The Dalai Lama - Tenzin Gyatso

Page 18

For those who seek Enlightenment there are three ways of practice that must be understood and fol-lowed: First, disciplines for practical behavior; second, right concentration of mind; and third, wisdom. What are the disciplines? Everyone, whether he is a common man or a way-seeker, should follow the precepts for good behavior. He should control both his mind and body, and guard the gates of his five senses. He should be afraid of even a trifling evil and, from moment to moment, should endeavor to practice only good deeds. What is meant by the concentration of mind? It means to go quickly away from greedy and evil desires as they arise and to hold the mind pure and tranquil. What is wisdom? It is the ability to perfectly understand and to patiently accept the Fourfold Noble Truth, to know the fact of suffering and its nature; to know the source of suffering, to know what constitutes the end of suf-

fering, and to know the Noble Path that leads to the end of suffering. Those who earnestly follow these three ways of practice may rightly be called the disciples of Buddha. Suppose a donkey, that has no nice shape, no voice and no horns like those of the cow, was following a herd of cows and proclaiming, "Look, I am also a cow." Would anyone believe him? It is just as foolish when a man does not follow the three ways of practice but boasts that he is a way-seeker or a disciple of Buddha. Before a farmer gathers a harvest in the fall, he must first plow the ground, sow the seed, irrigate, and remove the weeds as they come up in the springtime. Likewise, the seeker of Enlightenment must follow the three ways of practice. A farmer can not expect to see the buds today, to see the plants tomorrow, and to gather the harvest the day after. So, a man who seeks Enlightenment can not expect to remove worldly desires today, to remove attach-ments and evil desires tomorrow, and to get Enlightenment the day after. Just as plants receive the patient care of the farmer after the seed has been sown and during the changes of climate and during the growth from plant to fruit, so the seeker of Enlightenment must patiently and perseveringly cultivate the soil of Enlightenment by following the three ways of practice. It is difficult to advance along the path that leads to Enlightenment so long as one is covetous of comforts and luxuries and his mind disturbed by the desires of the senses. There is a wide difference between the enjoy-ment of life and the enjoyment of the True Path. As already explained, the mind is the source of all things. If the mind enjoys worldly affairs, illusion and suffering will inevitably follow, but if the mind enjoys the True Path, happiness, con-tentment and Enlightenment will just as surely follow. Therefore, those who are seek Enlightenment should keep their minds pure, and patiently keep and practice the three ways. If they keep the precepts, they will naturally obtain con-centration of mind; and if they obtain concentration of the mind, it will be just as natural for them to grasp wisdom, and wisdom will lead them to Enlightenment. Indeed, these three ways (keeping the precepts, practicing concentration of mind and always acting wisely) are the true path to Enlightenment. By not following them, people have for a long time accumulated mental delusions. They must not argue with worldly people, but must patiently meditate in their inner world of a pure mind in order to attain Enlightenment. If the three ways of practice are analyzed, they will reveal the Eightfold Noble Path, the four viewpoints to be considered, the four right procedures, the five faculties of power to be employed, and the perfection of six practices. The Noble Eightfold Path refers to right view, right thought, right speech, right behavior, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Right View means to thorough-ly understand the Fourfold Truth, to believe in the law of cause and effect and not to be deceived by appearances and desires. Right Thought means the resolution not to cherish desires, not to be greedy, not to be angry, and not to do any harmful deed. Right Speech means the avoidance of lying words, idle words, abusive words, and double-tongues. Right Behavior means not to destroy any life, not to stead, or not to commit adultery. Right Livelihood means to avoid any life that would bring shame. Right Effort means to try to do one's best diligently toward the right direction. Right Mindfulness means to maintain a pure and thoughtful mind. Right Concentration means to keep the mind right and tranquil for its concentration, seeking to realize the mind's pure essence. The four view-points to be considered are: First, to consider the body impure, seeking to remove all attachment to it, second, to consider the senses as a source of suffering, whatever their feelings of pain or pleasure may be; third, to consider the mind to be in a constant state of flux, and fourth, to consider everything in the world as being a consequence of causes and conditions and that nothing remains unchanged forever. The four right procedures are: First, to prevent any evil from starting; second, to remove any evil as soon as it starts; third, to induce the doing of good deeds; and fourth, to encourage the growth and continu-ance of good deeds that have already started. One must endeavor to keep these four procedures. The five faculties of power are: First, the faith to believe; second, the will to make the endeavor; third, the faculty of alertness; fourth, the ability to concentrate one's mind; and fifth, the ability to maintain clear wisdom. These five faculties are necessary powers to attain Enlightenment. The perfection of the six practices for reaching the

