Sun Radiance: Thought Transformation, 3 April 1990, part 1

I must, for myself and all other sentient beings, attain complete Buddhahood. By achieving Buddhahood, I will be able to place them in complete happiness and eliminate all the suffering of all sentient beings and ultimately be able to place them in Buddhahood. And to develop, cultivate such an attitude which is the essence of the great vehicle, that is to say the awakening heart. We’re going to meditate five minutes thinking that in order to achieve this end I’m going to train in the great vehicle mind training path. In the context of developing the precious awakening heart, we explained the exchange equalizing self for others and to facilitate this development we, there was an explanation of the commitments to mind training.

Now we begin the the explanation of guidelines for mind training. So what is being spoken of in terms of guidelines or could be translated as that which is to be trained in is those types of practices, those types of activities which would be very good to engage in. Those in terms of benefiting oneself, bringing happiness, but also in terms of what actions we are to forego or to reject. So beginning if you have the root text with you, beginning with the first of the guidelines for mind training, which is all act all active meditation is done in one, or we could say all yoga is done in one way. All yoga or all active meditation is done in one way.

So as I mentioned, it’s perhaps this word is generally translated as yoga. And yoga means a union and specifically a union of calm abiding and special insight. So, generally, what we mean by calm abiding is to the single-minded placement upon the mind upon its object. The single-minded placement of the mind upon an object. And by special insight, it is the examination of the mode of abidance of the object, its nature.

Here we’re discussing what we mean by yoga or active meditation as it’s translated here. That whatever activity that we’re involved in, whatever object that we take is to be that the motivation for relating with it is is done out of a the exchange of self with others. So if we try just to explain this so it’s easily, readily understood in simple terms, then understanding what we mean by all active meditation is done in one way. That is to say that all our activities are done with the motivation in terms of holding others more dear than ourselves and for the benefit of others that I am going to attain Buddhahood. With such a motivation, we relate with all others in this way.

So we can apply this type of motivation to whatever we do. We are trying to rate this meditation, this motivation to all our activities. And this motivation most simply and specifically is that holding others more precious, more cherishing others more than myself in order to place them in complete Buddhahood, I myself would achieve Buddhahood. And therefore, I am going to eat this food in order to achieve Buddhahood for the sake of others. I’m going to wear these clothes in order to achieve Buddhahood for the sake of others.

I’m going to use this article, whatever we do. So no matter what the activity might be that we always have to perform some type of activity, type of work or other. And we are trying to couple all our activities with this type of motivation. That is that cherishing others more than myself in order to establish all sentient beings in Buddhahood that I myself am doing this work to achieve Buddhahood for them. And that all of whatever what type of work we’re doing, whatever however we’re benefiting some friend, helping out some friend, writing the letter, that we can we should try to couple.

And this is what this this this word word yoga means to couple. Coupling all of our activities with the precious mind of awakening heart. So, again, whatever we are doing, whether it’s drinking tea, washing ourselves, sleeping, come in or going. All this to be done conjoined with the motivation of the awakening heart. That it would be extremely difficult to do this with unskillful actions.

But we can begin with skillful actions and join our skillful actions with this motivation. But also, with respect to unspecified or neutral actions, we, by conjoining it with the motivation of the awakening heart, these actions become skillful. So, indeed, it would be difficult for us, presently for us, It would be difficult to bring such types of unskillful actions as killing and stealing under the influence of the motivation of the awakening heart. But those of great realization, those who abide on the first ground who have very powerful awakening heart, for them even the actions of killing and stealing are skillful due to the force of their awakening heart.

But at least we can begin to couple presently our neutral actions which if combined with the awakening heart motivation become skillful in themselves. And what to say of the actual skillful actions such as prostrating, giving, etcetera. But those types of neutral actions such as just sitting around talking, etcetera, these types which are usually done indifferently can become skillful actions through the force of the awakening heart. So the motivation is extremely important within the Buddha Dharma that all things depend depend upon mind. And therefore, actions are dependent upon the quality of our motivation.

Due to the force of positive quality of mind, our action becomes positive. Due to the force of a negative state of mind, our actions become negative. So then the the next guideline as presented in the text. At the beginning and at the end, two things are are to be done. At the beginning and at the end, things are to be done.

And by beginning, this refers to so the beginning and end refers to two two activities. And these two activities are that in the beginning upon rising, rising, upon waking in the morning, and in refers to the activity of when we’re about to go to sleep at night. So for those who are carrying on We can so the for the those that are carrying on a very powerful type of practice, they divide the night into three parts and they arise, they awake, awaken on the third part of the night. And simply upon awakening, that is to say upon opening their eyes, they initially think to themselves, I didn’t die last night. And this is all due to the kindness of my Lama.

What a fortunate opportunity presents itself now. So upon opening one’s eyes first thing in the morning and thinking in this way one reflects and tries to set the motivation that understanding that cyclic existence continues under We continue to cycle in the realms of cyclic existence due to the force of karma, our created actions. And therefore developing the determination that until Buddhahood, until I actually attain Buddhahood, not only that, in this life, not that just that, but this month, not just that, today, I will not allow my mind to go under the influence of the the discordant side, contrary to the awakening heart. Discordant motivation such as self centeredness, such as the afflictive emotions that I will not I will cease these immediate upon their rising I will not allow them to be generated. And one should think, continue to to reflect, you know, if if I can’t for this life, then at least for this month, and if I can’t for this month, then at least for today, I will not allow my mind to be separated from the awakening heart.

