PathOfHeroesV1 PDF

PATH OF HEROES
B irth o f E n lig h te n m e n t
VO LUM E I
Zhechen Gyaltsab
Padm a Gyurmed Namgyal
W ith th e P r a c tic e I n s tr u c tio n s

of
T a r th a n g T u lk u
(path o f Jieroes
PATH OF HEROES
Birth of Enlightenment
VOLUME I
Zhechen Gyaltsab
Padma Gyurmed Namgyal
with the Practice Instructions and Reflections

of Tarthang Tulku
Dharma Publishing
T ibetan T ranslation S eries
1. Calm and Clear

2. The Legend of the Great Stupa
3. Mind in Buddhist Psychology
4. Golden Zephyr (Nagarjuna)
5. Kindly Bent to Ease Us, Parts 1-3
6. Elegant Sayings (Nagarjuna, Sakya Pandita)
7. The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava
8. Buddha’s Lions: Lives of the 84 Siddhas
9. The Voice of the Buddha (Lalitavistara Sutra)
10. The Marvelous Companion (Jatakamala)
11. Mother of Knowledge: Enlightenment of Yeshe Tshogyal
12. The Dhammapada (Teachings on 26 Topics)
13. The Fortunate Aeon (Bhadrakalpika Sutra)
14. Master of Wisdom (Nagarjuna)
15. Joy for the World (Candraklrti)
16. Wisdom of Buddha (Samdhinirmocana Sutra)
17. Path of Heroes: Birth of Enlightenment
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Zhe-chen rgyal-tshab padma-’gyur-med-rnam-rgyal, 1871-1926
[Theg pa chen po'i bio sbyoh gi man hag zab don sbran rtsi'i bum bzan.
English]
Path of Heroes : birth of enlightenment / by Zhechen Gyaltsab Padma Gyur-
med Namgyal: with the practice instructions and reflections of Tarthang Tulku.
p. cm. - (Tibetan translation series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-89800-274-5 (hardcover). — ISBN 0-89800-273-7 (pbk.)
1. Spiritual life—Buddhism 2. Spiritual life—Rnin-ma-pa (Sect) 3. knih-
ma-pa (Sect)—Doctrines. 4. Bodhicitta (Buddhism) 5. Bka’-gdams-pa
(Sect)—Doctrines. 8. Chekhawa, Geshe, 1102-1176.
Bio spyon don bdun ma. I. Title. II. Series.
BQ7805.Z4713 1995 294.3'444—dc20 95-150 CIP
Translated from the Tibetan by Deborah Black

No part of this book, including text, art, reproductions, and illustrations, may
be copied, reproduced, published, or stored electronically, photographically, or
optically in any form without the express written consent of Dharma
Publishing, 2425 Hillside Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704 U.S.A.
Printed by Dharma Press, Oakland, U.S.A.

Copyright © 1995 by Dharma Publishing
A Division of Dharma Mudranalaya
All Rights Reserved
987 6 54 3 21
dedicated, to all seekers of the Dharma
May all sentient beings attain Enlightenment
Contents
P u blisher's Preface ix
P reface xi
In tro d u c tio n xv
H om age 3
L in e a g e o f C o m p a s s io n 5
Lineage of C om passion 6
M editation Overview: P rep a ratio n 14
The Seven E ssentials 19
FIRST ESSENTIAL
PREPARATION,
TH E FOUNDATION OF PRACTICE 21
S e c t io n O n e
T h e S piritual T e a c h e r 23
The S p iritu al T each er 24

T raits of th e S p iritu al T each er 34
P racticing G uru Yoga 46
viii Contents
S ec t io n T w o
A w a k e n in g t h e H eart 53
Awakening to F reedom an d G ood F o rtu n e 54

Aw akening to Im p erm an en ce 76
A w akening to th e Significance of K arm a 109
Aw akening to S uffering of S am sara 132
A w akening to S uffering of th e Low er R ealm s 144
Aw akening to S uffering of th e H igher R ealm s 165
S ec t io n T h r e e
E sc a p in g t h e N et 181
The Im p o rta n c e of T aking R efuge 182

B reaking th ro u g h Addictive P attem in g s 196
A ppreciating th e B eauty of S olitude 210
G enerating C ourageous E ffort 218
C hoosing Selfless Love 234
N otes to V olum e One 25 0
Publisher’s Preface
£ T -/wenty-five years ago, when the first steps were taken toward
jl establishing Dharma Publishing, the range of works available
on Buddhism as practiced in India and transm itted to Tibet was
quite limited. Although Western scholars had been active in the field
of Buddhist studies for more than a century, the topics they chose to
pursue did not necessarily appeal to people wishing to seriously study
and practice the Dharm a as a living tradition of knowledge.
Today the situation is quite different. Gradually other publishing
companies focusing on Buddhism have become established, each
contributing its own special emphases or works from specific tradi
tions. A Dharma student today may find the choice of m aterial avail
able for study overwhelming, even though translations and m odem
writings still represent only a fraction of the work of the great Dharma
schools in India and Tibet.
Mindful of the proliferation of works on Buddhism and guided by

the clear vision of our founder, Tarthang Tulku, Dharma Publishing
has sought through its publications to present a coherent path of
study, while introducing the vast range of inspiring and illuminating
texts that the tradition has to offer. In our translation series we have
published Sütras and Jàtakas, as well as biographies of great mas
ters, texts on m editation and the nature of the mind, philosophical
commentaries, and several works that outline the path to realization.
X Publisher's Preface
The Crystal M irror Series has presented the foundation and histori
cal transm ission of the Dharma in India, Tibet, and other lands,
emphasizing the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—the Three Jewels
revered by all Buddhist traditions—as a basis for understanding the
view and purpose of Dharma study and practice. In other titles, we
have sought to present practices and perspectives that address the
needs of people in m odern societies, whether or not they have a
specific interest in Buddhism.
Path o f Heroes, the seventeenth title in our Tibetan Translation

Series, offers a powerful introduction to the heart of Mahayana prac
tice. Its key points penetrate the heart and remain in the mind as a
trustworthy guide, bringing the wisdom and compassion of the
B uddhadharm a into daily life.
This teaching has a special significance for us at Dharma Publish

ing. Our work—preparing publications in English and participating
in such extensive Tibetan text preservation projects as the 120-vol
ume edition of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon and the 600-volume edi
tion of Ancient Treasures—has broadened our perspective on the
classical Dharma of India and Tibet. However, the urgency and size
of these massive projects has left us little free time for study or prac
tice. For people like us who have many demands on their time,
Zhechen Gyaltsab's condensed yet comprehensive commentary can
help to stimulate effective practice of the Bodhisattva path in all ac
tivities. In time, it could unite the hearts and minds of practitioners
with the wisdom of the great lineage masters.
As we endeavor to deepen and extend our knowledge, we at

Dharma Publishing continue to rejoice in the precious opportunity
given us to present these teachings in the West, knowing that there
could be no greater contribution to the welfare of future generations.
There remains much m ore to be done; the West has hardly begun to
tap the resources available within the Buddhist traditions. The sas-
tras, the explications and inspired insights of India's greatest m as
ters, are still largely unknown to Dharma students, while the vast
literature of the eight m ajor Tibetan schools offers materials that will
take generations to explore. We ask the blessing of the enlightened
lineage, that we may continue to offer Dharma students throughout
the world works of such value and inspiration.
Preface
o f Heroes is a translation of the Theg-pa-chen-po'i-blo-

iJ _ ) c L th
j l sbyong-gi-man-ngag-zab-don-sbrang-rtsi'i-bum-bzang, a work
composed by Zhechen Gyaltsab Padma Gyurmed Namgyal, Zhenpen
Chogyi Lodro (1871-1926). This accomplished Nyingma m aster was
the heart-son of the renowned Lama Mipham and the disciple of
Kongtrul Lodro Tayay and Jamyang Khyentse. He studied with
Dzogchen Khenpo, Kathog Situ, Chogyur Lingpa, the Fifth Zhechen
Rabjam, Kunzang Palden, Khenpo Yong-ga, Mewa Chodrub, and
m any other enlightened masters.
Zhechen Gyaltsab received ah of the Nyingma Kama and Terma
lineages, the Rin-chen-gter-mdzod, and especially the teachings of
Rongzom Mahapandita, the All-Knowing Longchenpa, and Terdag
Lingpa. He also held the lineage for the teachings of M arpa and
Milarepa and was knowledgeable in the five sciences. In addition, he
was renowned as a great practitioner. It is said that when his body
was cremated, it vanished without a trace, and that where the smoke
settled on the leaves in the surrounding countryside, crystal relics
were found.
Zhechen Gyaltsab made his home at Zhechen Tennyi Dargyay
Ling in Kham, eastern Tibet, one of the six principal Nyingma
monasteries. Zhechen Monastery was modeled on Mindrol Ling in
central Tibet, and was famous for three remarkable incarnation lin
xii Preface
eages: those of Zhechen Rabjam, Zhechen Gyaltsab, and Kongtrul

Lodro Tayay. Zhechen M onastery was also closely associated with
Lama Mipham, who spent many long years on retreat nearby. It was
Zhechen Gyaltsab who assembled the works of Lama Mipham and
had them published, and he who built the golden stupa at Zhechen
to honor Lama Mipham.
Advised by Lama Mipham to focus on meditative understanding

and to apply its fruits to illuminate the most subtle philosophical
inquiries, Zhechen Gyaltsab became extraordinarily learned and a
supreme m aster of meditation. Realizing that mind and substance
are of a single flavor, he manifested the wisdom of the M ahayana so
deeply that his physical embodiment became translucent. The great
est m asters of the late nineteenth century came to hear his teachings
and receive his blessings: Khyentse Chogyi Lodro, Zhechen Kong
trul, and the reincarnation of Kunzang Tenpay Nyima.
Path o f Heroes is a commentary on a famous text of Bodhicitta

practices, the Blo-sbyong-don-bdun-ma, the Seven Essentials of Self-
Mastery by Chekhawa Yeshe Dorje (1102-1176), a Kadampa m aster
in the lineage of Atlsa, Dromton, Lang Tangpa, and Sharawa. This
teaching established Bodhicitta practice as central to the spiritual
life of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and its lineage, transm itted
by Tibet's greatest masters, passed into the four m ajor schools that
uphold this teaching today. Over the centuries numerous com
mentaries on this text were composed by such great Tibetan m asters
as Kongtrul Lodro Tayay (1813-1899) and Jamyang Khyentse
(1820-1892). Zhechen Gyaltsab received teachings on these special
Bodhicitta practices from Kongtrul, Jamyang Khyentse, Zhechen
Rabjam, and Khenchen Trashi Odzer.
In 19531 had the good fortune to study at Zhechen Monastery with

Zhechen Kongtrul, the incarnation of Kongtrul Lodro Tayay and a
direct student of Zhechen Gyaltsab. Among the many teachings I
received were the works of Zhechen Gyaltsab in thirteen volumes,
including this text, for which I received the Hearing Lineage. I have
selected this text for translation because it is comprehensive and
because the author speaks so directly and compassionately, caring
for our welfare like a m other concerned for her only child. Today,
when the world is headed in a course almost the exact opposite of
Preface xiii
the Bodhisattva path, encouraging us all to waste our precious time

on earth in self-centered illusions, the practices he recommends can
be truly invaluable. To study and practice in accord with this text can
bring great benefit.
The Seven Essentials of Guru Chekhawa include sixty-two apho

ristic directives, each of which is explained and elaborated upon by
Zhechen Gyaltsab. However, a substantial portion of the commen
tary (more than a third) is devoted to a single line of the root text,
which refers to what are known as preliminary' practices. This thor
ough, comprehensive treatm ent makes Zhechen Gyaltsab s teaching
particularly helpful for students with little previous background in
Buddhist thought and practice.
In this translation, we have divided the text into seven parts, one
for each of the seven essential points, with chapters for each group
of directives. I have added my own reflections as a way of introduc
ing the topics and as a guide to a four-month program of study and
practice, which is outlined at the end of volume II.
Though the beauty of Zhechen Gyaltsab's masterpiece is difficult

to communicate in translation and this translation may have its lim
itations, Path o f Heroes can serve as a valuable m anual for serious
Dharma students today. The basic Mahayana preliminary practices
found in this work and other texts on Bodhicitta are further ex
panded and developed in Longchenpa's Ngal-gso-skor-gsum, Trilogy
of Finding Comfort and Ease (translated by H. V. Guenther as Kindly
Bent to Ease Us, Berkeley, Dharma Publishing, 1975-76). When
Longchenpas own commentaries on this trilogy are translated,
Western Dharma students will have another invaluable resource for
deepening their study and practice of the Bodhisattva Path.
In the future, as Western students become more familiar with

these teachings, it will become possible to develop a more precise
vocabulary for translating texts that delve into the actual practices of
the Mahayana and to express the qualities and actions that charac
terize Bodhicitta in a more direct and meaningful way. Here, how
ever, we have tended to rely on accepted terminology, modifying it
only occasionally.
xiv Preface
Preparation of this translation has taken more than three years.

The principal translator has been Deborah Black. She and I met
many times, first discussing the broad outlines of the text and its
principal themes, and then going over the more obscure passages.
Other editors at Dharma Publishing have also made a substantial
contribution in editing the language, clarifying the meaning of diffi
cult passages, and preparing the work for publication. The result rep
resents the best we could do in the time available. We hope th at in
the future others will be able to improve on our work.
I dedicate this meritorious work to all my lamas, and especially to
Zhechen Kongtrul, to whose blessings I owe my life. I dedicate it as
well to the late Dilgo Khyentse, a student of Zhechen Gyaltsab, who
deeply respected this text and found in it continuing inspiration.
For any mistakes we may have m ade through lack of understand
ing and hum an error, we ask forgiveness of the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas, the Dharmapalas, and the great masters. Please bless
this work, which has been undertaken with the sincere intention of
benefiting others. May it assist all beings to glimpse the liberating
beauty of the Mahayana!
SARVA MANGALAM
Tarthang Tulku
Odiyan
Introduction
hechen Gyaltsab's Path o f Heroes presents the path of the

Bodhisattva, Hero of Enlightenment. Guided solely by the in
tention to end the suffering of all beings, the Bodhisattva draws on
compassion and wisdom to transform samsara, the ordinary realm
of existence, into the perfect peace of enlightenment. Open to any
one willing to accept its challenge, this rigorous and yet joyous path
leads to the complete enlightenment of the perfect Buddhas.
The Buddha Sâkyamuni gave these teachings to countless beings

after his enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago. Reflecting the
nature of enlightened speech, the B uddhas words conveyed to each
individual teachings that accorded with his or her capacity for
understanding. While all heard the same words, only a few endowed
with highly developed spiritual vision realized the full significance of
the Buddha's message: that all beings possess the potential for awak
ening, and that, with the appropriate effort, anyone can become a
fully enlightened and omniscient Buddha. Only the Bodhisattvas
realized the implications of the teachings of openness and great com
passion leading to the development of Bodhicitta, the resolve for per
fect enlightenment that shapes the Path of Heroes.
The practice of Bodhicitta informs all the teachings of the Buddha,
from the Enlightened O nes first discourse—the First Turning of the
xvi Introduction
Wheel of the Dharma at Sam ath—to the final words spoken to his
disciples at Kusinagara. Bodhicitta goes to the heart of what makes
the Buddha’s teachings unique and opens the way for goodness to
transform the lives of sentient beings.
As a young prince in India, the Buddha m astered all the knowledge
of his day, readily surpassing the understanding of his teachers. Yet
this knowledge did not satisfy him. When he looked at his own life
and the lives of others, he saw that all beings are subject to suffering:
no one, no m atter how richly endowed with beauty, wealth, and
position, could escape the sufferings of sickness and decay, old age,
and the final loss that comes with death. This insight into the perva
siveness of suffering, known as the First Noble Truth, led the prince
to vow to find a way to put an end to suffering, not only for himself
but for all beings.
Through analysis and direct observation, the Buddha realized that
the source of suffering was the operation of karma as it connects to
our views and emotions. The Buddha traced this law of cause and
effect through its functioning in the mental as well as the physical
realm, and in the emotional patterns that power all our actions of
body, speech, and mind. These emotional pattemings, known in
Sanskrit as the klesas, are driven by desire, hatred, and ignorance;
they play a pervasive role in our mental environment, continually
poisoning the mind in its operation and distorting the way we under
stand and act in the world. This realization is known as the Second
Noble Truth: that suffering has a cause. Comprehending the root
cause of suffering opens the door to liberation.
The Buddha saw that beings are bound to the world they inhabit
through their experience, in a connection so intim ate that experi-
encer and environment are virtually inseparable from one another.
Stripping away the layers of linguistic convention that separate
observer and observed or subject and object, the Buddha realized that
mind is the source of all experience. Whether we know pain or happi
ness, misery, fear, or inner peace, it is mind that shapes our reality.
The solution, then, is to learn to control the mind. By training the
mind through meditation and mental discipline, experience can also
be transformed, allowing sam sara itself to be uprooted. Sam sara is
not invincible; as the Buddha proved, it too can be brought to an end:
Introduction xvii
This is the Third Noble Truth. But bringing an end to suffering re
quires traveling a path that activates a whole new way of being.
In the Fourth Noble Truth, the Buddha presents a systematic
approach to enlightenm ent known as the Eightfold Path. Incorpor
ating all the B uddhas teachings, this path puts into operation a way
of acting and being that enables the mind to reverse destructive and
self-centered patterns. As old patterns loosen their hold, Bodhicitta
emerges as our natural state of being, and we enter the path of the
great Bodhisattvas.
Passed down through the great Mahayana masters of India, this
approach to enlightenm ent was carried to Tibet m ore than a thou
sand years ago. Since that time, innumerable practitioners have
engaged the view, meditation, and conduct of the Awakened Ones;
refining their understanding and deepening their love and compas
sion, they have made the path of the Buddha their own.
Still, however systematic and logical this approach may be, and
however many have succeeded in following it, no one should think
that Bodhicitta is easy to cultivate. The way to enlightenment pre
sented here is truly a path of heroes, for it requires us to turn away
from the demands of the self and focus instead on the needs of oth
ers. The call to give up the concerns of the self has always been dif
ficult to heed, for it asks us to reject the basic m otivation that shapes
sam sara and determines our ordinary reality. Heeding this call is
even more difficult today, when most people have concluded that
there is simply no alternative to living a life dedicated to satisfying
personal desires. There is no question that these emotional patterns
powering samsara are deeply entrenched in our nature. As we all know
from painful experience, even insights and resolve are not always
enough to change the way the mind operates and the way we act.
The m odem world is also far more complex and confusing than
the world of the Buddha s time. We live with constant upheaval, and
our sense of what has value continually shifts. The vast material
progress of the past few centuries only confirms the power of suffer
ing: For every advance we make on the material plane, we foster
breakdowns at other levels. New technologies bring new threats as
well as new potential, and each step toward greater personal free
dom is accompanied by increasing chaos, disorder, and confusion.
xviii Introduction
Just as diseases are emerging that challenge the most sophisticated

medical technology, we might consider that new forms of suffering
may be arising for which we presently do not have names.
At the root of our social problems, our international disputes, and
our individual difficulties from day to day, the same patterns con
tinue to operate. The truths that the Buddha brought into our world
have not lost their validity. Yet it would be foolish to deny th at in
m any respects it is harder today than in the past to travel the path to
enlightenment.
Foreseeing this Kaliyuga, this Age of Contention, the Buddha gave
the teachings of the Vajrayana or Diamond Vehicle: a method of skill
fully using the energy of emotionality to transform samsaric suffer
ing into the bliss of enlightenment. The Buddha also predicted that
in time false teachers of the Vajrayana would use fascination with
esoterica and spiritual powers to stir up emotionality and actually
lead people deeper into suffering. Those who would practice the path
of heroes m ust be wary of such teachers who often use terms and
concepts drawn from the Dharma to accumulate power and serve
their own interests. In the end, however, Bodhicitta is a powerful
protection. As long as seekers cultivate a wholehearted dedication to
the welfare of others, they cannot readily be deceived.
Truly inseparable from the teachings of the Vajrayana, the path of
Bodhicitta offers a precise and effective response to the dynamic
blend of chaos, confusion, and bright intelligence that characterizes
our times. Suffering is all around us, ever present in our own hearts
and in the hearts of others, ready to surface at the slightest provoca
tion. Working in such conditions, we have to learn to take advantage
of our intim ate familiarity with samsara and make this knowledge
our starting point. We can let our feelings of dissatisfaction fuel the
inquiry that will take us beyond samsara. And we can do this with
very little knowledge of traditional Buddhism.
Today, when traditional ways of knowing are often considered
outmoded and irrelevant, the Buddha’s insistence that we m ust take
responsibility for whatever path of action we choose, based on our
own inquiiy and knowledge, invites ready agreement. For the m od
ern mind, perhaps the most attractive aspect of these teachings is the
Buddha’s commitment to independent inquiry as the source of liber-
Introduction xix
ation. The path of enlightenment is based on such inquiry, combin

ing careful observation of all aspects of existence with a passionate
commitment to act on the truth of what is seen.
The moment we turn the power of observation and inquiry toward

our customary ways of living, asking how we are using our hum an
heritage of freedom, we are clearing the ground for the growth of
Bodhicitta. When we cultivate what has positive value, seeking to
contribute to the health of society and the welfare of all beings, we
are turning the soil; when we let compassion emerge naturally in
response to the overwhelming suffering of others, we are planting
the seed. When we respond from the bottom of our hearts with the
resolve to put an end to this suffering, we are beginning to generate
the mind of enlightenment.
The availability of the Dharma gives us access to a remarkable

pool of knowledge: an unbroken lineage of realization passed down
for more than two thousand years. Surely we should consider our
selves fortunate to have this priceless opportunity to investigate the
truths that form the basis of hum an experience. The Dharma invites
us to look for ourselves and to draw our own conclusions. In this
process, our confusion, doubts, and cynicism become great resources
for. new knowledge. In analyzing and investigating the sources and
patterns of our pain and emotionality, we can discover the knowl
edge we need to put an end to them. Free of our most troublesome
burden, we can turn toward enlightenment and discover our own
highest hum an destiny. This is truly a Dharma for the West: a way to
cultivate knowledge in the midst of samsara. This is a message of
encouragement and accomplishment that today's world has great
need of hearing.
The Buddha s teachings are close to our hearts, for they point to
the truth of our nature. As we read, reflect, and practice, the Dharma
can become part of our thoughts, a good friend always ready to
rem ind us of our highest destiny. If we keep our own counsel,
supporting our own values and encouraging our commitment, we
can refine our understanding and open our hearts. We can prepare
to work for the welfare of all beings: not just today or tomorrow,
but from now until the end of time. We can encourage our
selves, confident that through our own example we help preserve and
XX Introduction
transm it this inner message of the Dharma, a knowledge that leads

to perfect realization.
As we unite study and practice, view and meditation, the path of
the Bodhisattva in all its extraordinary beauty and magical power
unfolds before us. A knowledge takes form that is at once truly ours
and yet firmly rooted in the Mahayana teachings. The more we cul
tivate compassionate concern for others, the more the vast and pro
found view of the Mahayana arises within us. The more we let the
images of the text speak to our hearts, the more we discover within
our experience a heartfelt openness far beyond any mental concept. As
we come to see how our world relies unknowingly on the blessings of
the enlightened ones, the importance of lineage begins to flower.
In Zhechen Gyaltsab’s work, wonderful pearls of insight are some
times concealed in images that seem irrelevant to our Electronic Age.
If you persevere through such initial reactions and study this text
carefully and systematically, these teachings will deepen your con
nection to the precious path of the Dharma and empower you to
change your life in positive and beautiful ways. They will bring you
inner peace and great joy, culminating in the greatest of blessings:
the knowledge that others have benefited from your having lived.
T h e S e v e n E s s e n t ia l s
F ir s t E ssen tia l
P r e pa r a tio n as t h e F oun d a tio n of P r a c tice
S eco n d E s sen tia l

T h e A ctual P ractice o f M a st e r in g
T h e T w o A s p e c t s o f E n l ig h t e n e d M in d
Consider everything to be like a dream .
Exam ine the n atu re of unborn aw areness.
Let the antidote also liberate itself.
Rest in the stillness of the basis-of-all,

the ground of being.
Between sittings, act as a being of illusion.
Alternately practice unconditional giving

and taking on all suffering.
M ount them bo th upon the wind of the breath.
From three objects, the three poisons,

m ake th ree roots of virtue.
Tell yourself always: R em em ber only others.
Practice this principle in all you say or do.
Start the process of taking on suffering w ith yourself.

T h ir d E ssen tia l
T r a n sf o r m in g A d v er sity
I n to t h e P a th o f E n l ig h t e n m e n t
W hen all the world, b oth anim ate and

inanim ate, is filled w ith evil, transform
all adversity into the p a th of enlightenm ent.
Place all blam e on one source.
W ith firmly m otivated concentration,

divert all benefit from yourself to others.
Openness being the greatest protection,

let openness reveal illusory appearance
as the Four Kayas.
As the suprem e m ethod, apply the four practices.
Apply w hatever happens to you to your m editation.
F o u r t h E sse n t ia l
M akin g S e l f -M a ster y Y o u r W ay of L if e
To distill the essence of the instructions:

practice the five powers and refine them.
The M ahayana teachings for transferring

the life-force depend on these sam e five powers:
Com m it yourself to practice them !
F if t h E ssen t ia l
M e a su r in g Y o u r P r o g r e s s in S e l f -M a stery
Unite all D harm a in a single aim.
Accept the b etter of two witnesses.
Let a joyful m ind sustain you.
W hen you can practice even w hen disturbed,

this is called practicing well.
S ix t h E sse n t ia l
T h e C o m m it m e n t s o f S e l f -M a stery
Always practice the three basic principles.
Change your attitude, and be unassum ing.
Do not talk about others' infirmities.
Stop all negative thinking about others.
Purify the strongest em otional attachm ent first.
Give up all hope of getting anywhere.
Stop poisoning yourself.
Do not tie yourself to a rigid sense of

right and wrong.
Never get caught up in cycles of retaliation.
Do not lie in am bush.

Do not strike at the heart.
Do not place the load of a dzo on an ox.
Do not practice magic.
Do not aim to finish first.
Do not bring a god down to the level of a demon.
Do not seek pleasure at the expense of another's pain.
P r a c tice of t h e S e v e n t h E ssen tia l

I n st r u c t io n s f o r S e l f -M a st er y
Unify all that you do as practice.
Overcome all difficulties with this one remedy.
At both start and finish, do the two practices.
W hether good or bad arises, practice patience.
Guard the two, though it cost you your life.

Master the three challenges.
Take up the three principal resources.
Meditate on the three things that m ust not weaken.
Make sure to m aintain the three as inseparable.
Train impartially in every sphere.

Cherish the depth and breadth of practice.
Always m editate on the m ost volatile situations.
Do not depend on external conditions.
Right now, practice w hat m atters.
Do not m isdirect y our concern.
Do not vacillate.
Practice w ith determ ination.

Free yourself thro ugh both investigation
and analysis.
Do not be com placent.
Do not give in to irritation.
Never be tem peram ental.
Do not look for thanks.
(path o f Jîeroes
J io m a g e to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
owing down to my root Lama and the Lamas o f the lineage, I take
jl J refuge in the holy and resplendent Lamas. Please bless me, Great
Hero o f unexcelled mercy: Your heart being ruled by compassion, you
have acted for the welfare o f others for immeasurable eons and
throughout this time o f contention. I bow to you, magnificent Muni,
who conquered Mara and became the Buddha, maturing beings so
difficult to reach.
I bow to you, Victorious One, and to your noble heirs: Mañjusn, pro
genitor o f all the Buddhas, heralding the way o f Bodhisattvas; Maitreya,
your unequalled emissary, unconquerable master o f the tenth stage;
Avalokitesvara, the foremost o f the sons o f the Jinas, bearing the white
lotus; and Vajrapani, o f supreme vitality.
I bow to the feet o f Lord Padmasambhava who, lake-born, unites
within himself the wisdom o f all the Jinas; to Santaraksita, Enduring
Peace, tree o f life for the doctrine in the Land o f Snow; and to Trisong
Detsen, incarnation o f Mañjusñ: When the time was ripe, these three
fulfilled their vows o f ages past.1
I bow to the panditas and lotsawas o f the ancient translation lin
eages, and also to Dlpamkara, Conqueror o f All, Lord o f Bodhisattvas
and wellspring o f the Jinas, and to his three spiritual sons.2 With up
lifted spirit, I praise the spiritual teachers o f their lineage, who clarified
the precious doctrine o f the Kadampa.
Especially I bow to the feet o f my incomparable Lama, chief orna
ment o f the Sangha who uphold the doctrine: treasure o f the sacred
Dharma o f the Three Vehicles, source o f both scriptures and realiza
tion, embodying the wisdom o f all the Buddha and Bodhisattvas.
In honor o f them all, I will present the profound meaning o f the in
structions o f self-mastery— the essence o f honey, gathered from the
lotus garden o f the Great Vehicle and placed into the vase o f my m ind
through the kindness o f my spiritual friends, who embody in their per
sons the actuality o f the Buddha.
Jfineage
o f Compassion
Reflections
Lineage of Compassion
/T n increasing num ber of people brought up in Western tradi-

t (¿JL tions, sensing a loss of values but disillusioned with religion,
have begun looking to Eastern traditions of knowledge for help in
dealing with the problems of m odem life. In recent years, a growing
num ber of W esterners have found m editation valuable for relieving
anxiety and stress and for changing self-defeating attitudes that in
terfere with success and satisfaction.
Some seekers have found that meditation offers a key to an en
tirely new perspective on self and world, a key that unlocks the inner
treasures of wisdom and compassion, essential elements of the path
to perfect enlightenment. Fulfilling this path—the way taken by all
the Buddhas of past, present, and future—requires such heroic ef
fort that few travel it to its culmination. But some people today may
be willing to take the first tentative steps, knowing that questioning
long-accepted knowledge allows new knowledge to emerge.
All such m otivations and concerns can inspire positive changes in
the way we live. Yet to gain full and perfect enlightenment, to truly
follow,the path of Buddhas, means to see that the world in which we
live is a world of suffering, frustration, and repetition that will go on
forever unless we discover a whole new way of knowing and being.
With this realization, the Bodhisattva—Hero of Enlightenment—
Reflections: Lineage of Compassion 7
guides every action out of concern for the benefit and happiness of
all beings, knowing that only by cultivating Bodhicitta, the mind of
enlightenment, can one effectively relieve the burden of suffering.
Bodhicitta expresses an inner knowledge that develops through

making compassion and insight the basis of our existence. As we
learn to reflect in our own lives both relative and ultimate
Bodhicitta—skillful means and wisdom—the qualities of enlight
ened nature shine forth.
Cultivating Bodhicitta through self-mastery is the them e of this

entire work. Emphasizing th at each of us can awaken the mind of
enlightenment, Zhechen Gyaltsab explains at the outset how to
begin the journey to realization. Further on, he presents detailed
directions: a map of the way, complete with signposts that describe
obstacles to be expected and how to overcome them.
The 'm ap' for this journey to enlightenment is based on the Seven
Essentials of Chekhawa Yeshe Dorje (1101-1175), a spiritual seeker
who became an enlightened master by focusing on this one teaching:
Give all gain and profit to others;

take all troubles and difficulties upon yourself
These lines are by Geshe Lang Tangpa (1054-1123), a famous

Tibetan teacher who studied with Geshe Potoba, a disciple of Geshe
Dromton, who received the teaching directly from the renowned
Indian pandita Atlsa. Through Atis'a, these teachings trace back to
Nagarjuna, who systematized the Mahayana teachings on wisdom
and openness. Ultimately, they originate in the teachings on
Bodhicitta taught by the Buddha himself. Transmitted in two great
streams from the Bodhisattva Manjusri to Nagaijuna and from the
Bodhisattva Maitreya to Asanga, these teachings have informed
Dharma practice in Tibet for more than a thousand years.
Guru Chekhawa's succinct and powerful text has been studied and
practiced by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The present com
mentary, the most expansive to be found anywhere in the Tibetan
tradition, quotes extensively from Sutras and from enlightened mas
ters of India and Tibet in support of its presentation. Thus, it offers a
comprehensive introduction to the teachings on Bodhicitta and the
8 Lineage of Compassion
practices for awakening enlightened mind, the heart of all Mahayana

practice.
The powerful practices that activate Bodhicitta were first brought
to Tibet by Guru Padmasambhava, whose immeasurable compas
sion cleared away trem endous obstacles to establish the Dharma in
the Land of Snows. The Great Guru, an emanation of the Buddha
Amitabha, passed on his lineage through twenty-five disciples. Even
today, when the darkness of the Kaliyuga magnifies the influence of
negative forces, he continues to counter the m om entum of karma.
Through the living lineage, the power and compassion of the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas can be tapped for strength and support in these dif
ficult times. This is the essential meaning of transmission: At any time
and in any place we can evoke the blessings of Padmasambhava to
support and inspire us on the path to enlightenment.
Study and Practice

The best way to practice in accord with the instructions given in this
text is to go on retreat, setting aside an extended period of time in
which you abandon any other concerns. This was the m ethod fol
lowed for more than a thousand years in Tibet; here, as recently as
the middle of this century, followers of the Dharma would seek out
peaceful retreats where they could concentrate without distraction
on developing Bodhicitta.
Today, practice with this kind of intensity has become quite rare.
More and more, spiritual practice is associated with institutions and
structures that generate endless rounds of activity and worldly con
cerns. Under these conditions, even lamas and monks intent on
realizing the truth of the B uddhas teachings find it difficult to prac
tice with wholehearted devotion. In the deepening vortex of the
Kaliyuga, such distractions only multiply. Today, for people living
in the West or following a Western lifestyle, the idea of a lengthy
retreat usually seems little m ore than a daydream.
Even if you cannot go on retreat, there are many ways to integrate
the practices for cultivating Bodhicitta into your daily life. One way
is to set aside a half-hour each morning and evening for doing the
practices associated with each part of the text. Again, you can reflect
Reflections: Lineage of Compassion 9
on the ideas and inspiring images of the text whenever you have a
few minutes. This kind of practice is easy to incorporate into any
lifestyle, and you will find that it helps make your life more rich and
meaningful.
At a minimum, you could read a little of the text each day, perhaps
five pages or so, making it your practice to keep the thoughts and im
ages in mind during the day. Move through the text at your own
pace, guided by what inspires your practice and increases under
standing. From time to time return to previous sections of the text,
looking for shifts in your understanding.
However you proceed, remem ber that the practices and ideas pre
sented in this text grow out of a long tradition of inquiry and real
ization unfamiliar to most Westerners. If you do not immediately
understand the value of a teaching or have good results with every
practice, be patient and persevere. Deeper understanding and more
fruitful experience will come with time.
Here is one simple way to prepare your mind for the practice of
Bodhicitta: Whenever you experience suffering directly or see it
manifesting in the lives of others, make a strong effort to penetrate
its nature. To avoid entanglement with emotionality, observe the sit
uation, make an effort to understand how it has arisen, and look for
sim ilar patterns at work in your life and in the lives of others.
Cultivate gazing at the world with eyes of compassion and learn to
experience whatever arises with a compassionate heart. Just doing
this much can make a real difference in your life.
Lineage of
Compassion
ong ago, our Teacher the Buddha, having developed the most
skillful means and greatest compassion, generated the heart
felt intention to gain supreme enlightenment. For three im m easur
able eons he accumulated m erit and wisdom. Finally, m aturing his
training in this present age so full of evil, when the lifespan is a mere
hundred years, he became a complete and perfect Buddha. Then, so
that all could follow in his footsteps, in order to best guide all beings
in accord with their degree of mental readiness and sensitivity, he
turned the Wheel of the Dharm a in three stages to correspond with
the three different spiritual qualities of mind.
Among these teachings, the only one giving the means to attain
perfect Buddhahood is the teaching on the generation of Bodhicitta,
the majestic mind intent on unexcelled enlightenment. Generating
Bodhicitta is the fundam ental basis for obtaining the complete
awakening of a Buddha: W ithout Bodhicitta, there is no way to be-
come enlightened. And the only way to develop Bodhicitta is through
self-mastery—reflecting both relative and ultimate Bodhicitta, the com
passion and openness of enlightened mind. As has been said in a Sutra:
Should you desire to quickly become a Buddha, to awaken
to unsurpassed and complete enlightenment, you must practice
Bodhicitta, the resolve for ultim ate goodness.
Lineage of Compassion 11
The Buddha tells us this in the Sutra Requested by Arya Maitreya:
Maitreya, through one teaching alone, Bodhisattvas abandon

all adverse states of being. No longer falling under the influence
of wicked friends, they quickly awaken, becoming Buddhas,
endowed with unexcelled, complete, and perfect enlightenment.
What is this teaching? It is the resolve for ultimate goodness,

the perfect mind of enlightenment: Bodhicitta. Maitreya, through
this one teaching alone, the Bodhisattva abandons all adverse
states of being. No longer falling under the influence of wicked
friends, the Bodhisattva will quickly awaken to become a Buddha
endowed with unexcelled and perfect enlightenment.
These instructions for self-mastery relating to enlightened mind
come from an unbroken transmission—heart to heart, m ind to
mind—tracing back to the Buddha and his spiritual heirs. The trans
mission radiates through the Buddha Amitabha and the glorious
one who does not differ from him, the Great Master of Oddiyana,
Padmasambhava; and through the one who shared his pure inten
tion, the abbot Santaraksita, crown jewel among those five hundred
whose wondrous qualities have been set forth in renowned and m ar
velous histories.
Lord Atlsa, whose name pervades all regions like the rays of the
sun and moon, belongs to this transmission. Unexcelled as a teacher,
he was himself taught by three masters: Lama Dharmaraksita, Lama
Maitriyogin, and Lama Dharmaklrti, known as Serlingpa. Lama
Dharm araksita was renowned for having had the realization of
openness arise in his heart through meditating solely on love and
compassion: compassion so great that he even cut flesh from his
own body to cure one who was sick. Lama Maitriyogin was able to
actually take upon himself the suffering of others. As for Atlsa s pri
mary teacher, the Lama Dharmaklrti, Serlingpa, he was known to be
unequaled in his mastery of enlightened mind.
Atlsa studied with Serlingpa for twelve years, and by listening to

this m asters teachings, was able to generate the pure resolve for ul
timate goodness, cherishing others more dearly than himself. Later,
whenever Atlsa said Serlingpa's nam e or even heard it spoken, tears
would appear in his eyes, and he would hold his hands in prayer.
Atisa regularly perform ed special prayers at the silver reliquary that

held the relics of Serlingpa. While he worshipped on the anniver
saries of the passing of his other Lamas, he held ceremonies for
Serlingpa every month. He would say, "All my virtuous actions are
due to the kindness of the Lord Serlingpa. He is the reason my mind
manifests even the slightest goodness.”
Atisa was a true protector of beings, an astonishing master. Long
ago, when he m ade his vow to enlighten all beings, the highest gods
predicted his future Dharma activity: Atisa would travel north to
become the protector of those ready to receive Dharma training in
the Land of Snow. He would be invited to Tibet due to the great kind
ness and effort flowing from the pure hearts of King Yeshe Od and
Prince Jangchub Od, the king s nephew.
Atlsa's principal disciples were known as Khu, Ngog, and Drom.
They followed the same teachings and path, and because of this
inconceivable good fortune, they brought many beings to spiritual
m aturity. Of these three, Dromton Gyalway Jungnay was unrivalled,
truly a manifestation of Arya Avalokitesvara. Also known as Geshe
Tonpa Rinpoche, he received the complete precepts just as a vase is
filled to the brim with water.
Having been entrusted with these teachings, and having received
the sacred initiation that allowed him to transm it their meaning,
Geshe Tonpa passed the teachings on to three unexcelled and fortu
nate spiritual sons: Putowa Rinchensal, Chen-ngawa Tshultrim Bar,
and Puchungwa Zhunu Gyaltsen. The most exceptional of these was
Putowa Rinchensal. From Putowa the teachings were transm itted
through Lang Tangpa and Sharawa, whose twin radiance was like
that of the sun and moon. From Sharawa these teachings were trans
mitted to Geshe Chekhawa and others, who used these teachings to
root out the attachm ent of cherishing the self.
In this present time and place another m aster of this unbroken lin
eage has appeared, one who brings beings to spiritual maturity even
when they merely hear his name. He is Lord of the Bodhisattvas of
love and compassion, a great being who casts aside the eight worldly
concerns like rubbish. It is difficult even to speak his name, for he is
the Lord M anjusri himself: the light of spiritual friends, the great
charioteer who has attained in its entirety the wisdom held by those
Lineage of Compassion 13
who inhabit the Land of Snow. Holder of the teachings of the bKa-
babs-bdun, the Seven Streams of Transmission, he is known as
Padma Odsel Do-ngag Lingpa and also as Jamyang Khyentse
Wangpo, Kunga Tempay Gyaltsen Palzangpo.
In this Lama's presence, I received instructions on Atlsa s Lamp of
the Path of Enlightenment and the Seven Essentials of Self-Mastery,
as well as the m ain instructions of the practice lineage of Gyalsay
Ngulchu Togmed. He also explained to me the private notes of Drogon
Palden Yeshe, and very patiently provided me the guidance I needed
to mature my understanding of the Great Hearing Lineage of self-
mastery. This is my principal lineage for these teachings. I also heard
from that same holy master explanations of G am popas Jewel
Ornament of Liberation and Tsongkhapas Three Principles of the
Path. From the one predicted by the Buddha, the one possessing the
unequalled kindness of Vajradhara, Padma Gargi Wangchug Lodro
Tayay Payde, compiler of the mDzod-lnga (the five great treasures
that present the definitive meaning of the Great Vehicle), I received
teachings on his own Guide to the Seven Essentials. This great mas
ter gathered together many important precepts in the gDams-mdzod,
a wondrous compendium containing im portant root texts and com
mentaries on self-mastery found in the Blo-sbyong-brgya-rtsa.3
From the great Bodhisattva who completely mastered the pre
cepts of both the old and new Kadampa teachings, the true guide,
Karma Trashi Odzer, whose gentle compassion for others is bound
less, I received the Kadampa rGyab-chos precepts, the ‘father teach
ings and the ‘son teachings. I received as well the Chos-chung-brgya-
rtsa, teachings on Entering the Bodhisattva Path, the many Sütras of
Maitreya, the Be-bum-sngon-po of Dolpa that condenses all the finest
explanations of self-mastery, and many more. I also received the Bodhi-
citta practices of both the Madhyamaka and Yogàcàra traditions.
Many most kind and holy realized beings such as the Great
Protector of the Wheel of Dharma, the fifth Zhechen Rabjampa, the
great Gyurmed Padma Tegchog Tenpay Gyaltsen Palzangpo, also
allowed me to listen repeatedly to their teachings. These teachers
explained to me the actual precepts of self-mastery and the practices
associated with these precepts.
Reflections
Overview o f Meditation
£ T -/ he first of Guru Chekhawa's Seven Essentials—Preparation as

JL the Foundation of Practice—introduces the kind of in-depth
investigation that characterizes the world s highest philosophies and
religions. Before accepting any system of faith or approach to
knowledge, it is wise to consider whether the concepts and doctrines
that form its foundation are likely to lead to the results we seek. If
we are to find answers to questions such as why we exist, we m ust
look deeply at the nature of experience.
We often imagine that if all our wishes came true, we would be
happy. But experience suggests otherwise. Time and again we attain
some greatly desired goal, only to discover that our happiness and
contentm ent are short-lived. Although we desire happiness, our
strategy for attaining it seems profoundly ineffective.
Even when we begin to realize that our attempts to be happy—
whether focused on wealth, fame, security, entertainm ents, or
love—are not very successful, most of us see no other way to pro
ceed. A few find a certain satisfaction in lives centered on scientific
investigation, technological improvements, or the arts. Such at
tempts to improve the hum an condition occasionally tip the balance
in favor of happiness. But m ost people throughout history have
turned to religion for guidance in dealing with hum an suffering.
Reflections: Overview of Meditation 15
Unfortunately, most religions have responded to suffering and the

wish for happiness by promising future happiness in a heavenly
afterlife. Yet promises of peace and joy after death may seem empty
to many, who find themselves asking, '"How can such promises
benefit my life now? What proof is there of an afterlife?” Thus disil
lusionment with ‘organized religion is not uncommon.
The Buddhist traditions present an alternative, a systematic way to
attain peace and happiness in this very life. Simply stated: The suf
fering of both mind and body are centered in the mind, and by learn
ing how to direct the mind, you can bring suffering to an end.
Study and Practice

Through meditation, we can see the mind at work and observe the
consequences of our actions and thoughts. By gaining greater under
standing of the mind through meditation, we can begin to see the
patterns of thought that create suffering—and perpetuate it by
strengthening our tendencies to seek happiness, security, and love in
all the wrong places.
When we realize how suffering arises, we can turn the m ind to
ward new possibilities. M editation deepens, opening a path to true
peace and satisfaction, a way across the ocean of sam saric discon
tent to the joy and peace of enlightenment.
Meditation is not only a means to gain inner peace and calm, it is
also a process of learning to concentrate the mind in order to go more
deeply into the nature of experience. Focusing on the seven essential
points of Guru Chekhawas text, these two volumes engage us in a
m editation that leads from the most general introductory reflections
to the practices that awaken Bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment.
To begin this process, Zhechen Gyaltsab instructs us in how best to
prepare ourselves to benefit from meditation. These preparations
draw upon a whole tradition of meditative practice as it developed
in India and Tibet over m ore than a millenium. For anyone new to
meditation, this way of preparing mind and body—such as visualiz
ing the Field of the Assembly and offering the m andala—may seem
remote and impossibly complex. While visualization and prayer as
supports for meditation were quite natural in Tibet, they may pose
an obstacle for Westerners who have been brought up in quite dif
ferent religious traditions.
If this is the case, instead of getting too involved in the details of
these preparatory practices, look to the underlying principles. The
Seven-Limbed Practice is effective for beginners, although at first not
everyone will feel comfortable with each part of the practice. The key
point is to prepare a suitable environment for m editation and create
a living situation that supports the close investigation of mind and
experience. Preparations for m editation include readying the body
by stimulating the flow of positive energy and releasing any physical
blockages, and calming the mind by letting go of distracting thoughts
and emotions. Relaxation techniques can help in this process.
Overview of Meditation
Preparation
/'Tyirst of all, become familiar with basic meditation practices

such as those found in the History of Lama Serlingpa. Here I
will present an overview, touching upon the preparations for prac
tice, the actual practice of meditation, and the practices to follow
after meditation.
In preparation, clean the place where you will practice so that it

is suitable for meditation. On an altar holding holy images, texts,
and the like, make suitable offerings and arrange them pleasingly.
On a comfortable seat, in the m editation posture, take refuge in

the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. At the same time, concentrate on
generating the enlightened mind. Visualize the Field of the Assembly
and purify your consciousness by performing the Seven-Limbed
Practice. These practices condense the process of accumulating
virtue and purifying defilements. Next, clearly visualize and offer
the mandala, keeping in mind the three great objectives (to gain
Bodhicitta, to become fully involved in practice and realize open
ness, and to dedicate the merit gained to all beings). These six prac
tices are included in the main practice of the Seven Essentials.
Beginners should principally concentrate on the first two of the

Seven Essentials: the Preliminary Practices and the Actual Practice.
Divide the day into practice sessions, and sustain focus on your prac
tice until your experience is heartfelt and without reservation.
The five remaining essentials, which focus on clearing away ob
stacles, strengthening resolve, and putting what you learn into prac
tice, support the purpose of practice. But remem ber th at for
beginners it is most im portant to m aintain basic practice carefully.
Make m editation a firm habit, and set a definite time to meditate.
Before you rise from meditation, again offer the Seven-Limbed
Practice and the mandala, praying intensely. Then let the Field of
Assembly dissolve away, as indicated in basic meditation texts.
Dedicate your virtuous actions to the cause of universal enlighten
ment, expanding the m erit with wishing prayers.
Between meditation sessions, m aintain alertness and mindfulness,
always preserving the essence of your meditation, whatever your stage
of practice. Take great care to nurture your inner motivation, never
allowing yourself to be caught up in non-virtuous or even indeter
m inant activities. Spend your time only in action that is virtuous.
These teachings come from the very detailed methods for practic
ing the Seven Essentials of Self-Mastery as taught by the Reverend
Lama, the great Khyentse,4 from his text called Seeds of Joy and
Benefit Gathering the Heart of the Teaching. One must have these
methods in hand. But if you are not able to go to this source, the rev
erend Lama Guna condensed this teaching into a simple way of prac
tice, a teaching I received at his feet. This teaching includes a num ber
of scriptural guidelines for practicing the path of enlightenment, as
well as systematic practices to proceed and follow meditation.
While there are many ways of guiding the training in self-mastery,
this text follows the system of the spiritual teacher Chekhawa Yeshe
Dorje as found in the Seven Essentials and embellished by addi
tional instructions from his transm ission lineage.
The Seven Essentials
1
Preparation
as the foundation o f practice
2
The actual practice o f mastering
the two aspects o f enlightened mind
3
Transforming adversity
into the path o f enlightenment
4
Making self-mastery your way o f life
5
Measuring your progress in self-mastery
6
The commitments o f self-mastery
7
Instructions for self-mastery
Practice o f the First Essential
Mrst o f
study the preliminary teachings.

