Mind Training (Lojong)

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The Seven Points of Mind Training
by Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1101–1175)

1. The Preliminaries
First, train in the preliminaries.

2. The Main Practice

Consider all things and events as dreamlike.
Examine the nature of unborn awareness.
Let even the antidote be freed in its own place.
Rest in the ālaya, the essence.
Between sessions, be a conjurer of illusions.

Train in the two—giving and taking—alternately.

These two are to be mounted on the breath.
Three objects, three poisons and three sources of virtue.
In all activities, train by applying slogans.
Begin the process of taking with yourself.

3. Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment

When all the world is filled with evil,
transform adversity into the path of enlightenment.
Drive all blames into one.
Meditate on the great kindness of all.
Meditating on delusory perceptions as the four kāyas.
Is the unsurpassable śūnyatā protection.
The fourfold practice is the best of methods.
Whatever you encounter, apply the practice.

4. Applying the Practice throughout the Whole of Life

The essence of the instruction, briefly stated,
is to apply yourself to the five strengths.
The mahāyāna advice for transference
Involves the same five strengths. Conduct is important.

5. The Measure of Mind Training

All teachings share a single purpose.
Of the two witnesses, rely upon the principal one.
Always maintain only a joyful attitude.
If this can be done even when distracted, you are proficient.

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6. The Commitments of Mind Training
Train constantly in three basic principles.
Change your attitude, but remain natural.
Don’t speak of injured limbs.
Don’t ponder others’ flaws.
Train first with the strongest destructive emotions.
Abandon any expectations of results.
Give up poisonous food.
Don’t be so loyal to the cause.
Don’t lash out in retaliation.
Don’t lie in ambush.
Don’t strike a vulnerable point.
Don’t transfer the ox’s burden to the cow.
Don’t be competitive.
Don’t misperform the rites.
Don’t reduce gods to demons.
Don’t seek others’ misery as crutches of your own happiness.

7. The Precepts of Mind Training

Do everything with a single intention.
Counter all adversity with a single remedy.
Two tasks: one at the beginning and one at the end.
Whichever of the two occurs, be patient.
Keep the two, even at your life’s expense.
Train in the three difficulties.
Acquire the three main provisions.
Cultivate the three that must not decline.
Keep the three from which you must not separate.
Apply the training impartially to all.
It is vital that it be deep and all-pervasive.
Meditate constantly on those who’ve been set apart.
Don’t be dependent on external conditions.
This time, practise what’s most important.
Don’t misunderstand.
Don’t be inconsistent.
Train wholeheartedly.
Gain freedom through discernment and analysis.
Don’t be boastful.
Don’t be irritable.
Don’t be temperamental.
Don’t seek acknowledgement.

The essence of the nectar-like instructions for transforming into the path of

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awakening the five prevalent signs of degeneration was passed down from the one
from Golden Isle. When karmic seeds left over from former trainings were aroused in
me, I felt great interest, and so, without regard for suffering or disparagement, I
sought instructions on subduing ego-clinging. Now, even in death, I shall have no
regrets.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2012.

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Commentary on the Seven Points of Mind Training
by Gyalse Tokme Zangpo

Homage to the great Compassionate One!

Pure in the three trainings and with mastery of twofold bodhicitta,

You spread the sugata's teachings throughout the ten directions,
As the crowning ornament among all holders of the teachings—
Incomparable guru, at your feet I prostrate myself in homage!

The single path traversed by the buddhas of the three times and their heirs,
A precious treasury that is the source of all benefit and joy,
I shall here set forth, in response to the repeated requests of fortunate disciples
And in reliance upon the guru's speech.

Individuals who seek to attain unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening must
set their minds upon enlightenment and then exert themselves in the cultivation of
both relative and ultimate bodhicitta. As Ārya Nāgārjuna said:

If we ourselves and all the world

Wish for unsurpassed enlightenment,
Its basis is bodhicitta,
Stable as the king of mountains,
Compassion reaching out in all directions,
And wisdom that transcends duality.1

The great precious, single divine lord Atiśa received instructions on cultivating
bodhicitta from three main teachers: the guru Dharmarakṣita, who cut and gave
away his own flesh, and realized emptiness purely through cultivating love and
compassion; the guru Maitrīyogi, who was able to take others' sufferings directly
upon himself; and the guru of Suvarnadvīpa. Here, what follows is the tradition of
the Suvarnadvīpa guru.

There are many different ways of presenting this instruction, but the tradition of
Geshe Chekawa follows seven points: 1) the preliminary teachings of the supporting
instructions; 2) the main practice of training in bodhicitta; 3) how to bring adversity
onto the path to enlightenment; 4) how to apply the practice throughout one's whole
life; 5) the measure of mind training; 6) the commitments of mind training; and 7) the
precepts of mind training.

1. The Preliminaries
The root text says:

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 First, train in the preliminaries.

This consists of three contemplations: i) on the difficulty of finding the freedoms and
advantages; ii) on death and impermanence; and iii) on the trials of saṃsāra.

i. The Freedoms and Advantages

For the first, we contemplate the following: to obtain this support for practising the
Dharma, a human body with its freedoms and advantages, we must have
accumulated the cause, which is abundant virtue. Among sentient beings, very few
practice pure virtuous action, and this means that the resultant freedoms and
advantages are difficult to gain. If we consider other beings, such as animals, we can
appreciate just how rare it is to find the freedoms and advantages. Therefore, now
that we have found these freedoms and advantages, we must not allow them to go to
waste, but use them to practise the one pure Dharma.

ii. Death and Impermanence

Meditate on how life is uncertain and there are many circumstances which can lead
to death, so that we cannot be certain we will even survive the day. We must
therefore put all our energy into the sacred Dharma right away.

iii. The Trials of Saṃsāra

Consider how it is taught that virtuous and unwholesome actions result in pleasure
and pain, and how we must therefore avoid all unwholesome actions and practise
virtue as much as possible.

2. The Main Practice

Training in bodhicitta has two parts: i) training in ultimate bodhicitta and ii) training
in relative bodhicitta.

i. Ultimate Bodhicitta
This consists of three sets of practices: the preparation, the main part and the
conclusion.

As the preparation, take refuge and generate bodhicitta, then pray to the deity and
the guru and offer the seven branches. Sit up straight and breathe in and out twenty-
one times, without any confusion, omission or addition. This will help to make you a
suitable vessel for meditative concentration.

For the main part, the root text says:

Consider all dharmas as dreamlike.

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As this indicates, the whole environment and the beings within it, which we perceive
as objects, are dreamlike. That is to say, they appear as they do because our own
minds are deluded and not as a result of even the slightest factor aside from mind.
We must therefore put a stop to our projections.

We might then wonder whether the mind itself is real, so the root text says:

Examine the nature of unborn awareness.

Mind itself is empty of the three stages of arising, remaining and ceasing. It has no
colour, no shape, and so on. It does not abide outside or within the body. It has no
fixed character at all and cannot therefore be apprehended in any way. Rest in an
experience beyond thought. As you do so, if any thought of an antidote—such as
considering that body and mind are empty—should arise, then as the root text says:

Let even the antidote be freed in its own place.

This means that we look into the essence of the antidote itself, and when we realize
that it has no true nature, we rest with that experience. As for how to rest, the root
text says:

Rest in the ālaya, the essence of the path.

Avoiding all the projection and absorption associated with the other seven types of
consciousness, we must settle with lucid clarity in an experience that is beyond
thought. We must not mentally fixate in any way on what has no fixed character at
all.

As regards the conclusion, the root text says:

Between sessions, be a conjurer of illusions.

In other words, we allow the experience of the meditation session to continue into
the post-meditation. We carry out all ordinary daily activities in the knowledge that
whatever appears—ourselves and others, the environment and beings—is just like an
illusion and has no true reality.

ii. Relative Bodhicitta

This has two parts: meditation and post-meditation. Regarding the meditation, the
root text says:

Train in the two—giving and taking—alternately.

This is extremely important. As Ācārya Śāntideva said:

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 Whoever wishes to afford protection
Quickly to both himself and others
Should practise that most sacred mystery:
The exhanging of oneself for others.2

And:

Unless I can give away my happiness

In exchange for others' suffering.
I shall not attain the awakening I seek,
And even in saṃsāra I'll find no joy.3

And:

In order to allay harms done to me, therefore,

And in order to pacify the sufferings of others,
I shall give myself up to others
And cherish them as I do myself.4

We begin by focusing clearly on our own mother from this life. From the time she
carried us inside her womb, she cared for us unfailingly, so that we could encounter
the Buddha's teachings and put them into practice. Her kindness is therefore
exceedingly great. Not only in this life, but throughout beginningless time in
saṃsāra, she has looked upon us with eyes of love, thought of us with affection,
shielded us from harm, brought us benefit and ensured our wellbeing. Thus, her
kindness is very great indeed. Considering that the one who did all this for us is now
undergoing various miseries in saṃsāra, cultivate intense compassion. Think: "Now I
shall benefit her in return! I shall eliminate all that harms her!"

What is it that harms her? It is suffering and its origin. Suffering harms her directly,
while its origin harms her indirectly. So consider that you take both upon yourself.
Take on all the suffering and its origin that exists in her being so that it arises in
your own heart. Cultivate a strong wish for this to happen.

