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One needs to understand that when the Buddha taught, he was not teaching as a great scholar who wanted to demonstrate a particular philosophical point of view or to teach for its own sake. His desire was to present the very essence of the deep and vast teachings of Buddhism, for that reason he gave teachings which suited the abilities of his disciples. |
The attitude of a bodhisattva is to want to help all beings find happiness and to relieve them of all their suffering. The bodhisattva doesn’t believe there are some beings who want happiness and others who don’t. The bodhisattva doesn’t think that there are some who need to be freed from suffering and others who don’t need to be freed from suffering. |
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During the flourishing of the Mahamudra teachings in India (in the 8th to 12th centuries) there were innumerable people who practiced Mahamudra and who then attained realization through this practice. Of these, 84 individuals became very famous and were called the 84 mahasiddhas. If we study their lives, we will see that they had a vast variety of lifestyles, occupations, and social positions. |
The two meditation practices of shamatha and vipashyana each have their place within Mahamudra practice, but they do not have the same objective. Shamatha’s aim is temporary, immediate. When our minds are disturbed or restless, they are not at peace. Cultivating the settled state of shamatha, we find that we are able to be more steady, more tranquil. That is the purpose of shamatha. |
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During meditation the mind must have the right tension. For example, if we have a cat and we lock the cat up in a room, the cat will go crazy. Not finding a way to get out, it will start running up and down, mewing, and tearing things apart. But if we leave the door open, the cat will go out and take a little walk and then just come back in and fall asleep in the room. |
According to the treatise, Pointing Out the Dharmakaya by the 9thKarmapa, Wangchuk Dorje. If one is able to do these practices, it will pacify one’s afflictions of hatred, greed, and so forth. It will also pacify any difficulties or suffering that one may have and enable one to develop wholesome results. Practicing meditation will help one develop intelligence and wisdom. |
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Tonglen is a meditation done in conjunction with one's breathing, and in relation to one's parents, friends and enemies, to all beings gathered around oneself. As one breathes out, imagine that with the exhalation out goes all one's happiness and all the causes of happiness, all the good karma that one has, in the form of white light rays. |
The ordinary preliminaries are in essence the four contemplations that motivate we to practice dharma. We have had a precious human birth. Having encountered dharma, we are very fortunate. The purpose of contemplating this is that it encourages us to cultivate spiritual practice. |
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The Buddha presented the nature of phenomena in the sutras by first presenting this nature as selflessness. Then he went on and presented it as emptiness. The reason he presented selflessness in the beginning is that, immersed in samsara, we have a lot of different kinds of suffering, and we want to get rid of this suffering. But we cannot just abandon suffering. To get rid of suffering, we need to abandon the cause of suffering. |
What will benefit the individual at the time of death? If a practitioner while alive has been able to gain some understanding of the nature of the mind by developing mindfulness and awareness and has been able to see how the mind works and is able to establish mental stability, it will be very beneficial during the bardo.In the bardo mindfulness and awareness of the mind's activities is important. |
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