tion helps one to control a wandering and futile mind; and the practice of Wisdom changes a dark and confused mind into a clear and penetrating insight. Offering and keeping Precepts make the foundation necessary to build a great castle on. Endurance and Endeavor are the walls of the castle that protect it against enemies from outside. Concentra-tion and Wisdom are the personal armor that protects one against the assaults of life and death. If one gives away a gift only when convenient, or because it is easier to give than not to give, it is an offering, or course, but it is not a True Offering. A True Offering comes from a sympathetic heart before any request is made, and a True Offering is the one that one gives not occasionally but constantly. Neither is it a True Offering if after the act there are feelings of regret or of self-praise; a True Offering is one that is given with pleasure, forgetting oneself as the giver, the one who re-ceives it and the gift itself. True Offering springs spontaneously from one's pure compassionate heart with no thought of any return, wishing to enter into a life of Enlightenment together. There are all kinds of offering which can be prac-ticed by even those who are not wealthy. The first is the physical offering. This is to offer service by one's labor. The highest type of this offering is to offer one's own life as is shown in the following story. The second is the spiritual of-fering. This is to offer a compassionate heart to others. The third is the offering of eyes. This is to offer a warm glance to others which will give them tranquility. The fourth is the offering of countenance. This is to offer a soft countenance with smile to others. The fifth is the oral offering. This is to offer kind and warm words to others. The sixth is the seat offering. This is to offer one's seat to others. The seventh is the offering of shelter. This is to let others spend the night at one's home. These kinds of offering can be practiced by anyone in everyday life. Once there was a prince named Sattva. One day he and his two elder brothers went to a forest to play. There they saw a famished tigress which was evidently tempted to devour her own seven cubs to satisfy her hunger. The elder brothers ran away in fear but Sattva climbed up a cliff and threw himself over it to the tigress in order to save the lives of the baby tigers. Prince Sattva did this charitable act spontaneously but within his mind he was thinking: "This body is changing and impermanent; I have loved this body with no thought of throwing it away, but now I make it an offering to this tigress so that I may gain En-lightenment." This thought of Prince Sattva shows the true determination to gain Enlightenment. There are Four Un-limited States of Mind that the seeker of Enlightenment should cherish. They are compassion, tenderness, gladness and equanimity. One can remove greed by cherishing compassion; one can remove anger by tenderness; one can remove suffering by gladness, and one can remove the habit of discrimination of enemies and friends by cherishing an equita-ble mind. It is a great compassion that makes people happy and contented; it is a great tenderness that removes every-thing that does not make people happy and contented; it is a great gladness that makes everyone happy and contented with a mind of joy; there is a great peacefulness when everyone is happy and contented, and then one can have equal feelings toward everybody. With care one may cherish these Four Unlimited States of Mind and may get rid of greed, anger, suffering, and the minds of love-hate, but it is not an easy thing to do. An evil mind is as hard to get rid of as a watchdog, and a right mind is as easy to lose as a deer in a forest; or an evil mind is as hard to remove as letters carved in stone, and a right mind is as easy to lose as words written in water. Indeed, it is the most difficult thing in life to train oneself for Enlightenment. There was a young man named Srona who was born in a wealthy family but was of del- icate health. He was very earnest to gain Enlightenment and became a disciple of the Blessed One. On the path to En-lightenment, he tried so hard that finally his feet bled. The Blessed One pitied him and said, "Srona my boy, did you ever study that harp at your home? You know that a harp does not make music if the string are stretched too tight or too loose. It makes music only when the strings are stretched just right. The training for Enlightenment is just like ad-justing the harp strings. You cannot attain Enlightenment if you stretch the strings of your mind too loosely or too tightly. You must be considerate and act wisely." Srona found these words very profitable and finally gained what he sought. Once there was a prince who was skillful in the use of the five weapons. One day he was returning home from his practice and met a monster whose skin was invulnerable. The monster started for him but nothing daunted the prince. He shot an arrow at him which fell harmless. Then he threw his spear which failed to penetrate the thick skin.

