our guru
depends on the amount of confidence we have in ourselves and in our teacher. Milarepa, for
example, endured countless difficulties during his discipleship under Marpa. Yet for Milarepa,
these experiences were beneficial because he had stable trust in himself and in Marpa. In the
end, his trust and confidence became unshakable, and the happiness he achieved due to this
trust became unshakable as well.

Yet not everyone can emulate Milarepa’s confidence and trust. If we simply have not yet
developed stable trust, there is no sense in forcing ourselves to surrender to our teachers out
of a blind sense of duty. In the end, what we are able to accomplish in our relationship with our
teacher all leads back to trust.

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FOR TEACHERS, LOVING KINDNESS IS FOREMOST

When we are in a position of teaching the dharma to others, it is important to make every
effort to explain the dharma both correctly and in a way that benefits the people we are
teaching. In order to do this, we must harmonize our teachings with the mindsets of the
audience receiving them, and reflect on the best possible ways to benefit the people we teach.
It is extremely important to teach the dharma in a way that harmonizes with the capabilities
and dispositions of the student.
Dharma is something that must benefit both sentient beings in general and the mindstreams of
our students in particular. If we fail to benefit our students’ mindstreams, our teachings will not
have lived up to the name of dharma. In order for our teachings to fulfill the purpose of the
dharma, we must exert ourselves toward both the benefit of sentient beings in general and the
students who will be engaging in hearing, contemplating, and meditating on the teachings we
give them.

Since the benefit of beings and of our students is the foremost goal, there is therefore no
absolute necessity that everything we say in our teachings be in line with Buddhist
philosophical doctrines. This is so because it is possible for some students not to receive much
benefit from presentations given strictly on the basis of traditional Buddhist philosophies and
ideas. Nevertheless, our special purpose in relating to all of our students is to benefit them as
much as possible. This benefit can sometimes be accomplished through teaching Buddhist
ideas, and it sometimes can be accomplished through discussing ideas that come from other
spiritual or religious traditions.

Therefore, even if one is trained as a teacher of Buddhadharma, one should still keep in mind
the all-important point that one must use all the means at ones disposal—be they Buddhist or
non-Buddhist— to bring benefit to the people one is teaching. This means that, for
bodhisattvas, there are a lot of things to learn. Basically, there is nothing that does not become
an area of study for bodhisattvas. The reason why bodhisattvas have to study in so many areas
is because they have to cater to the various needs, interests, and abilities of all their different
disciples in order to lead those disciples to genuine, ultimate happiness.

It is clear that, for this reason, bodhisattvas must have not only a good heart; they must also
possess vast intelligence. Whatever major or minor methods for accomplishing happiness there
are in this world, we must have respect for all of them. Not only must we respect them; we
must learn and engage in those methods when appropriate. We should be ready to engage in
whatever methods can help us in leading others to genuine, ultimate happiness.

Whether or not a method is successful in doing this, in turn, depends on the way we use that
method. If we know how to use a given method skillfully, we can transform any method into a
support for accomplishing genuine happiness. So whether they are from the dharma or from
the mundane world, we must pay attention to and study all skillful methods available. We
might think that some methods, since they do not fit snugly with Buddhist philosophies, are
useless and to be abandoned. However, if we abandon them, we will only be doing so because
those methods do not seem suitable for us, not because of our concern for others. This is
unacceptable.

Those very methods could become genuine conditions that help lead many other sentient
beings to the state of genuine, authentic happiness. Therefore, we must remember that it is
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important to be inclusive as a teacher. This is an essential point of Buddhist view and Buddhist
conduct. In particular, being capable of thinking in this way is an indispensable quality for
bodhisattvas.

Not only should we know about a large variety of methods for benefiting beings, we should
also be capable of using those methods. If we only know about them theoretically without
being able to use them, the time we spent learning them will have been wasted. In order to
know what methods to use and what methods not to use, we first must become, at least to
some degree, acquainted with the qualities of our individual students 5 minds. Since there are
thousands of ways of thinking and acting of individual beings, it is impossible for us to teach on
one single method of accomplishing happiness and have that method speak to all the ways of
thinking of beings. Nevertheless, it is important for us to gain an understanding of at least a few
of the coarse categorizations of the dispositions of beings.

We may have opportunities to teach large groups of students. While we will not be able to
individually ascertain the dispositions and ways of thinking of each of the students in
attendance at the teaching, this is not problematic: we will still be able to explain the dharma
in a general way, and, through this, make connections to individual students that can be
furthered later on. Later, when we have opportunities to connect with some of the students
individually, we should do our best to get to know their ways of thinking. Of course we
sometimes might get a rough idea of what the students are like based on their external
behavior, but it is also extremely beneficial to meet with students and ask them questions to
find out more about their upbringing, their interests and so on. Individual conversations on
these topics are very helpful.

Focusing on our individual relationships with students and getting to know them well will, I
think, definitely produce beneficial results. Most importantly, however, no matter what type of
dharmic connection we make with individual students, the connection should always be guided
by the attitude of loving kindness and affection. When we have a loving and appreciative
presence while discussing the dharma with individual students, we might not say what we have
to say eloquently, and we might not have all of our information together in an organized way.
But still, because of our basic presence, the student will have a positive feeling in his or her
mind, and whatever we say will have a beneficial effect on the mindstream of the student.
When our motivation and state of mind are positive, we do not have to fear that our eloquence
or delivery will be insufficient. For example, I traveled to southern India recently and visited
with many Tibetans living in the refugee camps there. During this time, I met and had a chance
to talk with a lot of people. Some of the discussions I thought went well, while some other
things I said I thought were not very useful. Yet later, when I talked to others about their
impressions of the same discussions, they informed me that the discussions I believed were
well received were not found to be very helpful. Conversely, the discussions I thought were
useless turned out to be the most helpful. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

When we speak out of a mindstate of pride, carelessness creeps into the things we say. We do
not pay as much attention, and our presentation doesn’t turn out so well. Yet when we are
thinking, ‘If I’m not very careful, this is not going to go well,’ we are heedful and vigilant about
what we say. These are the times when, it seems, our presentation is more beneficial.

We might be tempted to think that the more eloquent we are, the more impressive vocabulary
we deploy, the more the students we teach will be captivated by our dharma teachings. We
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should examine this assumption carefully. Whether we are eloquent or not, what we really
need are loving kindness and the altruistic wish to benefit others. The power of these qualities
will definitely captivate the students, regardless of our level of eloquence. Loving kindness and
affection are indispensable qualities, whether we are

practicing the dharma for ourselves or providing connections to the dharma for others. The
reason I have spoken to you about these qualities is because we all have to be our own
teachers; we all have to be our own protectors. It is important to know how to teach and give
advice to oneself, at the very least. Even when we are practicing dharma by ourselves, our
practice is not for our benefit alone; it is for the benefit of all others as well. Therefore, we
must always try to benefit others as much as we can, in whatever we are doing. Being able to
engage in positive speech is an important part of benefiting others.

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ALL LINEAGES OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM SHARE THE SAME VIEWS AND PRACTICES

Since this is the first time I have ever spoken to a gathering of masters convened by His
Holiness the Dalai Lama, I am feeling a little bit nervous. Therefore, I don’t have anything great
to say. However, this convention at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, a gathering
focused on the commonalities shared by all four lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, presents a
wonderful opportunity for us all. As a leader of one of these lineages, I feel that sharing my
thoughts on a few key issues might become a basis for further collective reflection.

In general, faith and confidence in spirituality has been part of Tibetan life through the ages. At
some point, the Buddhadharma became the primary tradition of view and practice. Within
Tibet’s tradition of Buddhadharma, there came to be known the famous ‘four lineages’ of
Tibetan Buddhism. Here, we are meeting as representatives of these four lineages to talk about
the singular views and practices that we all share in common. From both the spiritual and
worldly perspectives, this is a very important endeavor.

It is not the case that our views and practices are disparate and have to be brought into
agreement by great effort on our part. All of our lineages propagate the genuine dharma of the
Buddha. Simply because we have four different traditions does not mean we are in
disagreement with regard to the Buddhas teachings or that one lineage is more authentic than
the other. For example, in India there were originally the four principal sanghas of the hearers.
Later, that fourfold division expanded into eighteen subschools of hearers. Yet all eighteen
subschools came to be regarded as authentic representatives of the Buddhas tradition. It is the
same with Tibet’s four lineages. It is clear that all four lineages are authentic, true, and genuine
representatives of the Buddha’s dharma.

It is timely that we can gather in this way to demonstrate this truth. Some, however, may be
skeptical of such a project. They may think that there is some subtle political motivation for
having a gathering such as this, and that, in the end, all lineages will be made into one single
organization. That is not the case, and there is no need for such apprehension. Spiritual
masters and scholars each have their own unique practices, and it is important for them to
continue to be devoted to what is unique in their traditions. However, it is also important for us
to outwardly display our respect and admiration toward the Buddha’s teachings free from
sectarian affiliations.

In particular, as His Holiness the Dalai Lama mentioned this morning, we have reached a live-
or-die moment in the evolution of Tibetan society. At this very fragile time, if we cling intensely
to a onesided attachment to our own lineage to the exclusion of others, setting ourselves up as
opponents of other lineages and so on, we will end up destroying our own society.

The things that we now need most urgently in our society are harmony and the willingness to
gravitate toward the energy of harmony. If we look at the biggest negative changes that have
happened in the history of Tibet, we can see that these events came about because we
Tibetans were not adequately harmonious with each other and were not adequately connected
to each other.

For harmony to come, our minds must be harmonious. But that doesn’t mean we need to ask
each and every person what he or she is thinking or what he or she needs. All of us have
different ways of thinking, but the thought that is the same among all of us is that we have
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confidence in the dharma. It is this shared confidence in the dharma that can produce harmony
and unity amongst ourselves and in our minds. If we can recognize this common ground of
harmony and exert ourselves toward helping the Buddha’s teachings in general, we will vastly
benefit the Buddhadharma of Tibet.

I try to really apply this principle to myself. For example, when I am studying or practicing a
Gelukpa teaching, I do not simply think of myself as a Kagyupa who is practicing a Gelukpa
teaching. Rather, I try to immerse myself fully in whatever teaching or practice I am relating
with. I remind myself that I am a dharma practitioner and that I am generally interested in the
Gelukpa teachings. Thus for the time that I am engaged with this teaching, I am truly a follower
of the Geluk tradition. If we approach our study and practice in this way, we come to fully
understand, free from doubt, the ultimate intentions behind each lineages practices and texts.
We can also engage in the lineages’ practice very easily. This is the way I think.

As the holder of the name Karmapa, I have consulted the life stories of previous Karmapas.
When I did, I found that the previous Karmapas all had very strong faith and pure perception
toward other traditions’ teachings. They didn’t display these qualities merely out of a desire to
be respectful; rather their faith and pure perception were informed by intelligence and
analysis. They knew what the intended meaning of each tradition’s teachings was.

I think it would be helpful to give a few examples. There were times in the history of the Kagyu
lineage during which the Karmapas held great influence over not only the dharmic sphere, but
also the political spheres of certain regions of Tibet. Even during those times, the Karmapas
had a very expansive view toward the various lineages. They would not just associate
themselves with Kagyu teachings and practices, but would rather have interest in all teachings,
without bias.

There were times, such as the time of the Eighth Karmapa Mikyo Dorje, when some followers
of the Karma Kagyu tradition and some followers of other traditions, such as the Drukpa Kagyu
and the Geluk tradition, fell into unharmonious relations. Karmapa Mikyo Dorje would
sometimes overhear of the animosity that existed between these parties. On one occasion he
said, ‘This is what you, my followers, need to understand: there is no difference between doing
harm to a Gelukpa monastery and cutting off my own head. Therefore, stop causing obstacles
for the Buddhadharma.’ Such repudiations of disharmony are found throughout the life stories
of all the Karmapas.