Section One
The Spiritual Teacher

Reflections
O o m e basic questions: First of all, what sparks our interest in the

(L) meaning of life? Why do we even look for meaning in life? W hat
in us is attracted to knowledge, and by extension, to enlightenment?
It would seem that this attraction is inherent in us all.
The term Tathagata refers to the way enlightenment arises and is a
title given to the Awakened Buddhas. Tathagatagarbha is the unm an
ifested heart of this awakening, inseparable from mind or sentience
itself. In that it makes possible the arising of enlightenment, Tatha
gatagarbha might be considered the sponsor of supreme realization.
The prim ordial enlightened nature exists simultaneously with all
beings. However, from our non-enlightened perspective, the enlight
ened nature has not yet appeared. Thus it is said that there are two
aspects of Tathagatagarbha: one that is naturally present, and one
that emerges as we learn through practice to dissolve the obscura
tions of emotionality and not-knowing.
Numerous images illustrate the link between these two aspects: a
king who suffers from amnesia and becomes a beggar, but is always
the king nonetheless; an unborn child in the womb of its mother;
a pauper who knows nothing of the treasure buried under his floor;
the sun obscured by clouds. Each of these images is subject to
Reflections: The Spiritual Teacher 25
misunderstanding. Tathagatagarbha is not a potential waiting to be

developed, for it already suffuses our being, as oil suffuses the sesame
seed. It is not an actual entity or form, though it may sometimes be
described as such to inspire the listener. It is not something that m ust
be discovered, nor does it depend on our inviting it into our lives. As
our capacity for awakening, it is the essence of our being, yet it is
without essence, uncreated and unaffected by the temporal qualities
of conventional reality. Thus it is sometimes said to be the same as
the Dharm adhatu or Dharmata.
Such paradoxes result from depending on a logic and language

based on existence and non-existence, contrast and category. Though
we say unconditioned’, no contrast with the conditioned is intended;
while we speak of 'timeless’, no comparison with temporal reality is
implied. The problem is compounded in Western languages, which
lack the specialized vocabulary developed to clarify such distinc
tions. Attempting to achieve such clarity is like trying to prepare a gour
met meal w ithout having the proper ingredients or utensils.
Yet knowledge of the Tathagatagarbha can inspire our practice

even when we do not understand its subtle implications. Whoever
we are, whatever our understanding, the H eart of Awareness is
active. It operates’ whether beings become enlightened Buddhas or
not. It pervades all the universes, ‘before’ becoming and without
exclusion or discrimination.
Just as M anjusri himself could not describe all the qualities of the
Buddha, so we cannot describe the ultimate truth of Tathagata
garbha. Yet knowing that we are not separate from the Tathagatas
inspires our practice and gives meaning to our lives. This knowledge
clarifies the purpose of self-mastery and gives us confidence that we
can awaken Bodhicitta. Thus the Tathagatagarbha Sutra states:
Until you attain the goal of the path,

you wander in the world
with the precious form of the Sugata
completely wrapped as in a bundle of rags
by all that is debased and polluted. . . .
I have seen within the wrappings of the destructive emotions
what those who think they are free do not see:
26 The Spiritual Teacher
the meditating form of the Buddha, pure, unmoving, unchanging.

Having seen this, I strongly urge you:
Whoever would strive for the highest enlightenment, listen!
This is the nature of all sentient beings:
The Buddha seated in the m idst of the klesas.
When you pacify all the destructive emotions
and free the unexcelled wisdom of the Sugata
you obtain the name: Buddha.
Study and Practice

When we comprehend with certainty both the possibility of enlight
enment and our capacity for attaining it, the decision to practice the
path to enlightenment follows naturally and we have a strong moti
vation to continue. But until we are far advanced on the path, the
inspiration and guidance of a spiritual teacher is essential. As
Zhechen Gyaltsab says at the very outset: "The preliminary prac
tices—together with additional practices presented later—are inte
gral to the path of self-mastery. But a qualified spiritual teacher is
the root of the path.”
Readers who have no access to a teacher can begin the practice of
self-mastery using this book as a guide. For a detailed and system
atic plan for individual practice, see A Four-Month Program for
Study and Practice at the end of volume II.
{ T 'h e preliminary teachings—together with actual practices pre-

JL sented later—are integral to the path of self-mastery.
First o f all, study the preliminary teachings.
A qualified spiritual teacher is the root of the path. The Lord of
Dharma, Gampopa, taught:
The motivating cause for enlightenment
is the Tathagatagarbha (the Heart of Awakening);
the basis is the wondrous and precious hum an form.
The contributing cause is the spiritual teacher,
the method, the instructions of this teacher.
The result is the body of the perfect Buddha;
the charism atic action is to accomplish
the benefit of beings without dualistic thoughts.
— The Jewel Ornament o f Liberation, p. 2
To achieve the perfect awakening of an omniscient Buddha, you
must bring together m any causal conditions and circumstances.
First of all, to awaken the motivating cause to become a Buddha,
you m ust realize that the Dharm adhatu (Realm of Truth) or the
Tathagatagarbha (Heart of Awakening) exists in your very being. If
you do not realize this, the desire and the motivation to achieve
enlightenment will not arise. This was indicated by the glorious

protector of beings, the Master Nagaijuna, in his Praise of the
Dharmadhatu:
Since the potential exists, your actions

will present pure gold to your sight;
if the potential did not exist, your actions
would produce only the dross of the
disturbing emotions. [11]
In the Sutra of the Victorious One, we find: "The heart of the
Sugata enfolds and embraces all beings.”
The Short Parinirvana Sutra states: "All sentient beings are

endowed with the Tathagatagarbha.”
Again, the Extensive Parinirvana Sutra states:
Just as butter exists in milk, so the Tathagatagarbha

permeates all sentient beings.
Further, we find in the Crown of Sutras:
Suchness, found in everything, is pure without exception.

Since it is the very Tathagata, all beings possess
the innate heart of Awakening. [10.37]
But how do we come to possess this Tathagatagarbha? The

U ttaratantra states:
Because the Dharmakaya of the perfect Buddha

is all-pervasive, because the very suchness of everything
is indivisible and undifferentiated, and because all
have an innate spiritual quality, all embodied beings
always possess the innate heart of the Buddha. [1.27]
The first line of this verse suggests that the quality of the
Dharmakaya is ultimately similar to space. Accordingly, three rea
sons point to the Tathagatagarbha existing in the nature of sentient
beings:
1. The Tathagatagarbha manifests openly in those who have previ

ously been completely limited and bound.
The Spiritual Teacher 29
2. Without such an innate spiritual quality, we could never attain

a state of perfect harmony, no m atter what efforts we made.
3. The qualities of the Dharmakaya are by nature uncompounded

and timeless.
As the second line of the verse indicates, all aspects of both samsara
and nirvana exhibit a wholeness: As pure light and great openness,
they are undifferentiated—the natural mode of abiding. Although
beings manifest through temporary delusion, they never deviate from
the ultimate nature of truth, the natural mode of abiding.
As the third and fourth lines state, because the Dharmakaya

(which embraces all qualities) and the tem porary defilements
(which can be removed) exist undifferentiated in all beings, the innate
quality of the Tathagatagarbha is established.
The Buddha taught that since the inherent spiritual quality exists,
all embodied beings are certain to have this potential—the Tatha
gatagarbha. The Tathagatagarbha abides in beings from the begin-
ningless beginning as innate wisdom, the merging of clarity and
openness. The real nature of the mind is, this very instant, free from
limits imposed on it by all the characteristics of conceptual activ
ity—activity that of itself is self-originated and pristine awareness.
Through the power of ignorance, our minds become obscured,

and we suffer under the influence of the tem porary emotional defile
ments. Because we grow attached to the view of a self, the
Tathagatagarbha does not manifest, just as the sun and moon
become obscured by cloud cover or haze. In the Praise of the
Dharm adhatu we find:
Even the immaculate sun and moon

may be covered over by five obscurations:
clouds and haze and smoke,
dust, and the face of an eclipse.
Likewise, the luminous mind

may be obscured by the five defilements:
desire, ill-will, laziness,
excitement, and doubt. [18-19]
30 The Spirituál Teacher
Even when obscured by temporary defilements, our nature is the es

sential nature of truth, and abides undefiled. The same text continues:
Just as water when flowing underground is unpolluted,
similarly, wisdom abides undefiled
within the emotional afflictions. [23]
Anyone who is free from the obscuring activity of the tem porary
defilements is called Buddha, as the same text expresses:
Water in the sum m er is described as warm,
while in the winter it is said to be cold.
Entangled in the net of emotions,
we are called sentient being.
One who is free from those emotions
is said to be a Buddha. [35-36]
In the process of attuning yourself to the path, using inquiry and
contemplation that accord with the real nature of existence, you may
come to decisively know non-dual pristine awareness, clear and pro
found. At that time you settle into meditative balance, free of taking
positions and beyond clearing anything away. In the afterm ath of
this meditation, the accumulations of merit and wisdom are like an
illusion. Yet because you have become attuned to the specifics of
method and wisdom, this is also the way to cut off all the tem porary
defilements that are obscuring your potential for enlightenment and
therefore m ust be purified.
Thus, the same text, Praise of the Dharmadhatu, states:
It is as if you were to try to purify by fire
a cloth soiled by many stains,
and placing it within the fire,
the stains were to bum but not the cloth.
Just so, when the luminous mind
is defiled due to attachm ents and the like,
the fire of pristine awareness bum s
away the defilements,
but the luminosity does not bum away.
Openness is the essence of the teaching,
the meaning of what the Bhagavan taught.
All these teachings tear down the fettering emotions:

But the potential for enlightenment is never undermined. [20-22]
When you practice the path of enlightenment by means of the
strengths that are free from defilement, all the Dharmic qualities
of the Path and Result appear, but nothing new arises. As the same
text states:
When a butter lamp is burning in a closed vessel,
no light at all appears.
Likewise, in the vessel of the emotions,
you cannot see the Dharmadhatu.
But when a hole is made in the vessel,
the light shines forth through the same place
the hole was made.
When, through the Vajra Samadhi,
the vessel itself is broken open,
the Dharm adhatu appears
throughout the far reaches of the sky.
The Dharm adhatu is unproduced
and does not ever cease to be.
Throughout the sweep of time,
it is free from the emotional defilements;
immaculate in beginning, middle, and end. [5-8]
In summary, there are three different conditions of existence: The
basis, in which beings are impure and defiled; the path, on which
beings are purified through the power of the antidotes; and the fruit,
or the final condition of purity.
This teaching is said to be the intent of the final turning of the
Wheel of Dharma, the way that connects Sutra and Mantra: The
wondrous and unfading significance of their flowing together is the
key to the intent of the two vehicles. In that same text, the Praise of
the Dharmadhatu, is found:
Whatever the cause of samsara,
in purifying that very thing,
that purity itself is nirvana
and the Dharmakaya as well. [2]
And further; the Lord Maitreyanatha states in the Uttaratantra:
The impure, the impure who are being purified,

and the completely pure are called
sentient beings, Bodhisattvas, and Tathagatas
in accord with their degree of purity. [1.47]
The Hevajra Tantra states:
Sentient beings, though in actuality Buddha,

are obscured by the temporary defilements.
When the defilements are cleared away
they are the actual Buddha.
And again, as stated in the Mahamaya Tantra:
You will not find the perfect Buddha

in any of the four times or ten directions.
The perfect Buddha is the mind itself.
Do not seek for any other Buddha.
The Sutra of Pristine Awareness states:
Since the realization of mind is the Buddha,

generate the perception that knows
no other Buddha.
If you wonder how to know if the spiritual quality is manifesting

in someone, you can be certain by the signs that characterize it. The
Sutra of the Ten Dharmas states:
From smoke you know there is fire;

from ducks in the water, you know it as water.
Just so, the spiritual quality of the Bodhisattva
is understood from the pure signs.
In considering the signs or marks of someone awakened to the

spiritual quality of the Mahay ana, the Crown of Sutras tells us:
From the very beginning of training

you conduct yourself purely,
with compassion and aspiration, patience and virtue.
These should be known as the signs of the spiritual quality. [4.5]
What you have previously practiced finds expression as compassion

for sentient beings, aspiration for the doctrine of the Great Vehicle,
patient acceptance of unimaginable hardships, and genuine acts of
virtue imbued with the nature of the perfections, the paramitas.
It is said in Entrance to the Middle Way:
When an ordinary person hears
the teachings of openness,
and inner joy arises again and again,
and when from that delight
tears pour from the eyes
and the hair stands on end,
you know that this person possesses
the seeds for full enlightenment.
These are the signs of the seeds for full enlightenment. [6.5]
Reflections
Traits of the Spiritual Teacher
s like to think of ourselves as independent beings, but this is

true only in a limited sense. We learn almost everything we
know from elsewhere: from parents, teachers, friends, books, the
media, or society. When we train ourselves in a discipline or skill, we
look to others who have mastered that skill. When we need special
ized knowledge, we go to someone who has that knowledge. When
it comes to spiritual practice, the same pattern holds. This is the
main reason to seek out a spiritual teacher.
In investigating the path to enlightenment, however, we are not just
learning a new skill or technique. We are examining our own minds
and our own nature. One who has made a similar journey through the
maze of the mind can help us access whole aspects of personality,
mental patterns, and emotional makeup that would otherwise remain
hidden. Like an experienced guide through dangerous or difficult ter
rain, the teacher enables us to avoid the pitfalls of the journey.
The student who keeps in m ind that the spiritual teacher empow
ered by Bodhicitta will always act to promote the student's welfare
will benefit greatly from the student-teacher relationship. Before
Bodhicitta has arisen in the practitioner, the spiritual teacher serves
as its agent, directing the student away from the concerns and
deceptions of the self and toward liberation from samsara. For this
Reflections: Traits of the Spiritual Teacher 35
reason, once a teacher has been chosen, it is im portant to respect the

teachers experience, realization, and devotion to the Buddha-
dharm a and to follow the teacher's directions.
On the other hand, great care should be taken in choosing a
teacher. Regarding spiritual teachers, Padmasambhava states:
“While there are spiritual teachers who have liberated their con
sciousness by hearing and thinking about the teachings, there are
also deluded teachers whose understanding is based on intellect
alone. While there are those who have gained genuine experiences
in their practice, there are also those who go astray and let their
spiritual practice lag. While there are those with good discipline who
follow through on their spiritual intentions, there are also the hyp
ocrites, who rely on the deceptive appearance of doing good. While
there are those whose views are true to the precepts, there are also
those who pay lip service to the Dharma, but whose teachings are in
error. While there are those who are faithfully devoted to practice,
there are also the frauds who speak falsely of their practice.
“Again, there are those whose whole nature is imbued with the
Dharma as it should be. But there are others who assert that the
Dharma is something 'beyond' our comprehension and use their elo
quence to put forth teachings that reflect only ordinary conscious
ness. This is cleverness, not Dharma.”
Students in the West sometimes experience real dilemmas in de
ciding how to relate to someone who professes spiritual insight.
They want to evaluate the teacher but are unaware that there are
clear guidelines to guarantee that their assessment is not based on
personal opinion, the ordinary self-centered stance that interferes
with true objectivity. Nowadays, those with just a little knowledge of
the Dharma may feel qualified to criticize both teachings and teach
ers. There is also a strong tendency to maintain that the student has
the absolute right to choose what parts of the teachings to accept or
reject. It is very rare to stop and consider that this attitude erodes
the effectiveness of the teachings and virtually guarantees failure.
Such attitudes can also destroy the very basis of Dharm a trans
mission. Students who turn away from a teacher in favor of their
own opinions create a powerful barrier between themselves and the
lineage. If teachers are unable to pass on the body of their knowl

edge intact, the complete path to enlightenment will be lost.
For transmission of the lineage to occur, the connection between
student and teacher must be extremely close. When the student is able
to follow the teachers guidance and discovers the benefits that result,
feelings of love, devotion, and respect arise naturally. The more gen
uine and heartfelt the respect of the student, the more freely the bless
ings of the lineage can flow. The more these blessings are felt and
savored, the more spontaneously the mind appreciates and turns
toward virtue. Practice in accord with the path of realization becomes
a natural expression of devotion for the lineage that transmits it.
Establishing a Relationship with a Teacher

For many Dharma students, establishing a teacher-student relation
ship poses a difficulty of a very different kind. Although it is quite
easy nowadays to meet spiritual teachers and attend their talks and
workshops, it is m uch more difficult to develop a close relationship
with a teacher. Typically, teachers travel from place to place, and
although they can bestow blessings on many people, they cannot
continue working with everyone they meet in a direct and personal
way. The student who does not have the opportunity to form a con
nection with a teacher may grow discouraged, or even wonder
whether it is worthwhile to practice at all.
Yet this lack of personal connection does not m ean you cannot
practice, for the teacher manifests in many forms. For example,
reading and reflecting on the life story of Padmasambhava may
awaken a sense of devotion, enabling you to accept such a great m as
ter as your source of inspiration and guidance. It is useful to remem
ber the words of the renowned Nyingma m aster Longchenpa: “To
read my works is the same as meeting me in person/'
If you do have the opportunity to meet a teacher, take care to
exercise careful discernment at the outset before making a com m it
ment. Keep in mind the eight qualities of a teacher described by
Zhechen Gyaltsab. Remember that almost everything precious is
rare. Qualified teachers are certainly no easier to find than treasure
chests of gold or rare gems. As Padmasambhava warned, in this age
Reflections: Traits of the Spiritual Teacher 37
of the Kaliyuga, there are many who profess to be great teachers, but
few who are actually qualified.
In assessing a teacher, rem em ber that the single most im portant
quality that any teacher m ust possess is compassionate understanding
of the student, based on the clarity that comes from an enlightened
perspective. Compassionate understanding forms the foundation of
the relationship between teacher and student, necessary for the
growth of strong feelings of trust. If such a quality is present, it does
not m atter what style of teaching or outer form the teacher adopts.
The sincere wish to receive guidance and instruction from a
teacher is itself a positive state of mind. In cultivating it, you prepare
yourself to receive instruction. For developing Bodhicitta, such a
wish is certainly sufficient basis for study and meditation. As your
practice deepens, you may discover indications that the teacher is
present. For instance, simple daily events may offer guidance and
inspiration. In time the opportunity for personal contact with a
teacher may present itself quite unexpectedly.
Traits of
the Spiritual Teacher
T V 7~hy do sentient beings get caught up in sam sara when they all
V V have this innate spiritual quality? It is because they have not
awakened this quality and thus cannot act on it, even though they
have it. Thus we find in the Praise of the Dharmadhatu:
Truly the Vaidurya Gem is very precious:
Though the stone itself may not sparkle,
luminosity abides within it at all times.
Similarly, the pristine Dharm adhatu
may be obscured by the afflictive emotions
so that its light in sam sara does not shine,
but in nirvana it is luminous. [9-10]
To awaken the enlightened quality, it is vital that you depend on
a qualified spiritual teacher of the Mahayana. As said in the Verse
Summary of the Prajnaparamita:
Good students, revering the Lama,
always depend on their wise teachers.
Why is this so?
Because the qualities of the wise arise from the Lama.
The Jina, the Lord of Supreme Qualities, has taught:
"The Buddhadharma depends upon the.virtuous spiritual friend.” [15.1]
Traits of the Spiritual Teacher 39
In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, we find:

Thus the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas who desire to become Buddhas
and fully manifest perfect, unexcelled enlightenment
must first approach a spiritual teacher.
They m ust rely on and honor this virtuous spiritual friend.
To obtain perfect Buddhahood, you must embody all excellence:
all virtuous action and all wisdom. The way to accumulate this virtue
is to trust in the guidance of the spiritual teacher.You m ust also give
up whatever brings about obscurations of emotionality and obscu
rations of the knowable. Again, the way to accomplish such detach
m ent is through trust in the spiritual teacher.
The spiritual teacher is like a guide for travelers. When you are
w ithout a guide on an unknown route, you are always in danger of
taking the wrong path, making mistakes on your way, or going
astray. But if you travel with a guide, you will never be in danger of
taking the wrong path, making mistakes, or going astray. You will
arrive at your desired destination without unnecessary delay.
Once you enter the path of unexcelled enlightenment and begin to
travel towards the stage of perfect Buddhahood, if you have no
teacher of the Great Vehicle who can act as your guide, you are in
danger of losing your way: You may take the wrong path of the
Tirthikas, those holding extreme views; or you may wander off on
the mistaken path of the Sravakas; or you may go astray on the path
of the Pratyekabuddhas.
But when you are in the company of a spiritual teacher of the
Great Vehicle who will serve as your guide, you will arrive at the city
of the Omniscient One without the risk of taking the wrong path,
making mistakes on the path, or going astray.
In the Sutra of the Ornamental Array, we find:
All Bodhisattva activity depends on spiritual teachers.
All the gateways of aspiration for enlightenment appear
because of them, and all roots of virtue are produced through them.
All accumulations of merit and wisdom come from spiritual teachers,
and all the doors of the Dharma appear through depending on them.
All pure action arises from these teachers as well.
Depending on the spiritual teacher is the root of open-minded caring.

All the teachings that generate the mind of enlightenment
come from depending on the teacher. All unobscured intellect and
inspiration are displayed from having depended on the teacher.
All the treasures of the gates of purification are obtained
by depending on the teacher. All wisdom appears,
generated by depending on the teacher.
All special aspects of the wishing path of aspiration
lie in the hands of the spiritual teacher.
Further, as stated in the teachings of the King of Dharma, the All-
Knowing Longchenpa:
To praise but a few of the aspects of the Friends of Beings:
They are the pilots of the great ships that cross the ocean of samsara;
the unexcelled leaders of those who enter the path;
the wish-fulfilling gem that clears away troubles;
the streams of nectar that put out
the fire of karma and the destructive emotions;
the beneficent clouds of the cooling rain of the Dharma;
the drums of the gods that produce joy for all beings;
the king of medicine that heals the illness of the three poisons;
the brilliant lamps that clear away the darkness of ignorance;
the great wish-granting tree, source of happiness for all beings;
the good and precious vessels that hold
miraculously all one m ight desire;
the inconceivable rays of light of the sun of great love;
the moon that soothes the fever of craving
with its white light of bliss and benefit.
With their expansive sphere of understanding,
they are like the stainless sky.
The clear light of their sam àdhi illuminates
like the light of spectacular stars and planets;
their knowledge and love is boundless like the ocean;
the great wave of their mercy is like a moving river.
Undisturbed and im perturbable,
they are like the glorious snow m ountains—
totally stable, like Meru, the king of mountains.
Their state of existence is unsullied, like the mud-born lotus;

their love, impartial to all, like the love of father and mother.
Their boundless good qualities are like a treasure of jewels;
they guide the world, like the powerful conquerors.
Such are the Lamas, the glorious lords of the Dharma.
Wherever they abide is where all the Buddhas abide,
and seeing, hearing, remembering, or touching
them drives back samsara.
The great waves of their charismatic action
are inconceivable in magnitude;
they are like the great earth,
a foundation for all beings.
Four Types of Spiritual Teachers

Spiritual teachers are of four different types: teachers who have the
perfect body of ecstatic awareness of the Sambhogakaya; teachers
who have the majestic body of great emanation, the Nirmanakaya;
teachers who are Bodhisattvas; and spiritual teachers who teach in
the m anner of ordinary beings.
The first three types of teachers are for those who have entered the
stream of the Dharma, those whose conduct is that of holy beings.
For beginners like us, however, who lack such good fortune, it is usu
ally necessary to depend on spiritual teachers who appear as ordi
nary beings. However, these teachers are actually manifestations of
the Buddha. As stated in the Sutra of Supreme Meditation:
Son of good lineage, long, long ago, in a previous lifetime,
I myself, having manifested as a spiritual friend,
taught this samadhi. And so, as this virtuous spiritual friend
was your teacher, honor and respect and depend on him
until you abide in the heart of enlightenment.
Necessary Characteristics of the Spiritual Teacher

What are the necessary characteristics of the spiritual teacher? The
Stages of the Bodhisattva gives eight:
1. The spiritual teacher m ust uphold the moral practice
of the Bodhisattva.
2. The spiritual teacher must have learned the innumerable
teachings of the collection of teachings relating to the Bodhisattva.
3. The spiritual teacher m ust have realization of these teachings.
4. The spiritual teacher m ust have supreme compassion.
5. The spiritual teacher must be fearless.
6. The spiritual teacher must have patient forbearance.
7. The spiritual teacher must have a completely imperturbable mind.
8. The spiritual teacher s actions and words m ust accord with one
another.
In the Crown of Sutras, we find it said:
True teachers have four characteristics:
They extend the doctrine by means of
their extensive knowledge of the teachings;
they cut through the doubts of others
with their great wisdom; they show their words
to be trustworthy by performing the activities
of holy beings; and they teach the thusness
of what is totally emotionally afflicted
and what is totally purified.
Those who extend the teachings and expel doubts,
who are trustworthy and teach the two as thusness:
These are called perfect teachers—these are Bodhisattvas. [13.5]
We find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path that spiritual teachers
are wise in their understanding of the meaning of the Great Vehicle
and have embraced the vow of the Bodhisattva:
The spiritual teacher is always wise
in the meaning of the Mahayana,
never giving up, even for the sake of life itself,
the extraordinary discipline of the Bodhisattva. [5.2]
It is also stated:
Those with the lineage and the characteristics of the Lama,
if they have realization, have all the requirements.
Thus, seek for and rely on teachers such as those who hold the
Kadampa lineage of Atlsa, an uninterrupted lineage from the Perfect
Buddha. Such teachers truly abide in the stream of realization of
the precious enlightenment-mind of love and compassion. Having
found such a spiritual teacher, follow the three ways of depending
on a teacher:
First of all, depend on your teachers with reverence and respect:
Bow before them, rise quickly, bow, and circumambulate them.
Request teachings in a timely fashion, with a mind full of longing.
Honor your teachers by gazing again and again upon them, as if you
could never be satisfied.
Respect and honor your teachers with whatever you may be able
to give, whether wealth or grain, medicines, furnishings and robes,
food, or the like—all that accords with a religious life. This is the way
to depend upon the teacher.
The Sutra of the Ornamental Array states:
Never be satisfied when gazing upon the spiritual teacher.
Why is this im portant? Spiritual teachers rarely appear:
They are difficult to find and difficult to meet.
We read in the Bodhisattva-pitaka:
Adore the Lama as if you were receiving a heart in a body that lacked
a heart. Even if you have nothing, offer the Lama what you can, even
if just a clay pot. In so doing, your virtue increases unimaginably.
As stated in the Story of Srisarhbhava:
The enlightenment of the Buddha was obtained
by honoring spiritual teachers.
Secondly, trust in your spiritual teachers, showing them every sort
of honor and devotion. Steadfastly perceive your teacher as the
Buddha, never discounting what the teacher says, and generate con
viction, devotion, and faith. In the Mother of the Jinas we find:
You must generate earnest devotion for the spiritual teacher.

You must be temperate.
You must be truly inspired.
From the standpoint of qualities, the spiritual teacher is the same
as the Buddha; from the standpoint of showing you kindness, con
sider the teacher even greater than the Buddha. The Buddha said in
the Sutra of the Stainless Sky:
Ananda, the Tathagata does not appear to all beings,
but teaches the Dharma by manifesting
as a virtuous spiritual friend, thus planting the seed of liberation.
In The Tathagata Sutra, we find: "Hold tightly to the virtuous
spiritual friend!''
And again, in the Attainment of Pristine Awareness, we read:
You cannot cross a river in a boat that has no rower at the oars:
Even if you have every good quality,
w ithout the Lama, there is no end to samsara.
In The Flower Ornament Sutra, we find:
Spiritual friends protect us from going to lower states of being.
They bring us realization of the sameness of phenomena;
they indicate joyful and non-joyful paths.
They instruct by means of the deeds of Sam antabhadra
and show us the path to the city of omniscience.
They conduct us to the place of omniscience
and lead us to the ocean of the Dharmadhatu.
They teach us the ocean of knowledge of the three times
and show us the m andala of the assembly of Aiyas.
The spiritual teacher develops all our wholesome qualities . . . .
Thirdly, trust in the spiritual teacher by applying yourself
earnestly. Make earnest effort to hear, think about, and m editate
upon the Dharma of the Great Vehicle as taught by the spiritual
teacher. In doing so you greatly delight your spiritual friend. Thus
the Crown of Sutras states:
By practicing the teachings as spoken by the teacher you bring
genuine delight to your teacher's mind. [18.12]
And again, the All-Knowing Jigmed Lingpa stated:

Supreme achievement comes from
the three ways of pleasing the spiritual teacher.
Buddhahood comes through delighting the spiritual teacher. Thus
we find in the Story of Srlsambhava:
In delighting the spiritual teacher, you obtain
the enlightenment of all the Buddhas.
Special benefits are also gained from depending on the spiritual
teacher. In the same text we read:
Son of good lineage, Bodhisattvas who are genuinely embraced
by a spiritual friend will not fall into lower states of being,
nor will they fall into the hands of bad associates.
They will not turn away from the Dharma of the Great Vehicle.
They will pass completely from the stage of ordinary beings.
The text continues on the same theme. Again, in the M other of the
Jinas we find:
Bodhisattva Mahàsattvas who are embraced completely
by virtuous spiritual friends will quickly become awakened;
they will become complete, perfect, and unexcelled Buddhas.
The Buddha stated this in countless teachings. Because of this,
Gyalsay Ngulchu Togmed stated:
Those who rely on the spiritual teacher are never harmful,
and their good qualities increase like the waxing moon.
They cherish the holy spiritual friend with their whole being:
This is the Bodhisattva s practice.
— The Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices [8]
Reflections
Practicing Guru Yoga
hen we look at our lives with honesty and clarity, it can be

disheartening to see how far we are from embodying and
acting upon our own ideals. In such circumstances, we may find it
deeply inspiring to visualize and reflect upon the great masters of the
enlightened lineage through whom the transmission of the teach
ings has come down to the present.
Starting with the perfectly enlightened Buddhas of past, present,

and future, through the Sixteen Arhats who continue to uphold the
teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha, the lineage spreads out in ever-
expanding circles, m aster after master. Even in the present day, we
can find these circles and streams of lineage in the spiritual heirs of
the twenty-five disciples of Padmasambhava, in the lineage of the
students of Marpa and Milarepa, in the transm ission holders who
followed Sakya Pandita, and in the masters who preserved the teach
ings of Tsongkhapa. W ithout such streams of lineage, the Dharma
could not continue.
In the very center of this circle of blessings and goodness is the

presence of the lineage in the form of the Guru or Lama. This cen
tral presence of the Guru in meditation—a presence that is more
than physical—extends the focus of the mind beyond our familiar
Reflections: Practicing Guru Yoga 47
emotional patterns and ignorance, enabling us to deeply engage the

practice of Bodhicitta.
The practice of Guru Yoga invites the heart and mind and quali
ties of the Lama into our very being. The resulting oneness embod
ies the Dharma and the enlightened lineage, encouraging Bodhicitta
to awaken. This intrinsic connection assures that the lineage will be
passed on.
The practice of Guru Yoga opens a direct link to the beauty of
realization. The light in which we visualize the Guru is also the light
of liberation, illuminating the world in such a way that all appear
ance expresses the unified nature of goodness. The outpouring of
love and compassion from the Guru in our meditation brings all
sentient beings into the protective embrace of the Buddhas and
Enlightened Ones. This is not simply a subjective experience: It is an
inner truth that we cannot ordinarily acknowledge. In the Song of
Tselay Natsog Rangdrol we find:
The whole of the visible world is the m andala of the Lama:

The purity of appearance demonstrates complete compassion.
All that happens in the world is a manifestation of the Lama:
All actions benefit beings with what they need.
All beings born in the world are the manifestation of the Lama:
The Dharmakaya, as the heart of the Sugata, pervades everything.
All joy and happiness are a manifestation of the Lama:

a gift of siddhi, granting whatever the mind could wish for.
All the distressing conditions of illness

are also manifestations of the Lama,
for the experience of suffering purifies wrongdoing.
Guru Yoga and M antrayana
As a central element of the Mantrayana teachings, Guru Yoga is

practiced by all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. While the specific
form used in each system differs, the general purpose is the same. In
like m anner Guru Yoga is integral to the practice of the Seven
Essentials, where the teachings of all Three Turnings of the Wheel

of Dharma are unified into a path leading to enlightenment.
Today, when our minds focus automatically on the lures and
threats of samsara, it can be hard to make a place for the light of the
Guru to enter. Our time is taken up, our heads are full of other m at
ters, our hearts are engaged elsewhere. Even our practice of the
Dharma is a samsaric activity, interpreted by minds enmeshed in
samsaric concerns. From this perspective, it is almost impossible to
imagine the blessings th at could flow from Guru Yoga.
Yet this first reaction does not have to stop us from attempting this
practice. We live in a world where suffering is real, and the need for
compassionate realization is great. Knowing that the disease of sam
sara has yet to be eradicated, we can see what happens when we set
out to generate devotion and allow this special energy to fuel our
meditation. If you spend some days doing the practice set forth in
this chapter, the results may surprise you.
Practicing
Guru Yoga
T T aving established the importance of depending on the spiri-

/ -L tual teacher, you can proceed to the actual Guru Yoga and its
accompanying prayers. These include preliminary practices, the
actual meditation, and the practices that follow meditation.
First of all, concentrate on the enlightened mind of love and com

passion. As you focus on the teacher, imagine your own body as
being without substance, with no self-nature: an inner, mirror-
reflected image, like a circle of light in the heart.
For the actual practice, visualize on the crown of your head your
own root Lama seated upon the disk of the moon, which in turn rests
upon a lotus. With all your heart, bring to m ind the m andala of the
Lama's face, the way the Lama is seated, and the sound of the Lama s
voice. Visualize your Lama as undifferentiated from the Yidam, the
Buddha, every. Bodhisattva, and all the Lamas who have ever m ain
tained the Dharma, going back to the Buddha, source of all the
Lamas of the lineage.
Holding this image in mind, perform the Seven-Limbed Practice

and make whatever offerings you can. Then join your hands in prayer,
and with all the intensity you can muster, take refuge in the body,
speech, and mind of the Lama. The purpose of this is to become free
from all faults and to perfect all virtuous qualities. Concentrate on

there being no self-nature in the ultim ate nature of existence. See it
as like the sky, and recognize that we appear in this world to benefit
sentient beings.
Continue by reciting the lineage prayers. Pray that you will be
bom in the heart of the lineage of the precious Lama, the virtuous
spiritual friend, and that you will possess the heart-lineage of the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Pray for both aspects of enlightened
mind to be bom immediately in your consciousness, as indicated in
the most profound Sutras of definitive meaning. Pray to manifest the
mind of enlightenment throughout your life, from birth to death,
whether you are rich or poor, distinguished or lowly, happy or m is
erable. Pray to have the wisdom to carry on the teachings in the case
of any misfortune and no m atter what obstacles may arise.
Having earnestly prayed in this way, sit in the m udra of m edita
tion and concentrate on the aperture of Brahma at the crown of your
head. Visualize the Lama streaking like a shooting star through that
opening and into your heart. Reflect that the Lama is the actual
Buddha, and concentrate on generating as much faith and devotion
as you can. Then visualize your own body, speech, and mind m erg
ing with the body, speech, and mind of the Lama. Thus transformed,
your own body, speech, and mind resemble the clear light of the sky.
Setde into this state of being.
As you come out of that state, reflect as before that your Lama is
an integral part of your mind and body. Then visualize the Lama
moving away from the crown of your head back to the Lama's own
way of being. After that, make the wishing prayer to benefit all beings
and dedicate all that you have done to the growth of the Dharma and
to accomplishing the heartfelt intention of all Lamas who manifest
all the virtues existing in past, present, or future.
Inconceivable benefits arise from relying on this practice. To sum
marize these benefits, both common and uncommon: You will never
suffer harm from any being, whether hum an or non-human. You
will obtain all wonderful qualities, both secular and spiritual. All
the other precepts and teachings will appear for you, including the
two special instructions relating to the time of death—the luminous
nature of being, and the transfer of consciousness (Phowa).5 By
Practicing Guru Yoga 51
diligent effort based on these instructions, you will be able to realize

whatever you desire.
Finally, there is practice of the marvelous siddhi of the great
M ahamudra. It is said that with this there is no need for any other
samadhi. Se Chilbupa taught:
Though the doctrine overflows my heart, I am bound
within the confines of this red, festering flesh.
But through the depth of profound practice,
I will pass beyond these bounds.
This teaching is extremely important. Lord Godtsangpa said:
The Secret M antra teachings reveal the instructions
for becoming enlightened in the body you have
in this very lifetime. But for this there are many things
you have to do. You must practice with devotion
and conviction and never take up any other way.
At one time Tonpa asked Lord Atlsa: "There are many practition
ers of meditation in Tibet. How is it that none of them have gained
any truly special qualities?”
Atisa replied: "All the qualities of the Great Vehicle, both great and
small, are produced by depending on the Lama. You Tibetans, who
see Lamas as just ordinary beings, do not gain these benefits.”
Although this statement does not actually come from the teach
ings of the Seven Essentials, it is in the lineage that has come down
from Se Chilbupa, the spiritual teacher who transm itted the pre
cepts of Lord Serlingpa.
We turn now to the body of the preparatory practices for the path.
This entails four meditations for awakening a change of heart:
reflecting on freedom and good fortune, reflecting on im perm a
nence, reflecting on the cause and effect of karma, and reflecting on
the suffering of samsara.
Section Two
¿ftwakening the Jieart

Reflections
Freedom and Good Fortune
onsidering the countless forms of life that inhabit this planet