other shore of Enlightenment are: the path of offering, the path of keeping precepts, the path of endurance, the path of endeavor, the path of concentration of mind, and the path of wisdom. By following these paths, one can surely pass from the shore of delusion over to the shore of Enlightenment. The practice of Offering gets rid of self-ishness; the practice of Precepts keeps one thoughtful of the rights and comforts of others; the practice of Endurance helps one to control a fearful or angry mind; the practice of Endeavor helps one to be diligent and faithful; the practice of Concentra-

ings. People respect their parents, elders, brothers and sisters because they are sensitive to dishonor and shame. After self-reflection it is meritorious to withhold honor from one's self and to feel ashamed by observing other people. If a man possesses a repentant spirit his sins will disappear, but if he has an unrepentant spirit, his sins will continue and condemn him forever. It is only the one who hears the true teaching rightly and realizes its meaning and relation to oneself who can receive and profit by it. If a man merely hears the true teaching but does not acquire it, he will fail in his search for Enlightenment. Faith, modesty, humbleness, endeavor and wisdom are the great sources of strength to him who is seeking Enlightenment. Among these, wisdom is the greatest of all and the rest are but the aspects of wis-dom. If a man, while in his training, loves worldly affairs, enjoys idle talk or falls asleep, he will be retired from the path to Enlightenment. In training for Enlightenment, some may succeed quicker than others. Therefore, one should not be discouraged to see others becoming Enlightened first. When a man is practicing archery, he does not expect quick success but knows that if he practices patiently, he will become more and more accurate. A river begins as a brook but grows ever larger until it flows into the great ocean. Like these examples, if a man trains with patience and perseverance, he will surely gain Enlightenment. As already explained, if one keeps his eyes open, he will see the teaching everywhere, and so his opportunities for Enlightenment are endless. Once there was a man who was burning incense. He noticed that the fragrance was neither coming nor going; it neither appeared nor disappeared. This trifle incident let him to gain Enlightenment. Once there was a man who got a thorn stuck in his foot. He felt the sharp pain and a thought came to him, that pain was only a reaction of the mind. From this incident a deeper thought followed that the mind may get out of hand if one fails to control it, or it may become pure if one succeeds. From these thoughts, a little later, Enlightenment came to him. There was another man who was very avaricious. One day he was thinking of his greedy mind when he realized that greedy thoughts were but shavings and kindlings that wisdom could burn and consume. That was the beginning of his Enlightenment. There is an old saying: "Keep your mind level. If the mind is level, the whole world will be level." Consider these words. Realize that all the distinctions of the world are caused by the discriminating views of the mind. There is a path to Enlightenment in those very words. Indeed, the ways to En- lightenment are unlimited.

Then he threw a bar and a javelin but they failed to hurt the monster. Then he used his sword but the sword broke. The prince attacked the monster with his fists and feet but to no purpose, for the monster clutched him in his giant arms and held him fast. Then the prince tried to use his head as a weapon but in vain. The monster said, "It is useless for you to resist; I am going to devour you." But the prince answered, "You may think that I have used all my weapons and am helpless, but I still have one weapon left. If you devour me, I will destroy you from the in-side of your stomach." The courage of the prince disturbed the monster and he asked, "How can you do that?" The prince replied, "By the power of the Truth." Then the monster released him and begged for his instruction in the Truth. The teaching of this fable is to encourage disci-ples to persevere in their efforts and to be undaunted in the face of many setbacks. Both odious self-assertion and shamelessness offend mankind, but dishonor and shame protect human be-