What is it that would benefit your mother? Happiness and virtue. So, without any
selfish concerns, give away all your own happiness and virtue to your mother.
Consider that as a result she immediately amasses all the favourable circumstances
required for Dharma practice and is capable of attaining awakening. Generate an
intense longing for this to occur.

Meditate in the same way while considering your father and others, before
ultimately extending the practice to all sentient beings. After all, these sentient
beings have been your mother and father throughout the course of beginningless
time. They have benefitted you immeasurably and been incredibly kind. Yet all those
who showed you such kindness are now being tormented by various sufferings in

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saṃsāra. Meditate, therefore, on how wonderful it would be if they could be freed
from their misery. Take on and absorb all their suffering and give them your own
body, possessions and virtuous deeds of the past, present and future. Consider that,
as a result, they are happy and their virtue increases. Generate intense longing that
this may happen.

So that this mental exchange of self and other might arise more easily, the root text
says:

These two are to be mounted on the breath.

As you breathe out, consider that all your own happiness and virtues goes to others.
And as you breathe in, consider that all their non-virtue and suffering comes to you.

Second, concerning the post-meditation, the root text says:

Three objects, three poisons and three sources of virtue.

On the basis of the three types of object—pleasant, unpleasant and neutral—we

experience the three emotions of attachment, aversion and dull indifference. There
are many beings who experience these three poisons based on the three types of
object, so here we consider that we take on all their three poisons. As a result, they
gain the threefold virtue of being without attachment, aversion and dull indifference.

The root text advises how to inspire mindfulness:

In all activities, train by applying slogans.

This means that we should recite, "May all the negative actions and suffering of
beings ripen on me! May all my happiness and virtue ripen on other beings!" And
with this, we should feel intense resolve. So that we might be able to take others'
sufferings upon ourselves, the root text says:

Begin the process of taking with yourself.

This means that by first taking on our own future suffering in the present, we will
become capable of taking on even the misery of others.

3. Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment

The root text says:

When all the world is filled with evil,

Transform adversity into the path of enlightenment.

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As a result of unwholesome actions, the environment's resources become depleted,
beings become unruly and so on. When many such forms of suffering arise, they can
be transformed into the path of enlightenment through both intention and action.

i. Intention
Intention itself has two aspects: transforming adversity into the path of
enlightenment through relative bodhicitta and through ultimate bodhicitta.

Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment through Relative

Bodhicitta
In the past when we experienced suffering we did not recognize self-grasping as the
enemy, and, failing to recognize the great kindness of sentient beings, we blamed
them. Now in order to highlight the fact that all suffering is the fault of self-grasping,
the root text says:

Drive all blames into one.

Whatever suffering we experience is the fault of our own grasping at a self; others
are not to blame:

If all the harm within the world

And all the fears and sufferings
Derive only from clinging to a self,
What need have I for such a demon?5

Throughout beginningless time we have clung to a self where there is none. And, in
order to care for this self, we have accumulated the karma of harming others and so
on. This is how the sufferings of saṃsāra, such as those of the lower realms, arise.
Introduction to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life says:

O mind, you have spent countless ages

Pursuing your own interests,
And yet this great exertion
Has brought you only suffering.6

Since it is self-grasping that brings about suffering, we must view this self-grasping
as the enemy. The mind that clings to a self where there is none has engendered all
the suffering that we have experienced in saṃsāra throughout beginningless time
until now. It is this that causes all our attitudes of jealousy towards superiors,
contempt towards inferiors and rivalry towards equals. It is this that prevents us
from becoming liberated from saṃsāra and that brings about all the suffering of
harm from human and non-human interaction. As Introduction to the Bodhisattva's
Way of Life says:

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 This is the one who, hundreds of times
In cyclic existence, has done me harm.
Now, remembering these grievances,
I shall crush your selfish attitude.7

Whenever self-grasping occurs, examination will show that there is no self at all. By
questioning why we cling to such a self, we can abandon self-grasping just as it
arises. Strive then to prevent this grasping of self-cherishing from occurring again in
future. As Introduction to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life says:

The time when you could harm me

Has passed and is here no more.
I see you now! Where will you hide?
I'll crush you in all your arrogance.8

Thus, since whatever harms we face are the fault of this demon of self-grasping, we
must do whatever we can to tame it. As Shawopa said: "Today, in this short life,
subjugate this demon, I beg you."

Someone whose intentions and actions are directed towards securing their own
wellbeing warrants the name of 'layperson'; while someone whose intentions and
actions are directed towards the benefit of others is worthy of the name of a Dharma
practitioner. Let us therefore avoid and adopt according to Geshe Ben's tradition. For
it was Geshe Ben who said, "Now I shall hold the spear of the antidote at the gateway
of the mind. If it is vigilant, I shall be vigilant too. If it is relaxed, I shall relax as well."

Viewing self-grasping as the enemy and avoiding it is what Shawopa called "the
Dharma of exorcising the demon." 9 So that we might regard self-grasping as the
enemy and embrace the cherishing of others instead, the root text says:

Meditate on the great kindness of all.

Generally speaking, all beings have been our kind parents in the course of
beginningless time. They were thus very kind to us in the past. In addition, the
attainment of unsurpassable enlightenment also depends on sentient beings. As
Introduction to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life says:

Given that a buddha's qualities are gained

In dependence on ordinary beings and buddhas alike,
What sense is there in honouring only buddhas
While not respecting these ordinary beings?10

For someone training to accomplish buddhahood, buddhas and sentient beings are
equal in the extent of their kindness. We must therefore cultivate intense love and
compassion for sentient beings; we must take on their negativity and suffering, and

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give them our happiness and virtue. Should we encounter harmful people or non-
human beings in particular, let us consider how these harmdoers have been our
mother repeatedly throughout beginningless time. At those times, they did not shy
away from unwholesome actions, suffering and gossip in order to secure our
wellbeing. This brought them various forms of suffering in saṃsāra. Now, through
the power of delusion, they do not recognize us, dear relatives from the past. Indeed,
inspired by our own bad karma, they commit the negative act of harming us, which
will only lead them to further suffering in the future. Consider, therefore, how they
have long endured suffering for our sake and how they will continue to do so in the
future, and cultivate intense compassion for them. Think: "In the past, I only did
them harm. Now, I shall dispel all their hurt and bring about their benefit!" And
meditate intensively on tonglen—giving and taking.

Do whatever you can to benefit visible beings, such as humans or dogs, directly.
Even if you cannot do this, at least make the wish that they might be free from
suffering, gain happiness and swiftly attain enlightenment. Make this heartfelt
aspiration and even recite it aloud. Generate the intention that whatever virtuous
acts you perform from now on will be for their sake.

If the harmdoer is a god or a spirit, think: Throughout beginningless time, I have

consumed your flesh and blood, so now in return I offer you my own flesh, blood
and so on. Mentally disect your body in the presence of the harmdoer and surrender
it by thinking and even saying aloud, "Eat my flesh and bones! Drink my blood!"
Consider that the harmdoer's hunger and thirst are pacified through the
consumption of your flesh. Unadulterated bliss fills their body and mind, and they
master twofold bodhicitta. Imagine that you offer your body to all the gods and
spirits that consume flesh and blood in just the same way and that they all become
satisfied, happy and virtuous.

Thus, since all faults arise from self-cherishing, recognize it as the enemy. And since
all benefit and happiness comes from sentient beings, view them as close allies and
do whatever you can to help them. As Langri Thangpa said: "No matter which
profound Dharma texts I consult, I find the message is the same: all faults are one's
own and all qualities belong to brother and sister sentient beings. Given this crucial
point, the only conclusion is that we must give all profit and victory to others and
take all loss and defeat upon ourselves."

Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment through Ultimate

Bodhicitta
The root text says:

Meditating on delusory perceptions as the four kāyas.

Is the unsurpassable śūnyatā protection.

Whenever we experience mental afflictions or suffering caused by harm from the

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outer environment or beings within it, these afflictions and sufferings are delusory
perceptions of our own mind. They thus lack even the slightest true existence. Such
relative appearances are comparable to a dream in which we are burnt by fire or
drowned in water. It would be an error to mistake what is unreal for reality. All
phenomena ultimately lack true reality, so look into the essence of any mental
affliction or experience of suffering. Since it does not arise from anywhere in the
beginning, it is the unborn dharmakāya. What is unarisen does not cease, so it is the
unceasing sambhogakāya. Since what neither arises nor ceases does not remain in
the interim, it is the non-abiding nirmāṇakāya. And since these are indivisible in
essence, it is the svabhāvikakāya. Viewing delusory perceptions as the four buddha-
bodies in this way is known as the instruction on recognizing the four kāyas.

Whatever harms us also proves to be very kind, since it inspires our training in the
two types of bodhicitta. The harmdoer highlights how we are without an antidote
and how we fail to notice the onset of the mental afflictions, so they are like an
emanation of the teacher or buddha. Should you undergo intense suffering as a result
of a serious illness like leprosy, think: "Were it not for this suffering I would be
caught up in preparations for this life. But this has caused me to remember the
Dharma when I had failed to do so. It must therefore be the activity of the guru and
the Three Jewels."