C and observing the unbearable misery that characterizes so
many of these lives, we might well wonder how it happened that we
were bom as humans in relative material comfort and good health.
A life of freedom and good fortune is rare in the world.
Yet even when we see how common suffering is, the thorough
going materialism built into the m odem Western point of view tells
us that this life is all we have, and we might as well take all we can
from it. According to this view, consciousness is tied to the body, and
when the body ceases functioning at death, consciousness stops as
well: There is nothing to be reborn. So even when we have the free
dom and good fortune to turn our lives in any direction we might
wish, we tend to follow after desires and seek personal satisfaction.
But does this bring lasting happiness?
It is im portant to keep in m ind that our time is limited. Our body

is unstable, and the circumstances of this world on which we rely are
unstable as well. Like a bubble in a stream, life in all its aspects is
completely unpredictable. Seeing this, we have a choice: We can
devote our limited timé to pursuit of desires, or we can inquire into
what brings lasting satisfaction and meaning to hum an life.
Reflections: Freedom and Good Fortune 55
Much of Path o f Heroes focuses on cultivating specific insights into

the nature of existence to help 'turn the mincT (blo-ldog) toward the
path of enlightenment. These insights are most often presented as a set
of four: awakening to the freedom and good fortune available only
to a hum an being, realization of impermanence, understanding the
nature of karma, and recognizing the all-pervasiveness of suffering.
Regarding the first insight into fortunate conditions, Zhechen
Gyaltsab places special emphasis on the cultivation of faith. The
Buddhist understanding of faith is quite different from the usual
view of faith in the West. In Buddhist practice, faith is a growing
confidence in knowledge that develops as we learn more about the
mind and the nature of existence.
The Power of Faith
Before we can significantly change our lives, we must gain mastery of

our minds and awaken to the true nature of existence: the truth of suf
fering. We then must uncover the source of this suffering and take ad
vantage of our unique opportunity to transform it.
Since the samsaric world powerfully attracts our senses and intox
icates us with the promise of pleasure, we need to rely initially on
our conviction that enlightenment is possible. Faith in the teacher
supports our intention by defusing the attractions of sam sara and
opening the way to enlightenment.
Initially, faith is a matter of taking refuge in a source of knowledge
outside ourselves. Such faith protects our resolve and enables us to
practice with confidence; it awakens devotion, opening a path for in
sight to emerge and tapping deeper reservoirs of knowledge. Grad
ually the tight patterns of the mind begin to relax, allowing us to see
with greater clarity. As mind and experience reveal themselves in a
new light, we develop certainty that the path will lead us where we
wish to go. This certainty becomes the basis for an unshakable faith
that is truly and genuinely ours.
With the growth of this more fundamental and more powerful faith,
practice develops with even greater intensity, transforming the mind
and awakening deeper levels of certainty. Ultimately, the practitioner
56 Awakening the Heart
attains a realization so clear, so pure, that the current of faith becomes

irreversible.
At this point the practitioner goes beyond the knowledge available
to ordinary mind. Faith takes on a different meaning: It is no longer
faith 'toward' a particular object; rather it is the embodiment of knowl
edge. Faith at this level means that who we are and what we know are
no longer separate. Refuge and faith in the Three Jewels considered
as an external support are no longer necessary. Faith now resides in
the knowledge that we ourselves have discovered.
Awakening to Freedom
and Good Fortune
Q~T~' he first meditation to awaken a change of heart is to reflect on

J. the immense difficulty of attaining the free and fortunate states
that make practice of the Buddhist path possible. Regarding this, the
Bodhisattva Santideva taught:
The free and fortunate state is very difficult to find,
but when obtained, it brings about the welfare of beings.
If you do not obtain its benefits now,
when will such good fortune arise again?
— Entering the Bodhisattva Path, 1.4
The Great Master of Oddiyana stated:
A hum an life, like the udum bara flower, is difficult to attain:
When gained, its benefit is greater than the wish-granting gem.
Now, when all the wondrous causal conditions have come together,
make intense effort and pass from samsara.
To gain a life endowed with freedom and good fortune—the bases
for practice of Dharma—you m ust previously have practiced the
finest of virtues, for virtue is their cause. Beings who practice only a
little virtue have little hope of gaining these free and fortunate states
of existence. When you look at other beings, such as animals, you
can see how difficult it would be for them even to become human.
When you look at ordinary hum an beings, it is clear that freedom

and good fortune will be theirs for just this lifetime. So do not let this
opportunity go to waste; act only in accord with the pure Dharma.
There are four aspects of freedom and good fortune that should
be closely examined:
1. What the free and fortunate states actually entail
2. How difficult it is to obtain them
3. Once obtained, how such a life is made meaningful
4. The need to use such a life to the greatest benefit.
The Meaning of Being Free
First of all, to be free means to be free from the eight adverse states,
so that you have the opportunity to practice the Dharma. Four of
these states are called outer adverse states, as they refer to being
non-human.
In the first three—the states of hell beings, of hungry ghosts, and
of animals—beings are torm ented by continual suffering. As they
lack any sense of shame or remorse, they have no inclination to prac
tice the Dharma.
The fourth adverse state is that of the long-lived gods who abide
in a state of no perception. Since these gods cut themselves off from
feeling and perception, even the idea of practicing the Dharma has
no way to arise. This pertains to the other, lower gods as well: These
gods become so excited about desirable things that it is almost im
possible for them to generate feelings of renunciation and remorse.
The other four are called the inner adverse states. Here beings
could technically be called human, but they do not have the same
opportunities as m ore fortunate people. These include beings bom
in savage lands, where it is almost impossible to come in contact
with a holy being; those who have erroneous views and therefore re
ject the idea of the cause and effect of karma; those born in the thou
sand dark kalpas empty of Buddhas, when not even the sound of the
sacred Dharma is heard; and the witless ones, who are not able to
Awakening to Freedom and Good Fortune 59
make distinctions between right and wrong or to understand what

is to be accepted or rejected.
Not being bom in any of these eight states is called possessing per
fect freedom. The glorious protector, Arya Nagarjuna, wrote:
To hold erroneous views, to be bom as an animal,
hungry ghost, or a being in hell;
to be bom brutish among barbarians
where there is no word of the Buddha;
to be born witless or as a long-lived god:
is to be born in one of the eight adverse states.
Having found an advantageous birth
free from these conditions,
strive to avert such births.
—Instructions from a Spiritual Friend, 63-64
The Meaning of Good Fortune
Good fortune means having everything you need to practice the

Dharma. Five fortunate conditions relate to your own state of being, and
five occur through outside circumstances. The juncture of these ten
most fortunate conditions is called “the perfect state of good fortune.”
The first five fortunate conditions are as follows: to be bom as a
hum an being, to be born in a central (Buddhist) land, to possess all
the senses, not to engage in wrong livelihood, and to have faith in
the efficacy of the Dharma.
You must be born as a hum an being and in a central land where
the sacred Dharma is taught. Your eyes and other senses—the bases
for hearing and thinking about the teachings—must be functional.
Throughout your lifetime you must never engage in a wrong voca
tion or commit any of the indefensible acts. Faith in the efficacy of
the Dharma means to have faith in all the Buddha's teachings, start
ing with the Vinaya, the moral training.
The five fortunate conditions that occur through outside circum
stances are as follows: a Buddha has appeared in the world; he has
taught the Dharma; the teaching has endured; the teaching has fol
lowers; these followers in turn show heartfelt compassion for others.
In our era, the Buddha has come into the world and has taught the
sacred Dharma. There is presently enough stability in the world so
that the Dharma is in no great danger of disappearing, and there are
Dharm a friends who continue to apply themselves to the teachings.
There are others whose kindness directs them towards teaching the
Dharm a and towards providing whatever others need to support
their practice: food, clothing, and the like.
On the importance of these fortunate conditions, the Protector

Atlsa wrote:
Enjoying the advent of the Buddha and the Sangha,

obtaining all that is difficult to obtain,
having met the spiritual friend so difficult to meet:
Do not waste this opportunity!
It is most im portant to have faith in what can help you attain spiri
tual understanding. The Master Süra writes:
The precious wheel of faith guides you

to the various paths of virtue, day and night.
If you are without faith, you will not be able to develop all the spir
itual qualities in your nature. In a Sütra we find:
Just as green shoots

do not sprout from seeds destroyed by fire,
hum an beings who lack faith
do not generate truly spiritual qualities.
—Sütra o f the Ten Dharmas
Benefits of Faith
If you have faith, the Victorious Buddhas will appear before you and
teach you the Dharma. The Bodhisattva-pitaka states:
Truly, Bodhisattvas who abide in faith

are a vessel of the Buddhadharma.
They will be approached by the Buddhas,

who will teach them the genuine path of the Bodhisattva.
And again, it is stated in the Flaming Jewel Sutra:
Faith and the preliminary practices are like your mother,

sustaining all your good qualities and helping you increase them,
assuaging your fears and rescuing you
from the rushing torrents of emotion.
Faith is the signpost of the City of Joy.

Faith is not hazy; it clears the mind.
It is the root of abandoning pride and of gaining devotion.
Faith is the foothold for treasure and wealth;
the hand that allows us to gather virtue.
Faith creates great joy in total sacrifice,

producing delight in the Dharma of the Jina.
Faith creates the finest qualities
and pristine awareness as well,
demonstrating and obtaining for us
the highest Awakening of the Buddha.
Faith sharpens the senses and brings complete clarity.

Through the power of faith,
you will never again be oppressed by others.
Faith is the basis for clearing away the emotional fetters.
This passage continues in the same vein, giving immeasurable

praise to the benefits of faith. In considering the actual nature of
faith, the Abhidharma teachings tell us:
What is faith? It is strong conviction regarding karma,

the results of karma, the Truths, and the Three Jewels.
It is also longing and lucidity.
Those with conviction have no trouble in accepting the cause and

effect of karma and such teachings as the Four Noble Truths. Seeing
the value of unexcelled enlightenment, they long to obtain it. Having
devotion and admiration for the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,
their minds are clear.
Whoever takes their stand on the three aspects of faith will never
give up the Dharma—not in reaction to attachm ent or to anger; not
through threats from others; not through ignorance or obscuration.
If you are steady under these four conditions, you are said to have
faith. You are known as "the finest vessel of certain attainment."
Thus we find in The Precious Garland:
Those who do not forsake the Dharma
due to desire, hatred, fear, or ignorance
are called the faithful.
They are the finest vessels of certain attainment. [6]
This is put very concisely in the Buddha s teachings where Buddha
admonishes Ananda:
Ananda, you must practice faith.
This is the bequest of the Tathagata.
Obtaining Freedom and Good Fortune

Reflect on the difficulty of obtaining a life of freedom and good for
tune, the foundation for becoming a Buddha. A perfect hum an body
with the eighteen free and fortunate conditions, ornamented by the
three faiths, is very difficult to attain. The requirements for obtain
ing this foundation are laid out by the Buddha in the Verse Sum
mary of the Prajnaparamita:
Through moral practice, Bodhisattvas become able
to throw off the eight adverse conditions and the negative nature
of the many beings who pass into lower realms.
Thus they always find freedom. [32.2]
The Entrance to the Middle Way states:
The cause of the higher states of being
is no other than moral practice. [2.7]
The cause of gaining birth in the higher states is pure moral prac
tice together with various contributing factors such as generous giv
ing. You m ust close the gap between your aspiration to help others
and your actual practice of virtue. Because it is difficult to do this, it
is said in the Sutra of the Ten Samsaric States:
Ten types of people have difficulty

taking birth again as hum ans in samsara:
those who do not perform virtuous actions;
those who do not gather merit;
those whose actions support wrongdoing;
those whose lives are taken over by emotionality;
those who do not fear suffering in future lives;
those whose minds are agitated by the emotions;
those who, due to laziness and agitation,
continually waver concerning the Dharma;
those who do not follow through,
even though they accept the word of the Buddha;
those who take up extreme views;
and those who accept harm ful views as being sacred.
Numerous and significant non-virtuous actions cause dishar

mony, making it difficult to obtain the foundation of freedom and
good fortune. In the Vinayagama we find:
Beings who go from the higher states to the lower states

are as numerous as the dust particles that cover the earth,
but beings who remain in the high states
are only as many as the dust particles on the tip of a fingernail.
Beings who go from one low state to another

are as numerous as the dust particles that cover the earth,
but beings who go from the low states to the high states
are as many as the dust particles on the tip of a fingernail.
Following that train of thought, The Four Hundred says concern

ing the vast majority of hum an beings:
Because their perspective is strongly based on what is ignoble,

ordinary beings typically will go to the lower states.
In Entering the Bodhisattva Path, we find:
Because I have not done virtuous actions

and have instead amassed great sin,
for hundreds of millions of kalpas
I will not hear even the sound “happy state of being." [4.19]
Difficulty of Gaining a Human Birth

It is hard to comprehend how few hum an beings exist in relative
terms and how difficult it is to obtain the hum an state. Those in bad
states of being are like the dust particles covering the earth, while
those in the high states num ber merely the amount of dust on a
fingernail.
In a Kadampa precept we find:
Animals proliferate like yeast when brewing beer;
hungry ghosts like snow whirling in a storm;
hell beings are as many as the dust motes of the earth.
The Bodhisattva-pitaka explains:
The Omniscient One sees what others do not:
Men and gods in the whole of the Trichiliocosm
are far outnum bered by the creatures
that swarm over even a single chariot wheel.
With that in mind, it is easy to see that among the different life
forms the num ber of creatures lacking a hum an form is im m easur
able. And in the animal realm, the num ber of those who will obtain
a hum an body even after many lifetimes is minuscule.
While there are few hum an beings anywhere, there are still fewer
b om in our world, and these days the lands where the Dharma holds
sway are few indeed. Of those bom in such a land, not very m any
enter the door of the teachings, and of those who do, the num ber
who succeed in their practice are as few as shooting stars seen in the
daytime. However that may be, you must persevere in following the
Dharma.
In the Vinaya-vibhanga, the Buddha states:
Bhiksus, look at all the creatures in the lower states:
how very difficult for them to become hum an in their future lives.
Look at all the teachers of mistaken doctrines: how difficult to m eet
with a virtuous spiritual teacher. Look at all who fall from the way
of liberation and moral practice. Only by abiding
in a place of purification can you achieve the virtuous Dharma.
So pass the rest of your life near the Bodhi tree or in retreat.
The All-Knowing Lord of Dharma also stated:
Among all the many sentient beings, for one to become hum an
is like an ordinary person becoming a chakravartin king.
Among hum an beings, for one to have the spiritual qualities
of the Dharma, endowed with faith, is as rare as becoming a Buddha.
As this is so, always bear in mind the value of freedom and fortune.
To illustrate this, Aiya Nagaijuna, in his Instructions from a

Spiritual Friend, restated the Buddha s eloquent example as found
in the Sutras:
Due to being powerless, it is as difficult

for an animal to obtain hum an embodiment
as for a turtle to find its way into the hole of a yoke
bobbing in the great ocean.
Therefore, practice according to the sacred Dharma
and obtain the fruit of happiness. [59]
Many sim ilar examples illustrate this teaching. The All-Knowing

Lama wrote:
To attain a hum an state after existence as an animal

is as difficult as for a turtle to enter the hole of a yoke
that is bobbing in the middle of the ocean.
Likewise, for one bom hum an to take birth in a central land

is as difficult as making a single pea stick to a plastered wall.
For one who is religious to encounter the flawless path

is as rare as an udum bara lotus appearing in the world.
For one who has found that path to succeed in its practice
is as rare as a bolt of cotton passing through the eye of a needle.
To find a Lama who is genuine

is as rare as finding a precious gem on an island.
Having considered all this, strive for success in the Dharma. In the
Sutra of the Ornamental Array, it states:
It is difficult to reverse the eight adverse states

and difficult to become a hum an being.
It is difficult to find pure and perfect freedom

and rare indeed for a Buddha to appear.
It is difficult to have all the senses intact
and rare to hear the Buddhadharma.
It is difficult to find the company of holy beings
and difficult to acquire a genuine spiritual teacher.
To obtain instructions in the genuine way is difficult,
and right livelihood is difficult as well.
In the world of hum an beings, it is difficult even to concentrate
on the teachings that are in harm ony with the Dharma.
This has been taught extensively in many Sütras. The Great
Master of Oddiyàna put it concisely when he said:
This precious hum an body possessing
the free and fortunate states is difficult to find:
You will see how hard it is to attain when you investigate
and analyze the necessary causal conditions,
consider the numbers involved, and look at various examples;
yet all in the assembly of Victorious Ones have relied upon it.
Reflecting on the difficulty of obtaining the free and fortunate states,
be like the poor who feel joyfully inspired
upon obtaining great wealth.
W ithout resting, practice
the sacred Dharma day and night.
M aking Life Meaningful
Once you have obtained a hum an life replete with freedom and good
fortune, you must make that life meaningful. Depending on this
foundation, you can truly accomplish something: You can attain the
fruit of deliverance and the highest state of being, more wonderful
even than obtaining the precious wish-granting gem. In the Letter to
a Disciple, we find:
Those who, having obtained life as a hum an being,
travel to the ends of the ocean of existence
planting the virtuous seed of great enlightenment,
possess inner qualities finer than even the wish-granting gem.

How could such beings not harvest the fruit of their actions? [63]
The Master Sura has said:
For those who obtain a hum an life
and develop the seeds of the perfections—
the great seeds of glorious enlightenment—
the stream of good qualities is greater than the qualities
flowing from the wish-granting gem.
How could they fail to obtain the fruit?
Though people strive to make their lives meaningful in innum er
able ways, the direction they take depends on the sort of being they
exemplify. Atisa, in his Lamp of the Path of Enlightenment, states:
Understand that there are three types of beings:
lesser, mediocre, and superior. . . .
Those who seek the joys of samsara
using any means at their command
and act to take care of themselves alone
are said to be the least of beings.
Enthralled with the worldly happiness of men and gods, such
lesser beings strive so as not to fall into lower states of being.
Those who turn their backs on the joys of sam sara
and abstain from wrong-doing
intent on gaining their own peace of mind
are called mediocre.
Such mediocre beings strive for liberation from all the horrors of
sam sara for themselves alone.
Those who, through realizing all suffering in themselves,
desire to extinguish completely all the suffering of others,
are deemed superior beings.
Such great beings strive intently for the non-abiding nirvana of
the Buddha in order to gain the welfare of other sentient beings.
To achieve the objective of any of these three types of beings, the
prim ary requirement is to have the support of a hum an life. This
support is far greater than any possessed by the gods. Thus it is

praised in the Sutra of Excellent Enlightenment:
You cannot truly awaken in the abode of the gods,
for living in such circumstances, the pride that consumes you
will prevent you from realizing the truth.
Having seen that only humans have perfect freedom
and good fortune, the Buddha chose to appear in Kapilavastu,
in the land of the Sakyas.
The Sutra of the Ornamental Array praises the qualities of those
with freedom and fortune:
Listen, O son of good lineage!
The perfection of Buddhadharm a will rain down
on those endowed with freedom and good fortune.
Moreover, they will possess inconceivable and wondrous qualities.
M aking the Most Out of Your Life
Consider: This one time you have obtained a unique opportunity, a

life endowed with freedom and good fortune, so beneficial and so
difficult to attain. You m ust use this opportunity to obtain what you
can of the pure teachings—the cause of all joy and benefit for both
yourself and others. If you do not achieve this, it is doubtful that you
will obtain such a supportive life in the future. As Entering the
Bodhisattva Path states:
The advent of a Tathagata, the attainm ent of faith,
possessing a hum an form, and the ability to cultivate virtue
are rare events indeed: When will you ever obtain them again? [4.15]
When you do not practice the Dharma, thinking instead to gain
satisfaction through your worldly desires, you undergo great diffi
culties for what has little real value. In the end, all your efforts will
be meaningless. In the same text we find:
Those controlled by desire
have many difficulties and gain but little:
They are like beasts of burden, drawing carts,
snatching at bits of grass as they go.
For the sake of gain so small

that even the beasts can achieve it,
we let ill-fated actions overcome
our glorious freedom, so difficult to find. [8.80-81]
Even if you happen to achieve worldly success, there is no cer
tainty that such success will come again. In the same text we find:
Although you act to gain happiness,
you cannot be sure that happiness will result. [7.63]
But if you have acted according to the pure Dharma, success in
this lifetime will be at once assured. We find in the scriptures:
Performing virtuous actions
gives joy in this life and joy in the next.
If you do not act according to the Dharma, you will not achieve
even the slightest meaningful success in this life. However, the same
text goes on:
For those who find their happiness
in Dharma activity,
how could happiness not be the result? [7.63]
And again, in Letter to a Disciple, we find:
Those who do not act to secure and hold fast
to the nectar that liberates from birth, old age, and death
are overtaken by the dark obscuration of many misfortunes,
like those who suffer incessantly from an illness
for which they refuse to take medicine. [9]
You may think that even if you do not practice the Dharma in this
life, just as long as you do not do anything harmful, you will not take
birth in a lower state of being, and that if you do even a little bit of
good, you will be reborn as a hum an being and can practice the
Dharma at that time. But even if you commit no great harm or sin
in this life, you can be bom in hell straightaway, due to the effect of
actions done in your previous lives from beginningless time until now.
This unthinkable mass of karma leads inevitably to being born in hell.
How then can you be confident that you will not be bom in a lower
state of being? Thus we find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
If even the harmful acts done in a single instant

lead to dwelling for a kalpa in the Avici Hell,
in light of the wrongful actions you have performed
in the course of beginningless samsara,
how can you possibly think you will go to the higher realms? [4.21]
If you do not practice the Dharma, or if you simply imagine doing
such practice or pay it lip service, you cannot even be confident of
obtaining a hum an body in the next life. In the same text it states:
As my actions are like this,
I will not even obtain a hum an form. [4.17]
If you think you can apply yourself to the Dharma later, when you
have become another person, you are mistaken. On this we find in
Letter to a Disciple:
The path taught by the Tathagata to guide beings
is obtained by hum an beings who have great spiritual strength.
This path is not obtained by gods or nagas,
or by asuras, garudas, kinnaras, or uragas. [64]
Once you pass into the lower states of being, you certainly will
have no way to practice the Dharma. Santideva states:
If I do not obtain a hum an form
I will commit only sin and never virtue.
If I am not virtuous when I have the fortune to be good,
what will I do when completely dazed
by the misery of the lower states?
—Entering the Bodhisattva Path, 4.18
To free yourself from the lower states is very difficult. Again, the
same text says:
Having experienced only bad states of being,
you will not escape from them,
for in the throes of suffering,
you again beget wrongdoing. [4.22]
A Sutra states:
When your life is brutalized in the adverse states,
can it easily be revitalized later?
You may think you will quickly gain liberation when you are em
braced by the compassion of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. But by
the power of your own bad actions, you keep yourself from becom
ing the object of their compassion. Again and again we avoid doing
what would help us get rid of bad karma. In Entering the Bodhi-
sattva Path, we find:
Although countless Buddhas
have acted for the welfare of all sentient beings,
my own wrongdoing has kept me from entering
the field of their healing action.
If I continue in this way
I will again and again experience
bad states of being, illness, captivity,
dismemberment, and bloodshed. [4.13-14]
Yet again, in the Jewel of Realization, we find:
Though rain falls due to the king of the gods,
if the seeds are not viable, nothing will grow.
Though you meet with the Buddhas,
without good fortune, what good will come of it?
Therefore, when you senselessly waste your freedom and good for
tune, you are in effect throwing away your life and cheating no one
but yourself. We find in the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend:
A person who, though born in hum an form,
still acts wrongly, is a greater fool than one who uses
a golden jewel-encrusted vessel as a chamber pot. [60]
Again, in Entering the Bodhisattva Path, we find:
Having obtained such freedom,
if I did not accustom myself to virtue,
what greater self-delusion
or greater foolishness could there be? [4.23]
Further on, the same text continues:
Having'somehow had the fortune
to arrive at this auspicious state, so hard to obtain,
now that I have this knowledge,
72 A wakening the Heart
if I let myself be hypnotized as by a spell

and allow myself to be guided
once again toward hell,
I would be mindless indeed. [4.26]
Possessing freedom and good fortune, you have everything; without
them, it is like having nothing. Thus, day and night, never let yourself
fall under the spell of laziness or distraction, and strive always to prac
tice the Dharma. As the previously mentioned text states:
If I do not make effort all day and night
my own misery will be the outcome. [8.186]
Therefore, strive in the Dharma, for there is no other way to
obtain liberation.
The Master Aro has said:
On this depends my liberation: to assist others—nothing else.
For by helping others, the holy masters of mercy
liberate all beings at one and the same time.
See the hum an body as being a ship for gaining safe passage
across the ocean of samsara, and do what you can to gain this free
dom. It is said in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Relying upon the boat of a hum an form
you can cross over the great river of suffering. [7.14]
See the hum an body as a saddle-horse, and ride to freedom from
the ravines of suffering:
Riding the horse of the pure hum an body,
gallop from the ravines of sam sara s misery.
Look at your body as a servant and do what you can to employ it
in virtuous acts. It is said:
This hum an body of ours
m ust be employed exhaustively to help others.
As is said in the Sutra Requested by Srigupta:
Srigupta, I urge you: Listen to the teachings many times.
Think about their meaning. Unite with them in the meditation
that is free from the emotional afflictions.

If you encourage others to do this as well,
you will become the most beautiful being
in the worlds of gods and mankind.
This is called enacting the essence
of freedom and good fortune;
it is called the jewel of freedom and good fortune.
In the Prajnaparamita, we find:
Subhuti, Bodhisattvas, whoever they may be,

act in virtue and urge others towards virtue.
This is enacting the essence of freedom and good fortune.
It is celebrated by all the Buddhas: It is praised; it is honored.
It is essential to make effort from the heart. The master Aro has said:
If you do not endeavor from the heart

to practice the holy Dharma,
though you obtain a hum an body
endowed with the free and fortunate states,
such fortune is soon depleted.
When you no longer possess such a body,
how will you obtain the fruit
of unexcelled enlightenment?
When you take birth in the lower states

and experience great suffering,
of what benefit is the wealth
and renown gained now?
Your form er satisfaction will not assuage your present hunger.

Though you understand the sufferings of hell,
you are not afraid, and from attachm ent
to this temporary body, you do what is wrong.
Alas! How pitiful! Your own actions cause you to be forsaken!
Padam pa has said:
To become a Buddha is rare for a m an without a heart-bone!

People of Dingri, follow my advice!
Now that you are free from adversity, you have the time!
But, people of Dingri, your time is running out!
To summarize, the All-Knowing Lord of Dharma advised:
Now you have obtained a life of opportunity,

and have met with a genuine spiritual friend.
If you do not ascend the ladder of liberation
to the joyful states of being,
later, you will find it difficult to obtain a body
blessed with freedom and good fortune.
If you do not obtain a hum an body

endowed with freedom and good fortune,
your actions will increasingly propel you towards wrongdoing.
You will find no way to attune yourself to virtue;

you will not even hear the words: “The sacred Dharma.”
If you do not meet with the sacred Dharma,
you will be dragged down by the undertow of wrongdoing.
Unable now to escape from the lower states of being,

the force of your former suffering returns to haunt you.
As a vast hoard of bad karm a accumulates in your wake,
you will wander perpetually in samsara.
Lost and adrift in the ocean of boundless wrongdoing,

you will be buffeted by the strong waves of your own karma.
The unfathom able depth of suffering, the immensity of karma—
turn these over in your mind again and again.
The fires of your distress are due to your own bad actions—
even though the Jina has compassion,
you will find it hard to gain a firm foundation.
Though we have met with innum erable Buddhas

who have gone beyond suffering,
look at how we wander still in this samsaric realm.
Therefore, here and now,

having obtained the free and fortunate states,
consider the inconceivable misery of samsara
and strive at once to proceed on the path

that produces liberation, the finest peace.
In striving for the profound Dharma this very day,
you are certain to be led to the path of liberation in this very life.
By meditating in this way, Geshe Chen-nga gained everything. He
did nothing but meditate, never ever falling asleep. Regarding this
practice, Geshe Naljorpa said:
As the saying goes:
A child has but.to enter the m others womb
and nausea and sickness quickly follow.
Keeping that in mind, concentrate on how difficult it is
to obtain the free and fortunate states.
Let the time of sleep go by!
It is said that Geshe Naljorpa never slept. He sat in m editation for
most of his life, and he practiced nine hundred million sadhanas
without moving.
Reflections
Awakening to Impermanence
/Tmong the first of the Buddha's teachings is the teaching that all
t C/jl composite things are by nature impermanent. With the clarity
of enlightened omniscience, the Buddha saw that whatever appears
to be stable is continually changing. Even what seems most solid and
permanent is insubstantial and unreliable: All the conditions and cir
cumstances we count on, whether internal or external, are even now
in transition.
The true import of this statement lies in the major role imperma
nence plays in our lives. Impermanence is a function of Time, the
monster that eats our moments one by one, stealing our pleasures
and consuming our energy. Trying to hold onto even one emotion or
state of mind is like hoping to grasp a rainbow: Our mental and emo
tional states change even before we can identify and respond to them.
Again and again we tell ourselves that what we value—our health,
our friends, our youth, our work—will last, but gradually time strips
them all away. As the years go by, relationships come to an end, fam
ily ties dissolve and take on new configurations, physical vitality de
clines, and opportunities become more elusive.
Despite the steady evidence of the senses and our past experience,
we never quite learn to accept impermanence. We still hope that
somehow we can hold on to what we have. We make a new friend or
Reflections: Awakening to Impermanence 77
take a new lover and refuse to admit that one day we may be bitter
enemies. We refuse to believe we will grow old, and yet, as if by some
evil magic, the signs of age that once seemed only to affect others
suddenly begin to affect us. Childhood deserts us before we even
have a chance to enjoy it; youth is gone before we know it. Lines ap
pear on our face; first one gray hair emerges and then another.
Although we may try to ignore or camouflage the subtle signs of age
that creep up on us, the nature of impermanence ensures that youth
inevitably passes away, and we progress steadily into old age.
The most devastating example of impermanence is death. By the

time we reach adulthood, the inevitability of death has become ob
vious, but still we try to hide from the knowledge that we will die.
Perhaps we hope that by making ourselves look and act young, death
will pass us by. The Western emphasis on youth presents a great bar
rier to dealing honestly with impermanence and our inevitable death.
Thus it is vital to awaken to the implications of impermanence and

to see that the reality of continual change points to the uselessness
of following the desires of this life. Friends turn to enemies, enemies
to friends. Lovers will not last. Wealth and fame are ephemeral.
Everything in the world is undependable. With this knowledge, it
becomes clear that giving the Bodhisattva path priority over family
and friends is the greatest demonstration of love. Only if we give up
the im perm anent things of this life can we become Awakened, and
only if we become Bodhisattvas can we be of genuine help to others.
The truly im portant transitions in our life, including the final tran
sition of death itself, come to us when we are alone. In those moments,
what resources will we have to sustain us? How can we prepare our
selves now for what is sure to come eventually?
Turning Toward Practice
The starting point of spiritual practice is to reflect on how valuable

it is to be alive and to see clearly the possibilities that life offers us.
If we can understand our own nature and appreciate this opportu
nity to make our lives truly meaningful, we can learn to take full
advantage of each moment. Instead of attempting to cling to the past
or control the future, we can make the present m oment richer and
healthier. Reflecting that whatever we hold dear will one day disap
pear, we can turn to the events of our lives with a clarity and com
m itm ent that help us and help others as well. Change is certain;
death will come. Seeing this, we know that we must take life ser
iously. Instead of waiting helplessly for an unknown destiny, instead
of wasting our time on pleasures that dissipate and turn sour, we can
turn inwards and learn the nature of our minds.
Perhaps this sounds selfish, but it is a realistic response to an ex
treme situation. The past is only a memory; the future will never turn
out as we expect. Will we leave this present moment with empty
hands? If we seek security, we are sure to end up in frustration; if we
fail to appreciate our present opportunities, each chance for realiza
tion will slip through our fingers. In the midst of chaos and confu
sion, can we find the clarity to recognize what has value? Can we see
through the patterns of hope and fear and turn our minds to the pos
sibility of enlightenment?
Leaving behind the concerns of this life is to accept the futility of
preparing for the future as well. Such a total acceptance of im per
manence, however, is only for those who are willing to accept the
consequences: If you are living in a cabin in the wilderness and you
do not gather firewood for winter, death may indeed be the result.
On the other hand, even if you gather firewood, you cannot be cer
tain you will live to enjoy the fire.
Awakening
to Impermanence
£T -/he second meditation for creating a change of heart is to reflect

JL on impermanence. Regarding the impermanence of existence,
we find in The Voice of the Buddha:
The three world realms are impermanent, like autum n clouds,

or the ephemeral birth and death of beings.
The lifespan of beings is like lightning
flashing through the sky—
beings move quickly through life,
like water cascading down a steep mountain, [p. 173]
The Great One of Oddiyana taught:
This life is im permanent, like the clouds of autumn;

our close companions are like guests who gather round
and then go their own way.
The demons of the Lord of Death draw near

like the lengthening shadows of twilight;
our world is like the waning moon of late summer.
The appearances of this life are like last nights dreams;

desirable things are like a cam ivars illusions;
our senseless acts are like the play of ripples in water.
The Bodhisattva Santideva said:

It is mistaken to take comfort from the thought:
“Well, today I will not die."
—Entering the Bodhisattva Path, 2.58
Life is unpredictable, and a great m any circumstances lead to
death. You cannot even be sure that you will not die today—so right
now concentrate on practice of the sacred Dharma.
M editating on Impermanence
Meditating on impermanence involves reflecting upon the com
pounded nature of existence in general and then practicing specific
meditations on death and impermanence. Concerning the nature of
existence, the Buddha states in the Sutras:
Bhiksus, all composite things are impermanent.
When closely examining everything that appears, it is clear that
not one single thing can be considered permanent. Even this world,
our inanim ate environment, is impermanent. Thus we find in The
King of Samadhis:
For a time the elements of the world appear,
but having come forth, sooner or later they are destroyed
and no longer exist. Know all things to be like this.
Sentient beings, the animate aspect of existence, are likewise
clearly impermanent. We find in the Udanavarga:
Whatever arises or has arisen will change:
Everyone m u st give up their body and pass away.
The wise understand th at all will be destroyed;
abiding in the Dharm a, they act with certainty of liberation. [1.27]
The same text considers the impermanence of even wise and
saintly beings:
If even Buddhas and Pratyekabuddhas,
and the Sravakas who follow the Buddha s way
m ust give up their hum an forms,
what need to speak of ordinary people? [1.25]
Awakening to Impermanence 81
And again, we find:

The body of the Sugata shines with a thousand signs,
each achieved through hundreds of virtuous actions,
and yet it is impermanent. This being so,
how could I m aintain that my body,
fragile as a bubble, is not sure to be destroyed?
Both the sun—the Conqueror who has come to benefit beings—

and the m oon—the treasure of the sacred Dharma—
disappear in the west.
Know that all your beauty, glory, and wealth,
your close companions and your enjoyments,
are impermanent as well.
Even the great Lords are impermanent. In the scriptures we find:
Brahma and fierce Indra of the thousand eyes,

and likewise Visnu are im perm anent and pass away.
The sun and moon are on stage but an instant—
and see how the worlds, with their four great continents,
are laid to waste!
Amd again:
The gods who have attained samadhi, as well as the gandharvas,

the asuras, the rishis, and the ascetics, shining in glory,
though they live for a very long time, pass away;
impermanent, they are unstable, like bubbles in water.
What need to speak of the dissolution and destruction of the world?
Also reflect upon the meaning of impermanence as expressed in

examples. In the Udanavarga, we find:
The end of all hoarding is spending;

the end of rising is falling;
the end of meeting is parting;
the end of life is death. [1.22]
And further, the Great One of Oddiyana states:
In short, death is the end of all birth;

friendship leads to separation.
What is hoarded will be lost;

and wealth is the precursor of destitution.
In the Wish-Fulfilling Treasury, this simile is used to express the
meaning of impermanence:
Look to the example of the decaying and impermanent world—
this vessel ornamented by the riches of the four continents—
and know that the body is like a bubble of water.
Of the hum an beings now on the face of the earth,
most will be dead and gone in a hundred years.
All beings gradually proceed toward death:
Reflect on your own lifespan and the death of other beings.
Look to the example of beings who gather and then go their ways
in market places, crossroads, guesthouses, and the like.
Consider in your heart the certainty of meeting and parting.
Look to the example of once prosperous cities
now laid waste and desolate.
Never be attached, for what is hoarded is consumed:
All wealth is impermanent and without essence.
Look to the example of the lords of the celestial realms
whose loftiness is brought low by death
and by falling into lower states of being.
When you are prosperous, do not be puffed up with pride.
Like the passing of the seasons,
we age as we pass through the four phases of life.
Abandon grasping after permanence,
for death and impermanence are certain.
The body exists but an instant—
transitory, it is like a flash of lightning in the sky
Practice the sacred Dharma w ith the utm ost haste!
Specific Meditations on Death and Impermanence

Specific meditations on death and impermanence involve reflecting on
the many different aspects of death. Among the meditations on death
and impermanence are practices for self-mastery that rely on five
motivating factors; these will be considered in the next section.
Reflecting on death involves three facts:
1. Your death is certain.
2. The time of your death is uncertain.
3. In death you die alone.
You can know that death is certain because of three things: No one
before you has not died; your body is composite; and life ebbs instant
by instant.
Clearly, everyone who has come before you has died, and you
yourself are sure to die. Thus, the Master Asvaghosa wrote:
On earth or even in the heavens
it is doubtful you will ever see
or even hear of anyone who,
once bom , did not die.
Wherever you go, in whatever direction, you cannot escape from
death. The same master tells us:
The great rishis with the five superknowledges,
though able to travel long distances through the sky,
whatever their sphere of action,
cannot travel to a land unm arked by death
Wherever you live, no place exists untouched by death. As is said
in the Udanavarga:
W herever you abide, no place at all exists
where death will not touch you—
not in the heavens, not in the oceans;
not in hidden m ountain caverns. [1.26]
Even if you are surrounded by many companions, you cannot
escape from death. In the scriptures the Buddha said:
The lives of even the long-lived gods

dwelling in celestial places of great might
will know decay. If this is so,
who today can escape from death?
Not even Bhlmasena was able to find refuge;

nor was King Yati, meticulous in action and daring effort,
with a wise and extensive entourage,
able to escape from death.
Further:
Not Narayana nor the glorious Yasas,

not Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, nor the five Pandava brothers
could turn back death. Not powerful drugs that cure all sickness
nor a multitude of all-protecting mantras,
not all the gods and guardians working together, nor great wealth
are able to protect you when the time draws near.
When the fearsome thunderbolt strikes, no one can turn it back.

In the Instructions to the King, we find:
Great King! Age approaches to subdue youths and maidens;

sickness arrives to defeat those who are well.
Disaster draws near to overcome all happy situations;
death appears to vanquish the living.
Not through fleetness of foot, not through sheer strength,
not through wealth, not even through judicious use of objects,
mantras, or medications is it possible to turn back death.
The Great One of Oddiyana has also stated:
When the time comes to leave all we hold dear,

death will not wait, but will come to meet us.
Even should the Sovereign of Medicine appear before us,
he would not know how to prolong this life
which is whisked away as if in the eddy of a whirlpool.
Secondly, death is certain because the body is composite. What

ever is composite is impermanent, for all composite things are sub
ject to destruction. Thus we find in the Udanavarga:
Alas! All composite things are impermanent,

subject to production and destruction. [1.3]
The great siddha Khyungpo Naljorpa has also said:
Alas! Composite things are impermanent!
They gather and dissipate like the clouds of the sky.
Phenomena are illusory with no reality to them:
It is simply delusion to grasp at anything as if it were real.
Thirdly, death is certain because from moment to moment life ebbs
away, and there is no way to lengthen it. In the same text we find:
From the very instant we first enter the womb,
life cannot be augmented. Inevitably we suffer loss:
Once having set out, there is no turning back.
As each instant of life goes by, we travel closer and closer towards
death. This is indicated by various similes, such as that of the archer:
When a great athlete shoots an arrow from the bowstring,
the arrow does not pause, but flies quickly to its target.
Just so is the life of mankind.
The simile of a steep waterfall is found in the Precious Collection:

Friends, this life passes quickly,
like rapids cascading down a rugged mountain.
Childish beings who do not understand this
become intoxicated with unwise enjoyments.
The Udanavarga relates the simile of a prisoner who is being led
to his execution:
Just as those to be executed
approach their executioner
with every step they take—
so is the life of mankind. [1.14]
Another simile is of a pond whose source of water has been cut off:
A pond whose source has been cut off,.
without reserves will quickly disappear.
Just so, our life is impermanent.
To summarize, in Entering the Bodhisattva Path, we find:

Day and night, this life does not stand still.
It constantly grows shorter,
and once reduced, does not recover.
W hat makes me think I will not surely die? [2.39]
Secondly, three things make it clear that we have no way of know
ing when we will die:
1. Our lifespan is uncertain.
2. The body has no real essence.
3. Many circumstances cause death.
Regarding the length of life, although the lifespan in other worlds
such as Uttarakuru is certain, here in this world called Jambudvipa
there is no such certainty.6 The Treasury of Abhidharma states:
Here and now the span of life is uncertain,
save that at the end of this era it will be ten years,
while at the outset the lifespan was immeasurable. [3.78]
In truth, we cannot be certain of anything. In the Udanavarga, we find:
In the morning you see many people;
in the evening some are no longer to be seen.
In the evening you see many people;
in the morning some are no longer to be seen.
Many men and women die even in their prime.
W hat misplaced confidence gives us the right to say:
“This man has his life ahead of him!”
Some die in the womb; some die at birth.
Some die at the age of crawling; some die while running about.
Some die old, some die young, and some die in their prime.
But we all go in our turn, like ripe fruit falling.
All who have bodies will die. [1.7-8]
Again, in the Verses of the Four Abandonments, we find:
Children are merciless,
showing not even the slightest respect to the old.
Maidens are merciless—
heartless to wretched men who are no longer young.

