Sun Radiance: Thought Transformation, 10 April 1990, part 1

For the sake of myself and all sentient beings equal to space, I must attain complete Buddhahood. Having attained complete Buddhahood, I will establish all sentient beings in complete happiness and eliminate all of their suffering. In order to achieve that, I am going to cultivate the essence of the great vehicle, the precious mind of bodhicitta. And with such motivation, we’re going to meditate for five minutes.

Within the present text Sun Radiance – Thought Transformation, there are two overall divisions: the division of the conventional and ultimate awakening minds or hearts.

In connection with the conventional awakening heart, we have been discussing the guidelines for its development, and this section is completed in one day’s time. Completing the section on the conventional awakening heart this month, and we will continue the thought transformation after the break. It has taken us—we’ve explained in great detail the text up to now—it’s taken almost one year. So I think that we cannot simply combine this and condense it all in one, but that we have presented it in a way in which, in an elaborate way, setting out all its various parts.

So I think now, having set it out in detail and all the various extensive parts, that for the sake of practice in the form of a condensed practice and for the sake of meditation, we will seek to condense what we have learned up to now. According to the tradition of Geshe Chekawa, in which the thought transformation for the development of the awakening mind is explained in terms of the exchange and equalizing self and others, that has been completed. But additionally, it would be useful to explain the method of bodhicitta of the sevenfold cause and effect instructions, and this will be done extremely briefly, just giving its essence.

As it says in the text—in the root text somewhere—practice the preliminaries. As a prerequisite for developing bodhicitta, it’s necessary to train the mind in the four preliminaries: the meditations on the leisures and fortunes, on impermanence and death, on the law of cause and effect, and the disadvantages of cyclic existence.

It is said that through the pair of meditations on the first two—that is, meditating on the leisures and fortunes of a human life and death in the sense of impermanence, impermanence in the sense of death—that one will reverse the great attachment to the happiness of this life. And it is also said that the latter two—that is, the actions and the results and the meditation on the disadvantages of cyclic existence—serve as a means to reverse the emphasis on the happiness of future lives and cyclic existence. So it is said that these four are a preliminary, and they are preliminary in the sense that by means of them, one ceases the desire, one ceases the attachment which desires the happiness within cyclic existence. Instead, it is replaced with the sense of development, determination to go—or that is to say, renunciation—which seeks liberation from cyclic existence.

So in a verse by Tsongkhapa in which he discusses these four preliminaries, by means of these four preliminaries, attachment to cyclic existence is reversed and one thereby develops renunciation. And this renunciation is the thought of renunciation which seeks or strives for liberation.

So what do we mean by renunciation? It is the awareness which seeks, which strives for liberation, having understood one’s own cyclic existence in both its general and specific terms. The awareness which understands cyclic existence in one’s own terms—that is, the cyclic existence existing within one’s own continuum—and strives to separate oneself from that suffering of cyclic existence and its cause is termed—such a mind is the mind of renunciation.

Taking that same attitude but turning the mind toward others, in which there is developed the striving to separate the suffering of cyclic existence within the continuum of other sentient beings, to separate them from the suffering and the causes of suffering of that cyclic existence within the continuum of other sentient beings, we call compassion.

So compassion and renunciation are simply the direction in which the mind is turned, whether it’s to oneself or to others, in terms of separating from suffering and the causes of suffering. So this is the order of development between these two awarenesses—that is to say, renunciation and compassion—which necessarily must come first. It is renunciation, since it is first seeing the suffering in terms of one’s own cyclic existence within one’s own mind, and then following that, the cyclic existence within others’ minds, which constitutes compassion.

If we combine renunciation and couple it with the correct view, then in dependence upon this pair, we can achieve liberation. If, on the other hand, we assist renunciation, we complement renunciation with the meditation on bodhicitta, then through this assisting or complementing, one becomes a practitioner of the great vehicle.

Simply the mind of renunciation—by means of simply the mind of renunciation, one cannot become a practitioner of the great vehicle. Nor by only the mind which understands the correct view can one become a practitioner of the great vehicle. The determining factor is the existence or non-existence of bodhicitta. When one possesses this one quality, that of bodhicitta, one is a practitioner of the great vehicle. So the qualifying mark which determines whether we can designate, we give the name, a great vehicle or not, is the mind of bodhicitta.

Having generated bodhicitta, one has already developed renunciation. If we couple this with the correct view, then this acts as the means whereby all faults can be eliminated and all excellent qualities generated. We have spoken extensively previously on the great importance of bodhicitta and its means for achieving the great vehicle.

And in terms of the actual development of bodhicitta, there are the two ways or two methods: that is, the exchange and equalizing self with others and the sevenfold cause and effect instructions. And one can meditate on either of these two traditions. They both were taught by the Buddha. One can make use of either, but it is said that the method of the equalizing exchange of self with others is more powerful.