In short, we must arrive at the heartfelf convision that just as bodhicitta arises in
dependence on the guru, twofold bodhicitta can also develop based on harmdoers
and suffering, and these are therefore equivalent.

ii. Action
The root text then refers to the special practice of accumulation and purification that
transforms adversity into the path:

The fourfold practice is the best of methods.

1. The Practice of Accumulating Merit

When suffering befalls you and you think how joyful you would be were the
suffering to disappear, contemplate the following: "Not wanting to suffer but
wishing to be happy is a sign that one must accumulate the causes of happiness." So
we must make offerings to the guru and Three Jewels, venerate the saṅgha and offer
tormas to the elemental spirits. In short, we must put our energy into gathering the
accumulations physically, verbally and mentally. We should take refuge, generate
bodhicitta, make a maṇḍala offering to the guru and Three Jewels and pray to them
fervently, without any hope or fear, saying: "If it is better for me to be sick, bless me
with sickness. If it is better for me to be healed, bless me with recovery. If it is better
for me to die, bless me with death."

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2. The Practice of Purifying Negative Actions

If we do not wish to suffer, this is a sign that we must abandon the cause of suffering,
which is negative actions. To feel regret for the harmful actions we have committed
in the past is the power of repentance; to vow never to repeat them even at the cost of
one's life is the power of restraint; to take refuge and generate bodhicitta is the power
of support; to meditate on emptiness, recite special dhāraṇīs and mantras and so on is
the power of antidotal action. Thus we should confess our misdeeds properly by
means of these four powers.

3. The Practice of Offering to Harmful Influences

Offer tormas and make heartfelt prayers, saying, "Since you support my training in
bodhicitta, you are very kind. Please continue: cause all the suffering of sentient
beings to ripen on me!" If you are not able to do this, offer tormas, cultivate loving
kindness and compassion, and command them by saying, "Through whatever I do to
assist you now and in the longer term, do not obstruct my Dharma practice!"

4. The Practice of Offering to the Dharma Protectors

Offer tormas to the Dharma protectors and request them to pacify any circumstances
that might hinder Dharma practice and to create favourable circumstances instead.

In order to integrate one's immediate circumstances onto the path, one should do as
the root text says:

Whatever you encounter, apply the practice.

Should you experience intense suffering as a result of sudden illness, harmful

influences, encountering an enemy, or the like, consider how there are innumerable
cases of such suffering in the world and feel compassion for all those affected. Draw
all this suffering into your own or consider how this harm assists your training in
bodhicitta. Reflect on how it is comparable to the guru's kindness. Should you see
someone in distress, immediately take their suffering upon yourself. And whenever
you or another experience a strong mental affliction cultivate the heartfelt wish to
take on the mental afflictions of others.

All these methods for bringing adversity onto the path put a stop to both hope and
fear. Yet even if we ultimately arrive at a path that is without hope and fear, to train
with a view of friends and enemies right now is like straightening a crooked tree, as
Langri Thangpa would say.

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4. Applying the Practice throughout the Whole of Life
The root text says:

The essence of the instruction, briefly stated,

is to apply yourself to the five strengths.

Five Strengths
The five strengths are as follows:

1. The strength of impetus is to create a powerful impetus in the mind, by

thinking again and again, "From now on, for this month, this year,
throughout my life, and until I attain enlightenment, I shall never part
from the two kinds of bodhicitta!"

2. The strength of familiarization is to train repeatedly in the two types of

bodhicitta.

3. The strength of wholesome seeds is to accumulate merit as much as

possible so that bodhicitta may arise and increase.

4. The strength of revulsion is to reflect, whenever thoughts of self-

cherishing occur, on how this has been the cause of various sufferings
throughout beginningless time and how even in this life it is responsible
for suffering, negative actions and Dharma's failure to develop as one
would wish. And with this, to cast away thoughts of self-cherishing.

5. The strength of aspiration is to make an aspiration after every virtuous

deed, such as, "From now until I attain enlightenment, may I never part
from the training in twofold bodhicitta! May I transform any adversity
that arises and make it a support for this practice!" Make offerings to the
guru and Three Jewels and to the Dharma protectors. Offer torma and
pray that this may come to pass.

These five strengths are said to constitute a practice that brings everything together
into a single Hūṃ.

For the Moment of Death

One might wonder about the instructions for the moment of death according to this
tradition, so the root text says:

The mahāyāna advice for transference

Involves the same five strengths. Conduct is important.

When someone who practises this teaching contracts an illness that is certain to

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prove fatal, the practice of wholesome seeds is to offer all one's possessions to the
greatest possible source of merit, such as the teacher or the Three Jewels. This should
be done without any clinging or attachment.

Then the strength of aspiration is to offer the seven branches to the guru and Three
Jewels and to make fervent prayers of aspiration such as, "Grant your blessings so
that during the bardo and in all my future lives, I may continue to train in twofold
bodhicitta! Grant your blessings so that I may encounter a guru who teaches this
instruction!"

The strength of revulsion is to think: "Thoughts of self-cherishing have forced me to

suffer in the past and unless I can be free of them in the future they will continue to
prevent my happiness. Even though I have cherished this body of mine, still it
suffers. If I examine, there is nothing in either body or mind that is graspable as self."
With this understanding, one abandons self-grasping.

The strength of impetus is to cultivate the strong intention again and again that one
will train in twofold bodhicitta during the bardo.

Then the strength of familiarization is to recollect the ways one has trained in
twofold bodhicitta in the past.

The particular conduct is to lie on one's right side, with the right hand supporting the
right cheek. With the little finger of that hand, close the right nostril and breathe
through the left. Then, with love and compassion as a preliminary, train in giving
and taking as you breathe in and out. After this, consider that everything within
saṃsāra and nirvāṇa including birth and death is only a mental projection while
mind itself is not truly existent in any way. Then rest in this state of understanding,
without clinging to anything at all. Thus, one passes away while combining and
meditating upon the two types of bodhicitta. It is said that although there are a great
many instructions for the moment of death, none is more wonderful than this.

5. The Measure of Mind Training

The root text says:

All teachings share a single purpose.

The purpose of all the teachings of the greater and lesser vehicles is to tame self-
grasping. This means that Dharma practice is meaningless (now matter how much
one does) unless it functions as an antidote to self-grasping. If the Dharma does
function as an antidote to self-grasping that is a sign that mind training has
developed in one's being. This is the real indication of progress in the Dharma, so it is
likened to the bar on the balancing scales that weigh practitioners. The root text
says:

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 Of the two witnesses, rely upon the principal one.

Others might say, "This brother is an example of the saying that one in whom the
Dharma has arisen is a fine practitioner." Not meeting others' disapproval is indeed a
form of testimony, but do not take it to be the most important. Ordinary people in
this world cannot read minds, so they might be satisfied with glimpsing a fraction of
outer conduct. The principal witness, therefore, is an unembarassed look at one's
own mind. To examine oneself thoroughly with an honest mind and have no cause
to feel ashamed is a sign of having trained the mind. So generate the antidotes and
make an effort not to discredit yourself.

The root text says:

Always maintain only a joyful attitude.

Through the force of training the mind well, we can be confident that , we will be
able to integrate any adversity we might face into the path of mind training. This is
measure of having trained the mind. So whatever negative circumstances arise,
cultivate joy. And train yourself so that you have no hesitation in taking on the
adversity of others as well.

The root text says:

If this can be done even when distracted, you are proficient.

A skilled rider will not fall from a horse even when distracted. Similarly, whenever
adversity arises, such as sudden harm from people, if we do not feel anger but
transform the adversity into a support for mind training, this is a measure of having
trained the mind. Make an effort, therefore, and train to reach this level.

These various measures of mastery are all signs of having trained the mind but this
does not imply that there is no need for further training. Continue to make an effort
and train the mind even after these signs arise.

6. The Commitments of Mind Training

The root text says:

Train constantly in three basic principles.

The three basic principles are 1) not to transgress the mind training commitments, 2)
not to be reckless, and 3) not to fall into partiality.

1. Avoid telling yourself that you are a practitioner of mind training who
can ignore lesser precepts. Instead, with the intention of training the mind,
guard all the precepts you have taken, from the vows of individual

17
 liberation through to the commitments of the Vajrayāna, and do not allow
them to decline.
2. Avoid all forms of reckless behaviour intended to demonstrate to others
that you have no self-cherishing, such as chopping down powerful trees
or befriending lepers. Take care not to conflict with the example of the
masters of the Kadam tradition founded upon the teachings of Geshe
Dromtönpa at Radreng Monastery.
3. Avoid all forms of partiality, such as tolerating abuse from human beings
but not from non-human beings, respecting the powerful while
disrespecting the weak, and loving one's friends but hating enemies.
Instead apply the training universally.

The root text says:

Change your attitude, but remain natural.

Transform your attitude from one of self-cherishing to one of cherishing others,

while ensuring that your actions of body and speech are in harmony with those of
our Dharma companions. It is said that all mind training practices should involve
"making great progress but with few outward indications." Mature your mind,
therefore, in a way that is imperceptible to others.

Don’t speak of injured limbs.

Do not say unpleasant things about others, whether this is pointing out disabilities
such as blindness or spiritual flaws such as compromised ethical discipline.

Don’t ponder others’ flaws.

Whenever you see faults in sentient beings in general or especially in those who
have entered the door of the Dharma, attribute this to your own impure perception.
Think that there is no certainty11 that the person has such a flaw and put an end to
your critical patterns of thought.