The Lord of Death is just as unkind to each and all.
Do not think: “My strong young body will last forever!" [6]
Second, the body is made up of nothing solid or substantial. As the
body consists of only thirty-six impure components, it is certain to
decompose quickly. Entering the Bodhisattva Path states:
First, mentally open the different layers of skin:

Cut away the flesh from the network of bones
with the knife of wisdom.
Having opened up even the bones,
look into the inner marrow and see for yourself—
is there any essence to be found? [5.62-63]
Asvaghosa wrote regarding this:
If the Sugatas, with adam antine bodies

ornamented by auspicious signs and marks
are impermanent, what need to speak
of those whose bodies
are like hollow reeds and have no essence?
And Nagarjuna has also said:
Even the earth, Mount Meru, and the ocean,

having form, will be consumed by the blazing fire
of seven suns, till only ash is left.
What can you say of humankind, that is so frail?
—Instructions from a Spiritual Friend, 57
Thirdly, so many causal conditions of death exist, that even if some

of these many conditions are lacking, it is still certain death will
come quickly. In a Sutra we find:
Life is surrounded by inimical forces:

Each single instant only increases the damage.
There is nothing else.
Again, in The Precious Garland, we find:
The causal conditions of death are many;

the causal conditions for life are few.
As even these produce in turn the causes of death,

act upon the Dharma always. [278]
Thirdly, three circumstances surrounding death help us see how
alone we will be when we die:
1. We all die unaccompanied by food or wealth.
2. We all die unaccompanied by spiritual friends.
3. We all die unaccompanied by our own body.
Regarding the first of these, Entering the Bodhisattva Path states:
Though you obtain many things
and happily enjoy them for a very long time—
in the end, you will be left destitute and empty-handed
like someone who falls victim to a thief. [6.59]
Wealth—which deserts everyone at death—harms people both in
this life and the next. In this lifetime, wealth creates suffering because
people dispute and quarrel over it and feel they must m aintain and
guard it. In addition, wealth projects you into lower states of being
in the next life. The same text states:
Understand that due to the torm ent
of gathering, guarding, and losing,
wealth is nothing but trouble.
Attachment to wealth creates agitation,
leaving no time to escape from the misery of samsara. [8.79]
With respect to the second circumstance, in The Voice of the
Buddha we find:
At the time of the transference of death,
we are like the quickly flowing current of a river
or like a leaf falling from a tree.
Once we die we are destitute:
Separated from those we love, there is no chance of return,
no chance of reunion with our loved ones. [p. 262]
Again, the Sutra of the Questions of the Maiden states:
At the time of death, whoever dies is like a child with no refuge—
no father or mother, no dear relatives.
Apart from the fact that not even close friends or relatives are able
to help at the time of death, even when we are still alive, their fear of
our death and the fear our parents feel causes the misery th at leads
to lower states of being in future lives. In Entering the Bodhisattva
Path, we find:
"I have many possessions, I am respected by many,
and many people like me.” Bound by such pride,
you will be very afraid when faced with death.
Whenever there is attachm ent to things
by a mind obscured in this way,
the suffering that arises
will increase a thousandfold. [8.17-18]
Finally, the pleasures of a hum an body will desert you. A Sutra states:
When the time of death befalls you,
youth is no more, and strength departs.
It is also said:
Even heroism and great strength cannot reverse the process:
Though you run swifdy, you cannot escape.
Neither hoarded wealth nor wise speech can help you.
Not even those who journey to the secret caves of the m ountains
can restrain the sun as it disappears between the m ountain peaks. By
its very nature, the body cannot accompany anyone. In Instructions
from a Spiritual Friend, we find:
At the end of its travels,
the body ends up desiccated and in ashes.
During its final stages it is unclean, with nothing to it,
decomposing, putrid.
Know that its nature is to decompose. [56]
And yet again, we find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
The body is borrowed for merely an instant. [4.16]
Truly, this body is of no benefit; it causes us harm both in this life
and the next. In this life the body must bear intolerable sickness,
intolerable heat and cold, intolerable hunger and thirst. We undergo
the fear of being beaten, fear of being killed, fear of being bound, and
many other fears, and suffer greatly due to these fears. In the next
life, this body returns again to suffering, cast into lower states of
being. In the Sutra of the Questions of Viradatta, it is said:
The body is twisted and gnarled, like a tree on a river bank;

like an old house, it constantly needs repairs.
Like a rushing river, it hastens to the ocean of death.
The body is like foam, like a bubble, like a hollow reed, like a mirage.
Examined in this way, this body clearly has many ills.
By stopping all desire for existence and the self-grasping for a body,
by throwing off the yearning for life, looking for nothing,
you will go beyond; you will reach perfection.
Regarding the certainty of being left with nothing, the m aster of

yogis, Sri Jagatam itra said:
Though your wealth may be like that of the gods,

once you pass on and enter the world to come,
in an instant of anguish you are vanquished by the enemy:
You will be alone—without children, without spouse.
You will have no clothes and no provisions,
no kingdom and no castie.
Even had you commanded countless armies,
now they cannot see or hear you.
Not even one person, ever, can follow you;
all are powerless to go with you.
In short, even your name is left behind.
If such a life leaves nothing, what need to mention others?
— Letter to King Candra, 35-37
It was also said in the Letter to King Kaniska:
Except for virtue and wrongdoing, nothing can follow you:

All who would accompany you must turn back.
Thus, act well, holding to the treasure of knowledge. [63]
Concentrating on the sacred Dharma is the one thing that will al
ways carry on its benefit. It is said in the Instructions to the King:
Great king! If you establish the sacred Dharma in your lifetime,

your land will enjoy protection and stability.
This passage goes on extensively. The same sentiments are found

in a short form in Aros Yoga of the Great Vehicle:
Sentient beings as well as the inanimate world, and even life itself
are ravaged little by little. A day, a month, a year—
as each day passes, we draw closer and closer to death.
Though we do not wish to die, there is no way out.
Birth, old age, and death come in their turn:

The demon lord of death is like a heron waiting for a fish.
The causes of death are numberless:
That the cause of death would not arise is just not possible.
When the one well-fed dies from choking,

it is clear that no one in this world,
great or small, rich or poor,
has any influence over the Lord of Death.
All beings who are now dead,

when alive sought wealth and sons.
But their wealth and sons could not help them,
for only virtue and wrongdoing can go with us.
Right now, and for whatever time we have left,

whether we are close to a spiritual friend or not,
whether youthful or growing old,
we cannot see or hear the approach of death.
All sentient beings presently on this earth

will each be subject to death
within the span of a hundred years.
Today, death; tomorrow, death: Who knows?

No one can be sure of their tim e or reassure another,
for we will die just as they will: perhaps next year; perhaps today.
Such is death. Father, mother, children,

loving brothers and sisters, servants, all we own:
At the time of death, nothing goes with us.
We cannot take our misery or good fortune with us;
we travel alone, virtue and wrongdping our sole companions.
We are bom alone, and at the end we die alone.

Even now, those closest to us in our lives
might just as well be passing guests or chance acquaintances.
How can even our dear family help us?
We cannot keep from being parted from them in an instant.
Children and spouse, our relatives, all we own:
our land, our wealth, all our diversions—all are lost.
No m atter what risks or wrongdoing occurred to gain this wealth,
today or else tomorrow, we ourselves must go alone.
The wealth we have amassed is taken up by our sons, while we
alone carry the burden of darkness as our wrongdoing ripens.
Therefore, what benefit is there from hoarding wealth?
Even this body will be wholly worthless.
Today or tomorrow we will be tossed out like a broken pot;
abruptly disengaged from flesh and bone.
Left to wander alone, powerless, subject to karma—
O where will we be reborn?
Therefore, do not give in to your body and act badly.
This body, like everyone else s, is never content.
Coming from filth, it is a heap of filth,
the residence of all the miseries of old age, sickness, and death.
After death, the body is tossed away upon the earth;
birds, dogs, and wolves devour every part.
Even now, as we strive to gain admiration,
death attacks us with his cannibal demons.
The clever despise us and fools attach themselves to us.
How could the wise be attached to their body
or ever sin for the body's sake?
No: Give away your money, your clothes, and your food,
and for long-term advantage, do only good.
Reflect on these sentiments thoroughly.
Five Motivations for Self-Mastery
Having reflected on impermanence and death, use the following five

motivating factors to encourage your practice of self-mastery:
1. How short life is
2. How many others have died before you
3. How many factors cause death
4. The conditions surrounding the time of death
5. What happens after death.
Each motivating factor for self-mastery has external, internal, and
hidden aspects. External aspects relate to your practice during the
four phases of the moon; internal aspects refer to your meditations
on friends, enemies, and those to whom you feel neutral; and hidden
aspects relate to the transitions of each of the skandhas.
First, contemplate that you will not live long. Reflect upon your
childhood and consider the process by which you gradually reached
adulthood. Think over all the periods of happiness and misery you
have undergone up until the present time and how death approaches
closer and closer. Meditate clearly and with deep feelings of regret
over any of your thoughts or actions that have not been beneficial. In
the Yoga of the Great Vehicle, we find:
Although sum m er brings heat, and winter is cold and dry,
we cannot be certain of a good year or bad, of drought or flood.
Months and years pass, and the time of annihilation draws near:
Know everything to be impermanent.
And further:
Up until death, this body is impermanent:
A babe at the breast becomes a youth,
the youth becomes middle-aged and old,
and always the body, at its appointed time,
must go alone.
Further, Gyalsay Rinpoche has said:
Father and son, who have been inseparable, kill one another;
attendants, once so reliable, kill their master;
relatives and loved ones are not to be counted on:

Know that only the sacred Dharma is trustworthy.
Second, think of how many others have died before you. Keep this
in mind, and concentrate on the thought that all hum an beings are
equal in that they will die. Having thought about the universality of
death again and again, consider the finer points: Even if you live to
a grand old age, you will eventually die. Even when you are young
and strong, death hovers over you. Many people are dying right now.
Even for those who have attained the full measure of their span of
life, nothing has such an impact as death. Immediately after death,
the bardo appears; ordinarily, there is no interval. This happens to
us all—there is no escape from what is natural. There was no escape
even for the powerful and godlike beings who lived among us in pre
vious ages. So before you die, the only way to accomplish anything
worthwhile is to concentrate on the Dharma.
You hear about and observe the death of other people and also of
animals. You see how children grow up, finally reaching old age.
Even among those not yet obviously dying, you see the mighty grow
weak and the weak grow strong, the rich become beggars, and so
forth. Bearing in mind all that you have seen, all that you have heard,
you can see that clearly everything is impermanent. 'Me', 'my inter
ests', my enjoyments': Their nature is impermanent. Concentrate on
the thought that this is the very nature of all existence. In the Letter
to King Kaniska, we find:
The Lord of Death is merciless,
seemingly killing beings randomly.
As the executioner approaches,
whoever is wise will be on guard. [60]
And again, the Teachings on Impermanence states:

“Like me, you too will come to die!''
This is the precept on impermanence.
Have no doubt whatsoever:
Alas! We all must pass away.
Third, reflect again and again on the many factors that cause
death. The external factors causing death are classified as to whether
they are sentient (as when death comes through the agency of men,
animals, evil spirits and the like) or environmental (as when death
comes through the agency of the elements of water and fire and so
forth or through natural hazards). The inner factors of death include
the four-hundred-and-four types of illness. These factors of death
leave nothing out.
Although there are many things that can help us ward off death,
such as medications and the niceties of food, clothes, and a place to
stay, even such supports for life may at any time become the cause
of death. The food may be tainted, the medicine harmful. Many dan
gers confront us, but we do not know which ones will be the cause
of our death. Reflect on the implications of this ignorance. In the
scriptures we find:
Some, while eating, choke to death;

others die from taking their medication.
Who can say which are the unfavorable factors?
This point is also brought out in the Instructions from a Spiritual

Friend:
This life, full of danger, is as impermanent

as a bubble of water buffeted by the wind.
Breathing in and out as sleep overtakes you,
it is amazing that you ever awaken. [55]
Fourth, reflect on the conditions surrounding the time of death. At

the time of death, if the m ind is unwholesome, you will undergo in
tense suffering, truly terrifying. Death will never afford you the plea
sure of what you desire: Instead, all you do not wish for is sure to
descend upon you. Although you delight in pleasure rather than in
dying, death is what is certain, together with the strong force of suf
fering. As you have no familiarity with the world beyond, concen
trate upon the thought that you m ust wander alone, a stranger in an
unfamiliar land. As Santideva stated:
A person being led to the place

where his limbs will be am putated
is petrified. His m outh grows dry, his eyes fearful:
Everything appears totally different than before.
What need to speak of the terror

when being grasped by those flesh-rippers,
the messengers of the Lord of Death?
You will be stricken with frightful torment.
— Entering the Bodhisattva Path, 2.43-44
And further on in the same text:
At that time, filled with fear,
you are like a fish flopping around out of water.
W hat can be said of the unbearable suffering you face in hell
as the cost for bad actions? [7.11]
Yet again, it is said in the Verses of the Four Abandonments:
When you are seized by the Lord of Death,
the enjoyments of this life are no more; friends are no more.
If all your efforts cannot reverse this,
to whom can you go for refuge?
Those who read the sastras and the like,
who practice the arts and sciences,
who have faithful friends, beautiful wives, and devoted attendants,
will still all vanish, due to the Lord of Death, who wanders
heartless over the face of the earth.Thus, in all that you do,
never be distracted as you practice virtue. [10-11]
And again, in The Voice of the Buddha, we find:
Death seizes creatures by the hundreds—
as a sea m onster devours myriad creatures,
as a garuda seizes a snake, as a lion seizes an elephant,
as fire consumes the creatures in the roots and grasses.
Death renders the powerful powerless;
it uproots life as a raging river uproots the strongest tree.
We m ust go alone, friendless, with no companions—
powerless due to the ripening of the fruit of our own karma, [p. 262]
Fifth, think about what happens after death. When seized by
death, body and mind separate. The body is cast into the earth, and
soon it teems with worms. Tossed in the water, it becomes food for
fish and otters; burned in a funeral pyre, it becomes a handful of
charred bones; hauled to a m ountain or a plain, it is eaten by birds
or dogs arid fought over by jackals. One way or another, the hum an
body is obliterated in just a few days. Your own body that you now
hold so dear will end up just like that.
As for the mind, it bears the burden of karma. After death the mind
enters a state where the place of rebirth is uncertain. With the
appearance of the bardo and all that happens there, the m ind expe
riences unbearable feelings of torm ent and fear. Therefore,, from
now on, reflect on the consequences of not practicing the Dharma.
We find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path [?]:
The body that you have cherished,
providing it with food and clothing obtained
through many difficulties, is friendless in the end.
It is eaten by birds and dogs or burned by blazing fire;
it is lowered into the water or deposited in a hole in the earth.
And in the Yoga of the Great Vehicle, we find:
Even though you are surrounded by close friends
who cry out in lamentation, you have no mental faculty
with which to hear them. Cut away from your body,
you feel as if you are being sliced by knives.
Virtuous and non-virtuous actions done
for both those dear and detested appear like the objects of a dream.
Surrounded by the terrifying messengers of the Lord of Death,
horrified as you are leaving your body,
you look around and see no protector or refuge;
you panic and become utterly unhinged.
Approaching the bardo, unsure where you are going,
you fearfully fall into the bardo abyss.
There, led by the messengers of the Lord of Death,
you come into the presence of Yamaraja, King of the Dharma.
In this lifetime you have performed
both virtuous and non-virtuous actions:
Now the gods gather and recount the virtue,
the demons gather and recount the sins.
If non-virtue gains ascendance, it is said that
the King of Dharma envisions your birth in a lower state.
He will say: "You obtained a hum an body, yet you knowingly

failed to reject the things to be abandoned, the acts of wrongdoing.
Alas, alas! For this you will experience unbearable suffering!
The actions you yourself have done will ripen upon you:
I am not the one who is causing you harm!"
But even if you practice the Dharma, do you not still die? Yes,
death comes, but there is m ore than one way of dying. The All-
Knowing Lama wrote:
Now, the one no longer with us, Padma Laydreltsal, has said:
Going to embrace the deathless, the great bliss,
the place of purity, is far superior than being a powerful god
who conquers in battle, a m erchant who achieves his
purpose on the seas, or one who attains the joys of samadhi.
The most excellent Dharma practitioners are always ready to die,
as even are many of lesser attainment. In the Crown of Sutras, it states:
They realize that all phenom ena are like an illusion,
and that being reborn is like going into a garden.
Whether they prosper or decline,
they are not frightened by the misery of the klesas. [5.24]
Thus it is said that such practitioners experience neither grief nor
regret when the end comes. The Vinayagama states:
For the brahm acarin who performs pure actions
and thus grows familiar with the path of goodness,
there will be no suffering at the time of death—
it will be like being freed from a burning house.
The same is true for anyone in whom the stainless Dharma has
arisen: It is said that the blessings in going for refuge become part of
their nature. Even in future lives, joy leads into joy for such people.
But for those on the point of death who have not lived according to
the Dharma, it is quite different. Thus in Entering the Bodhisattva
Path, we find:
Tormented by the memory of your own wrongdoing,
and hearing the sounds of hell,
in terror you clothe your body in excrement.
When so deranged, what can you do then? [7.10]
Repenting at the time of death will not save you from being tor
mented with unbearable fires. Tears stream down your face; you beat
your breast and soil yourself. Even as others cry out lamentations,
you die full of irrational hope that you will keep on living. In the
afterlife you may be forced to experience the boundless misery of the
horrible states of hell. Therefore, now when you have the power, do
not delay. From this very day on, practice the pure Dharma in every
way you can. The same text states:
Who will give me fearlessness?
How do I gain freedom from samsara, so fearsome?
Since I must certainly cease to be,
how can I ever be happy? [2.59]
In a Jataka, we find:
All paths are blockaded by the Lord of Death himself,
so act fearlessly and with total joy!
Beings who abide like this,
fearless, are a great wonder!
Clearly, from today on, everyone, whether young or old, should
give up longing for the things of this life and practice only the
Dharma. And yet, even when people intend to dedicate themselves to
practice, m any concentrate instead on obtaining provisions, think
ing this will help them practice the Dharma later on, perhaps in a
year or so. But unless you are skilled at seeing into the future or have
received a prophecy from the gods and yidams, you can never be sure
what will happen to you. You cannot be certain of success. You can
not know what will happen in your next lifetime, or next year, next
month, or tomorrow. As stated in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
When what we have started remains unfinished,
when we are only half done,
the Lord of Death will suddenly appear,
and there will come the thought: "Alas! I am done for!” [7.8]
And again, the Letter to King Kaniska states:
As you do not know when the Lord of Death
will suddenly rush in upon you,
it is not good to say: "I will do it tomorrow.”
So quickly practice the sacred Dharma!

To say: “I will not do this today, but tomorrow instead,”
is a great mistake. There will come a time
when you will be no more, and tomorrow is not sure to come. [58-59]
Even if you live into old age, if you did not take the time and make
the effort to remove your flaws when your mind and body were
young, at the time of old age and death, the Dharma will not be there
to help you. Concerning this, Sri Jagatam itra has stated:
The Lords of the Earth have bodies that are but borrowed.
During their lifespan they are without illness, without distress,
and abide in happiness: They live life to the fullest,
never menaced by illness, death, or distress.
But when old age and its troubles set in,
even if they are mindful, what can they then do?
—Letter to King Candra [7-8]
And again, in Entering the Bodhisattva Path, we find:
Now you decide to put laziness aside.

But there is no time left, so what is the use? [7.7]
In the short time we have to live, half our lifetime is spent in sleep
ing, and half again is spent in idle chatter and diversions. So m uch
time passes in this way that our lifetime is totally used up in sense
less action. The Great Master stated:
Half of our short lifespan is spent in the dull state of sleep;

two thirds of what is left is spent in agitation and idle amusements;
the other third is plagued by obstacles of all kinds.
As this is so, this conditioned existence passes
as swiftly as a cloud in autumn.
Again it is said in the Verses of the Four Abandonments:
Here, even the longest of lives is cut off at about one hundred years:
Within that span, first as a child and later in old age, we are useless.
Sleep and illness take up our time;

then with no time left, our hope is destroyed.
What time do we have for a life that is truly hum an and joyful? [9]
And Chekhawa also taught:

In the sixty years we have allotted to us,
after we are done with sleep and sickness,
we have only about five years remaining
to practice Dharma.
Therefore, from now on, stop avoiding spiritual practice and gen
erate great effort. It is said in the writings of Kharag Gomchung:
The demonic Lord of Death does not rest, but ranges far and near.
There is no way to escape him.
If I let myself be mesmerized by sleep and laziness,
chow m uch time do I have left? When my time comes, what then?
And Padampa also has said:
O people of Dingri! In the midst of your distractions,
you will find yourself seized by the demonic Lord of Death.
So right now, achieve what you can!
Gyalsay Rinpoche eloquently summarized these teachings:
Unable to resist, you enter the prison of birth
and are bound by the iron chains of sickness and old age.
Dwelling within range of the weapons
brandished by the Lord of Death,
do you think that you can stay alive forever?
Many fathoms under the oceans of the world,
you will be buffeted by the fierce winds of karma and the klesas.
Tossed about in the swirling vortex of the lower states so terrifying,
how can you expect to remem ber your achievements,
your glory, and your renown?
The sunshine of youth is obscured by the mountain
of the months and years; The shadow of old age
falls across the m ountains and rivers of your physical form.
The darkness of death descends suddenly—
how can you act with such languor and repose?
The sharp hook of white hair thrusts into your scalp;
the strong ropes of wrinkles bind your body.
The Lord of Death is merciless as you fall into his hand—
how in your heedless sleep can you counter this?

Pursued from behind by the hosts of months and years gone by,
you face the yawning abyss of death, from which there is no escape.
Wherever you look, there is no place to go—
how can you ramble on, spinning senseless tales?
The body is like a bubble of water, with little strength,

blown about by the wind of various adverse conditions.
When you have no secure resting place—even for an instant—
how can the mind without Dharm a be at ease?
You cannot be confident you will not die today,
and having died, you will be powerless
as to where you will next be bom .
If you devote yourself only to the meaningless acts of this life,

how can you claim not to be just fooling yourself?
The wealthy will go naked and empty-handed;
the mighty will be powerless to resist for even an instant.
Plucked from the midst of their great retinues,
they pass alone, friendless.
Think! What advantage to lack the Dharma at that time?
As yet you have not accomplished what you hoped for in this life:
You have taken the path of diversion,
and this hum an life has come up empty.
If you do not forsake distractions and indolence now,
at the time of death, will not regret appear too late?
Abiding in the mentality that is never harmed by others,

be mindful of the precepts, the scriptures, and the sastras.
If you do not strive right now to conquer the twisted thoughts
of desire and hatred, think what will happen
when the twisted appearances of the bardo arise!
Without enemies to be subdued or relatives to protect you,
without servants to obey you or masters to be obeyed,
dwell in solitude. O Manipa, if you do not subdue
your own mind in this life, what can you do?
Having thought well upon these matters, reject entirely all the sense
less worldly activities of this life, and accept a want of food, clothing,
and diversions. “Entrust your innermost mind to Dharma practice.
Entrust your innermost Dharma practice to life as mendicant. Entrust

your innermost life as a mendicant to acceptance of death. Entrust
your death to an empty cave.” It is vital to practice, from now on, the
Dharma that will help you so greatly at the time of death.
The Great One of Oddiyana has said:
You may practice the Dharma from your innerm ost heart,
but if you do not give up attachm ent to country,
you will not conquer the demon of pride.
If you do not give up the activities of a householder,
'you will not find the time to practice the Dharma.
If, having generated faith, you do not carry out Dharma practice,
you will never come to the end of your karma;
should you be without faith,
you are in no position to disparage others.
If you are unable to throw all your possessions to the wind,
you will never surrender to Dharma practice.
If you do not distance yourself from your relations,
you will not cut off the stream of desire and hatred.
If you do not practice the Dharma from now on,
your place of birth in the next life will be far from certain!
On the other hand, if you never lie to yourself,
you will cut off desire and hatred,
and the sacred Dharma will lead you to cast aside all dear relatives,
lovers, and possessions; you will go forth from the secular life.
In short, right now, you will proceed to fulfill the great purpose.
Having nothing, you will feel no need for the security of provisions,
for you will have the security of virtue. W hether you like it or not,
you cannot count on the uncertainties of next year;
but this m uch is certain: You need to apply yourself now
to the practice of true virtue.
Regarding these matters Kharag Gomchung said:
Though you may have enough of food and clothes
and comforts in this lifetime, after death, they will not assist you
in seeking the fruit, enlightenment.
Therefore, do not attach yourself to friends and foes
in all their various guises,

but eagerly accumulate great m erit right now.
Lacking leisure in this lifetime, you cannot meet with good fortune.
Therefore, set your mind on spiritual things.
Give up all distractions, and relying on tranquility,
stay alone like the rhinoceros in a forest retreat.
Again, Lord Milarepa said:
May my sickness go unnoticed by my relatives,
my death unnoticed by my enemies:
If I am able to die in this retreat,
I will have accomplished the intent of the yogin.
Padam pa has said regarding this:
People of Dingri, knowing now the great and small ways
of making life meaningful for both men and women,
you will not return from this lifetime empty-handed.
When Lord Atlsa was at the point of death, he was asked by
Naljorpa: “Lord, after you pass away, should we all continue to m ed
itate as we have been doing?“
The teacher replied, “Even if you meditate, will you make progress
in the Dharma?“
“Well then, should we teach?“ And Atlsa replied as before.
“Well then, what should we do?“ asked Naljorpa.
“You should rely on the teacher and give up thinking about the
concerns of this life!“
At one time, an old monk was circumambulating Radreng
Monastery. He came upon the teacher Geshe Tonpa, who said to
him: “Sir, I am happy to see that you are circumambulating, but
wouldn't it be better to practice the Dharma?“
And so the monk thought about the great importance of making
prostrations. But when he was doing prostrations, the teacher com
mented on his practice in the same words as before. And so the m onk
turned to reading the scriptures and then to meditating on them—
but the teacher commented to him as he had previously.
"Well then,” asked the monk in desperation, "what should I do?”
The teacher then said three times: "Give up thinking about the
concerns of this life!”
By generating the genuine thought of impermanence just once, a

firm commitment will arise. The Siddha Kundenrepa, while working
as a farmer, rid himself of much bad karma by simply generating
various thoughts of giving up the things of this life. While irrigating
his fields, he decided to escape to the Dharma. Many histories also
recount how a student of Lord Drag Gyal, through his devotion to
Kharagpa, was even cured of leprosy.
The Power of M editating on Impermanence
Many benefits arise from meditating on the impermanence of exis

tence. We find in the Vinayàgama:
Greater than giving meals or provisions to hundreds of bhiksus

is a single instance of thinking about impermanence
and the conditioned nature of existence.
Similarly, the Parinirvâna Sütra states:
Just as a cultivated field yields the finest fruits in autumn,

and a great bull leaves the most imposing hoofprints,
among perceptions, the perception of impermanence and death
is supreme. For by perceiving impermanence and death,
all the perceptions of the three realms are turned around.
Again in the Sütra of Mindfulness, we find:
The advent of death is highly praised

for its wonderful power to keep you alert:
Being mindful of death brings supreme peace.
When the going is slow and troublesome,
remember the frightful Lord of Death:
Feel regret for whatever you have done wrong.
Those who are faultless constantly transform
all defilements into peace.
The Tathagatas have said that being carefully aware

is the greatest bliss.
Those who are always mindful of the Lord of Death
abandon all non-virtue.
In The Four Hundred, we find:
For those who have the thought, "I am going to die!”

absolute certainty arises.
Since by that certitude they completely dispel fear,
how can they fear even the Lord of Death?
Geshe Putowa stated:
Regarding the instructions to meditate on your own impermanence:

Even if others do the worst possible things to you, envision
this wickedness as being produced in your own mind.
As is clear in the Illumination of the Middle Way, clearing away
appearances is not apart from not clearing them away.
Regarding the instruction to meditate on the impermanence

of dharmas: If you envision this impermanence in your mind,
you will certainly clear away the appearances of this life.
In generating this knowledge, you will come to feel uneasy
in doing anything that is not Dharma. After that,
all the doctrines of the Buddha appear like shining ornaments.
To make an analogy, if you own a beast of burden that is unreliable,

you have no control over its actions. Even if you beat it with a whip,
it may not move. If it does move, it may go too quickly or go off
in the wrong direction. But if your consciousness is attuned to
impermanence, whether the mind moves or does not move towards
the Dharma, your understanding will continually grow.
Thus, it is said, you will proceed to the irreversible stage.
Again, Geshe Putowa states:
When you generate the thought of impermanence, first of all

it will cause you to enter the Dharma. Next, it will provide
the conditions that urge you to be devoted to virtue;
and finally, it will assist you in realizing the very nature of truth.
Again, first of all it will cause you to seek the Dharma.

Next, it will provide the conditions that lead you to practice
the Dharma. Finally, it will assist you in bringing the path
to completion.
Again, first of all it will cause you to reverse the mind concerned
with this life. Next, it will provide the conditions that lead you
to turn your m ind from all samsaric things. Finally, it will assist
you in entering nirvana, the path that passes beyond sorrow.
Geshe Pagmo Drubpa said regarding impermanence:
Whether you are high or low, of the best or middling lineage,

whatever path you practice, it is vital to meditate at all times
on impermanence. First, this is the cause of entering the Dharma.
Next, it is the goad for practice and attainment.
Finally, it is a key to obtaining the Dharmakàya: pure light.
Lord Milarepa said:
Terrified by death, I went to the mountains.

Meditating solely on the tim e of death,
I reached the fortress of purity, innate and deathless.
Now, having thrown off the fear of death, I have arrived.
The incomparable Gampopa summarizes this point:
If you understand that all conditioned things are impermanent,

in this very lifetime you will recoil from desire. Furthermore,
this understanding fosters faith and assists effort.
Quickly freeing you from desire and hatred, it brings about
the causal conditions for realizing the equality of all dharmas.
You can see the effect of the practice of impermanence in the

lives of Zhangtsun of Yerpa, Nyenton of Drag Gyab, and Kharag
Gomchung.
At one time, Zhangtsun, feeling unwell, said to himself, “Now I

m ust give away everything !" Having said this, he gave away all his
belongings to others, including the smallest things, saying, "Until I die
everything I use will be borrowed, for after we die, we m ust give it all
up anyway!" From then on, he practiced as if he had no time to rest.
Regarding Drag Gyabpa: One day, his attendants asked him, "Isn't
it time to start collecting wood to prepare for the summer rainy sea
son?” Drag Gyabpa replied: "What good is it to collect wood? We do
not know if we will be around for the rainy season! Besides, even if
we live that long, autum n will come soon after.” Having said this, he
never again made plans for the future.
As for Kharag Gomchung, at one time he was living in a cave in
Kharag that had a thorny bush at the entrance. Whenever he came
or went, the thorns caught at his robes. One day, as he left his cave,
it occurred to him that he should cut the bush down. As soon as he
thought this, he remembered the nature of impermanence. "Why
should I cut this bush down?” he mused. "There is no certainty that
I will return to the cave once I leave it!” And for the rest of his life,
he did not think again about cutting down the bush.
Reflections
The Significance of Karma
£T ^h e teachings on karma suggest that actions in the world unfold

JL with a special kind of rhythm: a going and coming like the strong
arms of a swimmer moving swiftly through the water. In that move
ment, the past comes forward to meet the future, while the future
draws near based on the force that we apply in the present. We re
plan, reproduce, and reinvent; we are reborn and recast. In the same
way that actions bring about reactions in the physical world, causes
generate effects, taking form through the operation of various con
ditions. Why is it then that we act in ways we know will bring us suf
fering? How is it that we are not happy?
Karma is action extending outward, like an echo. An action is
taken: The mind creates and then the mind reflects. Echoes ripple
outward and shadows lengthen, sometimes in simple, shallow ways,
sometimes in rhythms and patterns of great complexity that interact
and build up in layers.
For instance, desire produces action that may gratify the desire
superficially, but at a deeper level, desire produces more desire, gen
erating a cycle of intensifying desire that ultimately results in frus
tration'. We may acknowledge this to be so on the psychological level,
but that is only part of the story. The operation of karma is universal
and its impact far-ranging. A pattern once programmed will reproduce
unless counteracted by another force. Without that chain of cause and

effect spinning forward in time, could anything exist at all?
Because of the nature of cause and effect, karma appears to rule
our lives, making attempts to change seem futile. Inevitably, its mo
mentum carries us from bad states to worse. Caught in confusion, we
continually commit acts that sink us deeper and deeper into suffering.
When we look at why we act, we see that mind is always central to
this process. Since mind directs our every action, how can we escape
from being the agents of our karma? Karma is the true democracy:
It makes no favors or exceptions. We are the ones who create our
own prospects by acting in certain ways. We are our own govern
ment and governed, our own judge and witness. In effect, we are our
karma, and we create our own future.
We can choose to turn our lives in a positive direction. Instead of
trying to relieve the external symptoms of our dissatisfaction, a way
proven over and over again to be ineffective, we can remove the causes
of the symptoms. But the pattern of karm a is so strong that merely
seeing its destructiveness may not be enough to motivate us to
change. On the other hand, fear of the consequences of our actions
can be a powerful stimulation to change the direction of our lives.
While we may begin this process out of fear, fear soon makes way for
love and compassion; in time, compassion predominates, driving out
self-centered concerns and becoming the motivating force of virtu
ous action.
Since karm a by its nature is self-renewing, it is inexhaustible; only
compassion has the power to interrupt the chain of events that rein
forces karmic patterns and drives the endless cycles of samsara. To
break the hold of karma, the Bodhisattva on the Path of Heroes sees
clearly the truth of existence and applies the antidotes of compassion
and wisdom to cut through the illusory structures and beliefs that
sustain karma and perpetuate suffering. Skillfully wielding the in
vincible weapons of wisdom and compassion, the Bodhisattva does
battle with sam sara itself until all karmic residues fall away and be
ings experience the great bliss of enlightenment.
Awakening to the
Significance of Karma
£ I^ h e third meditation for creating a change of heart is to reflect

jl upon the ways the fruit of karma ripens. As the Buddha said in
his Instructions to King Prasenajit:
The time approaches! And when the King passes on,

it will not be his loving friends or diversions that follow him.
All beings, wherever they go,
are followed only by karma, like a shadow.
The karma of actions you have performed in the past—the karma

you have accumulated—does not desert you. Even after death it fol
lows behind you. Virtue and wrongdoing are the causes of karma:
They bring forth happiness and misery as their respective effects.
Therefore, concentrate as much as you possibly can on abandoning
all wrongdoing and practicing whatever is completely virtuous. As
the Bodhisattva Santideva wrote:
The Muni himself taught that resolve is the root of all facets of virtue.
And the root of that resolve is always to meditate
on the ripening of the effect.
If you have performed only acts of virtue, only happiness will re
sult from this cause. If you do only evil, misery will be the sole result.
If you set virtue and wrongdoing in motion by turns, both happiness

and misery will result from these good and evil causes. Entering the
Bodhisattva Path states:
Through filling your m ind with virtuous thoughts,

wherever you go, here or there,
you will meet with great honor,
a manifestation of the fruit of that virtue. [7.42]
The text continues:
But by doing harmful actions, wherever you go,

here or there, due to that wrongdoing,
you will be overcome by the weapons of suffering,
despite your desire to be happy. [7.43]
The Karmasataka states:
The happiness and sorrow of all embodied beings

is said by the Muni to be due to their karma.
Due to karma in its various aspects
beings perform myriad actions.
And so they enter sam sara and wander in various forms.
This net of karm a is very strong.
The following sections examine the different aspects of karma: the

ten non-virtues to be abandoned, the ten virtues to be taken up, and
other im portant features of karma.
Actions that Create Suffering
The ten non-virtues are specific actions that derive from the three
poisons of desire, hatred, and ignorance. Both directly and indi
rectly, these actions bring about only misery as their result. In The
Precious Garland, we find:
The karma produced through the three—

desire, hatred, and ignorance—is non-virtuous. [20]
Traditionally karma is divided into ten types of negative and ten

types of positive action. In the Treasury of Abhidharma, we find:
Awakening to the Significance of Karma 113
Further, action is assigned into groups:

In whatever is either virtuous or non-virtuous
one of the ten paths of action can be found. [4.66]
Regarding the ten non-virtues, the Master Asvaghosa has said:
There are three specific non-virtues of the body,
four specific non-virtues of speech,
and three specific non-virtues of mind.
These are accepted as the ten non-virtues.
Three non-virtues relate to the body:
1. Killing The desire to kill is not harmful in itself. The harm oc
curs when you do not recoil from such a train of thought before it
leads to an actual act of killing.
2. Stealing Taking what belongs to someone else when it has not
been given to you. This is stealing. The act is complete when you be
lieve the object to be in your possession.
3. Sexual misconduct The wrong objects of sexual attention are
those people who are under the protection of the Dharma or are oth
erwise committed. The wrong times for sexual relations are when a
woman is pregnant or during ceremonies. Im proper places for sex
ual activities are in the presence of a teacher or student. Im proper
passage is in the mouth or anus. These are the four prohibitions for
householders. Renunciates, together with their attendants, m ust be
celibate.
Four non-virtues relate to speech:
4. Lying To tell untruths knowingly or to exaggerate or mislead
with the objective of deceiving others
5. Slander Words of anger and discord spoken spitefully with the
intent to disrupt and create trouble
6. Harsh words Detailing the faults of others directly to their face,
so that they actually hear and understand them, and the words pierce
to the heart
7. Idle talk All conversation that creates emotional disturbance,
such as idle chatter, flattery, reciting dramas and songs, telling tales
of war and prostitution, bar-room stories, and tales that promote
harmful views.
Three non-virtues relate to the mind:

8. Covetousness The malevolent desire to get for yourself the wealth
of others, another's spouse, and so forth
9. Ill-will The malevolent intention to harm others and the wish
for others to suffer
10. Wrong views To hold firmly such views as the non-existence of
the cause and effect of karma, the non-existence of past and future
lifetimes, or the non-existence of the Three Jewels.
Each of these ten includes various other aspects that m ust be
abandoned.
Regarding the general motivation behind all the non-virtues: The
non-virtues are all produced by combinations of the three poisons,
though from different motivations. For example, those who kill may
kill for meat, hides, or for similar reasons; or they may feel the need
to kill in order to protect their friends or loved ones. There is also
malicious killing and killing done because of hatred, as when some
one kills a rival. And there is also killing out of ignorance, such as
killing for the purpose of making religious offerings and the like. It
is said in the Treasury of Abhidharma:
Killing, the mind of ill-will, and harsh words

are brought to completion through hatred;
sexual misconduct, covetousness, and stealing
are brought to completion through attachment;
wrong views come from ignorance.
The rest are brought to completion
through the three poisons in combination. [4.70-71]
Thus all the rest of the non-virtuous actions are completed

through the three poisons. Regarding the non-virtues, the Treasure
of the Tathagata states:
Kasyapa, killing a parent or a Pratyekabuddha:
These are the most heinous acts of murder.
Similarly, taking the property of the Three Jewels
is the worst form of taking w hat is not yours,
and cohabitation with a parent or with an Arhat
is the worst sexual misconduct.
Casting aspersions on the Tathagatas is the worst form of false speech,

and causing dissension among the Sangha is the worst of slanders.
Speaking harsh words about the Aryas is the worst of harsh words.
Speaking out of desire to confuse those who wish to listen
to the Dharma is the worst of irrelevant talk.
The thought to take from those who have truly
renounced the world is the worst of covetous thoughts.
Desiring to do the indefensible acts is the worst kind of ill-will,
and holding a limited view as supreme is the worst among wrong views.
From the standpoint of the object of non-virtuous actions, the
greatest impact comes from killing father, mother, or Arhat; from
creating dissension in the Sangha; and from causing a Tathagata to
bleed: These are the five indefensible offenses.
Destroying a stupa; killing a Bodhisattva who has attained the
stage of certainty; despoiling the body of a female Arhat; killing a
holy student of Dharma; taking away the Sangha's place of assem
bly: These are the five nearly indefensible offenses.
Taking a higher place than someone wiser; making a monk bow
down to you; eating the food of an adept; stepping in the footprints
of a holy person: These are the four weighty setbacks.
Swearing to what is not Dharma; corrupting the moral practice of
the Sravaka; corrupting the principles of the Bodhisattva; corrupting
the tantric vow: These are the four weighty corruptions.
Denigrating the person of a teacher due to ignorance; denigrating
the qualities of the wise due to pride; denigrating words of truth due
to jealousy; creating obstacles to the Dharma due to partiality: These
are the four weighty offenses that bring disgrace.
Causing a Tathagata to bleed (included among the five indefen
sible offenses); wrong view (included among the ten non-virtues);
denigrating the impartiality of the Dharma; and contradicting the
idea of lack of self-nature: These are the four weighty abuses. In all,
there are sixteen of these offenses.
There are also eight errors: despising virtue; praising wrong-doing;
troubling the hearts of the virtuous; disturbing a gathering of the
faithful; abandoning the Lama, yidam, or spiritual brothers and
sisters; and destroying mandalas. Together with these are all the care
lessly committed offenses.
Whether you do these yourself, contrive to have them done to others,

or rejoice when they are done by others, you will equally obtain their
result. It is said in the Treasury of Abhidharma:
Sharing a purpose—such as do the members of an army—

means that all are the same agent of action. [4.72]
This is true both for virtue and wrongdoing.
Paying the Price
Each of the ten wrongdoings mentioned above has a fourfold result:

the result that fully matures, the result that corresponds to the cause,
the result of ownership, and the result that is magnified.
Regarding the result that fully matures, it is said in the Sutra of

Ornamental Array:
By killing, some beings are led to hell;

some are led to a place where they are born as beasts;
some are led to the world of the Lord of Death.
Many other sources give similar accounts concerning birth in the

three lower states of being. From the viewpoint of motivation, it is
said that those who are motivated by hatred are born in hell, those
motivated by desire are bom as hungry ghosts, and those motivated
by ignorance are born as animals. There is also placement according
to the greater or lesser force of karma: Through great force of karma
you are born in hell; through middling, born as a hungry ghost;
through small, born as an animal.
The result that corresponds to the cause refers to karma that cor
responds to what has caused it. The Karmasataka states:
When you habituate yourself to wrongdoing,

you become intim ate with such action.
You depend on wrongdoing, act on wrongdoing,
and produce a total engagement with wrongdoing.
Under these circumstances, your experience will also correspond

to the cause. In The Wish-Fulfilling Treasury, we find:
From cutting short a life,

you will have, many illnesses and a short life.
From taking what is not given, you will be wretched and destitute.
From sexual misconduct,

those with whom you dwell will be your enemies.
From telling lies, you will undergo much abuse.
From slander, you will never have harmonious friendships.
From harsh words you will have a bad reputation.

From idle talk you will never be believed.
From covetousness, you will not achieve what you hope for.
From ill-will comes fear, and
from wrong views comes evil itself.
The result of ownership is a result that matures in a way that cor

responds to its object. The Treasury of Virtues states:
The result of ownership connects to and hinges on objects.

When you cut short a life, you will be oppressed
by the burden of your wrongful act: Your place will be small,
medicine and flowers few; the harvest poor, your food and drink
of little strength and difficult to digest.
All through your life, you will find yourself
in places of great destitution.
When you take what is not given,

the new shoots of your crops will.be easily ravaged.
Your fruit trees will have inferior fruit;
crops will suffer from frost and be pounded by hail.
You will take birth in the heartland of the misery of famine.
From sexual misconduct, you will be led, powerless,

into an awful homeland of filth and defilement,
where vile morasses and cesspools make you gasp for breath.
From lying, your land will be rough, its slopes uneven;

you will be terrorized by some and deluded by others.
From slandering others, you will dwell in steep and narrow ravines;
you will live in mountainous terrain, difficult to traverse.
From harsh words, the land will be rocky and full of brambles;
the fruit trees will have gnarled trunks and fruit
rough and unpleasant to the touch.
The land will be saline, dusty, and befouled,
and you will experience feelings that are highly unpleasant.
From idle speech, you will lack the fruit of easy cultivation;
the seasons will be untimely and erratic.
From covetousness, you will be bom in an unfortunate place

where the climate is unpleasant and the environment polluted,
so that the fruit of the land is misshapen and wrong.
From ill-will, you will be born in a place pervaded by destruction:

You will be subject to harmful and sinful rule,
attacked by wild beasts, savages, poisonous snakes, and thieves,
and there will be a vile and bitter taste to the fruit of the harvest.
From wrong views, you will be bom without protectors or refuge.