Of course, we do find occasionally in the writings of such Karmapas as the Eighth Karmapa,
Mikyo Dorje, refutations of the philosophies of masters such as Je Tsongkapa, masters in the
Nyingma tradition, and masters in the Sakya tradition. There especially appear to be many
refutations concerning the divide between the ‘early followers’ of the Madhyamaka or Middle
Way school and the ‘later followers,’ i.e. Je Tsongkapa and his heirs. However, it is not the case
that the Karmapa was making these refutations from the bottom of his heart, delighting in an
opportunity to disagree with his counterpart. For if he were truly disagreeing with his
counterpart from his depths, why would he at other times have composed praises to Je
Tsongkapa? It would have been impossible for him to do so. Therefore it is clear that the true
meaning of these refutations is that they were made out of the wish to deeply explore the
meaning of the intention of the Buddha’s teachings. They were not made out of a motivation of
hatred or aversion.

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When gurus are praised, the composer of the praise can be expected to laud the learnedness,
righteousness, and good-heartedness of the guru. This is nothing special in a praise liturgy. But
when we look at the praises that Karmapa Mikyo Dorje composed for Tsongkapa, we see that
he praised not only Je Tsongkapa’s learnedness and so on, but he also went out of his way to
praise the views that Je Tsongkapa espoused. For example, in the writings of Mikyo Dorje we
find the following verse:

You teach that form and other phenomena are not empty of the entity of form,
They are empty of form that is inherently existent—
To you, the supreme proponents of emptiness,
Tsongkapa and the Riwo Gendenpas, I offer praise.

Mikyo Dorje describes the special features of Tsongkapa’s reading of the Prasangika view and
praises them. Not only have these praises been uttered by various Karmapa incarnations; the
learned abbots of our lineage have also spoken extensively about how all the different lineages’
views lead to the same point of intention. All the enlightened masters of the past have taught
clearly about how we should have unbiased pure vision toward all outlets of the teachings.

Nevertheless, there were some enlightened masters who, even though they had pure sacred
outlook toward all lineages, did not externally emphasize the need for this pure vision. This is
because some disciples can misinterpret the notion of freedom from bias. They use the
concept of ‘freedom from bias’ as an excuse for not going into any kind of depth with their own
tradition, but rather being distracted, trying to get whatever they can from casually perusing
among the teachings of other traditions. This approach obviously is lacking in profundity.
Therefore, we need to avoid the two extremes: having disrespect toward other traditions and
not having enough respect and one-pointed dedi-cation to one’s own tradition. To help us be
free of these two extremes, the masters of the past adopted a wide variety of teachings styles.

This principle is not just to be viewed in historical examples; it is alive today. And if we continue
the legacy of having faith and pure vision toward all dharma traditions without bias, if we are
teachers our activities will become greater; if we are scholars our intelligence will flourish; if we
are ordinary followers of the dharma we will have more dharma friends and increased
happiness.

We can see a perfect example of true freedom from bias in His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His
Holiness received most of his primary training in the Geluk tradition. Yet he does not remain
fixated, thinking that he must only associate with that tradition alone. Even though he received
his main training from one tradition, he engages with all traditions with a pure vision of
freedom from bias, and therefore he is the object of respect for followers of all traditions,
along with all gods and humans.

Therefore we should be aware of the examples of pure vision and freedom from bias that are
present today. From these examples we can be confident that it is important to maintain ones
own tradition of teachings. Yet if it comes down to a distinction between ones own tradition
and the benefit of the teachings as a whole or of sentient beings in general, it should always be
the teachings as a whole and sentient beings that are the most important concern.

In general it is said that all spiritual traditions were created in order to help sentient beings.
This is especially true of the precious teachings of our guide, the Buddha. The Buddhas
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teachings exist solely for the purpose of accomplishing the welfare and happiness of each and
every sentient being. They are not for the private benefit of the Buddha himself, nor did the
Buddha make up his teachings in order to increase his fame. Therefore, in order to truly
practice the Buddhas teachings, there must be some accomplishment of the benefit and
happiness of sentient beings. Even if the Buddha’s teachings were to remain for only one day—
perhaps even only one second—if they accomplished some benefit for some sentient beings,
they would have lived up to the purpose of their existence. Conversely, if the Buddha’s
teachings were to remain for thousands of years from now yet not benefit any beings in
particular, there is actually no special need to have the Buddha’s teachings around at all.

Therefore, whatever lineage or tradition we are involved in, if we continually focus on the
welfare and happiness of sentient beings, we will be accomplishing the purpose of the
teachings of the Buddha.

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HARMONY, ETHICS, AND POWER

As I always say, there is nothing in the teaching of the Buddha that is not related to its other
parts and mutually incompatible. In particular, all the lineages of the Buddhist teachings that
exist in Tibet consist solely of what has been handed down from the perfect Buddha
Shakyamuni. Therefore, all these lineages represent a single lineage with a single source, just as
when streams of water and snow merge. This means that all these lineages are mutually
compatible and blended. If one gives rise to discord and bias, one commits the downfall of
those who create obstacles to the lineage. The various lineages are compatible in that ones
own dharma lineage is compatible and blended with the dharma lineages of others. In terms of
the source of these lineages being the same, if one gives rise to any notions that some of them
are good and some others are bad, one commits the karma of rejecting the genuine dharma.
This is a sign that demons have deeply entered one’s mind stream. Therefore, there is no need
for any kind of discord.

In general, the welfare of society depends primarily on whether there is harmony and solidarity
amongst all of its members. If there is no such harmony, naturally, loss and damage will
happen. Thus, everybody needs to create harmony and solidarity. In particular, the Buddha first
taught a path that is in accord with the world, in which he spoke extensively about harmonious
relationships. It is by virtue of the minds of listeners to the Buddhas first teaching on the four
noble truths being in harmony that the precious teachings of the Buddha could remain to the
present day.

Likewise, during the advent of the teachings in Tibet, the minds of the abbot Shantarakshita,
master Padmasambhava, and king Trisong Detsen were in harmony and their ethics were pure.
By virtue of this, in Tibet, which was previously feared by all Indian panditas as ‘the land of
darkness with meat-eating red-faced people,’ the bright light of the Buddhist teachings would
spread later in a manner that was even more wonderful than the one in India, the land of the
noble ones. The hinayana, mahayana, and mantrayana flourished for a long time and all of this
happened solely by virtue of the minds of the above people being in harmony and their pure
ethics. This outcome certainly did not come about through internal disharmony and quarreling.

Our Buddhist teachings need to blossom in the future too, so if we plan for our own individual
dharma lineages to flourish, we need to train in having trust in and pure outlook toward other
dharma lineages, while at the same time continuously practicing our own dharma lineage. For
any points that appear to be unclear in the words of the Buddha, we can look at what other
dharma lineages say about them, thus clarifying what is not clear and making what is not
comfortable to practice comfortable. In any case, if we realize all teachings to be without
contradictions and make all the words of the Buddha apppear as personal instructions, the
stream of the Buddhist teachings can continuously remain in the future without disappearing.
Then there will only be people who are able to uphold the victory banner of the teachings.

However, if people say, ‘I am a master of the teachings,’ ‘I am a tulku,’ ‘I need a high throne,’ or
fight about thrones, that does not make them people who are able to uphold the teachings. As
Drukpa Kunley says:

Those who are able to tame the enemies of their own mental afflictions
Hold the teachings of the Buddha in their hands.

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Thus, if one is able to tame the afflictions in one’s own mind stream or is able to practice in
ones mindstream the teachings in terms of both scripture and realization, just as they are, the
teachings of the Buddha are in one’s hands and one is their master or rightful owner. However,
merely by virtue of a high throne, one cannot become a master of the teachings. Among us,
there are many people who have high thrones but who are unable to become masters of the
teachings. Therefore, whether one is or is not able to become a master of the teachings does
not refer to such things as having a high throne and a lofty name. The main points of becoming
such a master are whether one’s mind stream is or is not involved in practicing the triad of
study, reflection, and meditation, and whether or not one possesses the analytical capacity,
insight, self-confidence, and so on to uphold the precious teachings of the Buddha in terms of
both scripture and realization.

Also, it is said that certain beings who are given the names ‘incarnations’ and ‘tulkus’ assume
physical existences as they wish and thus come into the world for the sake of the Buddhist
teachings and the welfare of sentient beings. However, the need for them to make some good
impact is as vitally important as their mere coming into the world. Gungthang Rinpoche said:

If an incarnation arrives for the sake of the teachings,

There must be an impact of explaining and practicing them.

‘The impact of explanation and practice’ refer only to the need for establishing facilities for
practice and facilities for explaining and studying the teachings. However, there is no way to be
able to uphold the teachings merely through having great outer wealth and splendor, such as
saying, ‘I built this majestic monastery’ or ‘I built that huge house.’ If one is not able to
establish the essential point—the facilities for study and practice—one renders the names
‘incarnation’ and ‘tulku’ meaningless and useless. One should not be like a statue that remains
in the mud once it has fallen into it, but emerge from it. Thus, if one has the name ‘tulku’ and
also lives up to its meaning, that is, actually performs the activity of an ‘incarnation,’ that is
excellent. These days, there are many ‘tulkus’ whose attendants are more powerful and
influential than those lamas themselves and exert their influence over them. In such cases,
there is no point in even using the words ‘tulkus’ and ‘incarnations.’

In Tibet, it is sometimes said that those who are called ‘tulkus’ are produced by summoning
some bright kids and then giving them a good education. This saying seems to be on the verge
of becoming true.

Maybe also the attainment of the state of omniscience is something that is produced through
training on the path and there is no such thing that is not produced in this way. However, what
is referred to here is speaking about ‘incarnations’ having inborn pure signs of their own. Thus,
if they have such inborn pure signs of their own, they depend solely on these signs being
pointed out by others. If they do not have the mental power and self-confidence to uphold the
teachings by virtue of their own independent power, they are of no benefit to the teachings,
but in fact pose a very great danger to them. If you wonder why that is, since such
‘incarnations’ have great names, even if they do not commit any mistakes by themselves, they
will induce some mistakes being committed behind their backs, which leads to great
destruction of the teachings. Therefore, it is very important for those with the names ‘tulku’
and ‘incarnation’ to be careful.

In particular, it is said that such ‘incarnations’ are bodhisattvas. They probably are, but
75
regardless of whether they are or not, just as the central religious dancer who plays the bull of
Tsang Shalu is surrounded by other dancers with the heads of the six kinds of sentient beings,
such bodhisattva tulkus will naturally have many attendants whose minds are filled with
worldly dharmas, high pressure, and jealousy. Therefore, things are difficult. In this atmosphere
of tension, as it is said, if the tulkus themselves extend their hands, they burn them and if they
don’t extend them, the clay pot will break. So they are in a situation of there being a problem
no matter what they do. When these things happens, tulkus need very great mental power.

One day, Drukpa Kunley asked someone who reportedly was an excellent siddha practitioner, ‘I
am afraid of dying. What helps with that?’ ‘It helps if you are unborn.’ ‘What helps to be
unborn?’ ‘It helps for being unborn if you do not accumulate karma.’ ‘What helps to not
accumulate karma?’ ‘It helps to sever the proliferations of good and bad thoughts.’ ‘What helps
to sever the proliferations of good and bad thoughts?’ ‘It helps to rest in uncontrived
meditative equipoise.’ This exchange continued for a while and at the end Drukpa Kiinley
asked, ‘What does it mean to be a good servant of the dharma?’ ‘It refers to a guru with greatly
powerful actions.’ Thus, such powerful gurus are very scary. If such gurus display great courage
and thus are able to establish an impact of explaining and practicing the dharma, the label
‘incarnation’ accords with its meaning, but otherwise, it is very difficult. In any case, the need
to sustain the teachings without bias and to uphold the teachings in general do not refer to
upholding outer things, but to upholding the teachings through internal practice. This is
something that we must understand and it is very crucial.

In addition, outer conduct is also essential. We as Tibetans, living in a wild land on a high
plateau, have become uncultivated wild people. In actual fact, just like barbarians, we do
nothing but chatter away and display busy and speedy forms of behavior. Acting like this is
seen as very strange by the people of the world. In general, in the secret mantra teachings, one
speaks about ‘resolute conduct.’ In it, there are no notions of clean and dirty or good and bad
and one runs around nakedly without any considerations and reference points. This means to
roam around nakedly on the basis of one’s mind not having any reference points. However,
what is pure resolute conduct? It means primarily to properly keep one’s precious discipline
and ethics. Anything else, such as running around and behaving like pigs by eating something
like excrement, having greater desire than a rooster, and being more miserly than nagas, is
definitely not called ‘resolute conduct.’