Train first with the strongest destructive emotions.

Check to see which is the strongest destructive emotion in your mind and,
combining all practices into an antidote to that emotion, address it first.

Abandon any expectations of results.

Let go of all selfish concerns, such as seeking to gain wealth and respect in this life,
happiness in future lives as a god or human being, or gaining nirvāṇa for oneself, as
a result of practising mind training.

Give up poisonous food.

18
Abandon all virtuous activity that is contaminated by clinging to things as real or
thoughts of self-cherishing, just as you would avoid food that is laced with poison.

Don’t be so loyal to the cause.

Avoid holding grudges based on the harm others do to you and refusing to let go of
resentment.

Don’t lash out in retaliation.

When others speak ill of you, do not respond with harsh words intended to hurt.
And do not label misfortune as a just reward.

Don’t lie in ambush.

Do not dwell on the harm others do to you while waiting for an opportunity to
retaliate.

Don’t strike a vulnerable point.

Do not act in a way that causes pain to the minds of others, such as by exposing
people's hidden faults or reciting the "life-force mantras" of non-human beings.

Don’t transfer the ox’s burden to the cow.

Avoid the negative behaviour of deviously transferring to others any responsibility

or blame that is rightly yours.

Don’t be competitive.

Avoid any thoughts and actions focused on acquiring through various means
possessions that are held in common.

Don’t misperform the rites.

To take on others' defeat out of a wish for one's own ultimate happiness or to train
the mind in order to pacify demons, harmful influences and sickness is just like
practising a mundane rite in order to avert misfortune. We must avoid such selfish
concerns. Mind training that involves a partial attitude and which is understood as a
beneficial method for dealing with demons and harmful influences is no different
from shamanic ritual. To qualify as Dharma it must function as an antidote to mental
afflictions and ordinary thoughts.

Don’t reduce gods to demons.

Worldly people, when their own gods are displeased and cause them harm, say that
the god has been reduced to a demon. Like that, if the practice of mind training leads

19
to an increase in pride and arrogance, the Dharma has become non-Dharma. Mind
training must discipline one's character. If one's character only becomes puffed up
with pride, the Dharma has failed to hit home. This is like performing a ransom
ritual at the western door when a demon is causing trouble at the eastern door. The
medicine needs to be applied directly to the site of the illness. Let us abandon self-
cherishing and act as the most humble servant to all.

Don’t seek others’ misery as crutches of your own happiness.

Avoid wishing that others suffer as a means to your own happiness. Do not think,
for example, "If my close relative or friend were to die, I would get their food, wealth,
books and so on," "If my patron were to fall sick and die, I would have the chance to
accumulate merit," "If my meditator colleague were to die, I would have the chance to
accumulate merit by myself," and "If my enemy were to die, I would no longer be
harmed and would have the chance to thrive."

7. The Precepts of Mind Training

We must train in methods that ensure mind training does not diminish but
strengthens and improves. The root text says:

Do everything with a single intention.

Carry out all activities, such the yogas of eating and dressing, purely with the
intention of benefitting others.

Counter all adversity with a single remedy.

If through practising mind training we experience illness, fall prey to demons and
harmful influences, become subject to slander or find that our mental afflictions
increase, so that we no longer wish to train the mind we can consider how many
people in the world experience similar difficulties. As we feel compassion for them,
we can aspire to take all their problems on ourselves and meditate on giving and
taking (tonglen).

Two tasks: one at the beginning and one at the end.

In the morning create the right impetus by thinking, "Today I shall not part from
twofold bodhicitta!" Then maintain mindfulness and awareness accordingly during
the day. In the evening when preparing to sleep review the day's activities. If you
acted in a way that is contrary to bodhicitta, spell out your faults, confess, and
resolve not to repeat the faults in future. If your actions were in accord with
bodhicitta, rejoice and aspire to continue in a similar vein.

Whichever of the two occurs, be patient.

20
Should you accumulate followers and a wealth of possessions, do not let them
become a cause of arrogance. Instead recognize their illusoriness, and aspire that
they become a means of benefitting others. Should you become so destitute that you
are (as the saying goes) lower than everything but water, recognize that this too is
illusory. Take all the hardships of others upon yourself and do not be discouraged.

Keep the two, even at your life’s expense.

Unless you keep the commitments of the Dharma in general and mind training in
particular you will not experience happiness in this or future lives. So guard them
more dearly than your own life.

Train in the three difficulties.

When mental afflictions arise, it is difficult to notice them in the beginning, difficult
to avert them in the middle and difficult to interrupt their continuity in the end.
Recognize them, therefore, when they first arise; strengthen the antidote so as to
abandon them in the middle; and make every effort to ensure that they do not arise
again at the end.

Acquire the three main provisions.

The most important provisions for Dharma practice are meeting a good teacher,
practising authentically with a workable mind, and gathering the conditions
conducive to Dharma practice. When these three are complete, rejoice and make the
aspiration that others may similarly gain all three. Should the three be incomplete,
consider that many others in the world also lack these prerequisites and are unable
to practise Dharma authentically as a result. Feel compassion for them. Cultivate the
heartfelt aspiration that their lack of these provisions may ripen on you and that
they may come to possess them all.

Cultivate the three that must not decline.

Since all the qualities of the great vehicle depend on devotion to the guru, this
devotion must not decline. Mind training is the quintessence of Mahāyāna Dharma,
so enthusiasm for its practice must not decline. And maintenance of the precepts of
the greater and lesser vehicles, from the minor ones onward, must not decline.

Keep the three inseparable.

Ensure that your body, speech and mind never deviate from virtue.

Apply the training impartially to all.

It is vital that it be deep and all-pervasive.

21
Mind training must be applied to all sentient beings and insentient objects equally
and without partiality. You must apply the techniques to everything that arises in
the mind. This should not be mere lip service but deep competence.

Meditate constantly on those who’ve been set apart.

There are some for whom we find it difficult to feel love and compassion, and they
should be the special focus of meditation: rivals, regular companions, those who
harm us without provocation, and those us dislike for karmic reasons.

Don’t be dependent on external conditions.

Do not rely on gathering all the right conditions, such as food and clothing,
protection against human and non-human forces, good health and so on. If you
cannot gather these conditions integrate that very situation onto the path by means
of the two types of bodhicitta.

This time, practise what’s most important.

All the physical forms we have adopted throughout beginningless time have been to
no avail. Now, in this lifetime we must accomplish what is most important. More
important than the affairs of this life is the Dharma. More important than Dharma
study and teaching is practice. More important than other forms of practice is
training in bodhicitta. More important than training through scripture and reasoning
is assiduous practice based on the guru's instructions. More important than other
forms of conduct is remaining on one's seat and practising. More important than
avoiding objects is to apply the antidote. These are the most important things to put
into practice.

Don’t misunderstand.

There are six forms of misunderstanding to be avoided:

1. Misplaced patience is to bear any difficulties related to outdoing one's

enemies and protecting one's friends but not the sufferings related to
Dharma practice.
2. Misplaced intention is to feel no interest in pure Dharma practice but to
take an interest in the glories and riches of this life.
3. Misplaced relish is to fail to savour the taste of the Dharma through study,
reflection and meditation but to savour the taste of worldly pleasures.
4. Misplaced compassion is to fail to cultivate compassion for wrongdoers but
to cultivate it for those who endure hardship for the sake of the Dharma.
5. Misplaced pursuit is to fail to encourage one's dependents to pursue the
Dharma but to encourage them to pursue the means of increasing the
glories and riches of this life.

22
 6. Misplaced joy is to fail to cultivate joy for the happiness and virtues of
saṃsāra and nirvāṇa but to rejoice when rivals suffer.

Avoid these six mistaken forms of practice and take to heart the six unmistaken
forms.

Don’t be inconsistent.

Avoid the kind of sporadic practice that can occur when one does not yet have
confidence in the Dharma. Train your mind single-pointedly and without
interruption.

Train wholeheartedly.

Devote yourself entirely to the mind training and practise emphatically.

Gain freedom through discernment and analysis.

Determine which of your mental afflictions is the strongest and make that the focus
of intensive effort. Investigate whether or not that affliction arises whenever you
come into contact with a potentially provocative object. If it does arise, apply an
antidote to overcome it, and make every effort until it no longer arises.

Don’t be boastful.

Do not boast about how kind you are to others, how long you have strenuously
practised the Dharma, or how learned and disciplined you are. There can be no
boasting when you meditate on cherishing others more than yourself. As Radrengpa
put it, "Don't have high hopes for human beings; supplicate the deities instead."

Don’t be irritable.

Do not retaliate even if others humiliate you in front of many people and do not be
annoyed. If we practitioners do not make the Dharma an antidote to self-grasping
our patience can become more fragile than a baby's skin and we can feel even more
irritable than the demon Tsang Tsen. This does not qualify as Dharma, so ensure
that Dharma functions properly as an antidote to self-grasping.

Don’t be temperamental.

Do not change your expression from cheery to depressed at the slightest provocation,
because this will only upset your companions.

Don’t seek acknowledgement.

23
Do not expect words of thanks or fame and renown for benefitting others or
practising the Dharma.

Train well like this throughout your entire life, cultivating twofold bodhicitta in
meditation sessions and the periods in between. Then you will gain the confidence of
mastery.