You will lack wealth or precious things; any medicines will be weak,
and the fruit and flowers will likewise have little vigor.
Regarding the result that is magnified, The Short Sutra of Mindful

ness states:
Beings filled with ignorance perform harmful actions;

multiplying their wrongdoing again and yet again,
they become exceedingly miserable.
When you do not apply regret along with the antidotes, wrong
doing increases greatly. Therefore, whatever befalls you, reflect fully
upon the karmic forces of detrimental actions and on the inevitabil
ity of death.
Through each unwholesome action performed through the three

doors of body, speech, and mind, however insignificant that action
may seem, you will experience inconceivable suffering in future
lives. For example, it is said that those who defile the walls of places
where the Sangha reside or stain the hangings on temple pillars, or
those who sweep their own rooms with a temple broom, will be born
in hells that are like a wall, a pillar, or a broom.
One nun who told her companions that they had behaved like
bitches was bom as a female dog again and again for five hundred
years. It is said that if you have bad thoughts about a Bodhisattva for
even a single instant, you will abide in hell for an interm ediate kalpa.
Therefore, it is said in the Udanavarga:
Even doing just a little harm

will lead to great agony in future lives:
It will be the cause of great decay,
like poison that has entered the marrow. [28.25]
Again, we find in the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish:
Do not underestimate the effects of just a little wrongdoing,

thinking it will not cause harm.
Even the smallest of glowing embers
consumes the mountainside covered with hay.
Therefore, along with strong feelings of regret concerning your

previous actions, it is vital to strive to employ the antidotes of virtu
ous karma. As quickly as you can, from today on, strive to enact this.
As the Bodhisattva Santideva states:
Caught in the snare of emotions,

you have entered the net of rebirth
and made your way into the mouth of the Lord of Death:
Why do you still not comprehend this?
You do not even notice that your own kind

are being systematically put to death;
rather, you are sound asleep,
like a cow about to be slaughtered.
The escape route is completely cut off;

the Lord of Death is staring at you:
How can you delight in eating;
how can you delight in sleeping?
So very quickly death approaches.
At last you set about amassing merit:

Now you decide to put laziness aside.
But there is no time left, what is the use?
When what we have started remains unfinished,
when we are only half done,
the Lord of Death will arrive suddenly,
and there will come the thought: “Alas! I am done for!"
As you behold the messengers of the Lord of Death,
You will see your relatives bereft—
eyes red with the hopelessness of despair,
faces flowing with tears.
Tormented by memory of your own wrongdoing
and hearing the sounds of hell,
in terror, you clothe your body in excrement.
When so deranged, what can you do then?
At that time, filled with fear,
you are like a fish flopping around out of water.
W hat can be said about the unbearable suffering
you face in hell as the cost for bad actions?
For one with tender flesh,
it is hell to even enter the hot waters of a spring;
having performed acts that lead to the hot hells,
how can I remain happy?
— Entering the Bodhisattva Path, 7.4-12
And further:
How can I escape from non-virtue, the source of suffering?
Always, day and night, I must concentrate only on this. 2.62
Actions that Create Happiness

Virtuous activity is any action motivated by a m ind free from the
three poisons. Such activity, either directly or indirectly, produces
only benefit and happiness as its result. The Precious Garland states:
Action generated by those who have no attachm ent, hatred,
or ignorance is virtue indeed! [20]
And again, the Great One of Oddiyana has said:

Whoever acts virtuously will generate happiness both directly
and indirectly. This is virtue!
Concerning this, Atlsa stated in the Classification of Karma:
The moral practice of keeping your commitments is action
that leads to obtaining the highest states—both hum an and divine.
Moreover, in The Manifestation of Vairocana, we find:
The Bhagavan said: "Having reflected on the objective
of the Bodhisattva, turn away from all killing.
Abandon all malicious and threatening action."
The Buddha expressed such teachings extensively. Lord Atlsa, in
the Classification of Karma and other texts, also delves into the ten
non-virtues spoken of above. He describes their objects and what
they lead to, as well as the seeds of the intention to abandon them
and the actual commitment to do so. Santideva also states:
Committing yourself to the intention to forsake non-virtue
is said to be the perfection of moral practice.
Entering the Bodhisattva Path, 5.11
Over and above that, Orgyan Dusum Khyenpa spoke of the influ
ence of the collection of virtuous dharmas:
There are ten virtues that are the reverse of the ten non-virtues:
sacrificing your life, giving with far-reaching generosity,
living in purity, speaking the truth, reconciling conflicts,
speaking in a disciplined and peaceful way,
speaking with sincerity, acting with love for sentient beings,
acting without attachment, and being free from doubts
concerning cause and effect and the meaning of existence.
Ten things assist you in living in line with these virtues:
having faith in the genuine teachings, acting conscientiously
and with care, not gambling, not being contentious,
not joining social gatherings, always acting carefully,
never being lazy, never associating with wrong-minded friends,
being receptive in body, speech, and mind, and—especially—
meditating on the Four Limits which are the special focus
of the Holy Ones. There are also ten ways to give up

what is to be abandoned and ten ways to attain
what is to be attained.
Examining ways to absorb w hat is to be learned, the Madhyanta-

vibhanga states:
Transcribing the teachings, performing religious services,

listening to the teachings, reading them, memorizing them,
explaining them, reciting them, concentrating on them,
meditating on them, and acting upon them —
mastery of these ten actions yields
inconceivable accumulations of virtue. [9]
The Instructions from a Spiritual Friend also states:
The immeasurable perfections of giving, moral practice,

patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom are a vast treasure,
the wishing gem for crossing the ocean of existence. [8]
Reaping the Rewards
Mastery of the six or the ten perfections—giving and the rest—is the
foundation of living your life well. From such actions you gain the
fruit of the ten virtues. Each of these ten has four results similar to
those mentioned above: the result that is fully matured, the result
that corresponds to the cause; the result of ownership, and the result
that is magnified.
The result that has fully m atured relates specifically to method and
wisdom. If, in your meditation, you are unable to master certain con
centrations and absorptions, you will take birth in the Desire R ealm '
of men and gods. However, if you are able to practice these, you will
be propelled into the highest states of the higher realms. If you p ar
tially apprehend method and wisdom, this will cause you to enter the
lower nirvana, but if you apprehend unexcelled method and wisdom,
this becomes the cause of proceeding to perfect enlightenment.
The result that corresponds to the cause assures that you will n at
urally become involved with virtue and be inclined to virtuous action
in every lifetime. Regarding experience corresponding to the cause,

the Wish-Fulfilling Treasury states:
By abandoning killing, you will never be sick in your lifetime.
By abandoning taking what is not given, you will lack for nothing.
By abandoning sexual misconduct, you will make no enemies
and will have a good family.
By abandoning lying, you will be praised by others.
By abandoning harsh words, your speech will be sweet.
By abandoning slander, you will never know disharmony.
By abandoning idle talk, your words will be suitable and good.
By abandoning covetousness, you will achieve what you hope for.
By abandoning ill-will, you will become lovely to look upon.
By abandoning wrong views, you will have good views.
The ten virtues are the chariot that will cany you to the higher states:
Should you desire the happiness of the higher realms,
take these virtues upon yourself.
The result of ownership matures with relation to the object. Its
aspects include:
Productive, wonderful, and fine harvests;
symmetrical and fertile fields; vast fields of grain
and timely seasons; plum p tasty grains and luscious fruit:
These are the result of possessing the ten virtues.
As for the result that is magnified, unless a truly effective antidote
to the emotions is put into play, emotions such as jealousy toward holy
people will steadily increase. Therefore, you must persevere in acti
vating the antidotes, beginning with performing small virtuous acts.
When the previous Buddha went to the city of Sodkyab to obtain
alms, he was approached by a child, who, filled with faith, tossed a
handful of grain towards him. Four grains entered the B uddhas beg
ging bowl, and one struck the Buddha s heart. Through the karm a of
this action, the child became a chakravartin king in a later life. For
eighty thousand years he ruled over the realm of the four continents
and Realm of the Four Great Kings. After that, in the Realm of the
Thirty-Three, he became m aster over half of Indra's realm for thirty-
seven intermediate kalpas.
Again, an old woman who offered a begging bowl filled with water
to Katyayana was reborn as a god. And the White Lotus Sutra tells
of one who, while concentrating on the Buddha, tossed a small
flower into the sky. From this he obtained the happiness of being
transform ed into Indra and then into a chakravartin king for the
narapati kalpa at the end of the previous kalpa. Finally, it is said this
was the cause of his becoming a Buddha. Elsewhere this is said to be
Santipa. In the Udanavarga, we find:
Performing even a small virtuous action
leads to happiness in the life to come:
You will act with great purpose—
as in the story of the perfect m aturation of tossing the grains. [28.26]
In the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish, we find:
Do not belittle the effects of performing
even a small virtuous act, thinking it will not be helpful.
By accumulating drops of water
you can gradually fill a great vessel.
Concerning the skillful means for increasing that virtue, it is said
in the Bodhisattva-pitaka:
Virtue is increased by the power of pristine awareness,
extended by the power of wisdom,
and made inconceivable by the power of dedication.
For the practice of virtue, it is vital to respect these three spiritual
means during the preliminary practices, the actual practice, and its
aftermath.
The Subtle Laws of Karma

In reflecting on the other specific aspects of karma, it is said:
Karma is term ed ‘accumulated'
by reason of the intention, its completion,
a lack of regret or antidote,
its accompaniments, and its m aturation.
— Treasury o f Abhidharma, 4.120
When your motivation is strong, you will act according to your in
tention, and karma, the underlying basis of your action, is brought
to completion. With lack of regret, the act is accompanied by delight

at its performance. With no antidotes for subduing that karm a in
operation, its effects will definitely mature. When these six are pre
sent, karma accumulates. When these six are not present, karma
does not accumulate. It is said:
Thought is the m ind’s activity:
It produces the action of body and speech.
Prior to activity, the m ind constructs thoughts. Then m ind and
body become involved: As the mind’s mental activity takes hold, it
produces the karm a of both mind and body. When this karmic
activity is virtuous, it projects you into birth in the higher states of
being; when non-virtuous, into birth in the lower states. Depending
on which place you are thrust into, you will experience the particu
lars of either joy or misery.
Projecting and Completion Karma
Karma may be either projecting karma (projecting the results) or

completion karm a (completing the results). For instance, though
your projecting karm a may be virtuous, if your completion karm a is
non-virtuous, you may take birth as a hum an being, but someone
very poor. When your projecting karma is non-virtuous, but your
completion karm a is virtuous, the end result will be a birth in an in
auspicious realm, but in a good position, such as being bom as an
animal, but as the elephant of the gods, Rabtan. When both are non-
virtuous, the projecting force manifests as those bom as hell beings,
and when both are virtuous, the end result can be seen in those bom
as chakravartin kings.
Thus, when you bow down to a stupa that holds relics, it is said
that you will obtain birth as a chakravartin king for a length of time
equaling the num ber of dustmotes beneath your body: Here a single
action can project you into many similar births. By making hundreds
of offerings, you may be bom as Indra: Here many actions join to
project a single result. Through one clear thought of compassion,
you may take birth in the land of Brahma: Here a single act projects
a single result. Through extensive moral practice, you will obtain the
support of life as a human or a god many times over: Here many simi
lar actions project many similar results. Any completion karma should
be understood according to these four alternatives. For any possible
action, both projecting karma and completion karm a operate.
Other Classifications of Karma
Karma is classified into three types as well: virtuous action that

produces happiness in the Desire Realm, non-virtuous action that
produces suffering in the Desire Realm, and action that, having pro
jected you into the higher realms, is called unmoving.
The particular aspects of wholesome and non-wholesome actions

are classified into four types of karma:
The non-virtuous and virtuous actions

associated with the Form and Desire Realms
are black or white or mixed.
When that karm a is destroyed, you are without pollution.
1. When both your action and its results are impure, you experience
misery in the Desire Realm.
2. When both are pure, the karm a you experience is in the higher
realms.
3. When both are mixed, you experience the karm a of mixed happi
ness and suffering in the Desire Realm. (The action itself is not a mix
ture of pure and impure, but rather its nature is established by a
mixture of diverse actions.)
4. When both black and white karma (both being to some extent pol
luted) are destroyed, this is unpolluted karma.
Giving gifts to others in order to win at battle is an example of pure

action m aturing as impure karma. Beating someone in order to help
them is an example of im pure action maturing as pure. When you
save a life out of compassion, both aspects of karm a are pure. Should
you stab someone in anger, both are impure. These are examples of
w hat are called the four alternatives.
There are also four possibilities for seeing and experiencing

depending on the field (the recipient of the action) and the intention.
Results appear in four ways: at once, in this lifetime, in another life
time, or not at all. In the Treasury of Abhidharma, we find:
There are special features of the karma of intention and field. [4.55]
Further, we find:
Regarding cessation, love, freedom from emotionality,

insight, and the arising of Arhatship—
the fruit of whatever benefit or harm is done
is experienced immediately.
The Compendium of Abhidharma elaborates:
It is the same for the assembly of bhiksus

as for the Buddhas and others.
Thus, you may experience karma in different ways. If an action

manifests from great power, has a strong intention behind it, and is
directed toward a powerful field (the recipient of the action), karma
is experienced in the same lifetime that the event occurs.
For example, long ago in Jambudvlpa, during a great famine, King

Serdok offered a bowl of rice and curds—what was left of his own
meal—to a Pratyekabuddha. As soon as he did this, the empty gra
naries were filled and poverty and theft disappeared from the land.
In another instance of such karma, when a hungry farm er made an
offering to our Teacher, his harvest came forth as gold.
On the other hand, when Devadatta exhibited malicious intent to

ward the Buddha, and when Drigung Paldzin disparaged the Great
Vehicle, by the power of these malicious actions, they both fell into
hell in that very body.
When your mind gives actual form to the thought to commit an in
defensible act, the karm a will not be settled until another lifetime.
You will experience the certain m aturation only in later births, and
this karma that you experience in other births will be experienced
any num ber of times.
The fourth type of karm a is karm a that has been accumulated, but
because it is countered by various antidotes, it may not ripen. This
is karm a you may not have to experience.
How Karma Ripens

There are three types of virtuous karma: Karma that is partially vir
tuous, such as when you focus on gaining rebirth in the higher states;
karm a of partial liberation, such as when you focus on gaining nir
vana; and karm a of partial coming-forth, which refers to virtuous
acts of the Path of Linking of the Lesser Vehicle. Karma of partial
liberation also refers to discriminating between the smaller and
greater vehicles due to relying on the power of limited discernment.
The results of karma manifest in various specific temporal ways.
The Sthavira Rahulabhadra states:
The fruit of karma depends on how weighty it is,
how intrinsic, how habitual,
and how often it has been repeated.
Primarily from these factors comes the maturation.
Weighty karma has the greatest influence, but whether the karma
is intrinsic to you is of similar import. For instance, weighty karma
would refer to how clearly virtuous or non-virtuous your m ind is at
the time of death. On the same level of importance is habitual action,
and the effect of what you have done previously. It is said that the
prim ary results of karm a are due to these factors.
However, the end result of karm a is never certain, as is indicated
in the Prajnaparam ita and other teachings. For instance, karm a can
be purified by the strength of virtue: Karma that ordinarily leads to
experiencing future adverse states of being can ripen in this present
life as sickness and the like, and thus be purified.
Such is the great power of wrongdoing that you may experience
the ripening of past karm a in your present lifetime and yet experi
ence good states of being in future lives. Thus, even if you consis
tently practice the Dharma, great difficulties such as sickness may
occur in your life. On the other hand, long ago in the Western
Continent of Aparantaka, a rain of food and clothing and jewels fell
for seven days, but afterwards a rain of mud showered down and
buried everyone. It is said that all who died went straight to hell.
Some people who are very wicked appear to have great good for
tune and seem to be powerful and strong. But you should realize that
when such people die, they will certainly fall into the lower hells. As
is said in the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend:
For those who do wicked acts,
though there be no immediate retribution—
such as being struck down at the next moment—
when the time of death approaches,
the fruits of their wicked actions are sure to manifest. [31]
And further, Chadmo Namkay has said:
Look to your own body to see what you have done before!
Question your own mind to see where you will go in the future!
With respect to the specific strength or weakness of karma, we find
again in the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend:
Five kinds of karm a possess great strength of virtue
or non-virtue in due proportion: karm a that arises constantly,
or from great desire, or without antidote, or linked with those
having outstanding or special qualities.
Therefore, strive to act in accord with virtue. [42]
Weighty karmic actions are those that you engage in constantly,
that occur when you have a great desire to do that action, or that hap
pen when there is no antidote to control and counter the action. They
are also those actions that have as their object beings with the high
est qualities, such as abbots and teachers. Weighty karmic actions
are also actions directed towards those who seek to benefit you, such
as your parents, or actions that relate to those for whom you should
feel compassion, such as the very poor and needy. The opposite of
these are actions light in consequences.
Karma: A Personal Responsibility
In experiencing the results of karma, karm a appears to be a part of

us, our very own being. The Compendium of Abhidharma states:
Why does karma appear to be our own?
Because we experience the m aturation of actions
that we ourselves have done.
Since it is not shared with others, it is called “mine.”
Clearly, the actions that you yourself have done will not ripen upon
others; the actions of others will not ripen upon you. You are not
liable for actions you have not done, but you are sure to experience
the effects of your own acts. You cannot escape from what you your
self have done. The Karm asataka states:
Karma does not ripen in the earth; it does not ripen in stone:
It ripens only in our skandhas.
And further, in the Questions of Surata, we find:
Bitter seeds produce bitter fruit.
Sweet seeds produce sweet fruit.
By this example let the wise know:
The ripening of harmful action is bitter,
the ripening of wholesomeness is sweet.
Again, we find in the Karmasataka:
The karm a of embodied beings
is not exhausted for hundreds of eons.
W hen the accumulation builds up and the time is right,
the fruit itself will ripen.
On karma, the Short Sutra of Mindfulness states:
Fire might change to ice;
the wind could be held in a noose;
the sun and moon could fall to the plains;
but the ripening of karm a is inevitable.
For example, Arya Maudgalyayana's m other was consumed with
greedy ambition for both her husband and son. This ambition led her
husband to gain rebirth in the heaven of Brahma, and her son to
become an Arhat. However, it is said that the m other went to the lower
states. Similarly, it is said in Instructions from a Spiritual Friend:
Do not do anything wrong for the sake of brahmin,
monk, god, guest, parent, wife, or entourage,
for you alone will gain the fate that matures in hell. [30]
The Great One of Oddiyana summarizes this well:
By means of wrongdoing that will cause
m uch misery for many lifetimes to come,
you may gain a bit of happiness in your present life.
But this lifetime is but a few short months and years.
So prevent being caught up in immeasurable future births:
Take up virtue and reject wrongdoing
as the means to gain happiness,
and misery will not arise in future births.
Thus it is said that you should measure your self-mastery against
the examples of Geshe Ben Gung Gyal and Dramze Drakhen.
Reflections
Suffering in Samsara
£“F^he basis for all suffering in sam sara is concern with the self as
JL central to existence. Misunderstanding who we are and what
we are, we are unable to trace the root cause of the confusion that
binds us to samsara and thus to suffering. As a result, sam sara recre
ates itself over and over, forging from moment to m oment the pat
terns of our minds.
Even while caught up in cycles of suffering, we consider the pur
suit of happiness our basic right. Convinced that our search for hap
piness will bear fruit, we assume that one day we will actually find
what we most desire: a better job, more money, contacts with the
right people, a miracle cure. Even in the midst of great pain, we hold
on to the hope of future happiness. If it is suggested that we will
never find the happiness and contentm ent we seek, we dismiss the
idea at once. We have all had moments of happiness and enjoyment
that suggest the possibility of better things to come. The world con
tinually presents aspects of beauty and objects of desire that beckon
with promises of an earthly paradise. And yet, when we look closely
at all worldly pleasures, it becomes clear that they do not last. The
reality of impermanence is in itself a form of suffering.
Some say that the happiness that eludes us on earth will be found
in heaven. But if there is a heaven, is there a hell as well? Here
Reflections: Suffering in Samsara 133
religion seems to come to the rescue, providing comfortable belief

systems that give ready-made answers to our questions concerning
life and death and the nature of existence. The mysteries of living and
dying seem difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate on our own. Most
of us choose to believe in whatever makes us feel better. Whatever
beliefs we come to hold, we tend to accept that what we believe is the
truth, even if we cannot support it with facts.
From birth we have been trained in samsara; our models for ac
tion are worldly models. Because we are deeply enmeshed in sam-
saric patterns, we rarely sense that there could be other possibilities
for thought and action. For us to consider a fresh perspective is like
being asked to wake up from a dream when we do not know that we
are asleep. Thinking ourselves to be fully conscious, we may even
laugh at those who try to help us awaken.
Even as we consider the teachings presented here, our judgm ent
is samsaric. Tricky and clever, sam sara twists our thoughts into a
pattern of self-deception. Although we may admire the Buddha and
the Bodhisattvas, we may feel that their way is not for us: We fear
that if we were to lose our samsaric pleasures, life might no longer
be enjoyable or worthwhile. It is very difficult to go against this pat
tern and persuade the m ind that another way of being is not only pos
sible, but vastly preferable.
And yet, once we have caught a small glimpse of the true nature of
existence, we can see our situation with more clarity. We can see for
ourselves that suffering does not have to be our reality, and that it
will disappear if we wake up. It is time for a different way of being;
the path we have traveled so m any times before has led us only to
pain and suffering. If we change our patterns of mind and behavior,
there is no need to repeat them. Relying on the truth of karma, we
begin to strive for virtuous action of body, speech, and mind, confi
dent that contentment, clarity, and a deepening compassion will be
the result of our efforts.
Awakening to
Suffering in Samsara
£ T ^h e fourth meditation for creating a change of heart is to reflect

JL upon the wretchedness of samsara. This meditation includes
contemplating the suffering of sam sara in general and contemplat
ing the specific sufferings of the six types of beings.
Concerning the suffering of sam sara in general, the Sutra of

Mindfulness states:
Bhiksus! Stay alert in the world of samsara!

Why? You have experienced beginningless lives in samsara.
One time you may have been bom as an ant, another time
as an outcast. The bodies you have gone through in your previous
births, were they amassed into a heap, would rise higher than
Mem, King of Mountains. The tears you have shed would exceed
the waters of the four oceans.
In immeasurable lifetimes as a hell-being or hungry ghost

you have drunk boiling molten copper, blood, urine, pus, and snot,
as inexhaustible as the four great rivers that feed into the boundless
oceans from the four continents. Due to past desire, your head
and eyes and limbs and fingers have been hacked off in world-
realms as numberless as grains of sand of the Ganges River.
Awakening to Suffering in Samsara 135
Such suffering has gone on for countless lifetimes:

lifetimes greater in num ber than the very fine atomic particles
of earth and water and fire and wind combined.
The import of this statem ent can be found in myriad examples, but
briefly, the wretchedness of samsara can be seen to manifest in six
ways:
1. In the unpredictable nature of friends and foes, as well as of phys
ical pleasures
2. In the self-centered satisfaction felt when experiencing the hap
piness of the high states of being, as well as in the lack of repentance
felt when experiencing the misery of the lower realms
3. In the suffering that comes from having to give up the body again
and again
4. In the suffering of entering the womb again and again
5. In the suffering of becoming exalted and then lowly, again and
again
6. In the suffering of being friendless and alone.
Friends and Foes
A story is told of the time Arya Katyayana went to a certain household

to ask for alms. Across the room he saw a woman with a small boy in
her lap. She was eating a large fish and beating off a female dog that
was gnawing on the fish-bones. Katyayana said to the woman:
That child on your lap was formerly an enemy of yours
who took your life, while the fish and the dog, in this very lifetime,
were your m other and father, so dear to your heart:
You eat the flesh of your father and beat your mother;
you hold in your lap your mortal enemy.
The wife crunches the bones of her husband.
Truly, one m ust laugh at the things of the world.
Similarly, as expressed briefly in Opening the Hells:
The myriad friends and adversaries
you have accepted and rejected in this one world
are as numberless as the sands in the Ganges—

and they do not exist as they seem.
Though you may hold fast to someone with loving kindness,

perceiving him as your child,
in other lifetimes you saw that same person
as your enemy, and thus to be attacked.
Now you suckle a baby at your breast

and closely embrace him,
but in other lifetimes, you will drink his blood,
and having slaughtered him, eat his flesh. [20-22]
Yet again, the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend states:
The father is the son, the m other the wife;

friends become enemies
and later their roles are reversed once again:
In this world, nothing is certain. [66]
Even in this very lifetime, friends become enemies and enemies

friends, with no sense of any reliability. In the Sutra of the Questions
of Subahu, we find:
In time, even enemies become loved ones,

while loved ones become enemies.
Others toward whom we feel indifferent
become our adversaries or our loving friends.
And so the wise do not form attachments.
One minute someone is your friend:

The next instant they become your foe. [8.10]
Insatiable Self-Centeredness
In the Letter to a Disciple, we find:
What beings have not traveled this route hundreds of times?

What happiness has not been experienced many times before?
Who has not obtained the glory symbolized
by the beautiful white whisk?7

Yet despite all this, our attachm ent only grows. [91]
And further in the same text:
There is no suffering that has not existed many times before,

and no one has ever been satisfied by the objects of desire.
There is no being in whose womb we have not slept—
and still, for those in samsara, attachm ent continues to grow. [93]
In Opening the Hell Realms, we find:
Bom again and again in hell, we have drunk

more boiling, molten copper
than the am ount of water in the oceans.
As dogs and pigs, we have eaten unclean food
greater in mass than Mem, King of Mountains.
Through separation from our closest friends

in lifetimes in samsara, the tears fallen from our eyes
would fill a vessel larger than the ocean.
Because of quarrels among ourselves,

the heap of our severed heads, if piled together,
would reach beyond the heavenly world of Brahma.
As worms consumed with hunger

we have eaten as m uch dirt and manure
as would completely fill the great ocean of milk.
In ugly existence as hungry ghosts,

we have experienced great hunger and thirst;
being possessed, we did not give up eating meat,
even though it was the flesh of our own heart.
As hum an beings, we have experienced contempt

due to the ills of poverty;
with no power to express ourselves,
we have brought shame to our own tongue. [29-35]
Even in this life, we undergo many ills due to the discontent that
grows out of desire. In The Voice of the Buddha, we find:
Though a m an may obtain all that he desires,

he is never satisfied and still seeks more.
Nothing satisfies the quality of desire;
it is like trying to satisfy thirst with salt water, [p. 408]
Again, we find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Desires cannot be fulfilled

even by all things of the earth. [8.175]
And Vasubandhu has said:
The deer is attracted to sound;

needing contact, the bull is slain.
A bird swoops down, attracted to a form,
and through its sense of taste, the fish is destroyed.
A fly, attracted to scent, goes here and there, to each in turn.
People as well, each and every one,

are caught up with these five senses
and overcome by them day and night.
How can they ever be happy?
Burning to gain my desires,

I have experienced thousands of hells,
but I have not succeeded in fulfilling
either my own purpose or that of others. [6.74]
The Continual Round of Birth and Death
We must give up our body again and again. As stated in the

Instructions from a Spiritual Friend:
The mound of bones that each of us has gone through

in the past would equal Mt. Meru. [68]
It has been said that if the bones of the bodies of each sentient
being in each of their successive embodiments remained intact, their
mass would be greater than Mt. Meru.
We must also undergo the wretchedness of entering the womb

again and again. The same text states:
If each of the boundless numbers of mothers we have had
were rolled into pellets the size of a juniper seed,
the earth could not hold them. [68]
Sachenpo has said of this passage: “Should all those who have
been our mothers be made into pills the size of a juniper seed, it is
said that their extent would be boundless, for one cannot count the
times each and every sentient being has been our m other.” Yet due
to the unending nature of the world, we m ust enter the womb many
more times.
In The Voice of the Buddha, we find:
Through the power of desire and ignorance and craving,
beings are bom as gods and men and in the three lower realms.
The ignorant travel around the five states of being,
turning as if on the potter's wheel.
The three worldly states are scorched
with the suffering of old age and disease.
This world, without a protector, bum s perpetually.
Ever crazed, beings do not try for liberation,
but circle in agitation like bees caught in a vase. [p. 259]
Backsliding
Beings suffer greatly from becoming exalted and then lowly, again
and again. In the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend, we find:
Having become Indra, worthy of praise in all the worlds,
you fall to earth again, due to the power of karma.
Having become a Universal Monarch,
you again become a servant in sam sara..
Having reveled for long periods
in the joys of touching the breasts and embracing the waists
of the daughters of the heavens, later
you will certainly undergo the unbearable touch
of hell's torture-wheel with its tearing spikes. [69-70]
In Opening the Hell Realms, we find:
You who wander like this:

It has been explained that as often
as you are chief of men, you will become the servant,
kicked about hundreds of times by your master.
Since existence has this causal structure,
you will appear as others have before you,
just like the gathering of the seven brothers and seven rishis. [23-24]
Having arrived again and again in joyful places

and having experienced abundant bliss,
once you die, you will fall into evil states of being
and suffer unbearably for a very long time. [9.157]
Not only that, but in this very lifetime wealth declines, and that
which is gathered dissipates. As said in the Vinayagama:
The end of hoarding is spending;

the end of rising is falling.
The end of meeting is parting;
at the end of life is death.
Alone in the End
In the end, we are wretched, friendless and alone. Concerning this,

we find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Though our body comes forth as a whole,

flesh and bones born together,
it soon begins to disintegrate.
With such inevitable separation,
w hat need to speak of the parting of friends and others!
We are bom alone, and we die alone.

Since such suffering cannot be shared,
w hat use are friends—those obstacle makers? [8.32-33]
And again in the same text:

If I m ust give up this life

as well as my relatives and friends,
and pass away all alone,
what use are friends or even enemies? [2.61]
The Three Types of Suffering
This impure vessel of life—this gathering of skandhas, elements, and

sense-fields—is linked to the three types of suffering and proceeds to
form the basis for the three types of suffering. First, as to whatever
seems like happiness in this world, we cannot hold on to it.
Everything in this life comes to an end and then is gone. This is the
cause of much suffering, for we can never escape from the suffering
of change. In the Instructions to the King, we find:
Great King, this existence changes;

this existence is impermanent; this existence is miserable.
And it is also said in The White Lotus:

The kingdoms of the gods are the source
of m uch suffering, as are the kingdoms of mankind.
The suffering of change is like mixing rice with poison and then
eating it.
Secondly, there is the suffering of suffering. Inevitably we meet

with the unpleasantness of birth, old age, and death. We undergo
heat and cold, hunger and thirst. By their very nature, these experi
ences are all miserable. Thus we find in the Classification of Karma:
The suffering of existence is like being bound to a wheel of fire

with no way to cool off. Frightening, even terrifying,
it is like living in a barbaric region teeming with fierce animals
and savages. So difficult is it to gain release, you might as well
be standing before the dark throne of the demon-king Sagyal.
Arising again and again, the suffering of existence pounds at us
like the waves of the ocean. As it overwhelms the life force
of happy states of being, it is like the strongest poison.
The suffering of suffering is like mold on the surface of fruit.

Third, there is the suffering of conditioned existence itself, made up

of the pervasive and contaminated skandhas, the cause of our taking
up the pattern of existence. This kind of suffering is like unripe fruit.
Generally, most people do not perceive conditioned existence as

being miserable. Undergoing this type of suffering is like coming
down with a deadly disease like the plague: Because the fever affects
the hearing and other senses, the sufferer becomes insensate. But
those who have entered the stream, the Aryas, clearly see the suffer
ing of conditioned existence. It is as if they were recovering from a
sickness: The fever abates, the senses return to normal, and you
become aware of the feverish feelings of the body.
A further example: A single hair on the palm of the hand would

cause no discomfort and thus little distress. But if that hair were in
your eye, it would cause immense discomfort. Accordingly, the suf
fering of conditioned existence, though it exists for each individual
being, is perceived as suffering only by the Aryas. As is stated in the
Treasury of Abhidharma:
When a single hair on the palm of the hand enters the eye,
it produces great distress and suffering.
The childish are like the palm of the hand:
They do not perceive the hair,
the suffering of conditioned existence.
The Aryas are like the eye:
They perceive the misery in conditioned existence. [6.3]
In summary, all th at we perceive as happiness changes, and we

suffer. There is also all the suffering of suffering. Moveover, even
those indifferent to pain and pleasure do not escape the suffering of
conditioned existence.
Those in the three lower realms mainly undergo the suffering of

suffering. For men and asuras and the gods of the Desire Realm,
there is principally the suffering of change. As for the suffering of
conditioned existence, neither those in the form nor formless realms
transcend it. In a Sutra we find:
The desire realm is full of faults;

the form realm is full of faults as well.
The formless realm is also full of faults.

Only nirvana is seen as faultless.
Orgy an Dusum Khyenpa states:
Concerning samsara: The sentient beings of the three realms
all have the nature of suffering. The actuality of suffering
is that misery is pervasive: The four root sufferings
(birth, old age, sickness, and death) are tethered together,
so that one leads to the next. The six branch sufferings
are like waves in the ocean: They never disappear
or completely clear away. The minor sufferings
are like the stars of the sky: immeasurable in number.
Thus, all beings undergo a great deal of suffering. With whomever
we associate, however wonderful the relationship, it will include suf
fering. Wherever we go, we find ourselves in a place where we will
suffer. Whatever exists reinforces suffering. All the enjoyable things
of the world are a cause of suffering; all the inhabitants of the world
are the fruit of suffering.
In short, there is the suffering of the mind of desire; the suffering
of the body of experience; the suffering of the world of appearance;
the suffering of all the activities of the three doors—body, speech,
and mind. There is not a single thing that does not turn into great
suffering.
Next, reflect upon the specific sufferings of each of the individual
six realms of beings.
Reflections
Suffering in the Lower Realms
/T l though we live in the hum an realm, our experience often gives

us glimpses of other possibilities for existence. In the Buddhist
> C / jl
traditions these are expressed as the six destinies of sentient be
ings. As illustrated in such depictions as the Wheel of Life or Wheel
of Becoming, three realms of beings form the upper part of the wheel
and three realms occupy the lower part. The upper realms are the
habitats of humans, gods, and asuras, or jealous deities, and the
lower realms comprise the environments of the hell-beings, hungry
ghosts, and animals. For the purpose of teaching the characteristics
and pitfalls of each of these six destinies, Path o f Heroes begins its
descriptions with the lowest realms—the various hot and cold hells,
truly tem fying places.
The play of emotions and their interaction with the three poi
sons—desire, hatred, and ignorance—may fling us precipitously into
any one of the six destinies. In an instant we can fall from the joy of
the heaven realms into the icy grip of despair, or from relative com
fort in the hum an realm into the burning fire of overpowering desire
or the white rage of frustration and anger. In the flow of events, we
become dulled to the anguish of these transitions, so it is helpful to
reflect dispassionately on each of the six destinies in turn.
Reflections: Suffering in the Lower Realms 145
Hell Realms of Hatred and Anguish
When we see scenes of torture or brutalization of hum an beings or

callous treatm ent of animals, we may sense something of the shock
that we would feel if we could let our imaginations encompass life in
the hell realms. Even now, when the hell realms seem remote and
fantastic, we should remind ourselves: Just because we do not see
something does not mean that it does not exist.
Like all the realms described in Buddhist cosmology, the hell

realms manifest as a result of karma. Consciousness becomes the
experience; the experiences then make the reality of the realm. The
same dynamic also works in reverse: The reality of the realm gives
reality to experience; experience in turn shapes mind and conscious
ness. The designs and rationality that govern our hum an realm con
form to the world as it appears to our hum an senses. But when the
senses are different, the logic of experience will also be different.
Karma makes its effects felt also on this level. There is not one aspect
of experience, not one aspect of the situation in which beings find
themselves, th at is not shaped by karma.
The sufferings of the hell realms are described in physical terms:

This is consistent with our experience, which is more closely linked
to the body than we may sometimes realize. Yet within the reality of
the hell realms, physical and mental may not be distinct in quite the
way we expect. For example, can you imagine a cold so intense that it
freezes even the mind? Can you imagine a mind that has become its
pain and sorrow, and the desperation of knowing that there is no way
out? Such imaginings may bring us closer to the truth of this suffering.
Karma manifests in experience, determining its form, intensity,

and repetition. For example, in the suffering of the hell realms, expe
rience is very intense: The fires that cause such torture may bum a
hundred times hotter than the sun. But this is only one aspect of such
experience. Someone b om into this blazing inferno is burned to a
crisp in a single instant, yet in the next instant, through the same
power of karma, that being is reborn. For eon upon eon this suffer
ing continues, like the worst of all possible nightmares, yet subject
to a logic that is unyielding and inescapable.
Even in this hum an realm with which we are all so familiar, severe
pain can strike the mind with such force that it causes the rest of the
world to disappear. We see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing other
than pain that seems to go on forever. As the mind explodes with
pain, nothing else seems real. This is karma in operation.
Santideva states in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Who made the burning iron pavements of hell?
What is the source of the infernal weapons?
All such things, the Muni has stated,
proceed from the harmful mind. [5.7]
As if we were dreaming through lifetime after lifetime, we con
tinue to create our own heavens and hells within our consciousness.
Out of the fierce storms of our emotional turmoils, we create hells to
punish ourselves and heavens for relief or reward. Heaven and hell
manifest in our minds; as the creators and m aster architects of these
realms and experiences, we have the choice to put an end to them.
Only by leaving behind all selfish thoughts and concerns can we
penetrate the obscurations brought on by our karma and turn our
thoughts to love and compassion.
Hungry Ghosts: Realm of Greed
Hungry ghosts, like those who are born into the hell realms, are vic
tims of the overpowering force of their emotionality. Their minds are
locked into feelings of desire and grasping with an intensity that
firmly traps their energy and spirit. Ages pass throughout which they
experience reality in one fixed form.
This interplay of time and experience means that we cannot apply
a wholly objective way of thinking to the reality that hungry ghosts
experience and manifest. For instance, for someone on the edge of
drowning or suffocating, time expands and sensations intensify: The
impact of each moment is multiplied many times over. The same is
true for these beings in the realm of hungry ghosts, who suffer from
the self-imposed pressure of their own driving wants. Their centuries
of suffering might seem like minutes to beings in some other realm;
the unremitting pain and longing they experience reflects a single
Reflections: Suffering in the Lower Realms 147
minded focus that shapes and freezes the mind. Other experience
may be available, but for the hungry ghost there is no access.
Animals: Realm of Fear and Hatred

As a group, hum an beings share tendencies in common with ani
mals: Both may inhabit the same physical environment; both are
strongly influenced by desire; and in both hum an and anim al realms
the strong tend to dom inate the weak. Yet while all sentient beings
are subject to pleasure and pain, happiness and suffering, animals,
having little control over themselves or their environment, are con
tinually subject to m uch greater suffering than humans.
The extreme vulnerability of animals to suffering strikes home
when we reflect that m any hum ans assume they have a natural right
to control and exploit animals. Some people argue that hum an be
ings are better than animals, and for this reason it is perfectly moral
to sacrifice animal life to help hum an beings. Others use the argu
m ent that God put anim als on the earth for the use of hum ans and
that animals do not feel emotions or pain in the same way as hum ans
because they have no soul. Others use the name of science to justify
cruelty to animals for the sake of gaining knowledge.
Yet, when we reflect deeply on the teachings of karma, it becomes
clear that harming any living creature is very wrong. If we cause suf
fering, surely suffering will come back to us. This truth applies to any
form of suffering. If we harm or kill another being, the karm a of
killing will continue, increasing our suffering and widening the cir
cle of pain. Since we could at any moment share the sufferings of the
hell-beings, the hungry ghosts, or the animals, can we find within our
shared plight the basis for a more universal view of ethical action?
Awakening to
Suffering in the Lower Realms
/T hirst, reflect upon the suffering of the hell realms. These include
the eight hot hells: Samjrva, the Hell of Continual Revival;
Kalasutra, the Hell of Black Lines; Samghata, the Mass-Crushing
Hell; Raurava, the Hell of Moans; Maharaurava, the Hell of Howls;
Tapana, the Hot Hell; Pratapanna, the Intensely Hot Hell; and Avici,
the Hell of Waves of Torment.
Hell Realms of Hatred
Concerning these hot hells, we find in the Treasury of Abhidharma:

Twenty thousand leagues beneath the world
is the place of Waves of Torment.
Above that there are seven other hells. [3.58]
Twenty thousand leagues beneath the surface of the earth is the
Hell of Waves of Torment. Above this hell, in stages or tiers, are all
the other hells. The Hell of Waves of Torment is a great ravine with
a floor of burning iron; tongues of fire wash over you, always burn
ing. Hot streams of fiercely boiling water or molten copper pour out
from the walls; trees of burning iron shelter venomous birds and
vicious beasts. Here live the chief of the cannibals and many minions
of the Lord of Death.
Awakening to Suffering in the Lower Realms 149
Those in the bardo who are to be born in the hot hells are first buf
feted by wind and rain, causing them to feel tremendous cold. Then,
by the power of karma, they see the hot hells, and sensing the
warm th of these places, they are drawn into them by their desire for
warmth. This is explained as the cause of beings taking birth in the
hot hells.
In these hot hells, the heat comes from many kinds of fire: There is
the heat of ordinary fire, as well as the heat from the seven fires of san
dalwood, and the heat of the fire of the end of time. The hells are ar
rayed in stages. From the highest, the Hell of Continual Revival, the
hells descend lower and lower, each of the seven increasingly hotter and
more miserable. Concerning this, the Classification of Karma states:
The fires of hell proceed through seven stages,
each increasingly hot, down through the fires of sandalwood
and the fire of the end of time, with each fire seven times hotter
than the fire of the previous stage.
Sentient beings bom in hell manifest in an instant. Once bom ,
they suffer exceedingly in every part of mind and body, with very lit
tle ability to endure it. The sufferings are all different. The beings in
the Hell of Continual Revival consider one another to be deadly
enemies. They die by stabbing one another with weapons and then
must face the suffering of being revived again. In the Verses of
Mindfulness of the Holy Dharma, we find:
Through attachm ent and ignorance, fear and anger,
one being kills another.
Those who commit such m urder
are certain to go to the Hell of Revival.
Because of their actions, for many thousands of years on end,

they will crush one another while alive
and then revive, only to be crushed again. [1.5-6]
Beings in the Hell of Black Lines are marked with black lines, cut
apart with burning iron saws, and then joined together to be cut
apart again. Such is this suffering:
Those who injure their intimates—
father and m other and friends and relatives—
and those who tell very polished lies

are said to be bom in the Hell of Black Lines.
Because of their actions, they are marked with black lines
like a tree and cut to pieces with burning saws.
Thus this place is called the Hell of Black Lines. [1.7-8]
Beings in the Mass Crushing Hell are pressed like sesame seeds be
tween m ountains of burning iron that look like the heads of goats
and sheep. They are crushed until they come to resemble lumps of
red clay. When the mountains separate, they revive, only to be
crushed again and again:
Those who breed animals and then kill them—

whether goats, sheep, or foxes, rabbits, rats, deer, or pigs—
will proceed to the Crushing Hell. Because of their actions,
they are gathered together and tossed here,
where they are destroyed. It is called the Mass Crushing Hell,
for here beings Eire crushed together. [1.9-10]
Beings in the Hell of Moans, after being tortured, enter into a blaz
ing iron house in search of a hiding place. The door closes behind
them, and they are burned alive:
All incarnate beings who perform
perverse actions with body, speech, or mind,
or twist the truth to deceive others
proceed to the Hell of Moans.
As they bum incessantly in a very fierce fire,
they scream out dismally.
Thus it is called the Hell of Moans. [1.11-12]
Beings in the Hell of Howls roast in a doorless iron house within
an iron cham ber that glows in a fire of immense heat. Though they
may escape the inner chamber, there will be no escape from the
outer cham ber for an extremely long time:
Whoever takes things from lamas, brahmins, or gods,
or makes them miserable; and whoever steals their words,
will go to the Hell of Howls. Burned by a fierce fire,
they howl fiercely. Because the suffering is extreme and grave,
this hell is known as the Hell of Howls. [1.13-14]
Beings in the Hot Hell are burned in an iron pot and pierced with
tridents. Then they are stretched out on stakes and flayed on a
ground that bum s with tongues of flame:
Whoever sets fires in forests or performs similar actions
will bum in the heat of a raging fire
and suffer by fire seemingly forever.
Because of the fierceness of their suffering,
this hell is known in the world as the Hot Hell.
Beings in the Intensely Hot Hell bum in a cauldron of molten bronze
until their flesh is stripped away. A red-hot trident is pushed through
the soles of their feet, piercing their bones and their other inner and
outer parts. The heart and all other organs catch fire. As they boil in
molten copper, they are covered with burning blisters:
Whoever follows nihilistic views,

teaching what is false to be true,
and whoever causes emotional damage to others,
will bum in the Intensely Hot hell.
Sentient beings there bu m fiercely.
Since the fire is so intensely hot
it is called the Intensely Hot Hell.
Beings in the Hell of Waves of Torment pass into the burning fires
in the bowels of the earth, where they blaze like tree trunks in great
conflagrations. As they turn to ashes and dust, only screams of agony
can be heard. Engulfed in flames, individual beings cannot be dis
tinguished in the fire. Their suffering is unbearable:
When people who use their virtues to gain power
do extreme harm, such as killing their parents or a Lama,
they are sure to roast for a kalpa in waves of torment.
So fierce is the fire that their bones become fused.
Here not even an instant of happiness exists,
and so this is called the Avici Hell, the Hell of Waves of Torment.
It is said in Instm ctions from a Spiritual Friend:
Beings who perform evil actions will always suffer
in hells such as the Hell of Continual Revival,
the Hell of Black Lines, the Intensely Hot Hell,
the Mass-Crushing Hell, the Hell of Moans,

and the Hell of Waves of Torment.
Some are pressed like sesame seeds;

others are crushed into dust, like fine flour.
Some are torn apart as if by saws,
others are hacked to pieces by sharp axes. [77-78]
And further in the same text:
Sinful ones who do not tremble at the thousands

of cries that rise from the citadels of suffering of hell,
uttered by those whose torm ents begin as soon as
their breath has ceased, have hearts as hard as diamonds.
Even seeing a picture of hell, or hearing

and remembering it, or reading of it or making images,
produces fear. What need to m ention the fear produced
when experiencing its unbearable ripening?
Among all joys, the cessation of desire is the Lord of Joys.