The good news they do not print. The good news we do print. We have a special edition every moment, and we need you to read it. The good news is that you are alive, that the linden tree is still there, standing firm in the harsh winter. The good news is that you have wonderful eyes to touch the blue sky. The good news is that your child is there before you, and your arms are available: hugging is possible. They only print what is wrong. Look at each of our special editions. We always offer the things that are not wrong. We want you to benefit from them and help protect them. The dandelion is there by the sidewalk, smiling its wondrous smile, singing the song of eternity. Listen! You have ears that can hear it. Bow your head. Listen to it. Leave behind the world of sorrow and preoccupation and get free. The latest good news is that you can do it. Thich Nhat Hanh
The universe is in the habit of making beauty. There are flowers and songs, snowflakes and smiles, acts of great courage, laughter between friends, a job well done, the smell of fresh-baked bread. Beauty is everywhere!
Be willing to learn from the spiritual teachers all around you, however unlikely or unlike you they may be. Always be a sensitive student.
Welcome the positive changes that are taking place in your life. Open up the windows and let in some fresh air. Wholeness and healing are waiting in the wings.
Practice reverence for life. The sacred is in, with, and under all the things of the world. Respond with appropriate respect and awe.
Slow down. Be calm. Find a place where you can regularly practice silence. There you will find the resources to revitalize your body, mind, and spirit.
Let Spirit flow through you in little acts of kindness, brief words of encouragement, and manifold expressions of courtesy. These deeds will add to the planet's fund of good will.
Cultivate the art of deep listening in which you lean toward the world in love. All things in the universe want to be heard, as do the many voices inside us.
Constantly try to discover the significance of your experiences. Seek further understandings from sacred texts and spiritual teachers.
Take good care of the best that is within you. Self-exploration and personal growth continue throughout our lifetimes and equip us to tend to the needs of others.
In your private and public lives, discover the sweet release that comes from forgiving others. Feel the healing balm of being forgiven and of forgiving yourself.
Cultivate the art of making connections. See how your life is intimately related to all life on the planet.
Open your heart, mind, and spirit to the pain and suffering in the world. Reach out to others and discover the rewards and obligations of deep feeling.
Pay attention. Stay awake and totally alert. See with receptive eyes and discover a world of ceaseless wonders.
Live in the present moment. Don't obsess about the past or worry about the future. All you need is right here now.
A woman complained to a visiting friend that her neighbor was a poor housekeeper. "You should see how dirty her children are - and her house. It is almost a disgrace to be living in the same neighborhood as her. Take a look at those clothes she has hung out on the line. See the black streaks on the sheets and towels?" The friend walked up to the window and said, "I think the clothes are quite clean, my dear. The streaks are on your window."
Treat no one lightly and think nothing is useless, for everyone has a moment and everything has its place.
Profound love demands a deep conception and out of this develops reverence for the mystery of life. It brings us close to all beings. Albert Schweitzer

January 10, 2004

The Buddha denied, for example, that there was anything permanent in us, even a soul. Every-thing simply "arises and passes away," He said, and the world the Buddha taught consisted mere-ly of five groups: matter; feelings; perceptions; mental activities, and cognitions. What are feel-ings and perceptions? The Buddha said they are those which arise in an individual when that per-son is in contact with material things. They are not permanent; they are momentary, changing, not independent. We recognize we "see," are aware that we have feelings and perceptions, that we feel and perceive. But, said the Buddha, "that which cognizes this is also momentary, chang- ing, impermanent, not independent; both arise and fade away." "There is nothing," says the Buddha, "which is permanent in a human being." This being so, the only permanent unchanging

reality is to be found in Nirvana, a "state of supreme Enlightenment beyond the conception of the intellect; the annihilation of all that we know as the personal, separative self."
The Buddha was intensely practical. The philosophical discussions, speculations, arguments, in which so many of His contemporaries loved to indulge, were to Him pointless, for was it not true that words, opinions, ideas were in them-selves formless, shifting, changing, impermanent, not independent? They too arose and faded away, mere creatures of impermanent thought. "We would better occupy ourselves," He said, "in pursuing the Way, in striving after Enlighten-ment, after which the really essential truths would all be revealed to us," as indeed they had been revealed to the Bud-dha himself, under the Bodhi-tree at Bodhigaya. How foolish were those whose boat was sinking in the torrent of life and who preferred to discuss their situation rather than bail water and save themselves.
Disclaimer: All images and/or articles retain the original copyright of their original owners. Buddha's Teaching courtesy Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, Tokyo.

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