This is why Drikung Jikten Sumgon said, ‘I equal the siddhas of India in their realization. I do not
have any realization superior to these Indian siddhas. However, in terms of ethics and
discipline, I am superior.’ Most Indian siddhas did not uphold outer decorum very much, but
roamed around exhibiting all kinds of behavior similar to lunatics. Thus, the reason for the
great self-confidence displayed in the above statement of not having any superior realization,
but having superior ethics and discipline, is based on proper ethical discipline. Therefore, since
our outer conduct is very important, I seriously request that our etiquette accords with how
things should be.

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HARMONY AMONG THE KARMAPAS AND THEIR HEIRS

In general, the Kagyu lineage consists of the Takpo Kagyu and the four great and eight lesser
lineages that originated following Gampopa. Some people who did research on this say that the
expression ‘four great and eight lesser lineages’ is not found in any authentic histories of the
dharma or historical works prior to the writings of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgon
Kongtrul Lodro Thaye. In any case, upon hearing the expression ‘four great and eight lesser
lineages,’ some people take this literally as actually meaning big and small. But such thinking is
completely wrong. For example, in the story of Gesar of Ling, there are explanations on the
great lineage, the middling lineage, and the lesser lineage of Ling, which equally do not apply to
being big and small. In particular, all the members of the nobility, such as King Gesar and the
chiefs, belonged to the lesser lineage. Thus, those who come from the small line of
descendants are called the lesser lineage; those who come from the middling line of
descendants are the middling lineage; and those who come from the great line of descendants
are the great lineage. But obviously, this does not refer to the latter being mightier than the
former.

Likewise, within the lineage of Gampopa, what are called ‘the great and lesser lineages’
primarily refer to the lineages that come from the direct disciples of Gampopa as ‘the great
lineages,’ while the lineages that come from the disciples of these disciples are called ‘the
lesser lineages.’ In any case, this term ‘the four great and eight lesser lineages’ is very well-
known. Through this great pool of siddhas spreading out, it became unrivaled in every aspect of
practice and teaching. Based on the power of this, it could serve as a foundation for the well-
being and happiness of the teachings and sentient beings in Tibet. However, we must be able
to continue surviving today.

In particular, as for the clearly flourishing teachings of the Karma Kagyu lineage that came from
Gampopa, not withstanding the bodhicitta and the aspiration prayers of other gurus, the one
who mainly represented the face of this lineage was the First Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa. He was
the figure who became the founder of this tradition and those who hold his lineage are known
as ‘the seven fathers and sons of the Kamtshang lineage.’

Sometimes, we practice by mixing the dharma and worldly affairs, but this is wrong. In general,
in terms of the dharma, what accords with the true nature of things is what accords with the
dharma and is to be practiced. What does not accord with the dharma in this way is not to be
practiced. In actual fact, we need to be our own judges here. If we engage in a straightforward
manner in accord with the actual nature of things, it accords with the dharma. If we engage in
the actual nature of things in a wrong way, it contradicts the dharma. This is the way in which
we need to practice what is to be adopted and what is to be rejected. Otherwise, our own
prejudices and worldly attachments and aversions will increase. We may say, ‘I don’t like these
persons and therefore I must defeat them.’ Or, ‘I like these persons, so I must do something for
them.’ We may speak about whether different factions or communities are or are not in
harmony. We may consider whether certain persons are or are not of the same race. Or, we
may look at whether they do or do not have common views. But if we think in these ways, we
make it difficult to join our minds with the dharma. In fact, we cannot practice the dharma in a
pure way.

We as monastics wear the three dharma robes on our body, thus being distinguished from
others in our style of dressing. But what we actually need is a fundamentally different mindset.
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If we just carry the same great burden of attachment and aversion as ordinary worldly people
and get involved in locking our horns even more than them, this is not dharma. Thus, we must
be dharma practitioners in the sense of being solely concerned with reducing worldly
attachment and aversion more and more, and, from the bottom of our heart, embedding love,
compassion, and the straightforward truth that accords with how things are in our minds. But if
we mix worldly biases, attachments, and aversions into the dharma, we will greatly destroy the
teachings.

Before, in Tibet, the various religious traditions enjoyed a peaceful and gentle coexistence.
These days, in the world, people fight with each other just by looking at their color, bringing in
the prejudices of individuals and worldly biases in general. So if we are not careful, there is a
great danger for the teachings to deteriorate. Worldly attachment and aversion is completely
different than adopting and rejecting in the sense of the dharma. The manners of thinking are
different and the motivations are different. Worldly attachment and aversion mean primarily
clinging to just what appears to and seems justified for one’s own mind. In terms of the
dharma, one primarily thinks about what, at a given time, benefits sentient beings, benefits the
Buddhist teachings, and how ones present lifetime can be beneficial for ones next lifetimes. But
if we prioritize our individual temporary gains and use both the dharma and worldly affairs as if
engaging in a battle, this is not good. I certainly have no interest in that.

For some who are involved in locking their horns out of attachment and aversion, the fact that I
say these things may be like lightning striking. But what I say is not at all for the sake of the
eight worldly dharmas of this life—being phony, enacting some monkey-like imitations, seeing
oneself as great, or becoming famous. I am not saying this to show off my thought that I am
absolutely not like that. However, in the lord of deaths mirror in which our karma and its
results appear clearly, this should be pretty obvious. Also, this is what all Buddhas and their
children in the ten directions think.

It is really just through the power of my unmistaken faith that I do not have any pride in
bearing the name of Karmapa. And it is not that I just have faith in the succession of the
Karmapas and their direct spiritual sons. Rather, seeing the great qualities of all the masters
that have appeared one after the other in the golden rosary of the Kagyu lineage, I have faith in
all of them. Thus, I do not have faith in such a way that I take the qualities of the Karmapas to
be greater and that they are more important. Nor is my faith something that I learned from
others or that I have trained myself in, but it occurs very naturally and spontaneously in my
mind stream. Thus, I trust that what I say here is equally unmistaken too.

In previous lives, the Karmapas and their sons have all engaged in aspiration prayers and
accumulations of virtue in a concordant manner. Now, they still display various activities and
physical appearances in the form of the Karmapas and their sons in this world. All of this
depends on the power of their having engaged together in common kinds of merit, aspiration
prayers, and accumulations of virtue. Based on this power, they perform enlightened activities
as vajra masters and disciples with pure minds. As leaders, they do not act against each other
out of attachment or aversion, but with mutual harmony. They support each other in
performing their tasks in terms of the Buddhist teachings and the continuity of the succeeding
ones continuing the activities of the previous ones. The pure activities displayed by the former
Karmapas are greatly enhanced through being continued by their successors, which leads to
sustaining the well-being of the teachings and sentient beings. This is what we call ‘holding the
lineage of the victorious fathers and their sons.’ Of course, here, ‘fathers and sons’ does not
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refer to children being born to fathers in a worldly sense.

Thus, all these masters need to do is to prosper by way of spending their lives meaningfully
through accomplishing all their enlightened activity as they wish, without being obscured or
hindered by the conditions of temporary wrong behaviors. But if they were to just live for a
long time like ordinary worldly persons, there would not be much benefit for the teachings and
sentient beings. If supreme beings accomplish their enlightened activities for the teachings and
sentient beings according to their bodhicitta and their aspiration prayers, even if they were to
live just for a minute or a second, their actions will be very meaningful, entail vast activity,
great power for those to be guided, and great benefit.

We, as those to be guided, request these beings to show us their great kindness in ways that
match our particular devotion and pure outlook. We as ordinary disciples who only see this
lifetime only know what we meet face to face right now, but do not know to reflect about
things in a deeper and long-term fashion. So which kind of enlightened activities do these
beings need to display to us? They need to show us actions that match our devotion and pure
outlook.

As it is said, ‘People don’t understand the actions of the guru.’ They may show us actions and
forms of behavior that people do not comprehend, that are difficult to understand, and are
inconceivable. With such actions being inconceivable, they only fit into the minds of pure
disciples. Though these actions all come down to a common intention in the gurus mind, they
need to be displayed to the disciples in such a manner that they accord with their perspectives.
If the guru displays actions that are not in accord with or contrary to the perspectives of the
disciples, these actions are still fine from the perspective of the guru, but it is difficult for them
to fit into the mindset of the disciples. In other words, if the guru’s actions do not help the
disciples, they are of no benefit. This is why we request these beings to show us their great
kindness in ways that accord with our devotion and pure outlook. It is my hope that we
supplicate all the many Karmapas and their spiritual heirs in the past, present, and future not
just with mere words and without genuinely wishing to do so, but by folding our hands, bowing
with respect, and giving rise to the intense aspiration and striving that they may show us their
great kindness in ways which match our particular devotion and pure outlook.

That I am able to sit on this seat today and speak to you in this way is really a splendid occasion
in my life. I make the wish that everything I just said now does not soley remain as mere words
for a short while, but serves to accomplish the welfare of everyone in an easy way, thus being
accomplished just like the actions of the previous Karmapas. May all disciples such as myself,
through giving rise to devotion and pure outlook toward the genuine gurus, never be separated
from them throughout all our lifetimes.

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A MERE REFLECTION OF THE DHARMA HARMS BEINGS

The Eight Karmapa Mikyo Dorje said:

When we have the intention of really benefiting beings, through such conduct, if there is benefit
for them, we establish study groups and practice retreats, increase the sangha, and build
dharma centers.

If our deeds are like that, the increasing merit of all our thoughts and actions from those deeds
is motivated by bodhichitta and the benefit of others. Thus, it is going to be the cause of
liberation and of achieving omniscience.

However, such is not the case when we lack the intention to benefit sentient beings, or, even if
we have the intention, but harm beings while we practice and engage in activities. Then what
we do just looks like the accumulation of merit by virtue of practicing or teaching the dharma
and so on. However, from the point of view of those who are learned and skillful, all that must
be stopped.

I think this is important. These days some people say, ‘My motivation is to benefit the
teachings, my superior intention toward the teachings is virtuous thinking.’ Through making
statements of virtuous superior intention towards the teachings, while not acting accordingly,
their endeavors are causing wrong views to arise in many sentient beings and become harmful
to many of them.

To explain such actions briefly, even if our motivation is virtuous, once external actions become
harmful to sentient beings, these actions are not very skillful. Therefore, it is very good if we do
not do that. In general, the main distinctive feature of the Buddhist teachings is said to be
compassion, whatever our actions are and however we carry them out.

In particular, whatever actions we commit in the mahayana, it is mandatory that they are
preceded by generating bodhicitta, starting with, ‘For the benefit of all beings who have been
my mothers ...’ But then, if our actions become harmful for these beings who have been our
mothers, even if they may look like dharma from the outside, we must abandon them. If we do
not, we are clinging to this mere reflection of the dharma as being the true dharma. We may
think, ‘This is the dharma, and it will not only not harm beings, but bring benefit.’ If the
stubborn and foolish continue like this, not only will it become harmful to beings and
wrongdoing for oneself, but it will bring no benefit whatsoever.

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NEW YEAR, NEW OPPORTUNITY

When we speak about the practice of meditating on the noble fourarmed Avalokiteshvara and
reciting the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM, in general, all Tibetan dharma practitioners have
long heard the name of Avalokiteshvara and have some degree of faith and devotion toward
him. However, in order to achieve the qualities of Avalokiteshvara’s mind for oneself, one must
apply effort in gathering the accumulations of merit and wisdom and purifying the obscurations
of mind. The practice text of Avalokiteshvara is a method for both gathering the accumulations
and purifying the obscurations. Through authentically practicing this liturgy, we can take it as a
complete path that will enable us ultimately to become inseparable from Avalokiteshvara and
to estab-lish all sentient beings in the same state.

But in order for us to practice in such an authentic way, there are a few things that we first
need to understand. Firstly, at all time and in all situations, whether striving for the benefit of
ourselves or the benefit of others, we need to be vigilant, mindful, and heedful.

