Sun Radiance: Thought Transformation, 13 February 1990, part 2

Such a being who has eliminated all their faults and has has brought to culmination all excellent qualities which we are which we call Buddha when they actually give a teaching express teaching the Dharma even a four line verse has the ability to to liberate from suffering and place in happiness thousands of sentient beings And two, from their body, they’re able to, radiate light rays and each of those light rays are able to place into in a state of liberation thousands of sentient beings. So it’s generating love and compassion, making use of the practice of exchanging self equalizing exchange and self with others. We in using the practice of exchanging self with others, we are able to generate a very powerful love and compassion, a type of compassion which wishes that all sentient beings be free from suffering and that they be established in happiness. And that due to this love and compassion, when you want wishing to wanting to alleviate suffering, wanting to bring happiness to others, we see that no one other than a Buddha is able to actually bring this about in reality and we develop the aspiration which is such that one feels I must achieve Buddhahood in order to bring this about in fact.

And this is the generation of an awakening heart or the mind of enlightenment. This is the striving for awakening or enlightenment. We have to habituate our mind, accustom our mind to this aspiration again and again until it comes effortlessly. This this this attitude of striving for enlightenment for the sake of others, and this is the actual awakening heart. So this is a very precious attitude of mind, the awakening heart.

We have to develop the attitude that whoever we might see, no matter who they might be, that taking this person as our object immediately upon seeing them there arises in our mind the wish that they not suffer, they be happy, may I achieve Buddhahood in order to bring that about. Again and again developing this quality of mind and developing the awakening heart. And by the power of developing the awakening heart, one becomes a bodhisattva and by and a bodhisattva is worthy of reference by gods and men. Having awakened the awakening heart, having having generated the awakening heart under the influence of such an attitude no matter what we might be doing whether we’re sleeping, going, staying, we are continually engaged in skillful actions. All our negativities are being purified along with our afflicted emotions and we are able to effectively accumulate the two accumulations of merit, positive potential, and wisdom.

And the benefits from such an attitude are unimaginable. So such are the unimaginable benefits of the awakening heart that it has been said that if the benefits from the awakening heart were to have form, the entire universe would not be able to hold those benefits. Normally we can’t see these skillful actions of the awakening heart but if they were to have the actual material form, then the benefits would not be able to, fit in the world or the universe. So, you know So too, we cannot see the benefits from generating the awakening heart.

Doesn’t have form. If it did have form then it said that they would not be able, that the benefits would not be able to fit in the universe. And this is from a scriptural text by the Buddha such a quotation and normally you’re always asking Rinpoche questions but he wants to take this opportunity to ask you a question that maybe this is just something that’s been said in the past that’s really not of any meaning to us now or maybe you think well this is really true and if it were to be true, reasons could you give to substantiate such an allegation that the benefits from an awakening heart would not be able to fit in the universe? What reasons could you give to substantiate that? Anybody can answer.

Translator can answer. Tenzin can answer. Anybody can answer. Because you every all your actions are are are virtuous, are skillful. Yeah.

Yeah. Alright. So if we just take one moment of an awakening mind, not not not a continuum, but just one moment. And we say that the benefit of the awakening heart is equal to all of space in one moment. Why can we use to substantiate that?

What reasoning? Okay. Okay. So the question is, in one moment the benefit from the awakening heart is equal to all of space, All of space. And the reason for substantiating that is?

Isn’t that what we’re trying to prove? The question is we say that the benefit is equal to space. Why is it benefit equal to space? Because all all sentient beings are equal. I don’t know.

You want to repeat your answers? Anybody want have another answer? Pardon? Do you want to repeat your answer? It’s just a guess.

It was something like, since all sentient beings are numberless and uncountable and a mind that holds all those beings with compassion, love and compassion, then that mind must be Sometimes it would be good if he doesn’t know what you’re thinking. So it would be good to question you to see what’s going through your mind sometimes. You know, the reason for teaching is that to to help you to gain understanding with your own minds. You know that we just like pointing out various objects around the room. This is a Buddha, these are water bowls, this is a text that pointing these things out then you’re able to understand what is meant.

And Rinpoche thinks that it might be beneficial that if we have this kind of exchange where asking you what you are understanding so that understanding what you are understanding then he will be, this will enable us to help you to develop a better understanding. So all of your answers were very good. Tenzin, Dale, Christos, Linda, everybody feels very good. You know, you know, in studying the Buddhadharma we have to we should try to substantiate everything that we hear, not everything that we, that we make use of using reasoning. We shouldn’t just accept things out of it for no reason at all.

So with respect to the awakening heart, benefits being equal to space. Because of the motivation of the awakening heart in seeking to bring happiness, to eliminate the sufferings of all sentient beings and wish and to bring them happiness. That such an attitude is observing all sentient beings without excluding even one. And just as in the case of where we were with a kind hearted attitude we were to give five people some food. We would develop, it would be a skillful action with respect to each of them individually.

Each of these persons we would develop some kind of a positive karma with respect to each of them. But in the case of the awakening heart because sentient beings are numberless, countless sentient beings, then we are still, we are developing a skillful action with respect to each of them but it becomes numberless. And the same way that space is infinite sentient beings are infinite. So the benefits of the, skillful actions become infinite in that same manner. Therefore it said that the benefits are equal to space.

Yes. There’s a limit to sentient beings coming? So there’s a limit to sentient beings, but they’re numberless. Like, they’re uncountable. Uncountable.

But there’s a limit. That those are different. That there’s a limit to sentient beings, but they’re uncountable. There’s a limit to sentient beings because they will all eventually achieve Buddhahood. Again, on the one hand we, the benefits of the awakening heart since sentient beings are numberless and taking them as our object wishing them complete happiness we create numberless skillful actions.

On the other hand we can also establish this from the point of view of the attitude which that we’re seeking. The attitude of the awakening heart is seeking to bring, establish all sentient beings in complete happiness. And what we mean by here by complete happiness is Buddhahood and all the qualities which Buddhahood entails. And the qualities of Buddhahood are innumerable. So we’re seeking to establish sentient beings in innumerable positive qualities and therefore this attitude also the skillful action accrued from this is also innumerable.

So taking an example, accept the example of someone who has a toothache and you give this person some medicine to alleviate the pain of their toothache. So first off, you’re giving the medicine to this person. The generosity is one skillful action. And as a consequence taking that medicine this person achieves a happiness which is the absence of that toothache and therefore you also accrue a skillful action of having brought this established this person in a happiness of the loss of pain. So we can think of the accomplishment of skillful actions from these two points of view.

One was the awakening heart which has as an object of observation all sentient beings which are numberless and therefore seeking to establish them in happiness and to eliminate their suffering accrues a numberless skillful actions. But also what the type of happiness that we’re seeking to establish them in is Buddhahood and Buddhahood has innumerable excellent qualities and because of the innumerable excellent qualities which we are seeking to bring about to sentient beings therefore the skillful actions that we are accruing are likewise innumerable. So it can be innumerable, it can be the benefit of the awakening heart is equal to space from these two points of view. So, remember to ask this question so that you would come to understand you know why the benefits from the awakening heart were equal to space that in this way using some type of reasoning that this would inspire you to meditate on the awakening heart since you might begin to understand the unimaginable benefits to be derived from such a cultivation. So because the awakening heart is so important that we’re going to spend five minutes meditating on it.

Try to develop the attitude that I myself must attain Buddhahood as a means to establish all sentient beings in happiness and to completely eliminate their suffering.