The great master Tsongkhapa integrated these two methods—the equalizing exchange of self with others and the sevenfold cause and effect precepts—into one complete method for developing bodhicitta. But I am not going to explain that integrated method today. We have previously extensively explained the method in terms of the exchange and equalizing exchange of self and others. And today I am going to explain that method, but in a very condensed, brief form.

We’re going to explain the equalizing exchange of self and others, and it has eight sections. The first is the equalization, equalizing self and others—that is to say, development of equanimity. The second is understanding the faults of self-centeredness. The third is understanding the excellent qualities of other-centeredness. The fourth is—having thought in terms of the faults and qualities of self and other-centeredness—the actual exchange of self for others. The fifth is compassionately taking on. The sixth is lovingly giving away. The seventh is exceptional resolve. And the eighth is the actual awakening heart.

So the first is the development of equanimity, and this is also called superior equanimity, in that we’re trying to develop a sense of sameness toward all sentient beings, wishing them all happiness to the same degree, wishing that they not suffer to the same degree. That is, we don’t hold some close and others distant. If in fact we have attachment for some, holding them close, and others we have hatred, holding them at a distance, we will never be able to develop bodhicitta.

So we’re trying to develop an even-mindedness toward all sentient beings and the various types of sentient beings—such as those we hold dear, enemies, and strangers—seeing them all as equal, removing completely from the root this tendency to hold some close and others distant. So it’s necessary to cultivate the equanimity which is the detachment from the qualities of hatred and attachment, understanding that just in the same way that we wish our own self happiness, others are just like ourselves. That they all want to be happy, no matter what category we may classify them in. No matter whether they’re our loved ones, no matter whether they’re our enemies or neutral strangers, they all want to be happy just like ourselves. And likewise, that in the same way that we don’t want to suffer, all sentient beings are exactly the same, whether they’re loved ones, whether they’re enemies, or whether they’re strangers. They, in the same manner, do not want to suffer.

Desiring happiness and not desiring to suffer—we pursue our own self-centered ends, pursuing our own happiness, seeking to get rid of only our own suffering. And due to that continual striving, we have remained in cyclic existence and have not achieved our end. Not only has this attitude not benefited us, but in fact our self-centeredness has caused us to experience unwanted suffering and prevented us from finding our desired happiness.

So we should analyze and reflect upon the qualities of other-centeredness. We’ve briefly spoken about the disadvantage of self-centeredness, but under the influence of other-centeredness, we in fact bring about all our desired happiness. We eliminate all our undesired suffering. In fact, other-centeredness is the root of all excellent qualities and the foundation of all benefit and bliss.

The reason behind the necessity to reorientate ourselves away from self-centeredness to other-centeredness and trying to reflect upon the necessity for such a reorientation: looking at ourselves and the Buddhas. The Buddhas all previously were very much like us. They too were bound within cyclic existence. But the difference between them and our present selves is that they forwent self-centeredness and began to reorient and began to accept others—that is to say, they practiced other-centeredness. And in this way, they were able to remove all faults and achieve all the excellent qualities. But on the other hand, we have persisted in our attachment to our own self-centeredness. And as a result, we now not only have no happiness, but we continue to experience only suffering. And this is all due to our self-centeredness.

So we can reflect simply upon this one bare fact: that the previous beings who gave up self-centeredness for other-centeredness are now Buddhas. On the other hand, we who have clung to our self-centeredness still remain suffering in cyclic existence. Other-centeredness is the root of all excellent qualities.

And as the root text says, to apply this to all. And this “all” here refers to all sentient beings, no matter who—whether it’s those we hold dear, enemies, or strangers—they all are greatly kind, they all show us great kindness. It is due to them that we will be able—it is in dependence upon this kindness of all sentient beings—that we achieve both temporal and ultimate happiness.

We have not previously considered the importance of others. Between self and others, we always concerned ourselves only with ourselves or mainly ourselves, and we simply abandoned others. But this is simply because previously we did not understand—we had not met with a teacher who set out and explained the faults of self-centeredness and the excellent qualities of other-centeredness.

Now we have to understand that in this practice of orientating ourselves toward others—other-centeredness—and away from self-centeredness, we don’t forego ourselves. It is just that between self and other, we mainly concern ourselves with the other. It is not to say that we don’t concern ourselves with ourselves, but our emphasis is concerned with others.

We have now—having tried to gain an understanding, having these faults and qualities pointed out to us—we have to recognize the advantages of other-centeredness and begin to place emphasis on others, examining and coming to some conclusion, some determination, that mainly I will concern myself with the welfare of others, and to commit oneself by making a determination that this is the way one is going to practice.

So in terms of our present explanation, we have set the basis of equality of self and others, pointed out the faults of self-centeredness, the advantages of other-centeredness with this third section, and then this fourth section: understanding the advantages and the faults, committing ourselves to the actual exchange of self with others.