The Western New Year has arrived, and we are close to the arrival of the Tibetan New Year. At
the time of the dawning of a new year, we should take an opportunity to reflect in a special
way. In particular, a new year presents to us an opportunity to improve our conduct, to move
in the direction of excellent conduct. How can we do this? We can begin by reflecting on our
conduct of the year gone by. We can bring to mind all of the things we did that we now regret
doing, and reflect on the great opportunity we have now to transform our conduct. At this
border between the coming yЈar and the past year, we can clearly make a plan in our minds as
to what types of positive conduct we will engage in. We can firmly resolve to let go of and
dispel the negative conduct of the year past, so that we do not simply continue blindly
repeating whatever negative patterns there were. We can aspire that we will do whatever we
can to increase our excellent conduct. If we can think in this way at the dawn of a new year, we
can actually change the trajectory of our life so that we move more and more in the direction
of excellent conduct. This is a great opportunity.

At New Years, we always wish each other ‘tashi delek’ and aspire for each other that we may
enjoy happiness in the coming year. There are two forms of enjoying happiness: one in which
material enjoyments, like food and drink, are abundant, and the other being a happiness of
mind. When our minds are happy or in a state of well-being, we are capable of generating
strong positive motivations. When we generate strong positive motivations, we can actually
change the way things are externally. And when we change the way things are externally, we
can bring changes to the era in which we live. Therefore, whether we live in a good era or a bad
era depends on whether or not the individual people that compose our society can give rise to
positive motivations in their minds. Thus all depends on whether we have a good mental
motivation or a negative mental motivation.

At the dawn of a new year, we should take the time to refresh our motivation so that all of our
thoughts and actions will become more positive. If we can bring this motivation into action, it
will not only benefit ourselves, but it will benefit our society too. Therefore, the main thing we
should do in our minds now is prepare well.

In order to prepare well, we monitor our minds to see if we can maintain an attitude that
accords with the dharma. If we can begin planning in this way, that is excellent. The
Avalokiteshvara practice that we have learned here is one of the methods we can rely on. It is
81
mainly a method for us to accomplish happiness. It is also a practice of loving kindness and
compassion. If we can practice loving kindness and compassion well, our practice of
Avalokiteshvara will also be excellent.

Conversely, if we do not cultivate loving kindness and compassion, and if we do not give rise to
altruism and the wish to protect others, we might manage to count a few mantras of OM MANI
PADME HUM or meditate on the image of Avalokiteshvara for a while, but our practice will not
have been a genuine practice of Avalokiteshvara. Just as Avalokiteshvara practice is based on
loving kindness and compassion, well-being in our lives is based on peace and happiness. Peace
and happiness, in turn, are based on harmony and friendship between oneself and others.
Therefore, we can see how loving kindness and compassion are indispensable.

There is a saying, ‘It is better to simply sing a song with a positive state of mind than it is to
recite a Mani with a negative one.’ This is really true. So the way to truly make our practice
beneficial—for example, when we are reciting OM MANI PADME HUM—is to have what is
happening on the outside be in harmony with what is happening on the inside. This type of
practice will definitely be a cause of accomplishing happiness. Conversely, if we are thinking of
something else entirely while we are externally practicing, it is like deceiving ourselves. It is a
way of wasting the time we have in our lives. It is not a way to bring benefit, in either the short
term or the long term.

In general, whatever small amounts of virtue we may have accrued and, in particular, whatever
degree of a positive connection with Avalokiteshvara we have made, it is important for us to
dedicate all of this to all sentient beings, boundless as space. May things go excellently for all of
them in this life and in all lifetimes to come.

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BODHI MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS HIS HOLINESS THE 17™ GYALWANG KARMAPA

Bodhi is very fortunate to have been granted a brief interview with His Holiness during the
Nalandabodhi ‘In the Footsteps of Buddha Pilgrimage. In preparation, the Bodhi staff members
present in Dharamsala consolidated a number of questions contributed by students into four
fundamental questions. Our first wish was to hear what His Holiness might say if asked to
openly address the readers of Bodhi. The three remaining questions touched on the topics of
conflict and violence, working with children, and recommendations for practice in a very busy
world. We are very appreciative of the opportunity to request His Holiness to address topics of
such universal relevance.

Bodhi: The readers of Bodhi come from many countries around the world. Some are new to
Buddhism and some are experienced practitioners. Are there any remarks you would like to
make to the readers of Bodhi?

HHK: As we are all human beings, all desire to have happiness, joy, and peace. It is important to
have these. Our natural state spontaneously possesses the seed of peace, loving-kindness, and
compassion. In this twenty-first century, it is important to develop and practice loving kindness,
compassion, and the mind of equanimity. Without these, it is possible that we will destroy our
own world and have no peace.

Loving kindness, compassion, and equanimity are not necessarily religious qualities; rather,
they are natural qualities of human beings. As dharma practitioners, we try to cultivate and
propagate these, and it is important for all of us to support that effort.

There are many religions in the world, each with its own view and distinct tenet system. While
it is important to understand and hold the view of one’s own tradition, just holding or grasping
onto one’s view brings neither religious experiences to oneself nor benefit to others.

Along with the view, it is important to have good conduct or ethics, such as being gentle, being
peaceful. Through such conduct, we can bring these experiences to our own mind and also to
the minds of others and to their traditions.

As spiritual practitioners, it is essential for us to realize the importance of human beings. What
is most important—religion or beings? In my view, beings are most important. The basis for
religion is sentient beings. On the basis of that we have the desire to achieve happiness and
abandon suffering. Without this basis, there would be no dharma. All teachings come from that
basis of beings—the basis of existence.

These days, there are beings who do not realize this nature—who do not see the connection
between the dharma and sentient beings. Consequently, in the name of religious faith, one
harms other beings, which comes from not understanding which of the two is most important.

Sometimes, thinking that ‘we are just an ordinary being,’ we get discouraged. That is not
necessary, as all the great Buddhas and bodhisattvas were ordinary beings who had attained
that state of realization and then manifested again as ordinary sentient beings for the benefit
of all sentient beings. Even though we have not realized the nature of mind, we should
continuously exert ourselves. The Buddhas and bodhisattvas are the inspiration for us to have
the courage to go forward.
83
Bodhi: We are living in a time of intensified conflict. The atmosphere of our world is filled with
fear and violence. How, as Buddhist practitioners, can we take an active role in shaping our
society in a positive way?

HHK: We need perseverance at this very difficult time to take our part in the service of peace—
to benefit beings through bringing peace. We need to have strong courage and make
aspirations to bring peace to the world.

Bodhi: How should parents work with their children to cultivate the positive qualities of
awareness and compassion?

HHK: Generally, because of seeds from past lifetimes, some Tibetans naturally seem to have
loving kindness and compassion. Also, some of this loving kindness and compassion comes
from parents telling their children stories and teachings about loving kindness and compassion
again and again. It is important for parents to teach their children how to practice loving
kindness and compassion over and over again. This will plant the seeds for these qualities.

Bodhi: We spend most of our time engaged in the activities of daily life and a fraction of our
time engaged in formal practice. Given that, what is the most important thing to be aware of in
all of one’s activities?

HHK: Generally, it is important to do formal practice. For shamatha-vipashyana practitioners, in

post meditation, one should maintain mindfulness and awareness. One should have positive
thoughts, positive mind, and try to spread that as much as possible, overcoming any
negativities. If one is doing a yidam, or Vajrayana deity practice, then in post meditation one
should see all appearances, all sounds, and all movement of thoughts as the display of the
deity’s body, speech, and mind. This is important for yidam practitioners.

This interview with His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa was conducted at Gyuto Tantric University
Sidbhari, India on October20, 2002.

Translated by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.

84
 TEACHINGS
BY PREVIOUS KARMAPAS

85
THREE POEMS BY THE THIRD KARMAPA, RANGJUNG DORJE

ASPIRATION PRAYER FOR MAHAMUDRA, THE DEFINITIVE MEANING

Namo Guru

Lamas, yidams, and deities of the mandala,

Victorious Ones and your sons and daughters of the ten directions and three times,
Please hold us in your great loving kindness
And bless our aspiration prayers that they may be perfectly fulfilled. (1)

May the rivers of my own and all limitless others’ gathered virtue,
undefiled by the three spheres,
That spring from the snow mountain
Of our completely pure intentions and actions
Flow into the ocean of the Victorious Ones’ four kayas. (2)

In this and in all our future lifetimes,

For as long as it may be until we attain enlightenment,
May not even the words ‘negative action’ or ‘suffering’ be heard
And may we enjoy the glory of oceans of virtue and happiness. (3)

In all our lifetimes may we gain the supreme freedoms and resources,
and have faith, joyous diligence, and prajna,
May we rely on excellent spiritual teachers, and having received
the nectar of their instructions,
May we practice accordingly and encounter no obstacles in doing so —
May we always practice the genuine Dharma. (4)

Listening to scriptures and reasonings frees us from the obscurations of ignorance,

Reflecting on the key instructions vanquishes the darkness of doubt,
Meditation’s light illuminates the true nature just as it is —
May the brilliance of the three kinds of wisdom increase. (5)

The two truths free from the extremes of realism and nihilism are the reality of the ground,
And through the supreme path, the two accumulations free from the extremes of
superimposition and denial,
The fruition that accomplishes the two benefits free from the extremes of existence and
peace is attained —
May we meet with this Dharma that is flawless and sure. (6)

The base of purification is mind itself, the union of clarity and emptiness –
May the great purifying vajra-yoga of Mahamudra
Clear away what is to be purified, the fleeting stains of confusion,
And may we manifest the result of this purification, stainless Dharmakaya. (7)

Eliminating superimpositions about the ground is confident view,

Guarding non-distraction from that is meditations essential point,
Becoming expert in all types of meditation is conduct supreme —
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May we gain such confident view, meditation, and conduct. (8)

All phenomena are minds magical play

As for mind, there is no mind! Mind is empty of essence.
Empty and unimpeded, it can appear as absolutely anything —
Analyzing excellently, may we cut through all superimpositions about the ground. (9)

Our own projections, never existent, we mistake to be objects,

Out of ignorance we mistake self-awareness to be self,
Clinging to this duality makes us wander in the vastness of existence —
May we cut through ignorance and confusion at their root. (10)

It is not existent — even the Victorious Ones do not see it,

It is not nonexistent — it is the basis of all samsara and nirvana,
It is not the contradiction of being both — it is the Middle Way path of union —
May we realize mind’s essential reality, free from extremes. (11)

No name can show, ‘It is this.’

No refutation can demonstrate, ‘It is not that.’
May we gain certainty in the essential nature beyond the intellect,
In the uncreated, and in genuine reality’s ultimate limit. (12)

Not realizing simply this, one circles in the ocean of samsara,

When one realizes simply this, there is no other enlightenment.
Everything is this and there is nothing that is not —
May we realize essential reality, the underlying nature of the ground of all. (13)

Appearance is mind and emptiness is mind,

Realization is mind and confusion is also one’s mind,
Arising is mind and cessation too is mind —
May we determine that all superimpositions are mind. (14)

Unspoiled by meditation where thoughts are deliberate and striving,

Unmoved by the winds of ordinary commotion,
Knowing how to settle naturally in the uncontrived native state,
May we be skilled at and sustain the practices revealing mind’s true reality. (15)

With the waves of coarse and subtle thoughts dissolving in their own place,
The placid river of mind gently comes to rest.
Free of the silt and mire of dullness and torpor,
May the ocean of calm abiding be steady and undisturbed. (16)

Looking again and again at mind that cannot be looked at,

Unseeable reality is seen vividly, just as it is.
Cutting through all doubts about whether ‘it is’ or ‘it is not,’
May we unmistakenly recognize our own face. (17)

Looking at objects — there are no objects, they are seen to be mind.