Conclusion

The essence of the nectar-like instructions

for transforming into the path of awakening
the five prevalent signs of degeneration
was passed down from the one from Golden Isle.

At this time when the five signs of degeneration—in time, beings, lifespan, mental
afflictions, and view—are widespread, there are few circumstances conducive to
happiness and many that provoke suffering, including harm from humans and non-
humans. Being entangled in negative circumstances such as these can become a
support for mind training. Then, no matter how many negative circumstances one
might face, the practice of mind training will ensure that virtue only increases.

This pithy advice from the teacher of Suvarnadvīpa is like a nectar that turns poison
into medicine. It is superior to any other instruction. With knowledge of how to train
the mind in this way, the body of the mind training practitioner becomes 'the city
that is the source of happiness', because it brings about all one's own and others' joys
in saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. By applying this to all undertakings and training the mind
well, your mind will merge with the Dharma, and it will not be long before you
attain the perfect goal for both yourself and others.

The root text says:

When karmic seeds left over from former trainings were aroused in me,
I felt great interest, and so, without regard for suffering or disparagement,
I sought instructions on subduing ego-clinging.
Now, even in death, I shall have no regrets.

Chekawa, the lord of yogis, says that he trained his mind thoroughly and, in his
wisdom, came to cherish others more than himself. He freed himself entirely from
the thicket of selfish concern and thereby gained this level of confidence.

Through the kindness of the Dharma Lord by the name of Drakpa,

I well received the precious treasury of this oral transmission,
Through the power of this revelation requested by faithful disciples,
May all beings come to master the two types of bodhicitta!

24
This succinct commentary based on the words of the aural lineage of Seven Points of
Mind Training was composed in response to repeated requests from Drakpa Gyaltsen, a
yogi of the supreme vehicle, by the monk Tokme in his retreat place, the dharma fortress
of Ngulchu.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2018.

1. Ratnāvalī II, 74–75 ↩

2. Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII, 120 ↩

3. Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII, 131 ↩

4. Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII, 136 ↩

5. Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII, 134 ↩

6. Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII, 155 ↩

7. Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII, 154 ↩

8. Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII, 169 ↩

9. 'gong po 'gong rdzong gi chos. ↩

10. Bodhicaryāvatāra VI, 113 ↩

11. nyen med. The translation here is tentative. ↩

25
Notes on the Seven Points of Mind Training
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

The guru Dharmarakṣita held the view of the śrāvaka Vaibhāṣika school. As
scriptural authority he cited the Garland of the Three Clubs1 and for logical reasoning
he relied upon the Sūtra of Expansive View2 and the Jātaka Tales.

Maitrīyogi was the junior Kusalī brother. His view was that of non-abiding. As
scriptural authority he cited the [Questions of] Ākāśagarbha and for logical reasoning
he relied upon Introduction to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (Bodhicaryāvatāra) and
Compendium of Training (Śikṣāsamuccaya).

Serlingpa held the view that self-grasping is not to be relinquished but taken as the
logical basis of the practice. His conduct was like that of the non-Buddhists (tīrthika).
As scriptural authority he cited the Questions of Vimalakīrti.3 and for reasoning he
relied on the Levels of the Bodhisattvas.4 This instruction derives from Maitreya. As
stated in the Sūtra of Vimalakīrti: "The view of the perishable collection is the
heritage of the buddhas." For Serlingpa, the equalizing of self and other must come
first, followed by the meditation on exchange. This was said by Chenga Rinpoche.5
Dromtön Rinpoche said that Serlingpa would practise the exchange from the very
beginning.

The text of the Seven Points says to "train in viewing all things and events as
dreamlike" and "examine the nature of unborn awareness". This shows the unreality
of grasping subject and grasped objects. "Let even the antidote be freed in its own
place" shows the unreality of all phenomena. "Rest in the ālaya, the essence" refers to
the clear light of the main practice, untainted by thoughts of subject or object.

"Between sessions, be a conjurer of illusions" means that you should not depart from
the practice of meditative equipoise during post-meditation but train in recognising
how things are unreal and dream-like.

The verse beginning "Through practising like this..." shows the benefit.6

For the cultivation of relative bodhicitta, the text says: "Train in the two—giving and
taking—alternately." This shows how to begin with loving kindness and compassion.
"These two are to be mounted on the breath" explains the actual method of training.

Then "Three objects, three poisons and three sources of virtue" shows how to take
the objects of experience onto the path. The lines "In all activities, train by applying
slogans" and "When all the world is filled with evil, transform adversity into the path
of enlightenment" show how to transform adversity into an ally.

26
"Meditate on the great kindness of all" shows that we must recognise the great
kindness of beings and cherish them as dear. This is also known as 'the instruction of
taking flesh and taking blood.'

The four lines beginning, "Three views..." demonstrate how to transform adversity
through ultimate bodhicitta.7

"Without suffering, there is no renunciation. Disenchantment drives away arrogance.

Develop compassion for those in saṃsāra."8 This shows that one must first develop
renunciation, then meditate on the great kindness of beings and cultivate
compassion.

"The fourfold practice is the best of methods" points out how to train in bodhicitta
through accumulation and purification. The four practices are: 1) accumulating
merit; 2) purifying misdeeds; 3) offering to harmful influences, which means offering
torma to harm-doers; and 4) offering to dharma-protectors.

"The essence of the instruction, briefly stated, is to apply yourself to the five
strengths" shows how to apply the practice throughout one's whole life. The five
strengths are those of: 1) impetus; 2) familiarization; 3) wholesome seeds; 4)
revulsion and 5) aspiration.

"The same five strengths. Conduct is important." These lines reveal the instruction
for transference at the moment of death. Conduct here means blocking the right
nostril and lying down on one's right side when dying.

"All teachings share a single purpose" refers to the measure of mind training.

"Of the two witnesses, rely upon the principal one" highlights two possible witnesses
—oneself and others—who might disapprove.

"Always maintain only a joyful attitude" means that no matter what unwanted
circumstances arise, if you can see them as allies that is a measure of your mental
mastery.

"If this can be done even when distracted, you are proficient" refers to another
measure of mind training, which may be illustrated through the example of a skilled
horse-rider.9

"Train constantly in three basic principles" means to avoid 1) transgressing

commitments, 2) being reckless and 3) falling into partiality.

"Change your attitude, but remain natural" means maintaining ordinary conduct
while never parting from the yoga of exchanging oneself for others.

27
"Don’t speak of injured limbs" means to avoid [speaking of] faults.10

"Abandon any expectations of results" means to give up hope concerning karmic

ripening.

"Give up poisonous food" means to abandon clinging to things as real.

"Don’t lash out in retaliation" means avoiding harsh words.

"Don't lie in ambush" means to give up malice.

"Don’t transfer the ox’s burden to the cow" means giving up spite.

"Don’t be competitive" means to avoid stratagems for procuring desirable objects for
oneself.

"Don’t misperform the rites" means to abandon practising mind training in any way
that does not eliminate selfishness.

"Don’t reduce gods to demons" means to avoid ridiculing or belittling others. There
are two senses to the example.11

"Don’t seek others’ misery as crutches of your own happiness" means to avoid taking
delight in others' misery out of desire for one's own happiness.

"Do everything with a single intention" shows how mind training is sufficient by
itself alone.

"Counter all adversity with a single remedy" means that if you no longer have
enthusiasm for train the mind your meditation may go astray, so you must apply
yourself conscientiously.

"Two tasks: one at the beginning and one at the end" means that first thing in the
morning you should vow to remember the guru's instructions and establish your
motivation untainted by self-grasping. Then in the evening you should review the
day by thinking "I did this...then I did that..." and so on. If you find that you have
transgressed the training, confess; if you did not, cultivate joy and recite verses of
dedication and aspiration.

"Whichever of the two occurs, be patient" means that whether you find yourself
promoted or demoted in rank, made joyful or sorrowful, you should avoid becoming
arrogant or despondent.

"Keep the two, even at your life’s expense" means that you should not impair either
the commitments of the teachings in general or the commitments of mind training in
particular.

28
"Train in the three difficulties" refers to overcoming the mental afflictions. It can be
difficult to remember the antidote, difficult to confront the afflictions, and difficult to
cut their momentum. But we must learn to accomplish these without difficulty.

"Acquire the three main provisions" means to take to heart the guru's instructions, to
feel intense disenchantment, and to amass favourable circumstances and facilities.

"Cultivate the three that must not decline" means training in the three undeclinable
factors: faith and devotion, enthusiasm and conscientiousness.

"Keep the three inseparable" means that body, speech and mind must be constantly
devoted to virtuous practice.

"Meditate constantly on those who’ve been set apart" means to train with a special
focus on those who are in close proximity and those who seem unpleasant, as if they
were pieces of your very own heart. It also means to train with special focus on
those powerful objects in regard to whom karmic effects are inconceivably
consequential.

"Don’t be dependent on external conditions"12 means that if you should fail to secure
favourable conditions that failure is itself a reason to practise this instruction.

"This time, practise what’s most important" refers to the important accomplishment
of what is beneficial for future lives; the important practice of training in bodhicitta;
the important instructions of the guru; and the important place to stay, which is on
one's seat.