Similarly, among all suffering, the suffering of the Avici Hell
of Waves of Torment is the most unbearable.
If you were pierced by three hundred spears in a single day,
you would writhe in agony. But that misery is minute
compared to the suffering of hell.
Indeed, it cannot bear comparison. [83-86]
And in Letter to a Disciple, we find:
The great smoke of the fires of hell spreads a filthy stench,

obscuring the horizon and radiating tongues of flame in all directions.
Terrifying! The denizens of hell, wearing garlands of bone
and clad in the hides of elephants, make threatening roars:
“Kye-ma! Kyi-hud!”
All around them stream turbulent sparks of fire, crackling:

Dying down by day, the fire again bubbles up with hissing sounds,
and from the ashes, within the breastbones of these hell-beings,
comes a popping sound surpassing even
the cracklings of the fire at the end of the eon. [54-55]
In short, we find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
The underlings of Yama will torm ent me

by stripping off all my flesh; molten copper,
heated by blazing fires, will be poured over me.
Pierced by flaming swords and daggers,
I will be hacked into hundreds of pieces.
Due to my many non-virtues,
I will fall upon the ground of fiercely glowing iron. [7.45]
Time as Measured in the Hell Realms
The Treasury of Abhidharma gives the measurem ent of the lifespan

of hell-beings:
Fifty hum an years is a single day and night

for the gods of the Desire Realm.
Those in higher realms live twice that long . . . .
One cycle of day and night in six of the hells,

including the Hell of Revival, corresponds
to a lifetime for the gods of the Desire Realm.
Thus do their lifespans correspond to the lives
of the gods of the Kamadhatu.
The span in the Intensely Hot Hell is half
that of Avici: a middling kalpa. [3.79-83]
Fifty years in a hum an life is equivalent to one day for a god of the
realm of the Four Great Kings. Thirty of these days make a month
and twelve of these m onths make a year. Five hundred such years is
the lifespan of the gods of the heaven of the Four Great Kings—a
time equivalent to one day for a being in the Reviving Hell.
Continuing to measure years in a similar way, the denizens of the
Reviving Hell live five hundred of these years.
Again, one hundred of our human years is equivalent to one day

in the life of the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. One thou
sand of these years is one day in the lifetime of a being in the Hell of
Black Lines, and they live for a thousand of those years.
Two hundred of our hum an years is equivalent to one day in the

lives of the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife. Two thousand of
those years is one day for the beings in the Mass Crushing Hell, and
they live for two thousand of those years.
Four hundred of our hum an years is equivalent to one day in the
lives of the gods of Tusita, the Heaven of Bliss. Four thousand of
those years makes one day for the beings in the Hell of Moans, and
they live for four thousand of those years.
Eight hundred hum an years is equivalent to one day for the gods
of Nirmanarati, the Heaven Delighting in Creation. Eight thousand
of those years makes one day in the life of beings in the Hell of Howls,
and they live for eight thousand of those years.
Sixteen hundred hum an years is equivalent to one day for the gods
of Paranirmitavasavarta, the Heaven Empowering Creation. Sixteen
thousand of those years makes one day of the life of the beings in the
Hot Hell, and they live for sixteen thousand of those years.
The lifespan of beings in the Intensely Hot Hell is half an inter
mediate kalpa, while those in the Hell of Waves of Torment m ust
abide there for a kalpa.
The Instructions from a Spiritual Friend states:
Unbearably great misery is experienced
for hundreds of times ten million years:
For so long as non-virtue is not extinguished,
you will not be freed from that existence. [87]
Concerning the Neighboring Hells, the Treasury of Abhidharma states:
There are sixteen hells other than the eight,
four each at the cardinal points
marking the place of the hot hells.
There is the Hell of Burning Coals,
the Swamp of Putrefied Corpses,
the Plain of Spears,
and the Ruthless River Hell. [3.58-59]
As indicated, these hells are located at the four cardinal directions
of the place marking the hot hells. Some short way from the Hell of
Waves of Torment, there is a small divide, so that if you try to flee in

any of the four directions, you must walk through searing smoke and
trenches of fire with flames licking up to the knees. You revive when
you lift your legs, but when you set them down again, the suffering
returns as before. In the Verses of Mindfulness of the Holy Dharma,
we find:
Whoever does not concentrate on spiritual practice

and does not guard this practice well,
will b um in the Hell of Burning Coals:
flesh and bones will be destroyed. [1.29]
If you manage to escape from that hell, you enter the Swamp of
Putrefied Corpses, where worms with bronze beaks peck at you and
rend you to the bone:
There your life-force returns,

but when you revive even a little,
you sink into filthy and murky water,
and the worms begin to eat. [1.30]
Should you manage to escape from the Swamp of Putrefied

Corpses, you will step onto the Plain of Spears, where your feet are
pierced by spears. When you raise your foot to take a step you feel
relief, but then razor-sharp knives fall like leaves from the trees, cut
ting you into pieces. You try to escape by climbing the iron trunk of
the shalmali tree, but the downward-turning leaves cut into you,
causing you great torment. Then you are eaten by birds and dogs and
embraced by extremely frightful women. Such is the suffering here:
Those who rape and ravish will find themselves

in the forest of shalmali trees that have burning,
iron-tipped leaves sixteen inches long.
Pierced by the leaves, they cry out
as they climb the trees in terror.
Horrifying women torm ent them

with sharp teeth and burning bodies:
Having ravished the women of others,
they will now be seized and eaten.
Those who harm the harmless and cheerful

will find themselves in the forest of razor-sharp knives;
cut apart, they will cry out and be devoured
by vultures, dogs, owls, and crows.
Those who disrupt the stability of the Dharma
and those who preach what is not right
will travel on the plain spiked with sharp spears. [1.19-21]
Having escaped from that hell, your great thirst drives you to run
to the banks of a river, but it proves to be a river covered with hot
ashes that you fall into. Having fallen in, you cannot get out. You suf
fer immeasurably as your flesh and bones bum :
Those who kill fish, creatures bom of water,
will go where there is no water at all:
into a river of molten copper.
Such beings are always consumed by fire. [1.24]
In Letter to a Disciple, we find:
Those who traffic in weapons will be tom apart by vicious dogs
that rend their bodies with long and pointed teeth,
sharp as diamonds. They are tom apart again
by the sharp and jagged rocks on the banks of the waterless river,
filled with logs of fire and blazing ashes.
Having run exhausted into a forest of razors,
where the creepers bristle with sword-sharp edges,
their wounded bodies find no refuge.
They fall into the salivating, open mouth of the Lord of Death:
a well full of razor-sharp teeth like three-pointed lances.
Racked now with unbearable pain, they see trees
with thick green leaves and approach them,
only to have hundreds of sharp leaves
fall down to pierce their flesh.
Sobbing uncontrollably, they break down completely.
Now women ornamented with garlands of glowing embers
shooting forth hundreds of tongues of fire surround them:
These women, their bodies jagged as sawblades, trick them
into close embraces, causing terrible suffering. [41-44]
What is the real nature of these hells and demonic beings? While
the Vaibhasikas assert that the guardians of hell are actual sentient
beings, the Sautrantikas say they are not. The Cittamatrins and the
Madhyamikans contend that it is the errant mind that makes the
guardians of hell appear the way they do. In Entering the Bodhi-
sattva Path, we find:
Who made the burning iron pavements of hell?
What is the source of the infernal weapons?
All such things, the Muni has stated,
proceed from the wicked mind. [5.7]
The types of suffering and the locations of the Minor Hells are vari
able. These hells are found under rivers and mountains, in the area
of deserts and under the earth, but sometimes also in lands inhab
ited by men. A Sutra states:
Here you experience the joys of the gods during the day,
but at night you experience the sufferings of the hells.
For these hell beings it is uncertain what form the body will take:
like a wall, a pestle, a pot, a tuft of grass.
In the Verses of Mindfulness of the Holy Dharma, we find:
Should you have destroyed lice with your fingernails,
now their bodies will become immense.
Again and again, in feasts by the hundreds,
the teeth housed in their cavernous maws will chew you up. [1.28]
It is not even certain how long the lifetimes of these hell-beings
may be.
The Cold Hells

As to the cold hells, their names are given as follows:
Arbuda, the Blister Hell;
Nirarbuda, the Hell of Bursting Blisters;
H^hava, the Cold Hell;
Huhuva, the Hell of 'Alas'!
Atata, the Hell of Chattering Teeth;
Utpala, the Utpala Lotus Hell,
Padma, the Padma Lotus Hell;

and Mahapadma, the Great Lotus Hell.
It is said that the cold hells are situated under the world of Jambu-
dvipa, in front of the great hot hells. According to some explanations,
they are hidden within all areas of the earth: in m ountains and in
rivers, and where snow and glaciers cover small fissures in the earth.
In these hells fierce winds and blizzards blow, penetrating the flesh
and sinking into the very bones. It is said that these hells lie in stages
underneath each other, and that the cold of these eight hells grows
seven times more intense in each subsequent hell, from top to bottom.
Beings bom in these hells are those who, in the first stage of the
bardo, undergo the torm ent of heat that is like being plunged into a
butter lamp. Glimpsing the cold hells, and yearning for relief, they
mindlessly run towards what they see as an escape, and thus enter
and take birth in these cold hells.
In the Hell of Blisters, you are so very cold that the body is covered
with blisters both inside and out.
In the Hell of Bursting Blisters, you are so cold that the blisters
burst:. Pus spills over your body, and swarming creatures, attracted
to the pus, pierce your body and eat the flesh.
In the Cold Hell, the moaning of the beings writhing there sets up
a whispering sound that seldom ceases.
In the Hell of "Alas!” your woeful moans at the fierce cold are
incessant.
In the Hell of Chattering Teeth the exceedingly great cold causes

your body to shake so m uch that no sound issues from your ex
hausted body but the sound of chattering teeth.
In the hell of Utpala Lotus your entire body turns blue and cracks
into four or six petal-like sections.
In the Padma-Lotus Hell, your body turns from blue to red and
cracks into ten petal-like sections.
In the Great Lotus Hell, having turned bright red, you crack into
more than a hundred sections—such is the suffering there.
In a Játaka it states:
The future lifetimes of those with nihilistic views

occur in places of darkness and cold winds,
where frightful illness arises even in the bones.
Among those who seek their own benefit,
who would take the chance?
The incomparable cold seeps even into your bones;

your body dries up and shrinks and is transformed
into a shriveled mass. Hundreds of blisters form upon you
and putrefy. Many creatures bore into your body, eating their fill,
and clotted blood and pus drip from your feet.
Your teeth clenched together, your hair in disarray,

eyes and ears and throat convulsed in pain,
everything is numb, from body through to mind.
Abiding in the cold hells, you cry out in agony. [52-53]
The span of life of those in these hells is as stated in the Treasury

of Abhidharma:
The lifespan of those in the Hell of Blisters

is as long as it would take to deplete a barrel of sesame seeds
by removing a single seed from the barrel once every century.
The lifespan of each of the other hells is multiplied progressively
twenty times. [3.84]
A Sütra amplifies the meaning of that passage:
Bhiksus, to give an example: Say that in Magadha

there were a barrel that held eighty khals of sesame seeds.
If someone were to take one grain from this barrel
every hundred years, then, Bhiksus, eventually,
all the eighty khals of sesame seeds in Magadha
would be depleted. The length of time required for this
to happen is the lifespan of beings in the Hell of Blisters.
Bhiksus, twenty times the lifespan of those in the Hell of Blisters
is the lifespan of the beings in the Hell of Bursting Blisters.
The fierce burden of suffering for those in these hells is long in
deed. If you find the pain unbearable when you are struck by the
smallest ember of fire or when you are naked even briefly in the cold
of winter, what will you do when you fall into such a hell?
Therefore, you m ust sincerely concentrate on the thought: "Now

th at I am free to do so, I will abandon the wrongdoing that would
cause me to take birth in such lives, and will also strive to practice
the antidotes that lead to virtue.” Thus we find in the Instructions
from a Spiritual Friend:
Misdeeds done with body, speech, or m ind

are the fruit of non-virtue.
Therefore, strive your utmost
not to do even the slightest wrong. [88]
Hungry Ghosts: Realm of Greed
Secondly, reflect on the suffering of the hungry ghosts. The

Instructions from a Spiritual Friend states:
If you become a hungry ghost, beset with extreme desire,

you generate an unending stream of suffering
consisting of unbearable hunger and thirst, cold and heat, and fear.
Seeking to alleviate this, you only generate more suffering. [91]
The main dwelling place of the hungry ghosts is said to be located

five hundred leagues under the surface of the earth. Other dwelling
places of the hungry ghosts are scattered throughout the world, in
indeterminate places including desolate deserts. It is explained in the
Sutra of Mindfulness that there are thirty-six different types of hun
gry ghosts; however, these can be consolidated into three groups.
The first type of hungry ghost suffers external impediments. For

years at a time such ghosts are unable to find food or drink. Although
they may see heaps of food at a distance, when they draw near, there
is nothing there: The food has vanished. When they make their way
to w hat seems to be the banks of a torrential river, they find they have
entered a gully filled with sand and pebbles. When they find them
selves near flourishing fruit trees, if they but touch them, both the
Axuakening to Suffering in the Lower Realms 161
trees and fruit shrivel up. At other places where sustenance is pre
sent, many demons stand guard, and so they can take nothing.
Tormented by unbearable thirst, they see a torrent of pure water

at a distance and yearn to drink from it;
but when they make their way there, they find the water mixed
with hair particles, fish-scales, and pus:
a cesspool filled with excrement and blood. [35]
The second type of hungry ghost suffers inner impediments.

Because their mouths are the size of the eye of a needle, such ghosts
cannot eat or drink. If they manage to shove a little food into their
mouths, it is lost in the huge cavity of their cheeks. Poisons in their
mouths leave them always parched and thirsty. If they manage to
swallow a little liquid, because their throats are as narrow as a
horse’s tail, the fluid cannot pass down. And even if a little does go
down, they have stomachs as large as Mt. Meru, continually racked
with pain due to never being filled. The same text goes on:
Afflicted with a mouth like the eye of a needle

and a great stomach many fathoms wide, they find no relief.
Even if they drank all the water in the ocean,
before a single drop could even enter
the vast tunnel of their throat,
the poisons in their mouth would dry it up completely. [40]
The third type of hungry ghost suffers from being allergic to food
and drink. Whatever they imbibe bum s like fire once it enters the
body. One group can eat only those things that produce misery for
them: fiery pollution, excrement, pus, blood, and other gruesome
things. Still others suffer due to the difficulty of finding even that
kind of food. The Instructions from a Spiritual Friend states:
Others have flames shooting from the mouth during the night,
and into their burning mouths falls sand as food.
The m ost unfortunate cannot find even pus
or excrement, blood, or other unclean things to eat.
They pierce each other about the face until their necks
swell like bubbles, and then eat the pus that forms. [93-94]
Along with these are hungry ghosts who undergo the suffering of
boundlessly distorted vision, confusing the sensations of hunger and
thirst as well as the seasons. In the same text we find:
For hungry ghosts, during the summertime, even the moon

is hot; in the winter, even the sun is cold. [95]
They are stricken by heat and find even a blizzard scorching;

they are torm ented by piercing wind, but even fire seems cold.
Due to the unbearable consequences of karma, all is muddled—
everything is completely turned around. [39]
Concerning hungry ghosts, the Pandita Vasubandhu has said:
Some hungry ghosts boil in flickering tongues of flame,

shouting out meaningless sounds.
From the mouths of others comes raging fire.
Their throats like the eye of a needle
and their stomachs like mountains,
their bodies always b um with hunger and thirst,
and they shrivel up. Some eat vomit;
others find even such food hard to come by.
The m easurem ent of a hungry ghost s lifespan is given in the

Treasury of Abhidharma:
A hum an m onth is one day for a hungry ghost,

and they live five hundred years. [3.83]
Again, it is said in the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend: "They

will not die even in fifteen thousand years.” [96]
Since one m onth for a hum an is counted one day for a hungry
ghost, and they live five hundred years, this adds up to fifteen thou
sand years. The causes of being born as a hungry ghost are given in
the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend:
The Buddha taught that the ignobility of greed

and rejoicing in the suffering of others
are of the same quality, and cause
the miseries of the various hungry ghosts. [97]
This is also stated in the Verses of Mindfulness of the Holy Dharma:

The faults of desire and greed will cause you to take birth
as a hungry ghost after your death.
To become a hungry ghost or other such being
is due to the emotional afflictions;
therefore, you must give them up! [3.16]
If now you cannot bear to be hungry even for a day, what will it be
like when you are bom as a hungry ghost? Therefore, it is most
important, from now on, to reverse the actions that would bring
about such a birth.
Anim al Realm of Fear and Hatred

Third, reflect on the suffering of animals, both those that exist on the
earth and those living in the depth of the great ocean. With no place
of security, animals are buffeted about like waves by the wind;
always they wander in uncertainty. Eat or be eaten is the mle:
Enemies are omnipresent, and so also is great fear and apprehen
sion. So great is the suffering of animals due to fear of being killed
and eaten, that it is unthinkable.
Although animals are found scattered everywhere throughout the
lands of men and gods, due to the malevolence of people who do not
accept animals as having souls or feelings, animals always suffer and
live in continual fear. People who do consider animals to have feel
ings unthinkingly torm ent them in all sorts of ways. They pull out
their hair, they pierce their noses, they beat them and make them
carry heavy burdens until they are disabled, and then they kill them
for their flesh and blood, skin and bones, and the like. It is easy to
see the obvious suffering in being boiled and eaten!
The suffering that animals undergo due to hunger and thirst, heat
and cold and exhaustion is similar to that of the hell beings and hun
gry ghosts. Moreover, due to their mental confusion they eat one
another and thus suffer even more. The Instructions from a Spiritual
Friend states:
For those who take birth as an animal, there are the
various sufferings of being killed or bound and beaten.
Those who cast aside the virtues of peacefulness

have the unbearable suffering of eating one another.
Some are put to death for their pearls,
their wool, their bones or blood, their flesh or hide.
Still others, helpless, are beaten by fist or whip or iron hooks
and so are bound to service. [89-90]
The Arya Vasubandhu has said:
Animals naturally destroy one another.
Powerless over their lives, they are put to death.
They are oppressed by eternal suffering—
generally, such a fate is the same as being bom in hell.
The measure of lifespan for animals varies. For the short-lived
ones it is a very short time; the longest-lived ones can live up to a
kalpa. In the Treasury of Abhidharma, we find:
The lifespan of animals is a kalpa at the most. [3.83]
If you cannot bear to be restrained by mouth or nose or limb for
even an instant, what would it be like to assume the unfortunate body
of an animal? Aware of the possible carnage, you should strive in the
Dharma. In the Verses of Mindfulness of the Holy Dharma, we find:
W hen your actions of body, speech, and mind
become filled with wrongdoing, you will take birth as an animal.
Therefore do not do even the slightest wrong. [2.7]
Reflections
Suffering in the Higher Realms
/T s human beings, we like to imagine that we are civilized, but in

| C/jL shaping experience through passion and aggression, we leave
little room for the development and expression of higher qualities.
The hum an mind, like the mind of wild animals, all too often
lashes out, beating, choking, and attacking: ready to kill and be killed
for the sake of self-interest or passion. The three great poisons of
desire, hatred, and ignorance rule our realm, inflicting pain and end
less destruction on the whole of our species. In our drive to protect
ourselves and secure our identity, we pay little heed to whom or what
we hurt. Yet how can we fail to see that by acting in this way we build
up habits of mind, layer after layer, wall after wall, territory after ter
ritory? Believing ourselves to be constructing an impervious castle,
we assure our own downfall.
How is it that hum an beings can perform the terrible actions we

so often read about? How can people let themselves be so totally con
trolled by destructive emotions? We see how a mind filled with anger,
lust, greed, ignorance, or hatred impels people to do terrible things.
The mind can be ruthless and controlling, destructive and deceptive;
it can project and predict, create and destroy. The mind has been
likened to a wild elephant, such is its power.
What happens if we continue to let the mind have its way? The un
tam ed mind can manifest like a sam saric gangster, causing us to suf
fer anguish even greater and more intense than that caused by sheer
physical pain. At times, when it resists our control and exerts its will
over our better instincts, it can even appear to take on an existence
of its own. Yet with understanding and patience, the mind can be
tam ed and its power brought under control. We can learn to train the
m ind to govern itself in gentler, more satisfying ways. Why is it so dif
ficult to open this door to freedom and peace?
Bondage of Emotions and Desire
For innumerable lives our minds have been ruled by our emotions.
We are accustomed to letting emotions run free, and now, although
the time has come when it seems wise to control their direction, we
find that doing so is not easy. We may discover that emotions are the
only access we have had to happiness, our only contact with the fleet
ing pleasures of the past. Even though they have caused all m anner
of suffering for ourselves and others, emotions are integral to the
only pleasures we know.
Emotions have paced out our lives and driven us into the grip of
unending desires: Satisfying one desire inexorably creates a new one.
We experience the results of trends set in motion long ago and set in
m otion new chains of karmic consequences with only the vaguest
idea of what the end result will be. To hear that the only way to be
happy is to give up what we desire seems absurd, even frightening.
But until we do so, our emotions will continually draw us into mis
ery. We may accept the truth of this on one level; yet the patterns in
grained for innumerable lives are extremely difficult to break.
Intense emotional response binds the mind to experience with

hypnotic strength. Such intense emotionality becomes im printed on
our subconscious and shapes our experience like a powerful invisi
ble force. Even if the body disappears or the senses cease to function,
this force persists, ready to make new connections or awaken old
memories. In ordinary life we sense this happening in the way that
certain experiences leave residues that never wholly vanish.
Reflections: Suffering in the Higher Realms 167
Karmic patterns continue on and on, their effects resonating with

variable settings and circumstances. From time to time, through the
compassion of the enlightened ones, slight openings in the patterns
may appear in response to mantra and prayer. This is one reason why
offerings are traditionally made to beings in other realms: to invoke
the power of compassion and create the possibility of their release
from the torm ents specific to their environment.
Demigods: Realm of Jealousy and Striving

Gigantic in size, the demigods are nearly godlike in their power, but
they lack the superior merit that characterizes beings bom in the god
realms. Obsession with power and competition characterizes their
realm; envious of those who enjoy the bliss of the heavens, they are
perpetually at war with the gods. Fully occupied with obsessive desires,
driven by jealousy and rage, their minds allow them no peace or op
portunity for discernment. We see many such beings in our world.
God Realms of Pride
The realm of the gods springs from the mind intoxicated with cease
less pleasure. The gods have no occasion for frustration or pain: They
enjoy perfect health; their desires are satisfied as they arise. Although
they possess all that beings know how to wish for, they are still not
free from the influence of desire and its consequences. Experiencing
unbroken pleasure, they desire only to enjoy and perpetuate it; they
have no motivation to question their existence and awaken the aspi
ration for enlightenment. How many similar beings exist throughout
the world as we know it?
Awakening to
Suffering in the H igher Realms
r f ? ourth, reflect on the suffering of hum ans living in the higher

t f r states of being. Seeing the nature of suffering of the three
lower states, you may imagine that joy can be found in the higher
states, but this is incorrect.
The Human Realm of Desire
Eight sufferings pertain to mankind. The Sutra of Entering the

Womb explains:
There is the suffering of birth and the suffering of old age,

the suffering of sickness, and the suffering of death.
There is the suffering of being separated from what you hold dear
and the suffering of meeting with what you do not desire.
There is the suffering of not obtaining the things you want and also
the suffering of struggling to hold on to what you have obtained.
Concerning the suffering of being born: Although it is said that

birth can occur in four different ways, in general, hum an beings are
bom from the womb. Entering the womb is like being boiled and
cooked in a copper cauldron. When the embryo has been in the
womb for seven times seven days, the fetus begins to take shape: As
Awakening to Suffering in the Higher Realms 169
the feet and hands develop, the force of their development causes
pain similar to being beaten with a cudgel.
When the five sense faculties are developing, the pain is sim ilar to
sticking a finger into a fresh wound. Three other sufferings arise
without fail in the womb: the suffering of being crammed into such
close quarters, the suffering of its murky darkness, and the suffering
of being immersed in its foul odor.
When the m other is hungry, the embryo feels as if it were falling

into an abyss; when she is cold, it is like being pressed by a moun
tain. If she has eaten hot food, it is like being boiled in hot water; if
the food is cold, it is like being in a vault of ice. Such is the suffering
of being in the womb.
When the time comes to be bom , the suffering of the birth process
makes you feel as if you were being spun about on an iron wheel and
then drawn through a tiny hole like a piece of wire. Some die in the
womb, and in the case of others, both m other and child die together
at the time of birth.
Even if you do not die at birth, falling from the womb onto a hard
surface is like being turned out upon a bed of thorns. When you are
washed, it is like being skinned alive; when you are lifted to the
breast, it is as if you were a small bird being caught up by a sparrow-
hawk. Such is the boundless suffering of being bom . In Letter to a
Disciple, we find:
Crammed naked into a place that is stinking and unclean,

confined in a pitch-black hole, covered in darkness—
dwelling in the womb is like entering hell:
Reflect on the great suffering of the body so confined.
Then, in stages, as if squeezed by an oil-press,

we are bom. How can it be that having gone through all that
we would throw this life away? Yet intent on making trouble,
we do what makes us suffer. [19-20]
Old age also brings inconceivable suffering. In brief, there are said
to be ten forms of this suffering: You undergo complete changes in
your body, your hair, your skin, your healthy appearance, your energy,
your vitality, your virtue,8your health, and your mind. Finally, the end
of life draws near. It is said in The Voice of the Buddha:
Old age makes your attractive body ugly;

old age robs you of vitality and weakens your vigor.
old age robs you of happiness and generates suffering;
old age brings death; old age steals away your life force, [p. 261]
The suffering of illness, though inconceivable, can be spoken of in

seven ways: You are stricken by fierce pain; you m ust undergo diffi
cult treatments; you m ust rely on strong medications; you are
restricted from the food and drink you yearn for; you are forced to
trust in the physician; your resources are exhausted; you suffer
greatly due to the fear of death. The same text states:
Due to the suffering of being stricken with many hundreds

of illnesses, beings are torm ented and become like hungry ghosts.
The suffering of death is also immeasurable. We find in the

Instructions to the King:
Great King, here is how you are impaled on the stake

of the Lord of Death. You are separated from your provisions.
You are without refuge, without protector, without friend
or relatives. You are stricken by disease. Your m outh becomes dry,
your face changes, your hands and feet are unsteady, and you
become unable to rise. You sully your body with spittle, snot,
urine, and vomit. You groan out loud.
The physicians give up, and you sleep in your bed for the last time.
As you slip into the stream of transmigration, terrified,
you are confronted by the messengers of the Lord of Death.
Your breathing stops; your mouth and nose hang open.
As you leave this world and go to the world beyond,

you are weighed down by death; you enter into great darkness;
you fall into a great pit. Carried away as if by a great ocean,
you are driven by the winds of karma and travel to places
where there is no haven. Unable to distribute your wealth,
you cry out: "Mother! Father! O my children!”
At that time, Great King, there is nothing to rely on

except the Dharma; you have no other refuge,
no protector, no friends or relatives.
In addition, hum an beings suffer from being separated from all
that they cherish: When your parents or your children, who are as
dear to you as your own heart, die, you suffer greatlyl
You encounter all that you do not wish to: You meet with enemies
and thieves; those in higher positions oppress you; sickness falls
upon you; and so you suffer greatly!
You seek what you desire, but cannot find it: You dedicate your
whole life towards gaining wealth, power, and fame, but you do not
achieve your desired aims, and so you suffer greatly!
You have difficulty in guarding what you have: Enemies, thieves,

and many other dangers arise in proportion to what you have
acquired, and so you suffer greatly!
Regarding this, the Master Vasubandhu states:
All the sufferings of the lower states of being

appear to exist even for humankind.
The pain of suffering is similar to hell;
poverty is the world of the Lord of Death.
We know the suffering of the animals as well:

As if cursed, we become powerless,
overwhelmed by harm and oppression
that rage like a river.
Some have the karma of being poor,

others the karma of not knowing the way.
Amidst the inexhaustible suffering of constant searching,
all is contention and slaughter.
In The Four Hundred, it states:
For the exceptional, there is mental suffering;

for the ordinary, the suffering is physical.
These two sufferings make up the world:
Accordingly, each day they m ust be overcome.
The great lord Sakya Pandita has stated:
Accumulating virtue in this time of strife

is rare, even for one among hundreds.
When a filthy vessel is filled with water,
the taste of decay becomes all-pervasive.
It is rare for one with wealth

to retain any spiritual quality;
for one with children, great wealth is rare.
If you do have wealth, enemies gather:
For the m an who has everything,
many deaths quickly come.
In short, once you take upon yourself the five skandhas, due to
their contaminated nature, you will never pass beyond the nature of
suffering. As stated in the Treasury of Virtues:
Depending on form, feeling leads to knowing its nature.

Perception gives it continuity, while through karmic formations,
the seed proceeds to multiply, yielding the suffering of consciousness.
Through the experience of suffering, there is the appropriation
of these five skandhas: the vessel and basis of all the sources
of suffering. Having sought higher knowledge
of what dictates the cause and effect of this whole cycle,
seek to abandon the source—karma and the emotional afflictions.
Demigods: Realm of Jealousy
Fifth, reflect on the suffering of the demigods: By nature the dem i

gods are jealous of the glory of the gods and so continually undergo
great mental anguish. Time and time again, the demigods are bur
dened with the karma of fighting with the gods—and due to the
paucity of their virtue, they suffer greatly through being continually
slaughtered and beaten, even having their limbs cut off.
Generally, as the demigods are of the dark side, they take no

delight in the Dharma. Although a few are able to admire the teach
ings, due to the m aturation of their defilements, it is said they have
the misfortune of being able to realize only the path of seeing of
either Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha. In the Instructions from a

Spiritual Friend, we find:
Because the asuras by nature hate the glory of the gods,
they undergo great mental anguish.
Even those who are astute cannot see the truth,
due to the defilement of their being. [102]
God Realm of Pride
Sixth, reflect on the suffering of the gods: The gods of the desire
realm take for granted that their lives should be full of pleasure. They
have no idea that they are squandering their lives, yet this is the case.
Moreover, because the gods of the desire realm have only a little
power, their abodes are always being usurped by greater gods. Some
of the lesser gods have so little virtue that they are all but destitute,
their only possession being a battered stringed instrument. Seeing
the wealth of others, they grow discontented with their own merit,
and so suffer. They also suffer when they are wounded during bat
tles with the demigods—for many such battles are fought by the gods
in the realm of the Four Great Kings and those in the Heaven of the
Thirty-Three.
The gods of the Desire Realm all eventually undergo the incon
ceivable suffering of falling from their high state of being. Seven days
before the gods are to die, five omens of impending death appear:
Their bodies become unsightly, their seats become uncomfortable,
their decorative flower-garlands become old and faded, their clothes
begin to smell, and perspiration pours from their armpits.
When these five omens occur, the gods are abandoned by their ser
vants and their friends, who proceed to attend upon other gods.
Though these unfortunate gods are still strongly attached to their
heavenly possessions and comforts, they are now powerless and-
know they will lose them. They have no way to reverse the process.
They undergo misery similar to a fish tossed upon hot sand, or a baby
camel lost in the desert.
The length of these seven days for the gods is shortest for those in
the region of the Four Great Kings, but as this is three hundred and
fifty hum an years, it is a heavy load to bear. For such gods to take
birth again in the god realm is very difficult. And should they take
birth as a hum an being, their life will be very short. In general, m ost
gods will go to the lower realms, and due to their foreknowledge of
this, they undergo great suffering. The same text states:
Those in the higher states who experience great bliss

will at length undergo the great suffering of rebirth.
Having considered that, those who are astute
do not exhaust their karma for birth in the high realms.
For the gods, the color of their body will become unpleasant,
their seats become uncomfortable, their flower garlands fade;
their garments will begin to smell, and perspiration—not there
before—will trickle forth.
These five signs, which inform of death in the heavens,

come to the gods who dwell in heaven realms,
m uch like the signs that portend death
for hum ankind upon the earth.
Those who pass from the world of the gods

who have nothing of virtue left
will enter helplessly into the state
of an animal, hungry ghost, or hell-being. [98-101]
In the Sutra of Mindfulness, we find:
To fall from the state of the gods produces great suffering:

Now comes the unbearable passage
through the sixteen hells.
For the gods of the form and formless realms such suffering does
not manifest. Yet because they have not escaped from the karmic for
m ations and their attendant misery, they are not safe, even though
they abide at length in joyful states such as found in the Samadhi of
One Experience. Just as when you shoot an arrow into the sky it will
inevitably fall to earth, so these gods will not pass from suffering
until they have exhausted all contaminated karma. Active karmic for
mations will eventually make their influence known. Concerning this
the Arya Vasubandhu has stated:
Those in the form and formless realms

who have passed beyond the suffering of suffering
and mastered the bliss of samadhi
may abide there unwavering for an eon.
Yet, as they are not truly free, they will fall again.
Though it seems they have escaped
the waves of suffering of the lower states
by abiding at length in bliss,
they are like the garuda, or like an arrow
shot with the strength of a child—
in the end, they fall.
Like a butter lamp that has burned too long
and flickers each instant,
the gods are undermined by the suffering
known as the changing activity of the karmic formations.
In the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend, we find:
Though you obtain the bliss and pleasures of the heaven realms,
and even the bliss of Brahma, free from attachment,
you will once more become fuel for the fires of the Avici Hell.
Know then that you will have unending suffering. [74]
How Suffering Enslaves the Heart

Once you are bora in any of the six realms, whether high or low, you
clearly have not passed beyond the nature of suffering. A Sutra states:
Hell beings are destroyed by the fires of hell;
hungry ghosts are destroyed by hunger and thirst;
animals are destroyed by devouring one another;
humans are destroyed by their short lives;
gods are destroyed by their heedlessness.
In all sam sara there cannot be found as much true joy
as could exist on the point of a needle.
M aitreyanatha states:
Like a filthy latrine, the five states have nothing pleasant about
them. The endless suffering they produce is like that inflicted by
fire, swords, or corrosive acid.
And again, Padam pa has stated:
O people of Dingri, if you are not mindful of the wretchedness of

samsara, your heart will break, and your life will know no laughter.
The great Terma Master Chogyi Gyalpo has stated:
In the boundless ocean of existence, the mighty waves

of the suffering of karma toss you about.
Take only one step into this ocean,
and it is difficult to free yourself.
The way out is to keep this thought in mind!
Such purity was manifested by Geshe Lang Tangpa. His atten

dants at Okol asked him why he was called Langri Tangpa of the
Somber Face. “Reflect on the suffering of the three realms of sam
sara, and your face too will become grey!” he replied.
Clearly, you m ust strive right now to gain the means for escaping
sam saric birth. Thus, Entering the Bodhisattva Path states:
Having obtained such freedom,

if I did not accustom myself to virtue,
there could be no greater self-deception;
there could be no greater foolishness.
Having realized this,

if I were foolishly to put off practice,
w hen the time of death arrives
great misery will spring forth.
If my body is to burn at length

in the unbearable fires of hell,
inevitably my mind will suffer the burning fire
of unbearable remorse. [4.23-25]
If you wish to free yourself with certainty from such suffering, it

is not enough just to concentrate on putting an end to wrongdoing.
You may cut off the branches of a tree, but if the roots are not
destroyed, it will grow again. Similarly, you m ust rid yourself com
pletely of both the emotional afflictions and self-grasping. Concerning
wrongdoing, it is said further in the Treatise on Logic:
Awakening to Suffering in the Higher Realms
If the self exists, then we know 'other'.

From identifying self and other,
grasping and hatred arise. Connecting to these
is the source of all wrongdoing.
The Crown of Sutras states:
The destructive emotions overwhelm everything:
They overwhelm you and all sentient beings;
they overwhelm moral practice.
You become debased through their influence.
Chastised by the teachers who would guard you,
you grow argumentative and abusive and are thus reborn
in a place with no ease or opportunity.
Yearning to obtain some things and not obtain others,
what you obtain is great mental suffering. [18.25]
Again, it is said in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Your enemies—desire and hatred—
have neither hands nor feet
and are neither heroic nor wise.
How can you let them enslave you?
While abiding in your mind
they exult in harming you,
but you put up with them and do not even show them anger.
This is no occasion for patience; it is simply disgraceful.
Even if all the gods and the asuras
were to become your enemies and rise up against you,
they could not carry you off
or cast you into the fires of Avici Hell.
But should you meet with the afflictions,
these enemies have the strength
to transport you in a single instant to a place
where even Mt. Meru would turn to ashes.
These enemies, the destructive emotions,
persist so long it is as if they had
no beginning and no end.
Your other enemies could not possibly endure so long.
Were you to serve harmony,

you would bring happiness and benefit to all.
B ut when you consistently serve your emotions,
they bring only suffering and harm.
They become constant and perpetual enemies:
the sole cause for the increase of all kinds of harm.
If in your heart you have prepared for them a home,
how can you ever be joyful and fearless in the world?
Guards of the prison that is samsara,
they become the butchers and killers in the hells.
If they dwell in your mind, weaving the net of attachment,
how can you ever find happiness in this world? [4.28-35]
The Urgent Need for Self-Mastery
The only way to escape from this prison of sam sara is to meditate on
selflessness and strive with fierce effort to develop the antidotes. The
sam e text, Entering the Bodhisattva Path, goes on:
Truly, until you have decisively conquered your foes,
even the slightest harm done to you makes you angry.
Never stop striving to conquer yourself:
Those who are full of pride do not sleep till they get revenge.
Combat the destructive emotions—that lead to great suffering
after death—as if you were on a battlefield where the desire
for victory is so intense that the pain of being struck by spear
and arrow is ignored, and you do not try to escape or turn away.
Thus will I strive to conquer my natural enemy,
the source of all my constant pain.
As this enemy produces the hundreds
of sufferings that befall me,
how could I rest or hold back?
If the wounds inflicted by some random enemy
are so often seen as glorious ornaments,
why see my suffering as an obstacle
as I strive with all my might to achieve a great purpose? [4.36-39]
And again:
In the end, you may manage to expel your enemies
from your land in a seemingly decisive way;
but they will seize another land,
and, having built up their power again, they will return.
This other enemy—the destructive emotions—is different.
When the emotions are dispelled by the eye of wisdom,
where can they go? Banished from your mind,
from where can they return to harm you?
Yet due to my weak mind, I still do not make effort.
The destructive emotions do not exist in objects
or in the organs of the senses; nor do they exist in between the two.
Since they can exist in no other way, where do they exist,
and how can they harm beings? As they are like an illusion,
I will expel fear from my heart and depend on effort
to strengthen knowledge. How insane to allow the emotions
to create the horrors of the hells! [4.45-47]
Therefore, quickly, encourage yourself to make effort. The Instruc
tions from a Spiritual Friend states:
If suddenly your hair or clothing caught on fire,
you would give everything to put these fires out.
Just so, you m ust strive for freedom from existence!
There is nothing else you require more.
By means of moral practice, meditation, and wisdom,
seek the disciplined peace of nirvana: the undefiled
state, free from old age and death, imperishable,
not bound to earth or water, fire or wind, sun or moon. [104-5]
The Great One of Oddiyana has stated:
Our efforts to accomplish worldly aims are never-ending,
but when working for the Dharma, we find ways to finish quickly.
Yet while the fine things of the world decay in the end,
the fruit of sacred Dharma action never decays.
From beginningless time, the residual patterns of karm a
and the klesas have constantly accumulated in our habits
and in our consciousness. Under their influence,

we wander in the illusory world unable to grasp
the urgency at stake in what is known as liberation.
At the time of death—far too late—we will remember:
Medicine cannot help once the head is severed.
Therefore, come to understand the suffering of samsara,
and truly ascend the path of peace.
Protecting all beings with love and compassion,
become accustomed to joining openness and compassion.
In summary, the All-Knowing Lama has said:
In short, within the city of sam sara of the three realms
you find the anguish of the thirty-eight types of suffering.
It is like dwelling in a pit of fire: There is no chance for happiness.
If you do not cross over the ocean of existence now, in this lifetime,
w hat can you expect in times to come?
Therefore, with heartfelt distress,
seeing suffering as the very nature of samsara,
intent on gaining release for yourself and others,
from this day on, make decisive effort.
Whining and moaning, you cannot bear
even modest heat and cold,
or the hunger and thirst you encounter in your present life.
How then will you face the constant, fierce,
unbearable suffering of samsara's lower states of being?
Therefore, take up the Dharma with devoted fortitude!
With faith and modesty, constraint and knowledge,
with the great enlightenment m ind of love and compassion,
strive to cross the vast ocean of samsara!
Section Three
Escaping the J iet

Reflections
Importance of Taking Refuge
£T ^hrough intense contemplation on the nature of existence, the

JL Buddha recognized beyond all doubt that hum an beings could
put an end to the destruction, confusion, and suffering that charac
terize samsara. He embodied this knowledge in more than forty
years of teaching and dem onstrated to others how to attain the joy
of realization. Moved by great compassion, he left as a living legacy
a map th at thousands have followed out of the maze of samsaric suf
fering into the clear light of liberation. Since that time, whatever our
present difficulties, knowledge of the clarity and peace of our innate
enlightened nature has never been far from us. This knowledge may
be the Buddha's greatest gift to humanity: Though our minds may
now be troubled and unclear, their essence is pristine and pure.
The samsaric patterns that perpetuate suffering are so difficult to

break that, despite our best efforts to cope with them, some kind of
direction and help becomes increasingly necessary. When we turn to
this problem convinced that we m ust find an answer, we discover
that the Buddha has been very explicit in his response.
The Buddha prescribed effective medicine for the disease of sam

saric suffering and established a course of treatment. Like a doctor
who advises a patient on the right lifestyle for enjoying good physi
cal health and reversing past abuses, the Buddha shows us ways to
Reflections: Importance of Taking Refuge 183
halt our destructive patterns. He points out to us how we can cease

participating in the endless rounds of samsaric cycles and how to
create a healthier environment by following a certain path of action.
The medicine the Buddha prescribed is the Dharma, which has as

its primary purpose the conquest of suffering. While the Dharma
teachings present methods of practice appropriate to varied types of
individuals as they appear in different times, the truth of suffering is
central to all times and places. When this truth becomes clear, we
learn to implement this knowledge in our actions. For confirmation
of the effectiveness of the Buddha's teachings, we can look to the
Sangha, the lineage of enlightened masters who have carefully pre
served and passed on the cure for the frustration and pain of sam-
sara. Aware that the source of this knowledge and the ever-present
guide to its realization are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha,
we can turn to these Three Jewels with confidence and unbounded
gratitude. In taking refuge in the Three Jewels, we discover the foun
dation of all Dharma practice.
While the Buddha promised to show the way, he emphasized that

it is each individual's responsibility to follow the path to its end. We
ourselves must take tfie initiative; we cannot rely on others to
accomplish this for us. The Buddha taught: “I show you the way to
liberation, but to be liberated, you must depend upon yourself."
We can look for ourselves and confirm the truth of the B uddhas
insight by closely touching mind and senses until nothing stands
between us and our own being. We do not have to depend on second
hand descriptions or adopt a belief that what the Buddha taught is
true. Self-recognition becomes the realization of intrinsic enlight
ened mind, our constant companion and our shield against suffering
and confusion. Relying on knowledge of the essential nature of mind,
we free ourselves from entanglement in trouble and anxiety and
from the helplessness of cycles of hopes and fears: We directly en
gage the finest part of mind, its shining open clarity.
After all our struggle and searching, now is the time to make peace
with ourselves, with others, and with the world—the time to discover
a way of being that is free from all conditioning and limitation. As
soon as this journey has begun, we recognize its worth; the further
184 Escaping the Net
we progress, the more we know that there is nothing more valuable

we can do with our lives.
Although what we have been taught may help to guide our inquiry,
knowledge that comes through others ultimately has limited value.
Only the knowledge we discover for ourselves has the power to trans
form our way of being. We have a choice: We can remain as we are,
ultimately victims to whatever arises, or we can activate the trans
forming power of knowledge by taking responsibility for our lives,
conducting our own inquiry and challenging the patterns that limit
us. The key to success is a willingness to see our problems clearly and
honestly, resisting the urge to deny our deepest fears and insecuri
ties, and acknowledging the full implications of our insights.
It may seem contradictory to emphasize that no one can save us
except ourselves, while stressing the importance of relying on a guide
or spiritual teacher. Relying on a spiritual teacher does not m ean
that we become a weak or passive passenger; great strength and per
severance may be required, as is shown in the life of Milarepa and
other biographies of those who have attained enlightenment. A fol
lower of the Dharma is expected to examine teachings carefully and to
proceed wisely. The teacher merely provides guidance and the tools we
need to gain strength and confidence for the journey.
The Importance
of Taking Refuge
/ T n order to escape from the suffering of samsara, the first step is

fur to find a true refuge. Regarding this, the Sacred Victory Banner
of the Dharma states:
People who are terrified often take refuge
in forests or groves, in trees or temples.
But these give no real refuge.
Depending on these for refuge,
you will not escape from great suffering.
But those who have gone for refuge to the Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha and the four noble truths
will pass beyond suffering and the source of suffering.
Genuinely transcending suffering
by means of the noble eightfold path,
they will proceed to the bliss of nirvana.
With wisdom, you act with right view.
Such refuge is real; such refuge is supreme:
Depending on this refuge, you will be freed from all sorrow.
In The Celebrations of Manjusri, we find:
Your parents are no refuge, nor are your relatives and friends.
They will desert you and go as they please.
So take refuge today in the Buddha, the Dharma,

and the great assembly of the Sangha
who dispel the fear of the frightened
and give refuge to those with no protection.
Whoever goes to the Three Jewels for refuge,
be they gods, gandharvas, or humans,
will be freed from all fears
and gain happiness with ease.
The Great One of Oddiyana likewise stated:
The leaders of the world, however good they may be,
will deceive you, but the refuge
of the Three Jewels will never mislead.
Therefore, take refuge from the depth of your heart. Concentrate
strongly, and beseech the Buddha for help in the teachings, beseech
the Dharma for help in the practice, and beseech the Sangha for aid
in accomplishing the teachings. Concerning refuge, Atlsa stated:
Although you may have taken all the vows,
without going for refuge they are as nothing.
For the non-Buddhist, a vow is the foundation of everything;
for Buddhists, the foundation is going for refuge.
Before you have taken refuge, you are not considered a Buddhist.
Only when you formally take refuge do you enter the lineage of the
Buddha. With the vows resting on that foundation, you will never
again fall into lower states of being. The hardships of illness and
other obstacles will be alleviated. You will achieve all the good qual
ities associated with a long and useful life, and finally you will purify
the two obscurations and bring to perfection the accumulations of
m erit and wisdom. Thus the special qualities of taking refuge pro
vide immeasurable benefit for all who obtain them. The Master
Vimala has stated:
The practice of the Tlrthikas is wrong.
By coming to depend on the Three Jewels
and relying on non-arising, you will be free from obstacles.
Thus you will gain the benefits of merit and wisdom,
a pure and long life, and few illnesses.
— The Six Branches o f Refuge
The Importance of Taking Refuge 187
In the Sutra of the Heart of the Sun, we find:

Sentient beings who take refuge in the Buddha
can never be destroyed, even by hordes of demons.
Even should their moral practice grow lax
and their minds be in turmoil,
they will pass beyond into certain freedom.
In the Glorious Acts, we find:
Those who take refuge in the Buddha
will never go to lower states of being.
Even when they give up their hum an body,
they will be bom in the land of the gods.
And again, The Heap of Jewels states:
Whoever takes refuge in the Three
will perfect merit and wisdom,
will obtain the Dharma, be a part of the Sangha,
and become a Buddha.
To summarize, as is said in the Sutra of Purity:
If one were to give form to the merit of going for refuge,
it would completely fill all the space of the sky
and exceed even that.
Self-Reliance
Although refuge in the Buddha offers sanctuary and refuge in the
Dharma offers protection, the Buddha does not intervene to save
people in the same way that you might grab hold of the hair of some
one being carried away by a river. Refuge is found through taking up
actions that accord with the Dharma and with what the Dharma
indicates. The Buddha taught:
I show you the way to liberation,
but to be liberated, you m ust depend upon yourself.
The glorious Protector Nagaijuna stated:
Liberation comes from depending on yourself:
Being helped by others will have no effect.
Through hearing the teachings, through moral practice and

meditation, you must apply yourself to the Four Truths.
The highest moral practice, the highest wisdom, and

highest intention: Always practice these three.
Although more than one hundred and fifty types of training exist,
they are all subsumed within these three.
—Instructions from a Spiritual Friend, 52-53
After meditating on the importance of faith in the Buddha, you

m ust learn to act in harmony with the Buddha s teachings. Do what
you can to act like the holiest of the Sangha, emulating their enlight
ened actions and way of life. If you are going to attain the path of the
Great Vehicle, you must first free yourself from the objects of desire
and hatred by letting go of all thoughts of attachm ent to close
friends, to sexual objects, to desirable things, to improper livelihood,
and to harmful acts. Thus, in Entering the Bodhisattva Path, we find:
Im perm anent beings form strong attachm ent

to what is impermanent, though they will not see
their dear ones again for thousands of lifetimes.
If you do not see them, you are unhappy,

and cannot calm your mind.
But when you see them, you are not satisfied:
As before, you are tormented by craving.
When you are attached to sentient beings

you are completely in the dark with respect to what is real.
Though you may feel regret, you are racked with fear,
and in the end are tortured by misery.
By thinking only of those you love,

you pass your life senselessly.
Your loved ones, themselves impermanent,
will even try to destroy the indestructible Dharma.
If you act like such a fool,

you are certain to go to the lower states of being.
Why depend on the foolish beings
who, ill-fated, guide you there?
One minute someone is your friend,

the next moment they become your foe.
They grow angry at what should make them happy!
It is difficult indeed to please such ordinary beings.
When told something to benefit them, they are indignant

and then try to turn you from what is beneficial.
Enraged if you do not listen to their advice,
they are propelled to lower states of being.
Jealous of superiors, they feel rivalry towards equals;

they are arrogant to subordinates and feel proud when praised.
They become angry when anything unpleasant is said—
how can you benefit from such fools?
Through associating with the foolish,

corruption is sure to follow:
foolish praise of self and blame for others,
and chattering about the pleasures of samsara.
Involving yourself with others in this way

only brings about destruction.
They will never benefit you
and you will never bring benefit to them.
You should flee far from foolish beings,

but if you do encounter them, be sweet and respectful.
Do not socialize with them,
but generally treat them well.
Just as bees produce honey from flowers,

select only what benefits the practice of Dharma.
Stay apart from everyone else,
as though you had never seen them before. [8.5-16]
And further:
If even the Jina could not delight

all sentient beings, with their various dispositions,
how could someone as unworthy as I?
Therefore I should give up all thoughts of the world.
People despise those who have nothing,

but also speak ill of those who have wealth.
By nature, people are difficult to be around.
How can they ever bring about delight?
The Tathagatas have taught

that foolish people are nobody's friends—
unless fools get their own way,
they are never happy. [8.22-24]
How Disenchantment Arises
The All-Knowing Lama has stated:
Having generated the enlightened mind,

the essence of open-minded, caring,
we take up various trainings to cultivate impartiality,
yet we fail to take the time to delight in true service:
Reflecting upon samsara s degeneration,
our disenchantment quickly grows.
When we first see our teachers,

we regard them as greater even than gods;
later we see them as only hum an
and consider them just our friends.
Finally, we see them as enemies who inflict all sorts of harm:
Reflecting upon sam saras degeneration,
From the same text:
Though we extol the state of having few desires,

when poverty descends upon us, we become despondent.
What we praise to the face, we despise in secret:
We do not know enough to give ourselves good advice,

yet we give advice to others. When they make a mess of things,
we then blame them for failing and deny our own involvement:
Reflecting upon samsara's degeneration,

Though our Dharma friends have long given us assistance,

we take up with unscrupulous wretches,
disregarding their bad influence.
We ignore their harmfulness to present and future lives:
However beneficial our Dharma friends,

we insult and ridicule them behind their backs.
In our offerings, we are feeble and insincere:
Reflecting upon sam sara s degeneration,
When visitors make arrangements to go, we bind with sweet words;

when they decide to stay, we harshly turn them away.
Our words and actions do not agree; our disposition is erratic:
When it is time to stay, we think only of going;

when already gone, we say, ''How good it would have been to stay/'
Whatever we profess is vague and unreliable:
When others have somewhere to go, we detain them from departing;'

if they have counted on staying, we say, "I have so much to do/'
Though we feign delight, we always find some problem:
Having worked principally for the Dharma

and practiced the path of purity, knowing nothing of worldly
things, we say, "You are doing that wrong!"
When our agreement is only halfhearted,
we say we are in full accord:
If others are a little stingy, we say,

"How great their attachment!”
If they give something up, we proclaim,
"Surely they know it is worthless.”
Whatever happens, we say it is not working:
Even when we are careful to treat all equally,
through one false step, all falls apart.
We try to be fair, but our solutions solve nothing:
Even if we are im partial when judging two sides,
we are always vilified by the side we do not favor.
Yet accepting false censure does not help:
We do not think twice in rebuking ourselves,
but the censure of others we consider vindictive.
We never concede to complaints made in anger:
Finding little pleasure in our practice,
we set it aside for unwise actions that bring us pleasure.
Because we are careless, rumors abound,
and our reputation is smeared:
We do not consider our own faults, but bring up the faults of others.
After they leave, we talk behind their backs.
We refuse to listen to bad news, but we welcome sycophants:
Wherever we are, the atmosphere bristles with rumors;
we promote dissension and quarrels among the many.
Even when we dwell alone, we do not appease the anger within:

The same text continues:
Our nature rude, we are discourteous to friends:

How difficult to live together in such irritating circumstances!
Our conduct insensitive, we act without thinking:
Faithless, always in trouble, our company unpleasant,

we are insolent in every way, always rude and insulting.
Publicly and privately hostile, senselessly im pudent and surly:
In turmoil, despising others, occasioning the five poisons,

polluted with anger, resentment, and envy—
here, there, and everywhere, whatever we say is tinged with fury:
When learning, we fight those around us;

refusing to listen, we are snide and abrupt.
Indifferent to cause and effect, we lie
and take great joy in innuendo.
We boast about ourselves when meeting friends,
but we put down others:
When we explain to one, we make another unhappy;

when we give to one, the other feels cheated.
Though we are careful to be fair, we are accused of taking sides:
We do not get along even with our companions;

thinking of their faults, we have only complaints.
We see all as our adversaries and take no one as an ally:

The text continues:
Although we are well-intentioned and try to be helpful,

our efforts need constant care, like an old tem ples fireplace:
Though it burns through the day, in the evening it gives out:
Good advice we ignore, shrugging it off;

superficial sophistry we joyfully welcome.
We are far more grateful for gifts than for the sacred Dharma:
If all are seated in silence, we say, “Please give me advice!”

But when we get good advice, we hear it as a rebuke.
Heartfelt counseling we take as simple meanness:
When others try to be helpful, we say, “I prefer to do it myself.”

When they want to be alone, we say, “I need help in my training.”
Whatever we try to do, we vacillate between hope and fear:
our disenchantment quicldy grows.
When teachings are available, we say, “I want to meditate.”

When it is time to meditate, we say, “Ah, please teach me more!”
When the best teachings are given, we cannot concentrate:
And further:
We hold our kin more dear than the greatest Lama;

we choose immoral companions rather than spiritual friends.
We take to heart our belongings instead of the sacred Dharma:
We are not interested in the teachings we are given;

even when they are clearly explained, nothing gets through to us,
so we never get to the heart of the meaning:
Such are the evils of sam sara—
you may discuss them endlessly, but at no time does this end them.
They are like a wall of fire: There is no way to survive them.
The time has come to go alone into retreat.
However we protect our practice, we are unable to rejoice in it;
even if we teach, little benefit comes from it.
W hat good results from even patiently accepting this? Ha!
Having considered all this, we must go forth quickly!
Again:
This burden is too heavy to bear,
so let the hosts and guests of these bad times disperse.
Now is not the time to be of use to others:
Even with the best of intentions, it is difficult to help.
In a peaceful forest retreat, all alone,
the time has come to meditate on the very heart of existence.
Reflections
Breaking Addictive Patternings
reedom is widely accepted as a basic right, for all rational peo

ple acknowledge its value to hum an life. Liberty gives us the
opportunity to do what we want, to choose as we wish, to follow our
insights, and to realize our dreams. Yet in a society where success is
m easured by how m uch pleasure we are able to afford, freedom can
become a danger. To feel we have to act on our desires means being
driven by desires; to pursue happiness means that we are constantly
giving chase to elusive images of pleasure. Is this the highest goal we
can envision: endless pursuit of our ever-changing objects of desire?
When we give desire free rein, we give up the power to direct our
own lives. Always wanting, always grasping, we turn over our fate to
whatever part of ourselves can cry out with the greatest intensity.
Does this way of life really honor what is highest in our nature?
It is little wonder that addiction has become a major problem in

m odern society. We are all familiar with addictions to alcohol, ciga
rettes, cocaine, and the like, but how aware are we that addiction can
extend to all the objects of the senses: to sex, romantic love, wealth,
and also to various entertainments, to gambling, video games, and
sim ilar diversions? Even necessities such as food can fuel our ten
dencies toward addiction.
Reflections: Breaking Addictive Pattemings 197
Before we settle on desire as our lodestone for happiness, we

should question where the patterns of desire are likely to lead us.
What are the repercussions of acting on our wants and wishes? What
values do we ignore when we choose in this way? What truths about
our nature do we ignore? What are the consequences of allowing our
‘self total freedom?
In the West, people have found that to control various addictions,
it is useful to call on a power greater than the self. This approach
may help to keep addictions under control, but does it challenge their
source and basic patterns? Unless their foundations are destroyed,
won't addictions inevitably rise again in other forms to generate still
more frustration and pain?
Looking back over our lives, we may sense a quality of running
around in circles, like desperate animals that fling themselves from
wall to wall of a wire cage. Bound to repeating the same patterns of
behavior, choosing from the same array of thoughts, flavoring expe
rience with the same range of emotions, we have become locked into
an identity and a way of life that offer the comfort of familiarity, but
only at the cost of true freedom and the chance for lasting fulfillment
and happiness.
While Zhechen Gyaltsab's discussion on the evils of addiction to
sexuality, alcohol, and meat may seem to be extreme, he is pointing
out the inevitable pattern that occurs when we let the ‘self and its
obsession with pleasure overcome the mind. These passages, like all
Buddhist teachings, are m eant to help the spiritual seeker on the
path. Like medicine prescribed for an illness, they may no longer be
necessary once the mind is brought under control. But we should
always keep in mind what the great m aster Sántideva suggests to us
in his eloquent teaching, Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Since the objects of desire
are like honey smeared on a razor blade
and cannot ever bring true satisfaction,
why not gain satisfaction by the merit
of peaceful action that matures into joy? [7.64]
Breaking through
Addictive Patternings
jy*. eep in mind the message of these teachings. And especially

hold in mind the harmfulness of attachment to sexual objects.
Regarding this we find in the Sutra of Mindfulness:
In every respect destructive,
sexual objects are the root of lower states of being.
For men who desire women,
how can there be happiness?
And again:
Women lead to ruination;
they spoil both this and future lives.
If I desire to benefit myself,
I will indeed give up women.
Infatuated, resorting to go-betweens and confidantes,
we make desperate appeals to those we desire.
For their sake, we are insensible even
to great wrongdoing and disgrace.
For their sake, we do terrible things;
in hopes of sexual union we exhaust all of our wealth.
Breaking through Addictive Pattemings 199
But those who appear to offer such pleasure

are nothing but walking skeletons:
They are apart from us; cannot belong to us.
Why not part from obsession and attachm ent
and advance to nirvana? [8.41-43]
Remember that message, and take up the antidotes that counter
attachment to desirable objects. A Sutra states:
Bhiksus, turn your minds from desire! Such a path is frightful,
truly frightful. Full of thorns, such a path is dense and dark:
a terrible path; a harmful path.
Both in this world and in the next,
desires generate ruination and all disaster.
In this life they kill and bind and cut;
in the next, they land you in hell and other wretched places. [8.39]
The objects of the senses, akin to poison,
only give pleasure when first tasted.
bring unbearable pain when they mature.
shroud you in the darkness of ignorance.
are strong, difficult to reverse, and lead to derangement.
When you examine the objects of the senses closely
and compare them to poison,
clearly it is these objects, not the poison, that are most deadly.
Poison wreaks its havoc in one lifetime only,
but the objects of the senses turn into poison even in lives to come.
Poison can be neutralized by other poisons;
when purified by m antras it can also be used as medicine.
When skillfully handled, it can be beneficial for hum ankind—
but the real poison, the objects of the senses,
will never be of benefit. [74-76]
When wrong ways of life are followed, even antidotes to attach

m ent become part of wrong livelihood. Thus The Precious Garland
states:
The hypocrite controls his senses

for the sake of gain and esteem;
gain and esteem are also the goal
of the flatterer s sweet words.
The deceptive person praises the things of others

in order to obtain them.
The sycophant humbles himself to others
in order to gain their favor.
The profiteer praises what he has previously acquired

because he desires more profit. [413-15]
In the Questions of Sagara, we find:
The renunciate does not partake

of food or drink that is treacherous by nature:
like the liquid that goes down easily
but sears like fire.
The Lord of Dharma, Gampopa, emphasized this:
First comes sinful food: the meat you butcher;

second, barley beer to make you crazy;
third, young women to seduce you.
These three are demonic: poison for practitioners.
If you would practice Dharma, abstain from these three.
Adversities of Eating Meat
Of the evils of meat the Lankavatara Sutra states:
The Munis state that it is not good

to eat the flesh of animals.
There is nothing uplifting about it;
rather, it is an action to be condemned, [f.157]
And further:
Killing sentient beings for the sake of profit
and giving funds to obtain meat:
Both of these are wrong.
They cause loud cries of lamentation.
Whoever passes over the words of the Muni,
and with unwholesome m ind devours flesh
will ravage the two worlds.
Therefore the teaching of the Sakya
involves taking up ascetic practice.
The fiercest of the beings in hell,
and those with the worst of sinful karma,
nonetheless call out "Alas! It is not right!”
as their flesh is cooked and eaten.
Three forms of flesh are pure:
the unproduced, the unpolluted, and the undispatched.
As these do not exist, do not eat meat. [f. 157]
And again:
In the future, ignorant eaters of meat will say:
"There is no harm in eating meat.”
And yet the Buddha has taught it to be so.
Such food is similar to drugs,
and like the flesh of your own child.
It should not be partaken even in moderation;
instead, eat the food of the yogin. [f. 157]
And yet again:
When you eat meat, creatures are terrified: As that is so,
yogins, due to their compassionate minds, do not eat flesh.
To eat m eat is to lack compassion or wisdom;
it is to turn your back on liberation.
It is opposed to the noble sign of victory.
As this is so, it is terrible to eat meat.
The Buddha spoke extensively about the ills of eating meat. This
can be found as well in the 'Jam-dpal-gyi-lta-'dod-mdor-bstan:
To take a life to use as nourishment;

to pay another to kill a creature for food:
Both of these are killing.
The beasts cry out, and end up cooked.
Truly! How could there not be evil

in householders buying m eat for food?
How can you gain any merit
if you make creatures suffer?
Those who kill out of desire for wealth,

will be roasted for one hundred thousand kalpas.
Those who kill out of the wish to eat flesh
will themselves be cooked for ten million kalpas.
Whoever eats m eat will first become a hungry ghost,

and later will pass into the Hell of Moans.
And again:
The karma that comes from hundreds of animals being killed

to provide you with meat will cause you to be likewise killed:
Such meat has the weight of a hundred sins.
Again, Gyalsay Rinpoche has stated:
From beginningless time, all beings have been our kin,

and we have shed tears at their dying.
W hen these beings become beasts killed for food,
take care! Such food is not suitable to eat.
Adversities of Consuming Intoxicants
Consider also the unwholesomeness of drinking alcohol. It is said

the Sutra of Mindfulness:
When people depend on alcohol,

their whole existence is ripped to shreds.
As they grow increasingly shameless,
they lounge around on others' laps.
Their minds become muddled,
and they bring devastation to the two worlds:

Alcohol is a fire that consumes the practice of liberation.
The Buddha taught this extensively. In the Classification of Karma,
we find:
Through drinking and becoming intoxicated in this lifetime, you
will fall into the hell where one drinks molten copper.
And again, in the Questions of Siriiha, the Buddha states:
If you give alcohol to others, you will be bom armless
for five hundred lives.
Many other similar statements are found in the scriptures. Gyalsay
Rinpoche has said:
Great wrongdoing, noxious tales, and intoxicating liquids
are fires that b u m the medicinal tree
of hearing, thinking, and meditating.
They are insufferable demons that craze the memory.
Give up all intoxication and attain wisdom.
Adversities of Tobacco and Stimulants
Associated with these evils are the use of tobacco and sim ilar stim u
lants. In the Sutras you can find comparable statements concerning
roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits that can make you crazy.
There are also specific references to substances extracted from
stems, leaves, and fruit that cause intoxication. In the Gu-ru'i-gter-
lung we find:
At the end of this age, smells will be consumed:
People will partake of the plant that gives off a foul smell,
causing vomit-breath. Merely due to the sense of smell,
they will fall into the three lower states of being.
This has been taught repeatedly. Moreover, in the Compendium of
Abhidharma, it states:
Flagrant wrongdoing and the like, sins that arise from intent,
and impure substances are all like poisonous arrows in flight.
The clever fox brings down the great. This m ust be prevented.
Adversities of Attachment to Wealth
Regarding the harm that comes from attachm ent to wealth, we find
in the Instructions from a Spiritual Friend:
Lord, while those with many fine possessions suffer,

those with few desires do not.
Possessions call forth as many sufferings
as there are heads on a great naga. [35]
And again, the All-Knowing Lama has stated:
We suffer from trying to protect what we have.

Should we manage to protect it, we struggle to profit from it.
At the end of our lives, it threatens our next life.
The evils of wealth are immeasurable.
All our possessions truly make us possessed:

They amplify dissension, desire, and greed.
We fall from the Dharma; the emotions of desire and hatred arise.
Possessions and possessed: They mean the same.
A little wealth makes us puff up with pride;

if it shrinks a bit, we grow dismayed and forlorn.
Since wealth goes counter to the Dharma, the holy ones curse it:
It possesses all the ills th at bind us to samsara.
The text goes on:
Due to property, profit, and profiteering, we wander in samsara;

full of desire due to indulging in attachments,
we take birth as demons. Due to senseless acquiring,
we procure endless possessions: Many wrongs come
from these evils—a wealth of corruption.
Despised by the holy, we abide heedless

and without the teachings;
we abandon the path of liberation,
and our lives revolve around impulse and excitement.
Weakened by m uch anguish, we do not cut off the stream.
Think then of the nature of the ills and suffering wealth brings.
If we lack the sense to be content, we will gain

a wealth of illusions that we must later get rid of.
We say, "Is this all?" Yet have no time for what we have.
Reflect on all the ills of wealth that increase desire and attachment!
Distracted by wealth, we ignore the advice of the sagacious;

attached to wealth, we lose the principles of the wise.
Taking joy in wealth, we despise the holy Dharma of goodness.
Such are the many wrongs of wealth, so act wisely!
Adversities of Attachment to Desire
Similarly, there is great harm in attachm ent to the objects of desire.

It is said in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Those controlled by desire

have many difficulties and gain but little:
They are like beasts of burden, drawing carts,
snatching at bits of grass as they go.
For the sake of gain so small

that even the beasts can achieve it,
we let ill-fated actions overcome
our glorious freedom, so difficult to find.
Desire leads to certain destruction

and to falling into the hells.
For the sake of what has but little value,
we are constantly overwhelmed by anxiety.
Full of desire, we suffer more than from doing the deeds

of enlightenment—but no enlightenment results!
For a fraction of the trouble we undergo in samsara,
we could quickly become a Buddha.
Contemplate the suffering of hell for those with desires:

Not the torm ent of weapons, poisons, or fire,
not falling from a cliff or falling victim to your enemies
can compare [8.80-84]
Healing the Wounds of Hatred

Finally, give up feelings of hatred towards your enemies. If you do
not subdue feelings of hatred, whether you are able to overcome
other enemies is immaterial:
Sentient beings are as untam able as the sky:
Trying to subdue them does not help.
Yet conquering just one thing—this mind of anger—
is as if you conquered all your foes.
Where could you find enough leather
to cover all of the earth?
But you can cover all the earth
with the leather of the soles of your shoes:
It is the same.
Though you cannot change others,
if you can transform your mind,
why would you want
to try to change another's?
—Entering the Bodhisattva Path, 5.12-14
Carefully study all the teachings from the scriptures on the bene
fits of patience, the harmfulness of anger, and the ways to meditate
on these subjects.
Reflections
The Beauty of Solitude
T JP ^h erev er we are right now is the right place to practice the

V V Dharma. But this does not mean that all places and all cir
cumstances are equally suited to study and practice. When we begin
to focus seriously on the Dharma, obstacles and opposition may
come from every direction. Friends and family may become upset
when we no longer offer full-hearted support for samsaric concerns
and preoccupations. The messages of the media, which thrives on
emotionality and excitement, confuse us with distractions. Before
we have completely freed ourselves of samsaric patterns, we cannot
easily resist such influences: They trick us, hypnotize us, and weaken
confidence and resolve.
While breaking away from worldly distractions is not necessary

for everyone, most people find it difficult to control the senses while
they are living a householder s life. Worldly responsibilities call out
for attention; family and friends have needs and desires that are
nearly impossible to ignore. Involvement in their concerns makes it
difficult to treat everyone impartially. Thus, those truly intent on en
lightenment often choose a life of solitude.
It may seem that a life of solitude is contradictory to the path of

the Bodhisattva where the sole aim is to help all beings. And yet, until
we learn to control our minds, how can we be of real help to anyone,
even ourselves? A life of solitude, which involves giving up attach

m ent to friends and family, may seem extreme. But our surround
ings have a powerful influence on the way we experience the world.
When those around us experience constant mental aggravation and
anguish, our own spirit will be deeply affected. Turning the mind
toward Dharma while everyone near you is chasing after his or her
own gods and demons is like lighting a candle in a dark and windy
cave: The light that guides you is easily extinguished.
Living in solitude is an effective way to m aintain your focus and

protect your practice. Thus we find in the text:
Now is not the time to be of use to others:

Even with the best of intentions, it is difficult to help.
In a peaceful forest retreat, all alone,
the time has come to meditate on the very heart of existence.
Later, when you have exercised and developed Bodhicitta, and can
stay undisturbed amidst even the strongest agitation, you can be of
greater use to others. But until you can be fully self-sufficient, it is
best to keep in mind that life is short, and there are many obstacles
to practice.
How many of us, however, feel ready for a solitary life? Zhechen
Gyaltsab clearly addresses this concern: “Perhaps you feel unable to
live the life of a renunciate or feel you do not have the patience for it.
Or perhaps you see the difficulties involved in such a life as being un
necessary or not in accord with the Dharma. This would be fine if your
desires did not create obstacles for you, or if they assisted in the
increase of virtue, or even if your diversions brought you satisfaction.”
We can think of m any reasons why a life of solitude would not

work for us; we are constantly bom barded with messages and inner
voices that tell us there is nothing we can do to change our lives in a
fundamental way. Since these thoughts create obstacles to most
Dharma practitioners, Sántideva addresses many of them in E nter
ing the Bodhisattva Path:
Do not be despondent, thinking:

“How could I become enlightened?”
Reflections: The Beauty of Solitude 209
Those who always declare the truth, the Tathagatas,
have spoken this truth:
Creatures such as bees and flies—
even beings such as worms—
will all obtain unexcelled enlightenment, so hard to obtain,
if they generate the strength of effort.
For one such as I, bom in the hum an race,
having come to know what will benefit and what will harm,
if I continually practice the actions conducive to Awakening,
how can I not obtain enlightenment? [7.17-19]
In the past, in many Eastern countries, the Dharma truly pervaded
experience, and there was felt to be no greater joy than living and
practicing in solitude. Withdrawing into retreat centers, m onaster
ies, caves, jungles, or wilderness, spiritual seekers lived the path of
truth. There were no doubts and hesitations, no m istm st or skepti
cism. Practitioners accepted the compassion of the lineage holders
as part of their daily experience and invited the wisdom of the
Buddha to shape their lives. Guided and inspired by devotion, they
experienced blessings that brought within reach the most extraordi
nary realizations.
Appreciating
the Beauty of Solitude
ive up everything that evokes a response of desire or hatred. In

G whatever way you are able, depend on a place of solitude:
Having become disillusioned with desire,

take joy in solitude in a peaceful forest free
from strife and emotional distractions.
There the fortunate ones roam,

reflecting on ways to benefit others:
fanned by forest breezes scented w ith sandalwood,
under the cooling rays of the moon, peaceful, silent,
with joyful thoughts, at home in the shade of the flat-sided rocks.
They stay wherever they wish: in empty huts,

at the foot of trees, or in caves.
Having rejected the grief of guarding possessions,
they act calmly and without distraction.
Independent and unattached,

they enjoy the contentm ent that comes
with total nonattachment:
pleasure difficult for even Indra to obtain.
Appreciating the Beauty of Solitude 211
And further:
As the world is so filled with suffering,

long before my coffin
is hoisted by four pallbearers,
I should enter the forest.
Without confidantes, without rivals,

dwelling alone in retreat,
already counted among the dead,
what misery can there be in dying?
Even those who would linger in my presence

cannot disturb me with their grief;
nor can they distract me from
mindfulness of the Buddha.
Therefore I shall dwell alone,

joyfully, with few difficulties,
and shall calm all distractions
in the forest groves.
Reflect upon the wisdom of staying in a place of solitude, and con

sider what is said in The Cloud of Jewels:
Your dwelling place should be in a land

where you can live on alms, where nothing you need
is too far away and nothing superfluous too close by.
The water should be clear, pure, unsullied, and sweet-smelling,
and there should be few things to disturb you.
Fine trees, fine fruit and flowers and foliage should surround you;
there should be no dangerous wild beasts to disturb you,
and you should have access to a valley full of medicinal herbs.
It should be a peaceful place, with no loud and distracting noises,
a place where you can abide in nonduality,
with the four joys of the mendicant.
The Crown of Sutras states:
The place where you can gain wisdom

is a place well provided for, a goodly place,
with good land and good neighbors:

a place with all the qualities to delight the yogin.
You should choose an isolated spot to live in, but also a place where
food is easily obtained; it should be a pleasant place, with no thieves
or robbers anywhere close by. It should be a healthy and vital place,
free from bad water or land or any other unhealthy conditions. You
should have good companions who follow the Dharma and whose
views and conduct are in sympathy with your own. Such a place has
the qualities that delight yogins, for during the day there are no gath
erings to distract you, and at night there are no disturbing sounds.
The Buddha taught that you should stay in such a place, for it will
remain agreeable whether or not you have companions. Since such
a place is without distractions, it encourages the development of
virtue. Many wonderful qualities exist in a place of solitude. The
Lantern of the Moon Sutra states:
After becoming a monk, how should you practice the Dharma?
Not by honoring the Jina, the Leader of Humanity,
with food and drink and robes,
flowers and incense and rosaries.
The real practice is when desire for enlightenment and
despair at the evils of conditioned existence
lead you to take just seven steps in the direction of a hermitage
for the sake of benefiting sentient beings.
By acting thus, you gain special merit.
The same text states:
Those who have given up all harmful things
to practice yoga always act carefully.
They make special efforts and are never contentious.
Those who abide in a place of retreat have such qualities.
They have unwavering distaste for conditioned existence
and no desire at all for worldly things:
Their imperfections never increase.
Those who abide thus in a forest have such qualities.
Never argumentative, joyful, and ever peaceful,
they enter into solitude. Their body, speech, and mind
are likewise restrained. Such are the many qualities

of those who stay in retreat.
It is also stated in The Heap of Jewels:
The previous Buddha, Protector of the World,
passed into nirvana in a forest retreat.
In a forest retreat, completely apart,
he obtained unexcelled enlightenment.
Very quickly, while abiding in retreat,
he abandoned all craving for the things that evoke desire.
He came to understand the nature of wrongdoing,
and his understanding brought him realization.
Those who readily abandon the householder s life
to stay in a place of retreat
are those who see with genuine wisdom:
They follow the way of all the Buddhas.
Those who persevere for the sake of enlightenment
and depend on solitude
take joy in staying in isolated retreats;
they find no delight in the householders life.
Such are the deeds and range of action
of the pure Buddhas.
Those who enter this path
have no difficulty obtaining enlightenment.
You can learn more about these immeasurable qualities from the
Sutras and from the meditation writings of the Master Vimala.
Efforts to Practice Virtue
Moreover, even in a place of solitude, you must make firm efforts to

practice virtue. In the Sutra Requested by the Householder Ugra, the
Buddha states:
O m aster of the house, Bodhisattvas, having renounced the world,
dwell in remote retreats. Why is this so? Some dwellers in remote
retreats are not pure in virtue, do not become purified,
do not learn, are not peaceful, are not subdued, and do not
make effort. However, these are people who choose remote places
that harbor wild animals, monkeys, raucous birds, robbers,
and savages: retreats not endowed with the qualities necessary
for virtuous endeavor. Remote retreats m ust be places where
you can accomplish completely the purpose of virtuous endeavor,
places where you can examine your thoughts.
The text goes on to explain that you should begin by reflecting

upon the reason for choosing a life of solitude: to escape from the
dangers and horrors of places of distraction such as towns and cities.
W hat is there to be afraid of in such places? Turmoil, possessions,
praise, unprincipled friends, immoral associates, emotionality, the
four demons (the emotions, the aggregates, death, and divine de
lights) the three lower realms, and the like. The wise live in fear and
terror of all such things.
Now, when in retreat, you should examine and reflect upon how
best to act with body, speech, and mind. If, through lack of care, you
become involved in non-virtuous action through body, speech, or
mind, reflect: "Alas, what difference is there between me and the
beasts that live in the jungle, between me and the vultures and wild
animals! To achieve the result I seek in relying on solitude, I must re
verse this; I m ust strive for virtue.”
Moreover, as stated in The Mound of Jewels:
When abiding in retreat, you should develop your motivation

like this: "I have come here from far away, singly and alone:
I have done well, for I have not a single friend to tem pt me
to harm ful actions. But gods, nagas and yaksas, gandharvas,
and the victorious Buddhas know my mind. When staying
in solitude, if I become tempted by the m ind of non-virtue,
they will be witnesses."
And further:
"As this is so, may the gods have no reason to chastise me,
and may even the victorious Buddhas rejoice.”
This is how to develop motivation.
In reflecting upon what you should be doing while on retreat, keep

such teachings in mind. Padmasambhava, the Great One of Oddi-
yana, gave the noble king Trisong Detsen this teaching in the Advice
to King Trisong:
Many have entered the door of the Dharma who do not act
in accord with Dharma practice. Take care not to do likewise!
Should you become a monk, if you maintain yourself
like a householder and have the same sorts of possessions,
you are not a follower of the Dharma. Though you have given up
non-religious action, if you do not abandon vulgar and uncouth
talk, you are not a follower of the Dharma. Though you stay
in a remote retreat, if your actions are those of a worldly person,
you are not a follower of the Dharma. Though you give up
your own land, if you do not abandon your worldly connections,
you are not a follower of the Dharma.
Though you persevere in practice, if you do not turn your mind
from desire, you are not a follower of the Dharma.
Though you do various ascetic practices, if you lose patience
when harm ed by others, you are not a follower of the Dharma.
Though you cultivate the development and completion stages
of meditation, if you do not guard your sacred pledges,
your samaya, you are not a follower of the Dharma.
Though your meditation is non-dualistic, if you hope
for help from the gods or fear evil forces,
Though you have entered the Great Vehicle, if you do not act
to benefit sentient beings, you are not a follower of the Dharma.
Though your actions benefit sentient beings, if you do not avail
yourself of the mind of enlightenment to free yourself
from the last vestiges of hatred and desire, you are not
a follower of the Dharma. Though you have understood
the view, if you scorn the m aturation of karma,
Though you understand the stages of the Nine Vehicles,
if you do not integrate the Dharma so that it becomes part
of your nature, you are not a follower of the Dharma.
Though you always meditate one-pointedly, if you do not destroy
the dualistic idea that appearances are real,

Though you follow the three trainings of moral practice,
meditation, and wisdom, if they are generated through
a self-centered focus, you are not a follower of the Dharma.
Though you engage in spiritual activities, if you do not embrace
the preliminary practices, the actual practice of compassion,
and the practices for after meditation, you are not a follower
of the Dharma. Though your speech and conduct are essentially
good, if you slip into a mental state of emotionality,
If you put off practicing the Dharma, hoping
that your aspirations for future attainm ent are enough,
you are not a follower of the Dharma. If you put off
gaining familiarity with your own mind in expectation
of attainm ent in a future lifetime, you are not a follower
of the Dharma. Though you have established the root of virtue
in your actions, if you have not renounced the eight worldly
concerns, you are not a follower of the Dharma.
O Sovereign King! These are the eight worldly concerns:
Taking pleasure in being praised or displeasure at being blamed;
taking pleasure in fame or displeasure in disgrace; taking pleasure
in being respected or displeasure at being disparaged;
taking pleasure in gain or displeasure in loss.9
With these in mind, look at your past virtuous acts of body,
speech, and mind. See if these eight exist in your present actions,
and whether or not they are part of your future plans.
If you detach yourself from these dharmas, O Great King,
and if you follow me, Padma, whatever you engage in
will be the correct path for quickly obtaining
the supreme enlightenment of a Buddha.
Observe these precepts! May your actions be imbued
with profound and vast purpose! May your actions
be consistent with all the teachings of the perfect Buddha!
May your actions be perfected as you progressively establish
the meaning of the Nine Vehicles in the consciousness
of one person! May you act in the way of wisdom,
not accepting as real any activity or its performance!

May you act according to the unified nature
of every aspect of sam sara and nirvana
being the concentrated sphere of the Dharmakaya.
May you practice only in accord with these, my precepts.
Then, without a doubt, you will achieve the fruit of enlightenment.
The Cloud of Jewels states:
Then, sitting quietly, concentrate on what you have previously
studied and what you have learned, with your concentration
neither too tight nor too loose. Do this three times during the day
and three times during the night, neither constraining the senses
too greatly, nor letting the mind wander. With inner stability
and balance, keeping your focus, do not fall asleep, but rather,
review and recite the teachings.
In the Compendium of Training, we find:
Then you should abide in a forest,
striving for a state of balance
and meditating on mental and physical contamination.
This theme is emphasized in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
In such ways, having contemplated
the ideal qualities of solitude,
you should quiet your thoughts
and meditate on Bodhicitta. [8.89]
Reflections
Generating Courageous Effort
ffort is necessary for enlightenment. These days we may hear

£ claims that enlightenment comes easily, that we can wake up
almost instantly. This might be true if we had already broken the
karmic chains and penetrated the negative mental patterns that bind
us to samsara, but for most of us, that is not the case. However
tem pted we may be by offers of effortless salvation, when we look
more closely, we can see that we pay a high price for easy answers
and quick remedies. It is always good to remember the lines from the
m aster Santideva's Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Enlightenment abides in effort:

Just as without movement there is no wind,
virtue does not appear without effort. [7.1]
As long as we insist on our self-identity and the importance of

guiding our lives in accord with emotions and desires, we will have
to work with tireless resolve. Although anyone is likely to feel dis
couraged at times by the need for constant vigilance against sam-
sara's subversions, one factor operates strongly in our favor: The real
source of samsara's power is our own lack of knowledge. If we ded
icate ourselves to understanding ourselves and our world, penetrat
ing the structures of samsara even when we are tempted to turn
away, we will gradually loosen samsara's hold.
Reflections: Generating Courageous Effort 219
The traditional way to practice is to live in solitude, content with

little, striving to root out attachm ent and emotionality and psycho
logical dependence on others. Although it may seem difficult to bal
ance this way of life with the natural wish for love and friendship, we
might well consider how m uch of our interaction with others is
based on ego-gratification and interlocking dependence. Even when
we can trust the feelings of love and support that we share with fam
ily and friends, what kind of influence do they have on our lives?
Relationships take up precious time and energy, leaving little time
for practice. Our families and loved ones may try to persuade us to
accept the priorities of a worldly life: career, marriage, starting a
family. We may follow their advice and in doing so, fall back into the
samsaric pattern of emotionality and suffering. Because we try to
keep in mind the goals of the Dharma, we may even convince our
selves that we remain serious Dharma students when in fact we have
slipped back into a self-centered pattern of life.
In giving up a worldly way of life, just what is being given up? We
all have our own small pleasures, our own ways of entertaining our
selves. But having tasted the joy of great compassion, the Bodhi-
sattvas know how limited these worldly kinds of enjoyment really are.
As our practice gives us inner strength, the ties of love and friendship
that we develop with all other beings become deeply im portant in
cultivating Bodhicitta. Ultimately, the pleasure of helping others on
the path to enlightenment transcends by far any samsaric delight.
The clear vision and broad perspective that evolve naturally on the
Path of Heroes give the Bodhisattva insight into samsara's boundless
nature: how beings are deluded at the deepest level and are always
devising new ways to trap themselves. The growing understanding of
this tendency towards delusion encourages the Bodhisattva to prac
tice with ever greater intensity. Because samsara does not end, the
activity of the Bodhisattva cannot end. Unending willingness becomes
a source of unending strength; unending application becomes the
greatest joy.
Generating
Courageous Effort
C? ffort is essential if your practice is to be effective. However dif-

ficult making this effort may seem, you cannot proceed on the
path without it:
By means of patience such as this, activate effort,

for enlightenment abides in effort.
w ithout effort, virtue does not arise.
What is effort? It is delight in virtue.
And again we find:
The forces that counter effort, as has been explained,

are the various elements of laziness:
attraction to disharmony,
idleness, and self-deprecation.
From the pleasure gained from lassitude,

from attachm ent to the comfort of sleep,
from not having misgivings toward the suffering of samsara,
laziness is born. [7.2-3]
Generating Courageous Effort 221
If you are attracted to idleness, strive for the fortitude to abandon

laziness: Contemplate the difficulty of ever again finding the freedom
and good fortune you have now obtained. In the same text we find:
Relying upon the boat of a hum an form,

you can cross over the great river of suffering.
Later, this boat will be hard to find:
Do not fall asleep now, you fool! [7.14]
Abandoning Procrastination
As for fantasizing that you will perform virtuous actions at a later

time, it is said in a Sutra:
Who knows—you may die tomorrow!