87
Looking at mind — there is no mind, it is empty of essence.
Looking at both, clinging to duality is self-liberated —
May we realize minds abiding nature, luminous clarity. (18)

Free from mental contrivance, it is Mahamudra,

Free from extremes, it is the great Middle Way,
Since it encompasses everything, it is Dzogchen —
May we gain the confidence of realizing all through knowing one. (19)

Free of attachment, great bliss is unceasing,

Free of clinging to characteristics, luminous clarity is unobscured,
Beyond the intellect, nonconceptuality is spontaneously present —
Without effort, may these experiences be unceasing. (20)

Clinging to excellent experience is free right where it is,

Negative thoughts’ confusion is naturally pure in the expanse,
When ordinary mind manifests, there is nothing to adopt or reject, no freedom or fruition –
May we realize the truth of essential reality, free of fabrications. (21)

Beings by nature have always been Buddhas,

Yet not realizing this, they wander endlessly in samsara.
May we have unbearable compassion
For sentient beings whose suffering knows no bounds. (22)

This unbearable compassion radiates unceasing love,

And as it does, its emptiness of essence nakedly shines.
May we never leave this supreme and unerring path of union,
May we meditate upon it all day and all night. (23)

From the power of meditation come superior eyes and clairvoyance,

Sentient beings are matured, experiences of Buddha realms are cultivated perfectly,
And prayers to attain the Buddha’s qualities are fulfilled.
May we attain the enlightenment that brings maturation, cultivation, and fulfillment to
perfection. (24)

By the power of the great compassion of the Victorious Ones and their sons and daughters
of the ten directions,
And the power of all the immaculate virtue there is May my own and all sentient beings’
Completely pure aspiration prayers be perfectly fulfilled! (25)

Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, this translation was adapted by Ari Goldfield in
May 1999 from those by Lama Sherap Dorje in Mahamudra Teachings of the Supreme Siddhas, Ithaca: Snow
Lion, 1995, and Erik Pema Kunsang in Song of Karmapa, Kathmandu: Rangjung Yeshe, 1992. Translation
revised September 2001.

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THE WISDOM LAMP THAMLLUMINATES THE BASIC NATURE

The view of being free from extremes,

The meditation that is a continuous flow,
The conduct of being without do’s and don’ts,
And the fruition of being without hope and fear—
All yogins who realize these to be one
[Embody] the three kayas and five wisdoms.

The three kays are threefold—

Mind’s primordial purity is the dharmakaya,
Speech’s unrestrained empty resounding is the sambhogakaya,
And the body’s various ways of conduct are the nirmanakaya.

What are their divisions?

Mind’s great luminosity is the dharmakaya,
It’s being without meeting or parting is the sambhogakaya,
And unobstructed thought-activity is the nirmanakaya—
These are the three kayas of mind, the dharmakaya.

Speech beyond words, thought, and expression is the dharmakaya,

Sound resounding yet empty and free from clinging is the sambhogakaya,
And breath’s many ways of coming and going are the nirmanakaya—
These are the three kayas of pure speech, the sambhogakaya.

The body in activity-free equipoise is the dharmakaya,

Its unconstrained ways of conduct are the sambhogakaya,
And its various movements are the nirmanakaya—
These are the three kayas of pure body, the nirmanakaya.

Great meditators who cultivate the basic nature,

Point out the three kayas in this way!

What are the pure realms of the three kayas?

The alaya free from extremes, the actuality of the middle,
Is the pure realm of the dharmakaya.
Minds great unchanging bliss
Is the pure realm of the sambhogakaya.
Minds unceasing flow of luminosity
Is the pure realm of the nirmanakaya.

You great meditators traveling through mountain retreats,

If you are headed for the pure realms, do so for these!

Yogins who realize basic natures reality,

The skandha of form being pure in its own place,
The supreme abode of Akanishtha being spontaneously present,
And resting in unchanging dharmadhatu wisdom
Are the family of the sambhogakayas, such as Vairocana,
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Of all Buddhas in the three times—
If you’re looking for a place to practice, go for this!

The skandha of consciousness being pure in its own place,

The pure realm of Abhirati being spontaneously present,
And resting in mind being lucid-empty, mirrorlike wisdom,
Are the family of enlightened mind, such as Akshobhya—
If you’re looking for a place to practice, go for this!

The skandha of feeling being pure in its own place,

The supreme abode of Shrimat being spontaneously present,
And resting in the wisdom of inseparable equality
Are the family of qualities, such as Ratnasambhava—
If you’re looking for a place to practice, go for this!

The skandha of discrimination being pure in its own place,

Sukhavati being spontaneously present,
And resting in blissful-empty mind, discriminating wisdom,
Are the entire assembly of the deities of enlightened speech—
If you’re looking for a place to practice, go for this!

The skandha of formation being pure in its own place,

The pure realm [of Karmaprapurana] being spontaneously present,
And resting in inseparable mind, all-accomplishing wisdom,
Are the place to practice enlightened activity, so go for it!

Great meditators headed for solitary places,

If you wish for places to practice, go for these!

Manifest realization is [the wisdom of] suchness,

And knowing the mind streams of others is the one of variety—
Not realizing that these two knowledges,
As well as the three kayas and the five wisdoms, are your own mind,
Wishing to search for them somewhere else is just wishful thinking.
Not realizing that the three kayas and the pure realms
Of the victors are complete within yourself,
To wish for them outside is just wishful thinking.

Within the ground, uncontrived spontaneously present Samantabhadra,

The essence of the Buddhas of the three times is perfectly complete.
In the state of the alaya, the great being,
Samsara and nirvana are perfectly complete without exception.
Within unchanging great bliss,
All efforts, accomplishing, flaws, and qualities are perfectly complete.
Within the unborn inconceivable mind the dharmakaya,
The qualities of all Buddhas of the three times
Are perfectly complete without exception—
Effortless, spontaneously present, and amazing,
Make this great perfection a living experience! Translated by Karl Brunnholzl
90
A SONG ON THE ALAYA

Namo Guru

I supplicate the supreme guru,

Who shows me that my own mind is dharmakaya.

Please take a seat here and listen to these words.

Realize their significance and make them your living experience.

The alaya is the basis of all of samsara and nirvana.

When not realized, it is samsara,
And when realized, it is the Tathagata mind.
This describes the essence of the alaya.

For example, in a mirror pure of tarnish,

Reflections may appear. Likewise,
In the open expanse of your own stainless mind,
Various consciousnesses rise and perish.

Since this clinging to the duality of subject and object

Rises and appears within this open expanse all by itself, The single essence of samsara and
nirvana being nondual
Not realized is delusion and, if realized, is liberation.

Though the thinker and what it thinks of are not two,

Taking them to be two is the ground of samsara.
Once you see the nondual essence,
The Heart of the victors is revealed.

This song on determining the alaya Arose in a solitary place.

Through dispelling all that obscures the alaya,
May you realize your own stainless mind.

This song was sung in the lower [valley of Tsurpu] Dolung Gyal
During the waxing ninth moon in the year of the sheep
By the dharma lord Rangjung Dorje
To the great meditator, master Ngarma, and his servant.

Translated by Karl Brunnholzl

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THE SUCHNESS OF SAMSARA AND NIRVANA

by the Fifth Karmapa Deshin Shekpa

Whatever is the suchness of samsara—that is nirvana.

Whatever is the suchness of thoughts—that is original wisdom.
Essential reality is beyond being one thing or many things—
May everyone have the ability to realize this.

Translation by Ari Coldfield

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A COMMENTARY ON MILAREPAS SONG OF REALIZATION TO GAMPOPA

by the Eighth Karmapa Mikyo Dorje

THE SONG

Son, when simplicity dawns in the mind,

Do not follow after conventional terms.
There’s a danger you’ll get trapped in the eight dharmas’ chains.
Rest in a state free of pride.
Do you understand this,
Teacher from Central Tibet?
Do you understand this, Takpo Lhajey?

When self-liberation dawns from within,

Do not engage in the reasonings of logic.
There’s a danger you’ll just waste your energy.
Son, rest free of thoughts.
Do you understand this,
Teacher from Central Tibet?
Do you understand this, Takpo Lhajey?

When you realize your own mind is emptiness,

Do not engage the reasoning ‘beyond one or many’.
There’s a danger you’ll fall into a nihilistic emptiness.
Do you understand this, Teacher from Central Tibet?
Do you understand this, Takpo Lhajey?

When immersed in mahamudra meditation,

Do not exert yourself in virtuous actions of body and speech.
There’s a danger the wisdom of nonthought will disappear.
Son, rest uncontrived and loose.
Do you understand this,
Teacher from Central Tibet?
Do you understand this, Takpo Lhajey?

When the signs foretold by the scriptures arise,

Do not boast with joy or cling to them.
There’s a danger you’ll get the prophecy of maras instead.
Rest free of clinging.
Do you understand this,
Teacher from Central Tibet?
Do you understand this, Takpo Lhajey?

When you gain resolution regarding your mind,

Do not yearn for the higher cognitive powers.
There’s a danger you’ll be carried away by the mara of pretentiousness.
Son, rest free of hope and fear.
Do you understand this,
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Teacher from Central Tibet?
Do you understand this, Takpo Lhajey?

Spoken by the lord of yogins, Milarepa

THE COMMENTARY

I will now comment on some of the teachings of the great Milarepa, the lord of yogins.

Son, when simplicity dawns in the mind,

When the natural, luminous mind is purified of the discursiveness of the mental events, this
is called ‘the wisdom of simplicity dawning’. Yet it is not the case that *the natural,
luminous mind] had not arisen before and needs to be produced.

Do not follow after conventional terms.

At that time, the expressions and consciousnesses associated with conventional terms
completely disappear. The instruction, therefore, is not to follow after objects and
appearances. ‘Do not follow’ is merely symbolic because, in this state, all dualistic
appearances have dissolved. There is nothing there to follow after.

There’s a danger you will get trapped in the eight dharmas chains.

Conventional terms and generalities are objects of desire. Allowing yourself to become
distracted by them will prevent you from gaining freedom from desire. What need, then, is
there to speak of gaining enlightenment?

Rest in a state free of pride.

Rest in the state of selflessness, free of ‘me’ and ‘mine’.

Do you understand this, Teacher from Central Tibet?

Do you understand this, Takpo Lhajey?

These lines are straightforward.

When selfliberation dawns from within,

‘Within’ indicates suchness. It does not indicate *mundane+ consciousness. ‘Self-liberation’

refers to being liberated from things to relinquish and things to accomplish.

Do not engage in the reasonings of logic.

This line teaches that, in the state of perceiving reality, it is unnecessary to set forth proof
statements to establish certainty with regard to suchness.

There’s a danger you’ll just waste your energy.

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This line teaches that applying logical reasonings when resting in the state of perceiving
reality is pointless. It explains the fault that would occur: trying to establish again what has
been established already.

Son, rest free of thoughts.

The samadhi one experiences at that time is completely free from the discursiveness of
thoughts. This line is therefore an instruction not to arise into postmeditation from that
samadhi.

Do you understand this...

When you realize your own mind is emptiness,

‘Your own mind’ is stated symbolically here, but actually [this line] refers to [the time when]
all phenomena, self and other, have [been realized as] emptiness.

Do not engage the reasoning ‘beyond one or many’

At that time, you do not need to resolve all phenomena as lacking an inherent nature by
using the logical reasoning ‘beyond one or many’ For the yogin resting in meditative
equipoise, all phenomena will [naturally] be realized as lacking an inherent nature.

There’s a danger you’ll fall into a nihilistic emptiness.

This line teaches that the emptiness arrived at through the ‘beyond one or many’ logic is an
emptiness apprehended [merely] by the [conceptual] mind. It is an emptiness whose object
of negation existed before yet does not exist later. This [type of] emptiness is not [the
emptiness in harmony with] the true nature of reality.

Do you understand this...

When immersed in mahamudra meditation,

This refers to the time of traversing the path *called+ ‘free of obstacles’ (bar chad med lam),
which relinquishes the factors to be relinquished of the paths of seeing and meditation.

This [stage is arrived at] through having gathered the accumulation of wisdom.

Do not exert yourself in virtuous actions of body and speech.

This means, ‘*Continue to+ gather the accumulation of merit, but do not let it distract you.’

There’s a danger the wisdom of non-thought will disappear.

The fault [in becoming distracted by virtuous actions] is that the remedial wisdom, invoked
in a single instant, will be [once again] led away.

Son, rest uncontrived and loose.

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‘Uncontrived’ means to be unchanged by the fleeting stains. ‘Loose’ means ‘nothing other
than the very nature of just that’

Do you understand this...

When the signs foretold by the scriptures arise,

The scriptures give foretelling descriptions of what kind of signs arise when one attains a
certain path or a certain bhumi. When such signs arise [in your experience]...

Do not boast with joy or cling to them.

Those who have [actually] attained the bhumis do not boast about or cling to [their
realizations]. Therefore this line is an instruction given to those who have not attained any
of the bhumis and yet cling to their own view or conduct as being supreme.