"Don’t misunderstand" means to avoid misplaced patience, intention, relish,

compassion, pursuit and joy.

"Don’t be inconsistent" means to avoid occasionally practising mantra recitation and

occasionally training the mind. As long as mind training remains incomplete practise
it with determined resolve.

"Gain freedom through discernment and analysis" means to train assiduously in

overcoming mental afflictions by employing methods that take into account both the
past and the future.

"Don’t be boastful" 13 means to avoid boastful posturing and arrogance.

"Don’t be irritable" means that one should not retaliate.

"Don’t be temperamental" means to avoid fickleness of expression based on an

inconstant temperament. 14

29
"Don’t seek acknowledgement" means to give up desire for fame and renown, as
expressed in words of gratitude and the like.

"The five prevalent signs of degeneration are transformed into the path of
awakening" shows the benefits.

The four lines that begin "When karmic seeds left over from former trainings were
aroused...etc." show the difficulties that the author endured in putting this into
practice.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey 2020, with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and Terton
Sogyal Trust.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition
'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. "Blo sbyong don bdun ma'i zin bris" in 'Jam dbyangs
chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum. TBRC W1KG12986. vol. 9: 401–407. Bir, H.P.:
Khyentse Labrang, 2012.

Secondary Sources
Ga Rabjampa. To Dispel the Misery of the World: Whispered Teachings of the
Bodhisattvas. trans. Rigpa Translations. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2012.

Gyalse Tokme Zangpo. Commentary on the Seven Points of Mind Training. trans.
Adam Pearcey. Lotsawa House, 2018.

Thupten Jinpa. Mind Training: The Great Collection. Boston: Wisdom Publications,
2006.

1. Reading g.yug pa as dbyug pa. ↩

2. lta yangs kyi mdo. This is likely an error. Other sources mention Aśvaghoṣa's
Ornament of Sūtras here. See Thupten Jinpa 2006: 88. ↩

3. Reading grang as grags. ↩

4. The Tibetan here omits the term for level/bhūmi (sa). The translation follows
Thupten Jinpa 2006: 88. ↩

30
 5. Note that Sé Chibu Chökyi Gyaltsen's text, which appears to be Jamyang
Khyentse's source, includes the same statement by Chenga Rinpoche but
attributes this view to Maitrīyogi rather than Serlingpa. See Jinpa 2006:89. ↩

6. This appears to be a reference to the following four-line verse: de ltar sgrub pa

thams cad kyang/ /dngos 'dzin zhen pas ma bslad par/ /mkha' bzhin stong pa
chen po byer/ /'chi med bde chen ngang du 'gro// which might be translated as:
By practising like this, in all these ways,/ Untainted by attachment or grasping
at things as real,/ Everything disperses into vast, space-like emptiness/ And
one is brought to a state of great bliss beyond death. See also Jinpa 2006: 93 ↩

7. The first two of the four lines referred to here are not included in most editions
of the Seven Points. They are as follows: lta ba gsum dang nam mkha' mdzod/
rnal 'byor bsrung ba bla na med/ These might be translated as: Three views and
the treasury of space—/ This yoga is the unsurpassed protection. See also Jinpa
2006: 106. ↩

8. As Thupten Jinpa points out, these slogans are not part of the Seven Points.
Two of them are drawn from the Bodhicaryāvatāra and the source of the third
is unknown. See Jinpa 2006: 109 and 593 n.220–222. ↩

9. Reading rtag pa rtsal chen as rta pa rtsal can. ↩

10. There appears to be a word or two missing in the Tibetan here. ↩

11. The precise meaning of this sentence is unclear. It could also be read as: There
are two examples, each with their own significance. ↩

12. Reading skye ba gzhan dag as an error for rkyen gzhan dag. This correction is
based not only on the other versions of the Seven Points but also on the
explanation that follows. ↩

13. Reading snon pa as rngom pa. ↩

14. Reading rnal 'byor as rnam 'gyur. ↩

31
Ambrosia for the Mind: A Prayer for the Seven
Points of Mind Training
by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

In commenting upon these seven points of mind training, a pith instruction of the
precious Kadampas who upheld the teachings of the seven divine dharmas, in the
tradition of Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, there are three main parts.

Part One, Good in the Beginning, which is divided into two

1. The Title of the Prayer

“Ambrosia for the Mind, A Prayer for the Seven Points of Mind Training.”

2. Homage
I bow down before the spiritual guides of the supreme vehicle,
The source of all that is positive in saṃsāra and nirvāṇa.
May the precious masters grant their blessings
So that my mind is purified through the three kinds of faith.

Part Two, Good in the Middle: the Main Subject of the Text, which has
seven subdivisions

1. The Preliminaries, the Basis for Practice**

May the precious masters grant their blessings so that I may train thoroughly in the
preliminaries,
Recognizing how hard it is to gain the freedoms and advantages and how easily they
are lost,
So that I strive always to act in accordance with the laws of karma, adopting
wholesome deeds and avoiding what is harmful,
And develop genuine renunciation for saṃsāra.

2. The Main Part, Training in Bodhicitta

May the precious masters grant their blessings,
So that I may always cultivate the two aspects of bodhicitta,
Purifying my dualistic perceptions, which have no basis in reality, into all-pervading
space,
And practising the profound exchange of my own happiness for others’ suffering.

32
3. Transforming Adversity into the Path to Awakening
May the precious masters grant their blessings,
So that whatever adversity and sufferings may arise
I see them as the wiles of this demon, ego-clinging,
And transform them into the path towards awakening.

4. Applying the Practice Throughout One’s Life

May the precious masters grant their blessings,
So that I may focus upon the essence of the practice throughout my life,
And always apply the five strengths of pure thought and pure deed,
Gathering merit, purifying obscurations and making prayers of aspiration.

5. The Measure of Mind Training

May the precious masters grant their blessings,
So that with joyful self-assurance and freedom of mind,
I may bring all adverse circumstances onto the path,
And everything may become a remedy to ego-clinging.

6. The Commitments of Mind Training

May the precious masters grant their blessings,
So that I may keep my promises without hypocrisy,
And always remain impartial, and free of ostentation,
Guarding the lojong commitments as I do my very life.

7. The Precepts for Mind Training

In short, may the precious masters grant their blessings,
So that I may genuinely follow all the precepts
For increasing the two aspects of bodhichitta,
And within this lifetime gain the realization of the supreme vehicle.

Part Three, Good in the End

1. Dedication
Through the merit of this heartfelt aspiration
To practise the seven points of mind training,
The heart-essence of the incomparable Jowo Atiśa and his heirs,
May all beings attain the level of perfect awakening.

33
 Atisha statue at Nyethang

2. The colophon
This one-pointed prayer was made before the precious statue of the glorious Atiśa at
Kyishö Nyethang by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, a carefree yogin who wanders
throughout the land and is extremely devoted to the precious Kadampa tradition.
May it be accomplished!

The section headings were added by Mangala (Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche).

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2007. Revised 2012.

34
Eight Verses of Training the Mind
by Geshe Langri Thangpa

1. By thinking of all sentient beings

As more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel
For accomplishing the highest aim,
I will always hold them dear.

2. Whenever I’m in the company of others,

I will regard myself as the lowest among all,
And from the depths of my heart
Cherish others as supreme.

3. In my every action, I will watch my mind,

And the moment destructive emotions arise,
I will confront them strongly and avert them,
Since they will hurt both me and others.

4. Whenever I see ill-natured beings,

Or those overwhelmed by heavy misdeeds or suffering,
I will cherish them as something rare,
As though I’d found a priceless treasure.

5. Whenever someone out of envy

Does me wrong by attacking or belittling me,
I will take defeat upon myself,
And give the victory to others.

6. Even when someone I have helped,

Or in whom I have placed great hopes
Mistreats me very unjustly,
I will view that person as a true spiritual teacher.

7. In brief, directly or indirectly,

I will offer help and happiness to all my mothers,
And secretly take upon myself
All their hurt and suffering.

8. I will learn to keep all these practices

Untainted by thoughts of the eight worldly concerns.
May I recognize all things as like illusions,
And, without attachment, gain freedom from bondage.

| Rigpa Translations. Revised 2012.

35
The Thirty-Seven Practices of All the Bodhisattvas
by Gyalse Tokme Zangpo

Namo Lokeśvaraye!

You see that all things are beyond coming and going,
Yet still you strive solely for the sake of living beings—
To you, my precious guru inseparable from Lord Avalokita,
I offer perpetual homage, respectfully, with body, speech and mind.

The perfect buddhas, who are the source of all benefit and joy,
Come into being through accomplishing the sacred Dharma.
And since this in turn depends on knowing how to practise,
I shall now describe the practices of all the buddhas’ heirs.

1. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to study, reflect and meditate,

Tirelessly, both day and night, without ever straying into idleness,
In order to free oneself and others from this ocean of saṃsāra,
Having gained this supreme vessel—a free, well-favoured human life, so
difficult to find.

2. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to leave behind one’s homeland,

Where our attachment to family and friends overwhelms us like a torrent,
While our aversion towards enemies rages inside us like a blazing fire,
And delusion’s darkness obscures what must be adopted and abandoned.

3. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to take to solitary places,

Avoiding the unwholesome, so that destructive emotions gradually fade
away,
And, in the absence of distraction, virtuous practice naturally gains
strength;
Whilst, with awareness clearly focused, we gain conviction in the
teachings.

4. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to renounce this life’s concerns,

For friends and relatives, long acquainted, must all go their separate ways;
Wealth and prized possessions, painstakingly acquired, must all be left
behind;
And consciousness, the guest who lodges in the body, must in time depart.

5. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to avoid destructive friends,

In whose company the three poisons of the mind grow stronger,
And we engage less and less in study, reflection and meditation,
So that love and compassion fade away until they are no more.

36
 6. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to cherish spiritual friends,
By regarding them as even more precious than one’s own body,
Since they are the ones who will help to rid us of all our faults,
And make our virtues grow ever greater just like the waxing moon.

7. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to take refuge in the Three Jewels,
Since they will never fail to provide protection for all who call upon them,
For whom are the ordinary gods of this world ever capable of helping,
As long as they themselves are trapped within saṃsāra’s vicious cycle?

8. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is never to commit a harmful act,

Even though not to do so might put one’s very life at risk,
For the Sage himself has taught how negative actions will ripen
Into the manifold miseries of the lower realms, so difficult to endure.

9. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to strive towards the goal,

Which is the supreme state of changeless, everlasting liberation,
Since all the happiness of the three realms lasts but a moment,
And then is quickly gone, just like dewdrops on blades of grass.

10. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to arouse bodhicitta,

So as to bring freedom to all sentient beings, infinite in number.
For how can true happiness ever be found while our mothers,
Who have cared for us throughout the ages, endure such pain?

11. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to make a genuine exchange

Of one’s own happiness and wellbeing for all the sufferings of others.
Since all misery comes from seeking happiness for oneself alone,
Whilst perfect buddhahood is born from the wish for others’ good.

12. Even if others, in the grips of great desire, should steal,

Or encourage others to take away, all the wealth that I possess,
To dedicate to them entirely my body, possessions and all my merits
From the past, present and future— this is the practice of all the
bodhisattvas.

13. Even if others should seek to cut off my head,

Though I’ve done them not the slightest wrong,
To take upon myself, out of compassion,
All the harms they have amassed—this is the practice of all the
bodhisattvas.

37
14. Even if others should declare before the world
All manner of unpleasant things about me,
To speak only of their qualities in return,
With a mind that’s filled with love—this is the practice of all the
bodhisattvas.

15. Even if others should expose my hidden faults or deride me

When speaking amidst great gatherings of many people,
To conceive of them as spiritual friends and to bow
Before them in respect—this is the practice of all the bodhisattvas.

16. Even if others whom I have cared for like children of my own,
Should turn upon me and treat me as an enemy,
To regard them only with special fondness and affection,
As a mother would her ailing child—this is the practice of all the
bodhisattvas.

17. Even if others, equal or inferior to me in status,

Should, out of arrogance, disparage me,
To honour them, as I would my teacher,
By bowing down my head before them—this is the practice of all the
bodhisattvas.

18. Even though I may be destitute and despised by all,

Beset with terrible illness and plagued by evil spirits,
Still to take upon myself all beings’ ills and harmful actions,
Without ever losing heart—this is the practice of all the bodhisattvas.

19. Even though I may be famous and revered by all,

And as rich as Vaiśravaṇa, the god of wealth himself,
To see the futility of all the glory and riches of this world,
And to remain without conceit—this is the practice of all the bodhisattvas.

20. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to subdue the mind,

With the forces of loving kindness and compassion.
For unless the real adversary—my own anger—is defeated,
Outer enemies, though I may conquer them, will continue to appear.

21. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to turn away immediately

From those things which bring desire and attachment.
For the pleasures of the senses are just like salty water:
The more we taste of them, the more our thirst increases.

38
22. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is never to entertain concepts,
Which revolve around dualistic notions of perceiver and perceived,
In the knowledge that all these appearances are but the mind itself,
Whilst mind’s own nature is forever beyond the limitations of ideas.

23. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to let go of grasping

When encountering things one finds pleasant or attractive,
Considering them to be like rainbows in the summer skies—
Beautiful in appearance, yet in truth devoid of any substance.

24. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to recognize delusion

Whenever one is confronted by adversity or misfortune.
For these sufferings are just like the death of a child in a dream,
And it’s so exhausting to cling to delusory perceptions as real.

25. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to give out of generosity,

With no hopes of karmic recompense or expectation of reward.
For if those who seek awakening must give even their own bodies,
What need is there to mention mere outer objects and possessions?

26. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to observe ethical restraint,

Without the slightest intention of continuing in saṃsāric existence.
For lacking discipline one will never secure even one’s own wellbeing,
And so any thought of bringing benefit to others would be absurd.

27. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to cultivate patience,

Free from any trace of animosity towards anyone at all,
Since any potential source of harm is like a priceless treasure
To the bodhisattva who is eager to enjoy a wealth of virtue.

28. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to strive with enthusiastic diligence
—
The source of all good qualities—when working for the sake of all who
live;
Seeing that even śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, who labour for
themselves alone,
Exert themselves as if urgently trying to extinguish fires upon their heads.

29. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to cultivate concentration,

Which utterly transcends the four formless absorptions,
In the knowledge that mental afflictions are overcome entirely
Through penetrating insight suffused with stable calm.

39
 30. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to cultivate wisdom,
Beyond the three conceptual spheres, alongside skilful means,
Since it is not possible to attain the perfect level of awakening
Through the other five pāramitās alone, in wisdom’s absence.

31. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to scrutinize oneself

Continually and to rid oneself of faults whenever they appear.
For unless one checks carefully to find one’s own confusion,
One might appear to be practising Dharma, but act against it.

32. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is never to speak ill

Of others who have embarked upon the greater vehicle,
For if, under the influence of destructive emotions,
I speak of other bodhisattvas’ failings, it is I who am at fault.

33. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to let go of attachment

To the households of benefactors and of family and friends,
Since one’s study, reflection and meditation will all diminish
When one quarrels and competes for honours and rewards.

34. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to avoid harsh words,

Which others might find unpleasant or distasteful,
Since abusive language upsets the minds of others,
And thereby undermines a bodhisattva’s conduct.

35. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to slay attachment

And the rest—mind’s afflictions—at once, the very moment they arise,
Taking as weapons the remedies held with mindfulness and vigilance.
For once the kleshas have become familiar, they’ll be harder to avert.

36. In short, no matter what one might be doing,

By examining always the status of one’s mind,
With continuous mindfulness and alertness,
To bring about the good of others—this is the practice of all the
bodhisattvas.

37. The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to dedicate towards enlightenment

All the virtue to be gained through making effort in these ways,
With wisdom that is purified entirely of the three conceptual spheres,
So as to dispel the sufferings of the infinity of beings.

Here I have set down for those who wish to follow the bodhisattva path,
Thirty-seven practices to be adopted by all the buddhas’ heirs,
Based on what is taught in the sūtras, tantras and treatises,
And following the instructions of the great masters of the past.

40
Since my intellect is only feeble and I have studied but a little,
This is not a composition likely to delight the connoisseurs,
Yet since I’ve relied upon the sūtras and what the saints have taught
I feel these are indeed the genuine trainings of the buddhas’ heirs.

Still, the tremendous waves of activity of the bodhisattvas

Are difficult for simple-minded folk like me to comprehend,
And I must therefore beg the indulgence of all the perfect saints
For any contradictions, irrelevancies or other flaws this may contain.

Through whatever merit has here been gained, may all beings
Generate sublime bodhicitta, both relative and absolute,
And through this, come to equal Lord Avalokiteśvara,
Transcending the extremes of existence and quiescence.

This was composed in a cave near Ngulchu Rinchen by the monk Tokme, a teacher of
scripture and reasoning, for his own and others’ benefit.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2006.

41
༄༅། །ོ་ོང་ོན་ལམ་དོན་བས་ང་མས་་མཚོ་བ་ལམ་བགས།།

The Blissful Path to the Ocean of Bodhicitta

A Brief Prayer of Aspiration for Mind Training

by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

འཕགས་མག་ན་རས་གགས་དབང་དང་། །
pakchok chenrezik wang dang
By the truth of the perfect mind of awakening

སངས་ས་ང་བ་མས་དཔའ་མས། །
sangye changchub sempa nam
Generated by the supreme noble Lord Avalokiteśvara

གས་ེད་མཐར་ིན་བན་པ་ས། །
tuk kyé tarchin denpa yi
And all the buddhas and bodhisattvas,

བདག་གཞན་མཁའ་མཉམ་འོ་ན་ལ། །
dakshyen khanyam dro kün la
May the supreme mind of bodhicitta be born

ང་བ་མས་མག་ེ་བར་ཤོག །
changchub sem chok kyewar shok
In me and and in all other beings, as limitless as space.

མས་ཅན་ག་་ལ་གས་དང་། །
semchen duk nga la shyuk dang
May the causes and effects of beings' suffering—

གས་ག་ག་བལ་ོང་བ་། །
rik druk dukngal nyongwa yi
Their involvement with the five poisons,

ག་བལ་་འས་བདག་ལ་ིན། །
dukngal gyundré dak la min
And painful experiences in the six classes,

བདག་་ིན་ག་མས་དང་། ། 42
བདག་་ིན་ག་མས་དང་། །
dak gi chin druk sem dang ni
All ripen on me! To them all, as limitless as space,

ག་་ད་པ་ད་་མས། །
duk nga mepé getsa nam
I offer the six perfections in my own mind,

ནམ་མཁའ་མཉམ་པ་འོ་ལ་ིན། །
namkha nyampé dro la jin
And sources of virtue, free from the five poisons.