This very day is favorable to practice.
The Lord of Death is eager to claim new conquests,
and he is no friend of yours.
Again, the m aster Ngawang Dragpa has stated:
Once more we will do this . . . and again tomorrow,

and then, based on that, do this yet again: Such is existence.
Though we seek a firm mind, our nature is erratic;
our actions senseless and ignorant.
At the time of death, we enter the gaping mouth
of the Lord of Death as if traveling on a boat
into the maw of a monster.
We are swept into the vortex:
the whirlpool of activity th at has no end.
Be mindful of death, as indicated in the above passage. Concen

trate on destroying your true enemies. Reflect on the harmfulness of
attachm ent to friends and relatives, to wealth and possessions, to
gain, respect, fame and the like, and concentrate again and again on
employing the many antidotes to laziness and the other obstacles to
practice. Never let yourself think that anything—whether lack of
intelligence, or even sickness and old age—will prevent your efforts
from bearing fruit. Thus we find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Do not be despondent, thinking:

"How could I become enlightened?"
Those who always declare the truth, the Tathagatas,
have spoken this truth:
Creatures such as bees and flies—
even beings such as worms—
will all obtain unexcelled enlightenment, so hard to obtain,
if they generate the strength of effort.
For one such as I, born in the hum an race,
having come to know what will benefit and what will harm,
if I continually practice the actions conducive to Awakening,
how can I not obtain enlightenment? [7.17-19]
In the Crown of Sutras, we find:
Once a sentient being is bom as human,
each instant becomes an immeasurable opportunity
for obtaining full enlightenment:
Do not be fainthearted! [11.11]
Therefore, give up being despondent, and always make effort.
Cultivating Effort
Enlightenment abides in effort:
without effort, virtue does not appear. [7.1]
Again, reflect upon the thousands of previous lifetimes you m ust
have applied yourself to doing virtue. At this point, seeing that pu r
suit of temporary pleasures never truly brings satisfaction, why not
gain tm e satisfaction by the virtue that brings total delight? The
same text goes on:
Since the objects of desire
are like honey smeared on a razor blade
and cannot ever bring tm e satisfaction,
why not gain satisfaction by the m erit
of peaceful action that matures into joy? [7.64]
The Sutra of the Ornamental Array states:

O noble son, do not be attached to a single root of virtue.
Do not deem it enough to enter a single door of the Dharma
or to accomplish a single enlightened action. Why is this?
O noble son, Bodhisattvas must amass immeasurable roots of virtue.
In the Crown of Sutras, we find:
For the wise and compassionate who carry
the great burden of sentient beings upon their shoulders,
moving slowly like a swan is not attractive:
When self and other are tightly bound,
one m ust make enormous effort. [5.28]
When undertaking such effort, if you find yourself having to u n
dergo intense heat or cold, hunger or thirst or the like, think about
your need to be able to endure anything if you are to achieve your
great purpose, and then concentrate on generating great patience
and endurance. In Entering the Bodhisattva Path, we find:
If fishermen, hunters, farmers, and the like,
thinking only of their own livelihood,
endure the distress of heat and cold and so on,
why should I not endure the same to bring benefit to beings? [4.40]
And again:
The suffering undergone for enlightenment
is not without limit:
It is like the suffering undergone
to cure a festering wound.
A physician, when curing sickness,
may cause great pain to make you well.
Likewise, to overcome myriad sufferings,
you should be able to endure a little distress. [7.22-23]
Cultivating Contentment
It is very im portant to learn to be content when living in solitude. We
find in a Jataka:
Lack of pride for your learning,
lack of greed for acquisitions,
and being content to abide in a forest grove:
These are the greatest ornaments of virtue.
And again:
Whoever has true mastery over contentm ent
feels no need to seek a livelihood elsewhere.
Such a person finds nothing lacking
in any place boasting herbs and leaves and water.
Contentment is also praised in the Instructions from a Spiritual

Friend:
The Teacher of men and gods has said

that the finest of all attributes is contentment.
So know complete contentment! If you know contentment,
you are wealthy, though you own nothing. [34]
In the DharanI of Attaining Limitless Access, we find:
People who are quarrelsome

are rooted in attachm ent to their own way.
Give this up! When you have abandoned attachment,
you will gain dharanl.
Therefore the Bodhisattva Santideva has stated:
Dwelling at the foot of trees,

in deserted shrines or caves,
never looking back,
abandon attachment!
When will I come to happily dwell

in places I do not think of as mine—
places by nature wide open,
where I can act freely and live unfettered?
When shall I come to live fearlessly,

with only the bare necessities:
a begging bowl, clothes of rags no one would covet,
free from even the need to cloak this form?
Having gone to stay in a cemetery,

when shall I come to understand
that my body is the same as these other skeletons,
wholly subject to destruction?
The holy ones always pray to be able to live in such a way. You
should do likewise, practicing the points explained in the Sutras that
urge intense aspiration. As a Sutra states:
Maitreya, five hundred years from now,
when the sacred Dharma is being destroyed,
beings of the Bodhisattva vehicle who possess four dharmas
will be nonviolent and gentle and will joyfully attain liberation.
What are these four dharmas?
To realize their own errors; to never speak ill of others
who follow the Bodhisattva vehicle; to never gaze longingly
at households that give alms or at the households of close friends;
and to refrain from speaking unpleasant words.
—Appeal for Open-minded Caring
Abandoning Attachment to Gain or Admiration
You m ust also understand the evils of looking for gain or admiration.
The same Sutra goes on:
Maitreya, Bodhisattva Mahasattvas m ust understand
that gain and adm iration produce attachment.
Both gain and adm iration should be understood
as destroying mindfulness. Accordingly, apply yourself
to avoid them, for they lead to abandoning m editation
and abandoning the Four Immeasurables. They cause you
to fall into the realm of Yama, the Lord of Death,
and from there into the realms of the animals and the hell beings.
The Buddha gave many such teachings. Furthermore, along with

abandoning attachm ent to gain and admiration, you should have few
desires. In that same Sutra we find:
Though you have realization, you m ust also have few desires
and have no love of gain. Why is this so? Maitreya, it is like this: As
the Dharma exists for those with few desires,
there are no hindrances for those who live by the Buddhadharma.
Further:
Maitreya, Bodhisattvas who are wise,
having understood the benefits of practice,
m ust avoid all gain and admiration,
and through intense aspiration, abide with few desires,
relying on few desires.
Delight in worldly attractions m ust also be given up. In the same

Sutra we find:
Having abandoned attachm ent and having abandoned hatred,

yogins do not abide amidst the world s commotion.
They find no delight in self-indulgence
or in engaging in iniquity.
Levity, frivolity, senseless musings;

all these, for the yogin, are m ental fabrications.
As this is so, yogins abandon pleasure even in talking:
So always take care, and keep your aim in mind.
Delight in unnecessary sleep m ust also be abandoned. In the same

Sutra we find:
Those who take delight in lassitude and sleep

extend the vast net of ignorance.
Though they have met with right view,
they are filled with doubt,
and many other similar states arise within them.
And again:
Those who take delight in drowsiness and sleep,

through the lethargy of ignorance, distort their awareness.
Non-humans take advantage of them, creating mischief for them

even when they stay in a forest retreat.
You should avoid all destructive activities, including work such as

farming.10 In the same Sutra we find:
The Lam as advice may not please you;

the instructions you are given may run counter to your own ideas.
Going your own way, your moral practice may quickly fade:
The dissolute take pleasure in such conduct.
When your mind is caught up in worldly matters,

you will always come to grief.
Even in m editation you will not give this up:
Attachments once produced grow very strong,

creating the desire for constant distraction.
Nothing m uch then truly delights you:
When you find pleasure in the jumble of samsaric things,

you dwell upon them and come to suffer greatly.
You grow as stubborn as a mule.
—Appeal for Open-minded Caring
And further on:
Day and night, without thought of anything else,

continually focusing on food and drink,
you never desire qualities of virtue:
Abandoning Delight in Commerce and Contention
Delight in commerce and contention should also be given up. In the

same Sutra we find:
Great Beings travel hundreds of miles

to distance themselves from places of commerce
and contention; where emotionality exists,

they do not linger or stay, even briefly.
Those of you who desire spiritual qualities,

the purpose of renunciation, never argue
with a m ind full of hatred!
Do not cultivate the land
or gain your livelihood from farming.
Reflect upon what comes from doing what is wrong!
Later the text continues:
Adhering to peacefulness—to very great peace—

having taken up, with faith, the saffron robes,
be peaceful, very peaceful, exceedingly peaceful!
Abandoning all forms of commerce, generate patience.
And again, we find in the same text:
Maitreya, five hundred years from now,

when the sacred Dharma is in the process
of being destroyed, the noble sons and noble daughters
of the Bodhisattva Vehicle will be nonviolent and gentle
and will joyfully desire complete liberation. Wishing to purify
all the defilements of karma, they will delight in lack of turmoil;
they will stay in remote forests and retreats and there make effort;
they will completely abandon the state of m ind that does not strive
diligently; they will look at their own errors; they will find joy
in silence; and they will strive to abide in the perfection of wisdom.
In The Chapter of Kásyapa, we find:
The Aryas teach that the fetter of wrong views,

together with the fetters of gain, admiration, and fame,
are "the holy fetters of the renunciate,"
because renunciates always avoid them.
You m ust throw off such fetters, as the Buddha taught. As

Avadhütipa stated in his Presentation of Six Objects of Meditation:
Serkyamo and the water-fowl,

the snake, the hunter who sought deer in the forest,
the archer, and the maiden:

These six are my masters.
Further on he states:
Giving up my longing for social gatherings and a household,
I entered a forest retreat.
Alone, depending on focusing the mind,
I found this action to be my Lama.
The meaning of this teaching is that the Lama is found through the
peace of a Buddha. First you come to see that great hopes or crav
ings for possessions, for gain, admiration, fame, and so forth are the
cause of suffering. Then, when you give them up, supreme happiness
manifests.
Three Things to be Given Up
To illustrate the three things a recluse must give up, Avadhutipa uses
the examples of Serkyamo, the water-fowl, and the snake:
The force of hope leads to emotionality:
W ithout hope there is supreme happiness.
Hope brings with it hopelessness,
but Serkyamo went to sleep happy.
Serkyamo, having arranged a rendezvous for the first part of the
night, underwent great mental anguish waiting for her lover. Her
hopes were dashed in the last half of the night, and she went to sleep
happy.
Social ties, even if they are few, cause disruption. When you give
them up, you will be happy. The text goes on:
t
Quarrels arise because of 'things';
there are no quarrels when there is nothing.
By completely giving up possessions,
you increase happiness, like the water-fowl.
A water-fowl once caught a fish. He was followed by another bird
who challenged him until he gave the fish up; as soon as he gave up
the fish, he was happy.
A household, due to all the various goings-on, is a very emotional

and disruptive place. When you.give up the life of a householder, you
attain happiness. Accordingly, the text states:
The quarrels in a household are insufferable;
never is there any happiness.
A snake, seeing another dwelling place,
enters it and becomes happy.
A snake had many of its offspring living with it in its nest. Living
among so many others, the snake underwent unbearable suffering.
When it left its own nest for another hole, the snake became content.
Three Things to be Gained
The three things for the recluse to gain are shown by the examples
of the hunter, the arrowsmith, and the maiden. When you live in a
forest retreat, the mind and body become at ease, and you gain great
happiness. Thus we find:
The hunter, having gone into the forest,
commenced to stalk the deer—
after having given up all intention to harm,
he stayed in that same meadow.
A hunter stalked deer in the forest. Recognizing the miseries of the
householder s life and the good qualities of solitude, he gave up any
intention to kill and stayed on in the forest retreat, where he obtained
the happiness of solitude.
When you take time to accustom the mind to focus firmly on
virtue, the mind stops being attracted to objects, and you obtain
samadhi. The text states:
The king approaches, surrounded by his great host:
the four divisions of his army.
The arrowsmith, concentrating on his work,
does not see them.
An arrowsmith focuses his mind on the straightness of the bam
boo shaft. He does not see the king, together with his four armies,
passing in his vicinity.
In a gathering of many friends, quarrels soon occur; even when

only two people come together, rivalry follows. This demonstrates
the need to stay alone. The text states:
When many people gather, fighting will ensue;

even if there are only two, they will be rivals.
They clash like the rings of the young maiden.
This is a reason to stay alone!
A girl who was grinding sandalwood into powder found that the
m any rings on her fingers were getting in her way. One by one she
took the rings off, but even two got in her way. When she was finally
wearing only one ring, she become comfortable in her work.
Mindful of these six things—three to abandon and three to obtain—

you should take up the life of a recluse. Abiding in solitude, you require
very little in the way of food, clothes, bedding, and medication. If you
intend to live a life of patient devotion to virtue, it is very im portant
to be satisfied with few possessions.
Clearing Away Obstacles
Perhaps you feel unable to live the life of a renunciate or feel you do
not have the patience for it. Or perhaps you see the difficulties
involved in such a life as being unnecessary or not in accord with the
Dharma. This would be fine if your desires did not create obstacles
for you, or if they assisted in the increase of virtue, or even if your di
versions brought you satisfaction.
In the Vinaya, we find: “You must abandon the two extremes of

desire and apathy."
Should disease, psychological problems, or any other disturbing

condition beset you, you must understand that whatever arises is with
out self-nature. Antidotes to difficulties are found in prayer: Focus
your mind on the Three Jewels, while at the same time concentrating
on taking upon yourself all the difficulties of others. It is best to make
this your path and to follow all the instructions for self-mastery,
including visualization practices, breathing practices, ritual practices
and so on. Study and practice these teachings diligently.
If you do not make this your path, obstacles to a virtuous life and
to your practice will continually arise. As an analogy: When you see
the role played by medicine and other remedies in preventing ail
ments, the value of relying on medicine and m antra becomes clear.
Thus, the Bhagavan used the simile of depending on a doctor and
medicine when he spoke of getting rid of obstacles:
Bhiksus, when you do not follow your physician s directives

and fail to take the necessary medications,
obstacles to both your physical well-being
and virtuous life will arise.
In the Compendium of Training, we find:
Bhiksus, when you live in retreat, recite m antras to guard against

snakes, robbers, and other fearful things.
When you are meditating, if visions of the Buddha or actual

prophecies of attainm ent occur, you can rely on these to greatly
develop your practice of the two aspects of enlightenment. When
striving to give up wrongdoing and take up virtue through practice
of the relative mind of enlightenment, certain good qualities will
develop. On the other hand, should you fall away from either of the
two aspects of Bodhicitta, for example, by scorning the relative
aspects of cause and effect, you will certainly begin to have difficul
ties in your practice. Thus, when exploring the instructions that deal
with these subjects, learn how to avoid such mistakes, and practice
accordingly.
When examining your practice, make sure of three elements:

Always avoid wrongdoing through contemplating the two aspects of
Bodhicitta; never repudiate the workings of cause and effect; and
always focus your m ind on the Lama and the Three Jewels.
Refraining from Pride
Also keep in mind not to be proud if you do live in solitude or in a

place with few diversions. Never reproach others or feel contempt for
those who are not similarly inclined. It is said in the Verse Summary
of the Prajnaparamita:
Those who would become Bodhisattvas

by living in isolated retreats, deep in the forest,
but who despise others and praise themselves,
make villages out of their solitude and cities out of ravines:
They are possessed by demons. Know they have small minds.
Those who strive for enlightenment
in order to m ature sentient beings,
never generating longing to become
an Arhat or Pratyekabuddha,
though they always dwell in large towns and cities,
are said by the Tathagatas to dwell
in the solitude of the Bodhisattva.
Bodhisattvas who do not know this true solitude,
though they may live for tens of millions of years
in mountainous ravines five hundred yojanas in extent,
acquire excessive pride and live as demons. [21.4-6]
m
Reflections
Choosing Selfless Love
ow can we motivate ourselves to m aintain the effort to grow

spiritually when we are steadily subject to samsara's pull? As
me text makes clear, samsaric influences were powerful even in
Tibet, where the Dharma was central to the culture. In today s world,
the force of samsara is overwhelming. The weight we give to social
interactions, status, comfort, possessions, and the self-image—all of
which society tells us are essential to success—is a manifestation of
these influences at work.
Three kinds of motivation fuel the intention to continue on a spiri
tual path: fear of suffering in future lives, the wish to attain peace or
liberation from samsara, and the wish to free all beings from suffer
ing. People with the first two types of motivation do not completely
uproot their commitment to self-centered views. The Bodhisattva
adopts the third type of motivation, becoming dedicated to the
enlightenment of all sentient beings. Embodying this vow in practice
requires generating the great compassion that ultimately under
mines even the most subtle commitment to the self.
The Buddhas themselves have shown that compassion is more

powerful than the suffering, sin, delusion, and karm a of all sentient
beings taken together. Drawing on the power of compassion, a sin
gle individual can transform the whole universe. Knowing through
Reflections: Choosing Selfless Love 235
an ever-deepening practice that this is so, the Bodhisattva directly

confronts samsaric suffering, showing love and compassion by
example, so that in the end, selfless love prevails against even the
greatest evil.
Underlying the decision to follow the Bodhisattva path of the Maha-
yana is a pervasive sense of the beauty and wonder of existence, a
feeling of love for all beings which makes it impossible to choose lib
eration for oneself alone. This love is strengthened by empathy for
the suffering of others. Great suffering itself can be the impetus, as
it was for the Buddha, who first developed Bodhicitta, the mind of
enlightenment, as a beast of burden in hell who vowed to take the
total load of suffering upon himself.
Choosing selfless love means freeing yourself from desire and hatred
by letting go all attachm ent to objects of the senses. The Bodhisattva
gains strength from a second source: clear insight into the real nature
of samsara. Though sam sara is severe, endlessly meting out sorrow,
the Bodhisattva dares to look deep within the patterns of cause and
effect that create suffering. With the realization of sunyata or open
ness, the Great Being sees that samsara and nirvana are no different
in essence. Thus equipped to overcome the strong drive toward self
protection that insists on the security and identity of the self, the
Bodhisattva is able to live selflessly in samsara, helping all beings
without discrimination, for lifetime after lifetime.
As you move past the preliminary stage of these teachings on self-
mastery and learn to cultivate Bodhicitta, you will develop a greater
sense of openness, and your values will naturally shift. What seems
remote and even uninviting now may eventually look quite different.
For now, remind yourself of the value of Dharma, resolve to m ain
tain your independence as a kind of 'inner solitude', and be sensitive
to the influences that shape your daily conduct and concerns.
Choosing
Selfless Love
T T aving given up faulty ideas regarding practice, practice the

/ J l teachings that transform everything into the Buddha s path.
Do not think that it is enough to obtain nirvana: your own freedom
from the dangers and suffering of the world. This is the wrong way
to proceed. Those who follow such a way, the Arhats, Sravakas and
Pratyekabuddhas (who will not return to samsara), are indeed quite
wonderful, having taken upon themselves the individual way of liber
ation and attained some measure of realization through detachment
from the selfish path. But their way does not compare to the way of
the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have cast off the two obscurations.
The path of the Buddha is the way of vast wisdom: the knowledge
of how things are (in the ultimate sense) and the way things exist (in
the relative sense). It is the way that is inconceivable in its wondrous
qualities and charismatic activities. In comparison, Sravakas and
Pratyekabuddhas are like beggars in the presence of a chakravartin
king. We find in the Seventy Verses of Refuge of Candraklrti:
Those caught up in their own concerns,
through lack of great compassion—
the Pratyekabuddhas and those who arise
from the speech of the Lord Buddha—
are never praised by the followers of the Great Vehicle.
Choosing Selfless Love 237
Those with the boundless goodness of the Jina

express the actions of the Great Vehicle:
Just by hearing of the valor of Bodhisattvas,
they become the very vessel of that valor.
They are the tree of the Great Vehicle,

their personal concerns burned completely away.
Dwelling amidst Bodhisattvas,
other beings are like beggars.
There are many reasons for such differences among those who
seek liberation. Some people have little spiritual drive, and their
mental faculties and motivation are also weak. Their intellectual and
analytical abilities being undeveloped, they do not come to realize
the lack of self-nature of the skandhas or the equality of all dharmas.
Shaped by this lack of understanding, they constantly yearn to escape
from existence into peace. As this yearning continues unabated, and
as they principally crave their own peace, they lack the expansive
motivation that seeks to benefit sentient beings. The Verse Summary
of the Prajnaparam ita states:
Lacking method, cut off from wisdom,

a Bodhisattva falls into the state of the Sravaka. [16.5]
Thus, Sravakas do not complete the practice of Great Compassion

or the practice of selfless love that has no object of focus. Nor do they
begin to comprehend the type of giving that transcends the thought
of subject, object, and the act of giving itself, or the complete dedi
cation of these three spheres of action. For the Sravaka, the practice
of selfless love and compassion and the practice of the param itas
as gateways of skillful means remain incomplete. As stated in The
Precious Garland:
Since the path of aspiration of the Bodhisattva

and the complete dedication of action are not taught
in the vehicle of the Sravaka—
how can you become a Bodhisattva on this path? [390]
For the Sravaka, both means and wisdom are partially obscured,
and so his training in the essential features to be abandoned remains
incomplete. He gives up the obscurations of the klesas but does not
abandon the obscurations of the knowable. In the Lankavatara

Sutra, we find:
Mahamati! The Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas have not cast off

the obscurations of the knowable and the residual patterns
of karma. Therefore they have not realized the selflessness
of dharmas and cannot see far enough to obtain the inconceivable
transform ation of the round of birth and death. And so it is
for the Sravakas that I have demonstrated three vehicles
and not just one vehicle. [2.202]
Because Sravakas have not mastered essential features of realiza

tion, they have only a partial understanding of pratityasamutpada,
Dependent Origination. They understand only the selflessness of per
sons, and do not realize the selflessness of dharmas or the ultim ate
nature of Dependent Origination. We find in the Sutra of Majestic
Adornment:
Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas,

being wise concerning the selflessness of dharmas,
obtain the state of the Sugatas:
They manifest as Buddhas and teach the Dharma.
Sravakas, seeing how to analyze the skandhas into parts,

understand the selflessness of persons,
but do not dissect the actuality of the dharmas,
and thus understand them as being real.
Atlsa states in the Song of the Vision of Dharmadhatu:
A Pratyekabuddha intent on enlightenment

abandons the concept of the apprehended object,
but does not abandon the apprehending subject. Because of this,
though he meditates for as long as one hundred kalpas
on the path that is like the way of the rhinoceros,
he merely touches on enlightenment.
Though the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas have many special

qualities, because they do not have the qualities of true strength,
fearlessness, and the like, they do not reach the consummate nir
vana. The U ttaratantra states:
The nirvana of the Buddha

in its sacred purpose is like the indivisible sun. [2.181]
And further:
Therefore, until you become a Buddha

you do not obtain nirvana: Just as
without sunlight reflected as sunrays,
you would not be able to see the sun. [1.94]
Even when your skandhas are very subtle, your involvement in the
Great Vehicle m ust be active from the start and not be interrupted.
Arhats who enter and abide in the sphere of peace11 stay there only
until they complete the accumulation of m erit and wisdom on the
Path of Learning. Ultimately humbled by the compassion of the
Buddhas, they awaken from the sphere of cessation. They will then
be miraculously bom in their Buddha-field and will embark on the
path of the Great Vehicle.
Candra has stated:
Through fear of samsara,

Arhats think they have obtained enlightenment.
At the end of life they are joyful,
perceiving that they have obtained nirvana.
But for them there is no true nirvana, no passing from sorrow.
And then:
Since the Arhats must still abandon ignorance

not brought about by klesas,
they are ultimately admonished by the Buddha.
Having amassed the accumulations for enlightenment
they go on to become Leaders of the World.
Having previously realized only the subtle selflessness of the per

son and not having fully realized the selflessness of phenomena, the
Arhats do not know the way that employs the antidotes, the way that
leads to abandoning the obscurations of the knowable. They finally
m ust enter the Great Vehicle, starting anew from the lesser path of
preparation.12 Whoever enters the Great Vehicle in this way tra
verses a poor path. It is said in The Manifestation of Vairocana:
On the path of Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas,

it takes eighty thousand great kalpas to gain the unequaled fruit.
Furthermore, our beloved mothers, who have protected us with

kindness from beginningless time, are lost in the vortex of samsaric
suffering. For anyone to be intent on the joy of peace for himself
alone is a shameless way of being in the world. In Letter to a Disciple,
we find:
When our dear ones enter the ocean of samsara

it is as if they had fallen into a whirlpool:
They emerge and then disappear
in the progression of birth and death.
If we fail to acknowledge them, if we forsake them
to free ourselves alone, what could be more shameful? [96]
Having generated fully the supreme enlightened mind of the

Mahayana, even the slightest wish for the lower fruit is an offense
weightier than the actions that result in expulsion from the m onas
tic order. In the Verse Summary of the Prajnaparamita, we find:
Even if you act in accord with the ten paths

of virtuous action for ten million kalpas,
if you ever desire to be a Pratyekabuddha or Arhat,
faults in moral practice at once arise and thus
your morality is degraded. Producing such a state of mind
is a fault more grave than the actions leading to expulsion. [31.5]
And again, Entering the Bodhisattva Path states:
For a Bodhisattva to fall is the gravest of failings.

When this occurs, the welfare
of all sentient beings is diminished. [4.8]
And again:
Those who activate the force of Bodhicitta,

but then activate the force of falling from it,
rise and fall in the cycle of samsara.
Fluctuating in such a way, they are long prevented
from attaining the stages of the Bodhisattva. [4.11]
As this is so, the Crown of Sutras states:

The desire to benefit yourself is like poison or a sharp weapon,
and so Bodhisattvas turn away from the two lesser vehicles
by means of the three kinds of action,13
just as they would avoid an enemy
or bolts of thunder and lightning. [16.4]
Fearless Commitment
For three immeasurable kalpas—a tremendously long period of

time—Bodhisattvas give up everything, sacrificing even their heads
and limbs. They take upon themselves every sort of difficult deed,
never even considering the terrifying aspects of their actions. In The
Precious Garland, we find:
For the welfare of innum erable embodied beings,
those desiring limitless enlightenment
accomplish limitless virtue.
Just so, through amassing the four limitless accumulations,
how can they not obtain, w ithout long delay,
that very same supreme enlightenment?
For what is known as boundless merit
and what is known as boundless wisdom
quickly clear away the sufferings of body and mind.
Wrongdoing gives rise to the physical suffering
of the lower realms: hunger and thirst and so forth.
Bodhisattvas, having done no wrong and having gained merit,
will not physically suffer in future lives.
Mental darkness gives rise to the suffering of mind:
desires and fears and attachments.
Through the wisdom that sees all this as baseless,
quickly abandon this mental suffering.
If Bodhisattvas are not harm ed
by the suffering of body and mind,
how can they be disheartened,
though they guide the worldly to the ends of the earth?
If even a short span of suffering is difficult to bear,

what need to m ention suffering prolonged?
But one who is joyful and does not quail at suffering:
How can such a person ever be harmed?
When the body does not suffer,
how cam suffering of the m ind exist?
Out of compassion for the world,
Bodhisattvas stay in the world for a very long time.
Therefore the wise do not hold back.
Never do they say: "Becoming a Buddha is too remote."
Destroying all ills for the sake of merit,
they always strive for such qualities. [220-28]
Again, it is said in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
When the body is blissful by virtue of merit,
and by virtue of wisdom the mind is in bliss,
how could one with compassion have any regrets
when abiding in samsara for the welfare of others?
The strength of their enlightenment mind
destroys any previous wrongdoing,
and because they gather oceans of virtue,
they are explained as being far greater than the Sravakas.
Having m ounted the horse of Bodhicitta
that leaps away from all dismay,
they proceed from happiness to happiness.
Who with a wise mind would hold back? [7.28-30]
Moreover, the All-Knowing Lama has stated:
Through the teachings of the Great Vehicle,
thoughts such as these arise: We m ust benefit others
for thirteen reasons: First, all sentient beings
have again and again been our parents.
When we consider how much tenderness
they have showered upon us due to their love,
we are compelled to act for the welfare of sentient beings,
so as to return their kindness.
Choosing Selfless Lorve 243
Again, it would be impossible for us to repay all the benefits

sentient beings have showered on us. Though they are weighed
down by great burdens that we ourselves did not cause,
we are compelled to act for the welfare of sentient beings
in order to remove their burdens. As the Lung-mam-byed states:
The earth and the m ountains and the oceans
are not my burden, for I did not make them,
and yet they are a great burden for me.
Again, clearly sentient beings do not require our help
when they are happy and joyful. But for our sake
they have previously done wrong, and so they are oppressed
by sam sara and the sufferings of the lower states of being.
Therefore, we are compelled to act for the welfare
of sentient beings to make up for the times
we returned good with evil.
Again, although sentient beings desire only happiness
and have no wish to suffer, not knowing how to obtain happiness,
they experience only suffering. In order to reverse this,
we are compelled to act for the welfare of sentient beings.
Again, as there are innum erable sentient beings,
the Buddhas of the past were unable to reach them all
through their guidance and were unable to teach them.
If we are not able to extricate them from samsara,
the lineage of the Mahayana will be severed,
and there will be no refuge or protection for sentient beings.
And so we are compelled to act for the welfare of sentient beings.
Again, under the influence of holding to T and 'mine',
beings have been swept into the whirlpool of emotionality.
We must strive to free those caught in this waywardness.
Having aspired to do whatever we can to help them,
Again, even though sentient beings do not realize that all dharmas
are empty and selfless, and even though all beings are like a dream,
we m ust guide them with mercy, for if we do not guide them,
they will remain in a pitiable state. And so we are compelled
to act for the welfare of sentient beings.
Again, having generated the motivation to act for the benefit

of sentient beings, if we do not act to benefit them, we are going
against w hat we have learned. Therefore we are compelled
Again, even in this life we wander in samsara,
generating emotionality in others by our own display
of anger and emotionality. Now, so that sentient beings—
the objective of our obtaining enlightenment—may be exalted,
As we find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path:
Those who do all they can to honor beings
have in this way reached perfection. [6.112]
Again, through actually working for the welfare of others,
we strengthen our own welfare. For this reason also,
As is said in the same text:
Thus also is my own welfare achieved. [6.127]
Again, as action for the welfare of others delights the Buddhas,
It is said:
Apart from honoring sentient beings,
no other means exists to please the Buddhas.
Again, if we generated the enlightened mind, but if we did not
achieve the welfare of sentient beings, we would fall
into the state of Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha.
And so we are compelled to act for the welfare of sentient beings.
Finally, because each of us, every sentient being, has a nature
th at is unobjectifiable and like the sky, there is no difficulty
in acting for the welfare of sentient beings, who in their-relative
aspect are like illusions. So we are compelled
In summary, although I have yet to liberate
even one sentient being from samsara,
until the time that I do so I will abide in samsara,

acting for the welfare of all sentient beings.
Day and night, without manifesting weariness,
even if I must strive for tens of hundreds of millions of kalpas,
I will persist with great strength of mind, knowing that in this way
I may help generate a single moment of virtue in the consciousness
of one single sentient being. As the Crown of Sutras states:
Bodhisattvas depend on supreme effort
to m ature the masses of sentient beings—
even for the sake of one virtuous thought in another's mind
they will not give in to despair
for a thousand times ten million eons. [9.19]
In this way, the welfare of others comes about. You must be m ind
ful of the purpose of such teachings. To put it briefly, Arya Nagarjuna
stated:
I have the same joys and sorrows as all sentient beings:
As our joys and sorrows are identical, even if I had an antidote
for suffering, it would not be right for me
to abandon these beings and enter nirvana.
Enlightened Heart
Truly, to achieve the utm ost benefit for both yourself and others,
there is nothing other than this Bodhicitta, this precious enlighten
ment mind, the heart of openness and compassion. We find in the
Exposition of Bodhicitta:
W ithout generating Bodhicitta
you will never become a Buddha:
There is no other method to
achieve the welfare of self and others in samsara. [106]
And in Entrance to the Middle Way, we find:
The Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas are bom
from the teachings of the Great Sage,
but the Buddhas are bom from Bodhisattvas.
Mind of compassion, wisdom of nonduality, and
Bodhicitta are the causes giving rise to the Buddha's heirs. [1.1]
Bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment, has immeasurable bene

fits. The Aspirations of Maitreya states:
I bow to the m ind of enlightenment.
It reverses all lower states of being
and teaches the path to the higher realms..
It is the guide to freedom from old age and death. [1090]
In the Sutra of the Questions of Vlradatta, we find:
If the virtue of the enlightenment mind
were made into form,
it would fill all the expanse of space,
and even then there would be more left over.
It is also said in the Sutra of the Questions of Sagaramati:
The Victorious One speaks of no limits
to the boundless qualities of these four dharmas:
the perfect m ind of enlightenment, embracing the Dharma,
practicing the Dharma, and compassion for living creatures.
And the Sutra of the Ornamental Array states:
In short, all the Buddhadharm as and all the qualities
of the Buddha are found in the benefits and qualities
of enlightened mind. Why is this?
All the m andalas of the Bodhisattvas arise from it;
all the Tathagatas of the past, the future,
and the present are produced from it.
To gain a greater understanding of the qualities of enlightened
mind, study and closely examine the Sutras quoted here, as well as
the whole of Entering the Bodhisattva Path. It is vital to understand
the nature of enlightened mind: what defines it, its types, its stages,
how it is practiced, the training, and the results. There is not enough
space here to deal in depth with all these very im portant subjects, so
to learn more look in the Jewel Ornament of Liberation by Gampopa
and the holy teachings of the All-Knowing Lama.
Entering the Heart of the Sugatas

The sphere of the heart of the Sugatas,
the nature of light, pure from the beginningless beginning,
not abiding in the extremes of either etemalism or nihilism—
the reality of the mind of all beings,
exists right here, being the nirvana of all beings.
Yet the beginningless clouds of defilement have gathered:
ignorance, the grasping of subject and object,
unimaginable erroneous thoughts.
To clear these away, spiritual teachers teach the path.
Attend upon them with the three ways of giving delight.
Otherwise, there is no way.
Those who rely on the most excellent captain
fearlessly travel to the island of jewels.
Similarly, held secure by the spiritual teacher,
you will never turn back from the genuine path.
By the strength of previous virtue,
you have happened this once upon
precious freedom and good fortune, so difficult to find.
Dear friends, if you do not practice the sacred Dharma
with heartfelt effort, now, what could be m ore foolish?
Friends! If you wish to cross
the ocean of existence, use this occasion well.
In the future, such freedom and fortune will be difficult to find.
When you fall into error, you cannot easily correct it—
Don the arm or of effort now!
Conditioned existence is like a phantom dancer:
The movement does not depend on the life-force
of any particular living being.
Who can say with certainty we will live
even through the night?
Dear friends, think on this well!
This lifetime passes quickly, quickly—
as if tumbling over a waterfall.
The Lord of Death comes stealthily,
like a lengthening shadow in the evening.

Like the flame of a butter lamp flickering in the wind,
the circumstances of our death are uncertain.
Seeing this, should not the wise be firm of mind?
All those beings in times gone by who amassed wealth
thinking they would live forever,
have lost everything. Powerless,
they have had to go their way alone.
All beings of the present and the future m ust do the same.
When seized by the messengers of the Lord of Death,
there is nothing to hold onto—
at that time, wealth has no power, nor do armies.
Like a hair pulled from butter, you will be drawn from your friends
accompanied only by your sins and your virtues.
At that time, though the sacred Dharma
with all its benefits still abides in the world,
what you have not practiced cannot be bestowed by others.
Due to wrongdoing, wrongdoing increases,
and you will be unable to cast off its grasp.
All your experience ripens upon you.
The effects of karm a are inescapable,
like the m aturing of a seed planted in spring,
or like the utpala lotus, unable to change from white to black.
The effects of karm a are like a shadow that always follows the body
or like the current of a great river, difficult to reverse.
As the result of wrongs completed in a single instant,
we will have to experience hell for a myriad eons.
Who, having knowledge of the mind, would not recoil in terror?
Once you know where you are headed, do not fall into the abyss!
When even perfect enlightenment is not difficult to obtain
if you practice with effort, what can be said about other attainments?
In your own hands lies the cause of traveling to bliss
on the path of bliss. Not to achieve bliss would be insane!
The deceptive actions of the world are never-ending—
acts of little meaning, like a dream at twilight.
When you think about practicing the sacred Dharma,

you always put it off. Instead, rein in your restless mind!
There is no end to the suffering of samsara and the lower states:
Wherever happiness appears to reign, suffering is there as well.
It is like the trenches of fire in the island of cannibals.
Please, for just one moment, stop what you are doing!
Those who investigate it find it to be thus:
Having taken but one step into samsara, it is difficult later
to be free. From a previous cause a pattern forms and is taken up
again and again. Again you are bom, and yet again, as if caught
in a water wheel. Due to their own wrongdoing,
even the kings were difficult to rescue.14
If you cannot bear your present fleeting sufferings,
how can you bear the boundless suffering of samsara?
If you reverse the cause, then through the strength
of the effects, you can stop the cycle and be truly free.
Living amidst the world s commotion causes contention
and agitation: Yearning for things, you renew your attachm ent
to samsara. Desirable objects eat away the life-root of liberation
like poison: See how the householder s home is the source
of so many afflictions!
Even the good rulers of the world are deceivers,
but the Three Jewels never mislead.
Those with faith and confidence in them find
immediate safety and contentment;
therefore, it is right to place your trust in them.
All beings in the three realms are our parents:
When you are unmindful of your conduct, careless, and corrupt,
what result can you expect from this negligent path
of shortsighted action? Dear friends, seek therefore to travel
the path of the heart of the Mahayana.
This completes the verses
explaining the steps of preliminary practice.
Notes to Volume One
Homage
1 The story of the vows made by Gum Padmasambhava, the great abbot
Santaraksita, and King Trisong Detsen can be found in The Legend o f the
Great Stupa (Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1973), 2Iff.
2 Dipamkara, also known as Atlsa, had many Tibetan disciples, but his
three main spiritual sons were Khuton Sherab Tsondru (Khu-ston Shes-
rab-brtson-grus), Ngog Legpay Sherab (rNgog Legs-pa'i-shes-rab), and
Dromton Gyalway Jungnay (’Brom-ston rGyal-ba'i-'byung-gnas), com
monly referred to as Khu, Ngog, and Drom.
Lineage of Compassion
3 The Blo-sbyong-brgya-rtsa is a catalogue in the gDams-ngag-mdzod
of over forty texts on self-mastery (see pp. 554-55). The gDams-ngag-
mdzod itself contains eight of these texts.
4 Jamgon Kongtrul wrote many texts on self-mastery, including The
Great Path o f Awakening: A Commentary on the Mahayana Teaching o f
the Seven Points o f Mind Training, translated by Ken McLeod (Boston:
Shambhala, 1987).
First Essential
5 More detailed instructions on Phowa practice can be found in Kun-
zang La-may Zhal-lung, by Paltrul Rinpoche, translated by Sonam T.
Kazi. (Upper Montclair, NJ: Diamond Lotus, 1989-1993).
Notes to Volume One 251
6 For a more detailed explanation of Buddhist cosmology, see the third

chapter of the Abhidharmakosabhasya and chapter 29 of Ways o f
Enlightenment (Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1993).
7 The whisk was a symbol of rule in ancient India.
8 According to Gampopa in The Jewel Ornament o f Liberation, pp. 66-67,
change in merit refers to no longer finding pleasure in the enjoyments
we have available to us as a result of former virtuous actions.
9 This list of the eight worldly concerns differs slightly from the tradi
tional list of eight (see Glossary/Index). Here we find: bstod, smad,
grags, ma-grags, snyan, ma-snyan, myed, ma-myed.
10 Farming is considered a harmful activity because it involves the un
avoidable destruction of sentient beings in plowing the land, ridding
crops of pests, burdening and slaughtering farm animals, and so on.
11 Arhats who are Sravakas or Pratyekabuddhas enter into a nirvana
that is not a permanent state of being. For more on the different types
of Arhat, see The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), by Bhadanta-
carya Buddhaghosa (2nd edition, Colombo: A. Semage, 1964).
12 There are three ways of practicing the path of preparation, the first
of the five paths. On the greater path of preparation, one meditates on
the Four Bases for Supernatural Power and gains the certainty of at
taining the stage of warmth of the Path of Linking in one's present life
time. On the middle path of preparation, one meditates on the Four
Genuine Restraints and gains the certainty of attaining the Path of
Linking in one's next lifetime. On the lesser path of preparation, one
meditates on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Although one en
ters the Path of Linking, when this will occur is indefinite.
13 The three kinds of action (karma trividham) are explained in the
next sloka of the Sutralamkara: "A Bodhisattva refrains from any per
sonalized action, not differentiating the actor acting, the action, or the
act. Therefore the actions of the Bodhisattva are always pure, enacted
with skillful means."
14 This could refer to several different Jatakas, since the Buddha, in his
lives as a Bodhisattva, saved many merchants, princes, and kings with
his great wisdom and compassion.
Path o f H eroes
Bodhicitta, th e m in d o f e n lig h te n m e n t, ha s im m e a su r a b le
benefits. T he A spirations o f Maitreya states:
I b o w to the m in d o f e n lig h te n m e n t.
It reverses all lo w e r sta te s o f b ein g
and t e a c h e s the path to the h ig h er realm s.
It is the g u id e to freed o m from o ld a g e a n d death.
In the Sutra o f the Q u e stio n s o f VTradatta, w e find:
If th e virtue o f the e n lig h te n m e n t mind

w e r e m a d e into form,
it w o u ld fill all the e x p a n s e o f sp a ce,
an d e v en then there w o u ld b e m o r e left over.
It is said in the Sutra o f the Q u e stio n s o f Sagaram ati:
The V icto riou s O ne s p e a k s o f n o lim its

to the b o u n d le s s qualities o f th e se four d h a n n a s:
the perfect m in d o f e n lig h te n m e n t, e m b ra c in g the Dharma,
practicing the Dharm a, and c o m p a s s io n for living creatures.
And the Sutra o f the O rnam ental Array states:
In short, all the B u d d h a d h a r m a s a n d all the qualities

o f the B u d d h a are found in the benefits
and qua lities o f e n lig h te n e d m ind.
Why is this? — 9780898002744 _
All the m a n d a la s o f the Bodhisattvas

arise from it; all the Tathagatas o f the
past, the future, and the present are H _______________ I
p r o d u c e d Irom it.
Buddhism/Teachings

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PATH OF HEROES

W ith th e P r a c tic e I n s tr u c tio n s

with the Practice Instructions and Reflections

1. Calm and Clear

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Translated from the Tibetan by Deborah Black

Printed by Dharma Press, Oakland, U.S.A.

The S p iritu al T each er 24

Awakening to F reedom an d G ood F o rtu n e 54

The Im p o rta n c e of T aking R efuge 182

Mindful of the proliferation of works on Buddhism and guided by

Path o f Heroes, the seventeenth title in our Tibetan Translation

This teaching has a special significance for us at Dharma Publish­

As we endeavor to deepen and extend our knowledge, we at

o f Heroes is a translation of the Theg-pa-chen-po'i-blo-

eages: those of Zhechen Rabjam, Zhechen Gyaltsab, and Kongtrul

Advised by Lama Mipham to focus on meditative understanding

Path o f Heroes is a commentary on a famous text of Bodhicitta

In 19531 had the good fortune to study at Zhechen Monastery with

the Bodhisattva path, encouraging us all to waste our precious time

The Seven Essentials of Guru Chekhawa include sixty-two apho­

Though the beauty of Zhechen Gyaltsab's masterpiece is difficult

In the future, as Western students become more familiar with

Preparation of this translation has taken more than three years.

hechen Gyaltsab's Path o f Heroes presents the path of the

The Buddha Sâkyamuni gave these teachings to countless beings

Just as diseases are emerging that challenge the most sophisticated

ation. The path of enlightenment is based on such inquiry, combin­

The moment we turn the power of observation and inquiry toward

The availability of the Dharma gives us access to a remarkable

transm it this inner message of the Dharma, a knowledge that leads

S eco n d E s sen tia l

Consider everything to be like a dream .

Exam ine the n atu re of unborn aw areness.

Let the antidote also liberate itself.

Rest in the stillness of the basis-of-all,

Between sittings, act as a being of illusion.

Alternately practice unconditional giving

M ount them bo th upon the wind of the breath.

From three objects, the three poisons,

Tell yourself always: R em em ber only others.

Practice this principle in all you say or do.

Start the process of taking on suffering w ith yourself.

W hen all the world, b oth anim ate and

Place all blam e on one source.

W ith firmly m otivated concentration,

Openness being the greatest protection,

As the suprem e m ethod, apply the four practices.

Apply w hatever happens to you to your m editation.

To distill the essence of the instructions:

The M ahayana teachings for transferring

Unite all D harm a in a single aim.

Accept the b etter of two witnesses.

Let a joyful m ind sustain you.

W hen you can practice even w hen disturbed,

Always practice the three basic principles.

Change your attitude, and be unassum ing.

Do not talk about others' infirmities.

Stop all negative thinking about others.

Purify the strongest em otional attachm ent first.

Give up all hope of getting anywhere.

Stop poisoning yourself.

Do not tie yourself to a rigid sense of

This teaching has a special significance for us at Dharma Publish

The Seven Essentials of Guru Chekhawa include sixty-two apho

ation. The path of enlightenment is based on such inquiry, combin

1. The Tathagatagarbha manifests openly in those who have previ

Even when obscured by temporary defilements, our nature is the es