There’s a danger you’ll get the prophecy of maras instead.

This line [describes what will happen] if you cling to your view and conduct as being
supreme: rather than relinquishing the factors to be relinquished by the path of seeing, you
will be seized by maras.

Rest free of clinging

[Rest free of] clinging with regard to all inner or outer phenomena being ‘like this’ or ‘like
that’

Do you understand this...

When you gain resolution regarding your mind,

When you resolve that your own mind is selflessness...

Do not yearn for the higher cognitive powers.

You do not need to dedicate yourself to attaining the short-term qualities and so forth.
When you perceive the truths [taught by] the Mahayana, those qualities will arise
automatically.

There’s a danger you’ll be carried away by the mara of pretentiousness.

[This line was spoken] with the intention in mind that, if you fail to perceive selflessness,
you may attain the qualities born of concentration, but [these qualities] will, for someone
who desires liberation, [still] be samsaric [qualities].

Son, rest free of hope and fear.

Do not hope for the qualities of contaminated paths. Do not fear the great emptiness.

These instructions were given by the unequalled Yangchen Gawa (the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje)
to the master Chogkyi Langpo. Translated by Tyler Dewar

96
AN ASPIRATION OF BODHICHITTA

by the Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje

Bodhichitta—the heart of awakening—forever the cause of happiness.

Is praised and celebrated by all buddhas.
When the sound of its peaceful dharma resounds,
By its truth may all beings possess excellent joy.

Gods, demons, nocturnal spirits,

And the hungry ghosts gathered as servants around them—
When the sound of this peaceful dharma resounds,
May they experience the heart of loving kindness.

The animals kept by humans

And the delicate creatures who live in the wild—
When the sound of this peaceful dharma resounds,
May they be free from all fears of predators.

When the members of the supreme sangha, the field of merit for all,
Proclaim the sound of this peaceful dharma,
May they be free from illness and may they see profound true reality.
Like Avalokiteshvara, may they greatly benefit sentient beings.

This was given by the Tenth Lord (Karmapa Choying Dorje) to TrungKunga Namgyal (the Fourth
Trungpa).

Translated at the behest of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche by Tyler Dewar

97
A SONG ON THE VIEW ARISING FROM UNDERSTANDING AND EXPERIENCE

by the Thirteenth Karmapa, Dudul Dorje

PROLOGUE

From Vajradhara to the root guru,

You represent the lineages of actuality, displaying buddhahood in human form.
I pray to You from my heart that my mind stream's
Karma and afflictions may become pure and that experience and realization may dawn.

Even though I do not fathom the thoughts of holy beings of the past,
Without vying with the ordinary appearances of our days,
But rather through following those past ones with devotion, in my mind stream,
I have found some understanding and experience through the guru's kindness.

THE VIEW

I understand that the view—the realization of emptiness—

Exists in the mind streams of noble hearers and solitary realizers,
While the view of the mahayana is superior through bodhicitta.
Even if you are able for a thousand reasons
To cut through the root of samsara, if you lack bodhicitta,
Since you do not have the superior intention, the stains of latent tendencies
Will not become pure, since there is no remedy.

I understand that, without having generated this mind,

Meditation on emptiness is unable to realize emptiness directly.
The direct realization of emptiness is the ground of a Buddha,
Upon which [all] knowable objects are of one taste.
Therefore, I understand that you progress through the paths and grounds
According to the order of generating the mind of emptiness of the mahayana.

I understand that, since the Buddha's intention cannot be expressed

On the path of letters, all statements of samsara and nirvana
Being ‘existent’ or ‘nonexistent’ are mere conventionalities.
If meditation must be beyond mind and needs to drop mental engagement,
It is not suitable to give explanations about whether there is a view or not,
Because the view and meditation of the mahayana are not internally contradictory.
In the tradition of Mahamudra, view and meditation are mere labels,
But there is no presentation of a philosophical system that establishes view and meditation.

Likewise, the lineage from the great Patsab Lotsawa

To Tusum Khyenpa that accords with the intention of mother [prajnaparamita],
As commented on by Nagarjuna, is the Madhyamaka view
That was clearly explained by honorable Mikyo [Dorje].
It is declared to be the great Madhyamaka free from claims.

98
[To say on the one hand that] the qualities of a Buddha are
inconceivable for minds on this shore
And that, without analysis, these qualities are described by following his words,
While saying [on the other hand] that wisdom exists and that it is the perfect [nature], is
not contradictory.
However, I understand that if such is held at the end of analyzing
For the ultimate through reasoning, the ultimate has become an object for the mind,
Thus being [in itself nothing but] a portion of the cognitive obscurations.
Hence, the following words by the dharma lord from Takpo are the remedy for this.
He says: ‘Throw the views of *intellectual+ understanding behind you
And destroy the foundation of meditative experiences!’

From among the mahayana's two philosophical systems, Madhyamaka and [Mere]
Mentalism,
The philosophical system of Madhyamaka is the tradition of the noble father [Nagarjuna]
and his son.
It summarizes all that is to be known through a threefold presentation:
On *the level of+ no analysis and mere convention, by saying that ‘all of
samsara and nirvana exists,’

Adopting positive [actions] and rejecting negative ones are outlined in precise detail.
This is asserted as worldly seeming reality.
The analysis of conventions through the conventional mind
Means to understand, through the five great [Madhyamaka] reasonings,
That all phenomena of samsara and nirvana are not really established,
Are primordially unborn, and empty of reality.
I understand that this is the ultimate reality that is presented as a convention:

It is [just] the counterpart that depends on and is the reverse of the seeming.
As for the purpose of this [ultimate reality], since the root of samsara
Is the clinging to a self, it serves as the remedy for that.

If this is perfectly analyzed through a reasoning consciousness that analyzes for the
ultimate,
According to the scriptures of the profound sutras and tantras,
[The masters] speak of eight as well as a hundred extremes,
Such as existence, nonexistence, being, and not being.
Therefore, as for final actuality, no claims are entertained
And it is determined to be free from extremes and beyond being an object of mind.

When the wisdom of Buddhas resembles space,

How should the minds of naive beings who just see what is right in front of them analyze it?
Thus, no analysis, analysis, and perfect analysis
Represent the stages of the seeming, the ultimate, and the freedom from extremes.

It is not held [here] that the basic nature is directly perceived, But its discordant factors and
flawed [views about it] are crushed. I have arrived at certainty in my mind
That this Madhyamaka system with its threefold presentation
Is the approach of Nagarjuna, Candrakirti, and honorable Mikyo [Dorje].
99
Secondly, [the system of] Asanga and his brother who follow the final wheel [of dharma]
Is known as ‘False Aspectarian Mere Mentalism’ in the land of the noble ones
And as ‘Shentong Madhyamaka’ in Tibet. The meaning of these two names is the same.
This is the completely pure system that,
Through mainly teaching the luminous aspect of the mind,
Holds that the result—kayas and wisdoms—exist on their own accord. As for its necessity, it
is asserted that it is taught in order to
Relinquish any arising of fear of emptiness and to awaken those with indefinite disposition.

When commenting on its meaning, honorable Rangjung [Dorje] says

That it is one with the system of Candrakirti.
Others assert that the ultimate is existent and really established
And that emptiness is really established.

As for the mahayana's sutra portion, both the middle and the final wheel [of dharma]
Have the purport of the Sugata heart, the unity of emptiness and luminosity.
The middle [wheel] explains this by mainly teaching emptiness,
While the final [wheel] elucidates it by mainly teaching luminosity.
I understand that, in actuality, these are not contradictory.

As for the way in which the view of the mantra[yana] is superior,

The Sugata heart is said to be the unity of emptiness and luminosity.
This is clearly stated in The Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra:
‘The basis of purification is mind as such, the unity of emptiness and luminosity...’

The dharma lord from Takpo declares: ‘Some Madhyamikas *say that Madhyamaka] accords
with the mantra [yana]
Due to the aspect of emptiness, but that it does not entail luminosity and bliss.
Some Mere Mentalists [claim that Mere Mentalism] accords with the mantra [yana]

Due to the aspect of luminosity, but that it does not entail emptiness and bliss.
The [actual] reason, why the view of the mantra[yana] is superior
Is that it is the unity of bliss and emptiness as well as luminosity and emptiness.’
Therefore, I understand Shentong Madhyamaka well.

In the Kalacakra system, it is said that the emptiness

Endowed with the supreme of all aspects is superior to [the one in] the sutras.
This is asserted to be the same essential point as the [above], the unity of the two realities.
By using the example of mirror divination for what appears Due to the difference in the
profound essential point of means,
It also speaks of ‘the seeming that has the form of emptiness’
Or ‘emptiness that has the form of the seeming.’

Therefore, except for the difference in terms of which topic is mainly taught
And the superiority in means, the essence [of the mantrayana]
Is always in accord with the view of Madhyamaka.
As it is said in [Nagarjunas] collection of reasonings:
“For whom emptiness is possible,
Everything is possible.
100
For whom emptiness is not possible,
Nothing is possible”.

The great commentary on the Kalacakra states

That the [yanas of] the paramitas and of mantra have the same view,
But, as for meditation, the former of the two systems does space-meditation,
Whereas the latter engages in shelterless meditation.

The Mother declares, ‘Meditating on prajnaparamita

Means to meditate on space.
Also those who wish to meditate on shelterlessness
Should train in and meditate on prajnaparamita.’
Hence, these [two] are in full accord.

This is just a brief summary of the way to understand the view

That I offer here in front of the root guru.
Any stains of lacking understanding and wrong thoughts that I might have I confess and
repent right before his eyes in this very moment
And ask him to forgive me through his great compassion.

MEDITATION

Secondly, as for meditation, there is a great variety of meditative systems

That set their teaching priorities [according to] people's capacities and their individual
qualities.
However, as far as the meditation of Mahamudra is concerned,
It is not asserted as being something different from the view.
Therefore, once you have understood through the view what the points of going astray into
hundreds of extremes are,
Assume the essential points of the body and [look at] mind as such in stillness and
movement.
No matter whether it is still or moves, just be aware with mindfulness.
Apart from that, do not entertain hopes, fears, or desires and so on,
But leave [mind in its] uncontrived, naturally settled, intrinsic state.

If you can [leave it this way], there is some slight knowing of your own face [at this point]
that is to be left still.
It is nothing but this, which for the time being, is merely labeled with the name
‘meditation.’
Nevertheless, lower meditative equipoises
Become higher subsequent attainments, so that, from the path of accumulation
Up through the supreme worldly dharma of the path of preparation,
There is a progression. [However, any attempts at] thus gauging any one [of its phases]
I understand as setting foot on small-minded people's paths of going astray.

Since all [paths] above the supreme worldly dharma are beyond the world,
In the nature of their meditative equipoises,
There is no difference, but in terms of the progressive arising of qualities
And the difference in purifying the cognitive obscurations,
101
they become gradually more superior.

Hence, from the path of seeing up through the path of no more learning,
That is, from the ten bodhisattva grounds all the way up to the Buddha ground,
This is the progression as my mind understands it.
I understand that, up through the supreme dharma, what is to be purified are the afflictive
obscurations,
While what is to be purified from the path of seeing onward are the cognitive obscurations.

Taking the view of being empty of reality [that results from] the analysis of
conventionalities
To be final and then wanting to meditate [in this way] is the system of others.
In our system, the remedy for clinging to identities is being empty of reality,
Which is praised as letting go of all phenomena as illusions during subsequent attainment.
What familiarizes with the view free from reference points and free from claims
Is nothing but sheer mindfulness, which is labeled ‘meditation.’
Thus, I understand that view and meditation are inseparable.

CONDUCT

In the sutras and tantras, many different things have been said
In specific contexts about what is called ‘conduct.’
However, [the main point is that] it must be embraced solely by a mind Free from clinging
or aversion to a purpose and full of virtue and altruism,
Since all views, meditations, and conducts are the same
In being means to purify the stains of mind as such—
These stains being attachment, hatred, and dullness.

As for the mantra[yana] speaking about bringing afflictions onto the path,
I understand that this is not a matter of increasing the afflictions in your mind,
But to add the wood of the afflictions to the fire of wisdom.
Through this, the wood of the afflictions is consumed, while the fire of
wisdom grows bigger.
For persons of highest [faculties] who are skillful in means,
This will be of great benefit, but not for fools.