And additionally, developing the motivation such that I will newly generate the awakening heart and if having generated it that I will cause it to remain and not only cause it to remain but to increase it higher and higher I must I must create more and more positive potential and therefore motivating oneself to carry on the practices whereby to gain positive potential such as generosity, ethics, and patience. So beginning our way in this day and proceeding onward upon actually rising, perhaps you washing, going on, putting on your clothes, eating your food, going to work. All of these activities are done with the motivation that I am I am doing this in order to achieve Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. That is to say they are all coupled with the awakening heart. Negative.

So the the proficient practitioner again in coming to the end of the day just before going to sleep which is done during the middle third of the night reflects upon the course of his or her day remembering the motivation that he set initially in the beginning to couple all his various actions to the awakening heart, making them all for the purpose of attaining Buddhahood and examining did I do that today and analyzing all his various actions. And if in fact he sees that he has accomplished this purpose, then rejoicing in his own actions, you know, that today my human life has been made greatly meaningful. I have achieved the purpose of a human life. That I have carried on a real practice of Dharma which has great meaning, and it will bear great fruit. And going on to dedicate all that positive potential created in this way, and finally praying may I be able to carry on this same practice tomorrow.

But then on the other hand, upon examining course of your daily actions in accordance with your initial motivation at the beginning at the morning and seeing that in fact you didn’t act in accordance with the determination which you started your day off with. And criticizing yourself that in fact you in this way of acting your human life is meaningless. That you’ve you’ve incurred a great loss today. And that your that your mind was, you know, it has no power. It has it’s extremely negative.

And definitely trying to reform it for tomorrow’s sake that to and pray and make requests that tomorrow will go better. If we conduct ourselves in this way carrying on these activities, then we will definitely gradually see an improvement in our practice. Setting our motivation initially in the beginning of the morning and taking care throughout the day and then examining at just before going to bed at night. And either in the case of acting in accordance with our motivation, praising ourselves, rejoicing ourselves, or on the other hand criticizing ourselves when we act, don’t act in accordance with those, our previous motivation. But understanding that we are wasting our human life.

That again and again carrying out this determination and this examination that each day we’re going to improve a little bit better more and more throughout the life. So the Buddha said that that is the very nature of the mind that upon again and again making a determination to to think in a certain direction again and again, that one will reach a point where one will no longer have to make this conscious determination, but it will become automatic. It will become as if one’s nature. That this is the ability of the mind. If we don’t develop this determination thinking along certain lines, then it’s not going to arise within our mind as a part of our mind.

But again and again and again thinking I will do this, I can do this, I will do this, I will do this, I will do this, it becomes automatic and we no longer have to even reflect upon it or determine it. The practice of exchanging self and others. And the primary to this practice is the practice of taking compassionately the sufferings of others upon oneself and lovingly giving away our happiness to others. And we think to ourselves, you know, this I can’t do that. You know, this this is really too hard.

Like, it’s not coming. It’s not gonna happen. The next guideline is train to see the practices as easy. Train to see the practices as easy. Trained to Training will make the practices easy.

Training will make the practices easy. That’s better. Training will make the practices easy. As was just previously mentioned that we think, oh, I can’t. This is too difficult.

This is not easy to take on the sufferings of others and to give away my happiness. I can’t do it. No. But, you know, just now in the practice of of taking and giving, we’re simply doing it by way of thought. That is to say, in our imagination.

By if we’re not actually in fact taking upon the sufferings of others giving away our happiness, but we’re beginning with the by the process of thought in our imagination practicing in this way. Through habituation with such a technique, there will definitely come a time with the gaining of the realization of the practice that fact we will be able to take on the suffering of others and give away our happiness to other, give away our happiness to them. That, that, that, that through the cultivation, through the process of habituation to the practice, it comes about in actual fact. And not only that, it will come easily. So Rinpoche was quoting a verse from Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds, In which it says it to paraphrase that though in fact we may not be able to carry on such great practices at present, If we look at the great bodhisattva superiors who when, as in the case of a beggar perhaps in Tibet, when they just by hearing the sound, please give, when they hear this sound just with their ear, a beggar says, please give me your arm, please give me your leg.

You know, if we we look at the quality of liberation, there’s no suffering whatsoever and it’s a, you know, a tremendous happiness. That that ārya, that bodhisattva, upon hearing the sound, please give, experiences even a greater happiness than happiness derived from liberation merely upon merely upon hearing a beggar ask him to give. Why is the bodhisattva filled with such happiness? The bodhisattva understands that his or her eventual Buddhahood is dependent upon sentient beings. And he is trying to achieve Buddhahood as quickly as possible.

And in order to do this, one of the necessary practices is to bring the culmination, the practice of generosity. And in order to practice generosity, we need someone to practice upon. And then upon hearing this beggar, please, asking him to give, his mind is filled with great rejoicing. I have a chance, what a wonderful chance to practice, to bring to culmination my practice of generosity, because I need to create the accumulations in order to quickly achieve Buddhahood, and this is a wonderful opportunity. And he’s filled with this great happiness upon really hearing this sound because he knows his Buddhahood is that much closer.

But though the beggar asked him to give an arm or a head, in cutting it off he feels no pain. It’s just like as if we cut our fingernails. We don’t feel any pain, likewise, for the bodhisattva. So the deeds of the bodhisattva are unimaginable. The Buddha himself when while training the path as a bodhisattva, if the number of times that he had given his head as generosity were, these heads were piled up, it would form a huge mass.

The next guideline. It’s in the root text. Which whichever the two occurs, be patient. Whichever of the two occurs, be patient. In the course of our mind training, it’s it’s definite that we’re going to experience some type of either mental or physical suffering.

They’re definitely going to come. And whatever happens, we have to cultivate patience. In the course of our mental training in Dharma it’s definite that we’re going to undergo some difficulties. Mental and physical sicknesses, mental and physical abuses, problems in general. This is the time that we make use of patience.

There’s no other time that we can actually make use of patience than when we’re confronted with difficulties.