My own mind stream being devoid of realization, this explanation Is surely as inappropriate
as a blind person talking about colors.
However, [I share only] a little bit of just what I understood
About view, meditation, and conduct as it dwells in my own mind.

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If these steps of it being transferred into the domain of letters
Are good explanations, I dedicate them so that they, through their virtues,
May become causes for the teaching of the Takpo lineage to spread.
For now, that’s it for the task set out before me.

EPILOGUE

Hereafter, [I would just like to add that] the omniscient great one from Jonang,
Who is called lord Taranatha,
Is the honorable one who is like a second mighty sage,
Incomparable as to the basic nature of the view of actual reality.

The treasury that voices his profound intended meaning

[Speaks about] ordinary Madhyamaka and Great Madhyamaka:
Ordinary Madhyamikas are known as those [who propound] self-emptiness.
They are those in both India and Tibet who maintain the lack of a nature,
That is, [masters] such as Ruddhapalita who propound consequences and so on.

This Great Madhyamaka which is known as other-emptiness

Is called ‘Yogacara-Madhyamaka’ or ‘Vijnapti-Madhyamaka.’
The protector lord Maitreya, noble Asanga,
The supreme pandita Vasubandhu, the honorable protector Nagarjuna,
Other scholars and siddhas in India and Tibet, in particular
Honorable Rangjung [Dorje], who is endowed with the eye of wisdom,
Have all praised this view of other-emptiness as supreme.

The basis of samsara, all phenomena, are without any reality.

Nondual from the expanse, self-aware wisdom is luminosity.
It is ultimate reality, the unconditioned nature of phenomena,
The truely established Sugata heart.
May this very actuality, the essence of the definitive meaning of the final wheel [of dharma]
and such,
Spread its luminous radiance henceforth just as the progression of the whispered lineage
unfolds!

These words were put forth by the lord Dudul Dorje

In order to please the supreme Tulku
On a virtuous day. They were written down
By the scribe named Bomra Sonam. May it be virtuous!

Translated by Karl Brunnholzl

103
SELECTED VERSES COMPOSED BY
THE SIXTEENTH GYALWA KARMAPA, RANGJUNG RIGPE DORJE

REFUGE

Lion of the Shakyas, supreme among humans,

Genuine dharma, the profound secrets that he taught,
And the noble sangha, who correctly practice that dharma:
I supplicate you—grant your blessings to my mind.

PRAISE TO TARA

OM
Homage to the noble liberator, Tara.
Homage to TARE, glorious lady,
Who, with TUTTARE, dispels all fears
And, with TURE, accomplishes all goals.
To you of the letters SVAHA and OM, I bow.

SUPPLICATIONS

Unerringly seeing the nature of dharmas and dharmata just as it is,

Through your wisdom of omniscience
You bestow glorious bliss upon the minds of wandering beings.
I supplicate you, Rigpe Dorje.

***
NAMO GURU
Though you are the three kayas inseparable, you perform the dance of sambhogakaya.
Lord of beings, you appear in the variety of realms of your disciples.
You are the Karmapa, the supreme victor who embodies the three jewels.
Emanation of Simhanada, the sixth buddha, prophesied by the Victorious One,
Rigpe Dorje, we supplicate you.
May you guide us in all our lifetimes.

In response to the unified request of the monastics and lay practitioners of Ladakh, this was composed
by the Sixteenth Karmapa on the virtuous waxing moon day of the Month of the Lamp.

***
HRI
By the power and truth of the wisdom kaya that embodies the three jewels and roots,
The blossoming flowers on the jewel garland of eloquent teachings,
And the accumulations of merit and wisdom,
Grant your blessing that my supplications bear fruit.

***
Think of me, think of me! Guru, knower of the three times, think of me!
104
From within the unceasing self-radiance of the three times,
Shines the confidence of the view, the wisdom realizing everything distinctly.
Grant your blessing that I may realize this without hesitation, on this very spot.
Bless me so that your mind mixes inseparably with mine.

At the request of Katok Situ, this was written by the yogi Rigpe Dorje.

POINTING-OUT INSTRUCTIONS

The instruction that transforms thoughts of all three times at once

Is to look at appearance-emptiness, the display of present-moment awareness.
By doing this, you will attain the coemergent state of peace.
You will progress through the paths and bhumis and gain the great-bliss dharmakaya.

This was written within self-awareness. May virtue and goodness increase.

His Holiness is said to have spoken this verse while staying at Tsurphu. This verse was obtained from
Drupon Lama Tendzin Phuntsok.

***
Within uncontrived, spontaneously perfect self-awareness,
The three realms, in all their vastness, illuminate themselves.
The innate character of mind is unpolluted by the intellect.
This self-arisen play of space is the form of the guru.

In this, the presence of the four kayas is spontaneous.

It is free of clinging to any extreme of clarity or emptiness.
This is what is called ‘the guru’; this is what is called ‘your own mind’
Guru, think of me; nondual clarity-emptiness, think of me.

Here, in the thick darkness of deluded ignorance,

There shines a vajra chain of awareness, self-arisen with whatever appears.
Within uncontrived vividness, unimpeded through the three times,
May we arrive at the capital of nondual, great bliss.
Think of me, think of me; guru dharmakaya, think of me.

In the vital center of the budding flower in my heart

Glows the self-light of dharmakaya, free of transference and change, that I have never been
separate from.
This is the unfabricated wisdom of clarity-emptiness, the three kayas free of discursiveness.
This is the true heart, the essence, of the dharmakaya, equality.
Through relying on the display of the unfabricated, unceasing, unborn, self-radiance,
May we arrive at the far shore of samsara and nirvana—the great, spontaneous presence.
May we enter the forest of the three solitudes, the capital of the forebears of the practice
lineage.
May we seize the fortress of golden rosary of the Kagyu.

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O what pleasure, what joy, my vajra siblings!
Let us make offerings of dharmakaya, the great equal taste.
Let us go to the great dharmadhatu, alpha purity free from fixation.

They have thoroughly pacified the ocean of millions of thoughts.

They do not move from the extreme-free ocean of basic space.
They posses the forms that perfect all the pure realms into one—
May the auspiciousness of the ocean of the protectors of beings be present.

In the second month of the Wood Hare year (1976), [His Holiness] spoke these verses at Rumtek
Monastery, the seat of the Karmapa, during the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the
Dharmachakra Center for Practice and Study.

***
All the different kinds of suffering wandering beings undergo
Are like an illusory wheel.
From the moment they appear, they shine as a pure mandala.
The suchness of the hundred families emanates into an ocean of pure realms.
This is the great play of variety, bliss-emptiness.
Now, within changeless, spontaneous transparency,
I shall bestow upon you students the inspiration of the heart of uncontaminated wisdom,
The breath which mixes mother and child together as one taste.
KYE HO! Listen, O children of noble family.
Having made the bodhichittas of aspiration and application your ground,
Remain within self-illuminating self-awareness, beyond thought and inexpressible.
The fruition is made the path, the great equal taste of bliss-emptiness.
If you can perform this conduct without fixation or effort,
You will experience self-liberation on the spot, the very ground of the fruition, mahamudra.

Those were his vajra words. They are endowed with blessings.

ASPIRATION

May the victory banner of dharma, never waning, fly in the ten directions.
May the fruition of dharma, cool peace in the world,
Evolve into the final ground of dharma, the attainment of nirvana.
May the tireless victory banner of dharma be planted.
Representing the abundant prosperity and richness of Jambudvipa, the southern continent,
May the white parasol of the sun and moon, peace and existence, be raised in a hundred
directions.
Underneath a honey rainfall of the Victors teachings,
May the swiftness of the chariot deliver all difficult-to-tame beings to the great bhumis.
May this be the great feast that we enjoy in this New Year.

This was spoken by His Holiness as a New Year aspiration for the year of the Wood Horse, 1954.

106
A REMINDER TO MYSELF

With your supreme intelligence, you realized the intention

Of the unsurpassable vehicle, the tradition of Padmakara.
Guru of unequalled kindness, I remember you from my heart.
I supplicate you—bless me with your compassion.
I, Pema Trinley Palzang, a performer of three activities4,
From now on, will take control of my own discipline in thought and deed.
I make a firm commitment, as follows,
To avoid thoughtlessness and senselessness.

In physical conduct, I will not allow myself to be rootless and hurried,

Incapable of being still, carelessly following my every whim.
I will always hold my own space
And be adorned by the training in pure discipline.

In speech, whether spiritual or secular,

I will choose meaningful words
And shun unconnected talk of past events or boring discussions
concerning any of the three times.
I will always exert myself in dharmic recitations, proclamations, and readings.

In mind, I will not flutter back and forth like a young bird on a branch.
Not getting absorbed in discursive thoughts of good and bad,
I will meditate, cultivating forbearance and relying on my own perceptions, not those of others.
I will reflect on how best to benefit the teachings and beings.

In particular, the vital essence of the thought of all victorious ones

Is the true nature—the uncontrived, innate dharmakaya.
Without ever lapsing, I will sustain it with one taste in equipoise and post-meditation.

In sum, I will hold myself to the sublime, dharmic conduct of the three gates,
Not falling under the influence of others.
Arrogance, haughtiness, or thoughts of self-aggrandizement— whatever of these arises,
I will not let them move me in the slightest.
I will remain firm, dignified, and fearless, like a mountain.

Until this collection of elements has rotted away, I will not waver from this way of being.
Of this way I will be a fearless warrior—that will be my quality.
This is my vow, like an image carved in stone. May it be virtuous!
Gods and protectors, work to help this come to pass!
May the virtuous signs of auspiciousness excellently blaze!

As a reminder to myself, I wrote this on the seventh day of the third month of the Wood Horse year,
[1954]. May virtue and goodness increase.
These verses composed by the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, were selected and compiled by
The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and translated under the latter’s guidance by Tyler Dewar.

4
Eating, sleeping, and defecating
107
APPENDIX:

WHO IS THE KARMAPA?

Buddhism first came to Tibet in the seventh century, during the time of King Songtsen Gampo
and in the eighth century began to take root. Two great Indian teachers, Padmasambhava and
Shantarakshita helped King Trisong Detsen bring dharma to Tibet and translate the Buddha’s
teachings into Tibetan. Over the centuries, the Buddhism of Tibet developed into four main
streams or lineages known as the Four Major Schools of Tibetan Buddhism: the Kagyu,
Nyingma, Sakya, and Gelukpa. All Tibetan Buddhist schools and practice traditions trace their
origins directly back to Buddha Shakyamuni. In addition, each school traces its founding in Tibet
to a particular person, who in turn is connected to a particular tradition in India.

THE KARMA KAGYU LINEAGE AND THE KARMAPAS

The Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin back to Buddha Shakyamuni through
the great Indian yogi Tilopa (988-1069). In turn, Tilopa taught the renowned Indian master
Naropa. Naropa’s student Marpa—the great Tibetan translator—then passed the lineage on to
Milarepa, the most famous yogi of Tibet. Milarepa’s foremost student was Gampopa, who
transmitted the lineage to Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193)—the first Karmapa.

Karmapa is a Tibetan title that means ‘the one who carries out Buddha-activity’ or ‘the
embodiment of all the activities of the Buddhas.’ In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, enlightened
teachers, also known as tulkus, consciously take rebirth in order to continue to teach. The
institution of reincarnate lamas succeeding to their monastic and religious seats, begun by the
first Karmapa, has continued in Tibet for over 800 years. In this tradition, the Karmapas have so
far reincarnated for seventeen lifetimes; all have played a leading role in preserving and
propagating the Buddhist teachings of Tibet.

Renowned throughout Tibet for their teachings, great scholarship, and luminous realization,
the Karmapas embodied the highest ideal of Buddhism—a life devoted utterly to the benefit of
all living beings. Over hundreds of years the Karmapas have continued to selflessly and skillfully
teach the path to full awakening, as the Buddha had done over a thousand years before.

THE KARMAPAS ROLE

Both the historical Buddha Shakyamuni and Guru Rinpoche, who brought Buddhism to Tibet
from India, prophesied the arrival of a master who would be known as the Karmapa.
Throughout the centuries, the Karmapas have carried out the activities of enlightenment. The
Karmapas have worked to the alleviate and remove suffering and the promote the happiness
and contentment for all living beings. The Karmapa’s purpose is to manifest unconditional
compassion in a direct, accessible way.

For centuries, the Karmapas have been sought out as spiritual supports, protectors, and
supreme mentors by lay and monastic Tibetans from every region. Traditionally, it is said that
the Karmapa attained enlightenment many eons ago as the Buddha named Shenphen Namrol.
In present time, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is a leading Tibetan
master in the modern era of Tibetan history. Since then, His Holiness has worked tirelessly for
the development of Buddhism both inside and outside of Tibet. His Holiness is now temporarily
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living in Gyuto Monastery in the Dharamsala region, where he is receiving the complete
teachings of the Karmapa lineage. Thousands of Tibetans, Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Asians,
and Westerners visit His Holiness year round. His Holiness grants public and private audiences
as well as special practice interviews for higher lamas.

BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS OF THE 17th KARMAPA (1985-1992)

In 1985 an infant was born into a nomad family in the Lhatok region of Eastern Tibet. In the
months prior to his birth, his mother had wonderful dreams. On the day of his birth, a cuckoo
landed on the tent in which he was born, and many in his home valley heard the call of a
mysterious conch shell being played. In Tibet, such events are considered auspicious portents
of the birth of an enlightened teacher.

The young nomad was named Apo Gaga. His early years were full of blessings, but at first the
child did not speak of a connection to the Karmapas. When he was seven years old, however, in
1992, he asked his family to move the location of their nomadic home to another valley. Then,
mysteriously, he told his parents to expect a visit from traveling monks. Putting some clothes
on the back of his special pet goat, he said, ‘Now I am ready to go to my monastery. It would be
a good idea to take a few gifts from Kalek Monastery (where he had been training as a young
monk) with me.’

Soon after Apo Gaga’s family set up their home in the new location, followers of the Sixteenth
Karmapa arrived there, following the prediction letter left by the previous Karmapa. The birth
and the other details of Apo Gaga’s life matched the predictions of the letter. How was the
child Apo Gaga discovered and confirmed to be the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Drodul
Trinley Dorje, in 1992?

WISDOM REBORN: FINDING THE 17th KARMAPA

The previous Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, was one of the most revered teachers of the
Buddhist world. He served as a beacon of confidence and compassion for Tibetans, and won
the hearts of multitudes in Asia, North America and Europe. In 1981, the 16th Karmapa passed
away near Chicago, in the United States, after a long illness. After his passing, it became the
responsibility of the 16th Karmapa’s students to continue his activities, and especially to find
and enthrone the 17th Karmapa.

To pass on the lineage, it is the Karmapa’s close students who identify the new reincarnation of
the Karmapa. Uniquely among all the reincarnation lines in Tibet, the Karmapa provides
instructions to a key disciple on how to locate the next reincarnation. In almost all cases this
instruction is communicated in the form of a letter with details of the circumstances of the
Karmapas next birth. This prediction letter is the key to the identification of the next Karmapa.

His Holiness the 16th Karmapa wrote just such a letter. The prediction letter was eventually
located in a protection amulet that His Holiness had given to Tai Situ Rinpoche, one of his four
heart sons, and a member of the search committee for the next Karmapa. On March 19th,
1992, the four regents of the Karmapa, Shamar Rinpoche, Situ Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul
Rinpoche and Gyaltsap Rinpoche, met to review the letter, which read as follows:

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EMAHO. Self-awareness is always bliss: the Dharmadhatu has no center nor edge. From here to
the north in the east of the land of snow is a country where divine thunder spontaneously
blazes. In a beautiful nomads place with the sign of the cow, the method is Dondrub and the
wisdom is Lolaga. Born in the year of the one used for the earth, with the miraculous, far-
reaching sound of the white one—this is the one known as Karmapa. He is sustained by Lord
Donyo Drupa. Being non-sectarian, he pervades all directions. Not staying close to some and
distant from others, he is the protector of all beings. The sun of the Buddha's Dharma that
benefits others always blazes5.

Once the prediction letter was found, plans were immediately made to locate the 17th
Karmapa. The search would begin north of Rumtek monastery, in Eastern Tibet, according to
the letters prediction: ‘To the north in the east of the land of snow?

Following the letters guidance,

‘Where divine thunder spontaneously blazes,
In a beautiful nomads place with the sign of a cow.
The method is Dondrub and the wisdom is Lolaga’

The search party went to the village ofBakor (‘ba’ is one word for ‘cow’ in Tibetan), near
Lhatokgar, in the province of Lhatok (‘Lha’ means ‘god’, or ‘divine’, and ‘thok’ means ‘thunder’).
Upon arrival, as a ruse, they stated that they had come from India with letters for a ‘Mr.’ Loga.
‘Was there someone by that name in the village?’ They were told that there was a woman in
the village by that name. One important detail of the letter was thus confirmed. They inquired
about her husband’s name and were told it was Dondrub. They discovered that the couple had
a young son, born in the Wood Ox Year, and that his birth had been accompanied by many
miraculous signs.

When the search party arrived in Bakor, they found that the eight year-old son of Dondrub and
Loga was expecting them. He had for many weeks been planting trees and performing special
blessing rituals, preparing to depart soon. After the advance search team located the
Seventeenth Karmapa, they accompanied him to nearby Kalek monastery.

Meanwhile, Tai Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsap Rinpoche waited at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim,
India, for news of the search. When the good news came from Tibet, they departed for
Dharamsala to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama and seek his confirmation of the discovery.

When Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsap Rinpoche arrived in Dharamsala, however, they learned that
His Holiness the Dalai Lama had left for Brazil. Through the office of His Holinesss in
Dharamsala, their Eminences relayed the information they had gathered, including the sacred
letter, the confirming information about the details from Tibet, the manner of the search and
examination, a drawing of the birthplace, a prophesy from Guru Rinpoche, and other details. In
response to this, His Holiness the Dalai Lama provided his informal confirmation, replying that
‘It is appropriate to recognize and confirm’ the candidate Apo Gaga as the reincarnation of the
16th Karmapa.

Based on this confirmation, the advance party decided to bring His Holiness Karmapa to

5
Translated July, 1992 in Rumtek, Sikkim, India by Michelle Martin.

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Tsurphu, the traditional seat of the Karmapas. After consideration of the evidence and
additional meetings with the four regents, His Holiness the Dalai Lama officially approved of
the new Karmapa’s identity:

Confirmation by H.H. The Dalai Lama (June 1992)

‘The boy born to Karma Dondrub and Loga in the Wood-Ox Year (of the Tibetan calendar)
identifies with the prediction letter (left by the late Karmapa) and is hereby recognized as the
reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa. With prayers for his wellbeing and for the success of his
activities.’
—The Dalai Lama (translation by Kalon Tashi Wangdi)

When the joyous confirmation of the new Karmapa’s identity was received at Kalek monastery,
the 17th Karmapa was presented with special robes and sacred blessings brought from India.
Customary offerings were made to the Karmapa’s parents to express gratitude for the care that
they had given him up to the time of discovery. After a short period, His Holiness departed with
an entourage for Tsurphu Monastery.

Since 1959, Tsurphu Monastery had been without a Karmapa in residence. Thus the arrival of
the reincarnation of the 17th Karmapa was greeted with anticipation. When word reached the
Tibetans that the reincarnation of the Karmapa had been found and that he was being brought
to Tsurphu Monastery, thousands of his followers gathered in great joy. His Holiness the 17 th
Karmapa was greeted with excitement and ceremony at Tsurphu, where he was enthroned
later that year.

At Tsurphu, the Karmapa began his studies in the Buddhist sciences of mind, ritual, and sacred
arts, such as dance. Each day he received hundreds of visitors from throughout Tibet and
around the world. He eventually began to offer empowerments and participate in various
rituals at the monastery. At the age of about 10, His Holiness recognized the rebirth of such
eminent teachers as Pawo Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and the Dabzang Rinpoche.

He remained at Tsurphu until early 2000 after which he arrived, to the great surprise and
overwhelming joy of the world, in Dharamsala, India, where he was met by His Holiness the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

LIFE IN INDIA

The Karmapa’s arrival in Dharamsala received extraordinary coverage by every major

international media outlet, including the Associated Press, Agence-France Press, the BBC, CNN,
NBC, ABC, CBS, The Economist, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, The Times of India, the
Hindustan Times, and most of the other media outlets throughout the world. Their Eminences
Tai Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche, and the General Secretary Tenzin Namgyal, joined
the Karmapa in Dharamsala shortly after his arrival. Many eminent Kagyu masters, lamas, and
the lay and monastic community from Rumtek arrived in Dharamsala to welcome and joyfully
celebrate the arrival of the Karmapa. The Karmapa was offered a temporary residence at Gyuto
Tantric University in Siddhibari, a thirty-minute drive from upper Dharamsala.

His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa has been studying rigorously and mastering the
teachings of the sutras and tantras. His teachers have included contemporary great masters of
the Kagyu lineage, including his primary tutor, Chief Abbot Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, as well
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as the Retreat Master Bokar Rinpoche, Vajra Master Tenga Rinpoche, and the great scholar and
yogi Khenchen Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. He has been receiving the quintessential
Mahamudra and tantric transmissions from his main teachers, His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche
and His Eminence Goshri Gyaltsab Rinpoche. He is surrounded by many junior khenpos,
acharyas and rinpoches, such as Tashi Gyaltsen, Tsultrim Namdak, Rinchen Thondup, Khangser
Tulku and Geshe Changchub, who continually support his studies in Buddhist philosophy and
offer many reading transmissions.

Apart from study and practice, his daily schedule includes granting audiences and visits to
different heads of religious schools, devotees, and visitors from east and west. He gives
teachings and transmissions to public audiences several times a week. Since 2001 His Holiness
has regularly visited the sacred places of Buddha Shakyamuni and has presided over the annual
Great Monlam Aspiration of the Glorious Unequaled Kagyu Sangha at Bodhgaya for world
peace. In September of 2001, he toured Ladakh at the invitation of Buddhist monasteries in the
region. The Karmapa also leads the Annual Kagyu Winter Program of Philosophy and Debate,
the Karma Gon Cho, a winter seminar for all monks from different Kagyu monastic colleges. In
October 2004, His Holiness presided over the concluding funerary ceremonies for the Very
Venerable Bokar Rinpoche at Bokar Monastery in Mirik, Darjeeling, India, where tens of
thousands of people gathered from Sikkim, Bhutan, West Bengal and Nepal to receive the
Karmapa. He also presided over the anniversary services the following year, and received the
same enthusiastic reception. In 2005, His Holiness made a historic tour of the major monastic
institutions of Tibetan Buddhism in southern India, where he was greeted with full honors by
leading Tibetan Buddhist masters of the Kagyu, Nyingma and Gelugpa lineages. He gave
teachings and lectures at numerous monasteries and Tibetan settlements, including presiding
over the grand assembly at Ganden, Drepung and Sera Monastic Universities, where he offered
remarkable teachings and advice to the thousands of assembled monks, headed by abbots and
geshes.

In September 2002, His Holiness was guest of honor at a Maha Bodhi Society celebration of the
138th Anniversary of the birth of Anagarika Dharmapala in Kolkata, and subsequently was a
guest of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a conference hosted by the Mind and Life Institute in
Dharamsala. In January of 2005, he gathered with all the heads of the lineages of Tibetan
Buddhism to offer prayers for world peace. In February of 2006, he was Chief Guest at the
2550th Buddha Jayanti Celebrations in Bodh Gaya at the invitation of the Maha Bodhi Society of
India. In further celebration of the anniversary, he was the Chief Guest at the Global
Conference for Peace held in New Delhi in April 2006.

The Karmapa continues to reside at Gyuto Tantric University, focusing on restoring and
rejuvenating the study and meditation practices of the Kagyu lineage, in addition to continuing
his own training. Until His Holiness is able to return to Rumtek Monastery, the traditional seat
of the Karmapas in India, his Administrative Office is operating from Gyuto Tantric University
under the present General Secretary Drupon Rinpoche.

From May 15 to June 2, 2008, the Karmapa visits the West for the first time, touring the United
States of America. The present volume is offered on the occasion of this historic visit.

Information about His Holinesss activities in India since his arrival as well as his current
schedule are available online at www.kagyuoffice.org.

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