གས་ག་འར་བ་གནས་ོང་ནས། །
rik druk khorwé né tong né
May all the realms of saṃsāra's six classes be emptied,

གས་མག་ག་་ན་རས་གགས། །
rik chok druk gi chenrezik
And may everyone attain the level of Avalokiteśvara,

་ས་ག་ན་ཐོབ་པར་ཤོག །
yeshe drukden tobpar shok
In his six sublime families and with six types of wisdom.

ནད་ག་མཚོན་བལ་ལོག་པར་བས། །
né muk tsön kal lokpar té
May all disease, famine, belligerence, wrong views,

ཉམས་ཆག་ས་ང་ིག་པ་ཚོགས། །
nyamchak nyetung dikpé tsok
Impairments, transgressions, downfalls, harmful actions,

གས་འན་བར་ཆད་གདོན་བགས་ན། །
chedzin barché dön gek kün
Self-cherishing, obstacles, harmful influences and impediments,

བདག་ད་གག་་ེང་་ིན། །
daknyi chikpü tengdu min
All ripen on me and me alone!

་དཔལ་ལོང་ོད་བ་ིད་མ། ། 43
་དཔལ་ལོང་ོད་བ་ིད་མ། །
tsé pal long chö dekyi tu
And to all these beings, who are as limitless as space

ཉམས་ོགས་མེན་བེ་་ས་ན། །
nyamtok khyentsé yeshe kün
I dedicate long-life, glory, wealth, happiness, power,

ནམ་མཁའ་མཉམ་པ་འོ་ལ་བོ། །
namkha nyampé dro la ngo
Experience, realisation, and knowing, loving wisdom.

ན་ང་ང་བ་ོད་མག་ས། །
kün kyang changchub chö chok gi
May they all, through supreme enlightened actions,

རབ་མས་འཕགས་པ་གནས་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
rab dzé pakpé né tob shok
Attain the level of the most splendid Noble One!

མདོར་ན་གས་འན་རང་འདོད་ལས། །
dorna chedzin rang dö lé
In short, may all the causes and effects

ང་བ་་འས་བདག་ལ་ིན། །
jungwé gyundré dak la min
Of egotism and self-cherishing ripen on me!

འོ་ན་ཕན་བ་དཔལ་ིས་འོར། །
dro kün pendé pal gyi jor
And may all beings gain a wealth of benefit and happiness,

ོང་ད་ིང་ེ་དོན་ོགས་ཤོག །
tongnyi nyingjé dön tok shok
And realise the meaning of emptiness and compassion!

བདག་ལ་མཐོང་ཐོས་ན་ག་ས། །
dak la tong tö dren rek gi
May all beings, especially those who harm me, or who have developed a negative
connection

ངན་འེལ་གནོད་ེད་གཙོ་ས་འོ། ། 44
ངན་འེལ་གནོད་ེད་གཙོ་ས་འོ། །
ngen drel nöjé tso jé dro
Through seeing, hearing, thinking of, or encountering me,

ིབ་ང་ང་བ་ལམ་གས་ནས། །
drib jang changchub lam shyuk né
Purify their obscurations, enter the path to enlightenment,

ཐོག་མ་ད་་འཚང་་ཤོག །
tokma nyi du tsang gya shok
And attain awakening straightaway!

ན་་་བཟད་ལས་ངན་ི། །
shin du mi zé lé ngen gyi
May I take the place of those experiencing the cause and effect

མ་ིན་་འས་ོད་པ་ཚབ། །
nammin gyundré chöpé tsab
Of unbearable, extremely negative acts,

བདག་ད་ར་ནས་་དག་ན། །
daknyi gyur né dedak kün
And may they all purify obscurations

ིབ་ང་བ་ན་ང་ེ་ཤོག །
drib jang dechen shying kyé shok
And be born in realms of perfect bliss!

གནོད་ེད་གཙོར་ར་འོ་ན་དོན། །
nöjé tsor gyur dro kün dön
For the sake of all, but especially those who harm me,

བདག་ད་ངན་སོང་་ནར་གནས། །
daknyi ngensong khonar né
May I remain only in the lower realms,

མ་ན་འོ་ན་འར་མཚོ་ལས། །
magen dro kün khor tso lé
And may all beings, my very own mothers,

ོལ་ནས་མ་ོལ་སར་ོར་ཤོག ། 45
ོལ་ནས་མ་ོལ་སར་ོར་ཤོག །
drol né namdrol sar jor shok
Escape samsara's ocean to reach liberation's shore.

ང་བ་མས་ི་ག་གག་། །
changchub sem kyi shyi chikpu
The only basis for bodhicitta—

ད་གདོན་བཀའ་ིན་ཅན་ོད་ི། །
dra dön kadrinchen khyö kyi
Kind enemies and harmful forces—

ིར་་བདག་་ས་དང་ོག །
chirdu dak gi lü dang sok
For your sake, I shall gladly give away

དགའ་བན་གཏང་ནས་ཕན་བ་ཤོག །
ga shyin tang né pen drub shok
My body and my life—may you be benefitted!

བདག་ད་མན་སངས་ས་པ་། །
daknyi ngön sangyé pé tsé
When I attain complete enlightenment,

འར་ི་ཐོག་མར་ོད་ེ་ནས། །
khor gyi tokmar khyö kyé né
May you become the first in my circle,

་ེ་བཟང་པོ་འས་པ་བན། །
nga dé zangpo düpa shyin
And, just like the five original disciples,

མོད་ལ་ཐམས་ཅད་མེན་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
möla tamché khyen tob shok
Attain omniscience there and then!

འ་ནས་ང་བ་མ་ཐོབ་བར། །
di né changchub matob bar
From now until I attain enlightenment,

གནོད་ེད་ེད་དང་་འལ་ང་། ། 46
གནོད་ེད་ེད་དང་་འལ་ང་། །
nöjé khyé dang mindral shying
May I never be apart from you who do me harm,

འག་པ་ད་པ་་ོད་ིས། །
trukpa mepé tachö kyi
And with calm, untroubled view and conduct,

ང་བ་ལམ་ལ་མཉམ་འག་ཤོག །
changchub lam la nyam juk shok
May we set out together on the path to enlightenment.

མཐོང་ཐོས་ན་པ་་་ོས། །
tong tö drenpa tachi mö
May those who see me, hear me or think of me,

བདག་་ང་ཙམ་ཐོས་པ་དང་། །
dak gi ming tsam töpa dang
And also those who merely hear my name,

ི་ོགས་ང་ས་ག་པ་ཡང་། །
dzi chok lung gi rekpa yang
Or are simply touched by the same breath of wind,

ིབ་ཟད་་བ་ལམ་འག་ཤོག །
drib zé shyiwé lam juk shok
Discard their obscurations and enter the way to peace!

ཕ་མར་ར་པ་མཁའ་བ་འོ། །
pamar gyurpé khakhyab dro
All beings are my own parents, as limitless as space,

ང་བ་ལ་་་ར་འོས། །
dangwé yul du jitar ö
So how could I ever feel hostility towards them?

ིན་བཟོ་བསམ་ོར་འཇམ་པོ་ས། །
drin zö samjor jampo yi
Wishing only to repay their kindness, and acting gently,

མ་གག་སངས་ས་སར་ོར་ཤོག ། 47
མ་གག་སངས་ས་སར་ོར་ཤོག །
chamchik sangye sar jor shok
May I bring them, all at once, to enlightenment!

བདག་ལ་བེན་ནས་དས་བད་། །
dak la ten né ngö gyü du
May beings never be harmed on my account,

མས་ཅན་ན་ལ་གནོད་མ་ར། །
semchen kün la nö magyur
Whether directly or indirectly,

ཕན་དང་བ་བ་འབའ་ག་ས། །
pen dang dewa bashyik gi
And, through bringing them only benefit and happiness,

བ་ན་ས་ལ་འད་ས་ཤོག །
dechen sa la gö nü shok
May I lead them all to the state of perfect bliss!

ད་ག་ར་ཡང་དཔག་ད་འོ། །
kechik rer yang pakmé dro
In each and every instant, may all limitless beings,

ོལ་བ་ཐབས་མཁས་ིང་ེ་མ། །
drolwé tabkhé nyingjé tu
With skill in the means of liberation and the force of compassion,

ན་རས་གགས་དང་འཇམ་པ་དངས། །
chenrezik dang jampé yang
Become just like Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī,

གསང་བ་བདག་པོ་་ར་ཤོག །
sangwé dakpo tabur shok
And Vajrapāṇi, the Lord of Secrets.

ད་པར་གལ་དཀའ་ག་བལ་ཅན། །
khyepar dul ka dukngal chen
May those who suffer and are difficult to tame,

ག་པར་བེ་བས་ེས་འན་ལ། ། 48
ག་པར་བེ་བས་ེས་འན་ལ། །
lhakpar tsewé jedzin la
Receive special loving care and guidance,

བ་པ་མག་དང་པད་འང་ །
tubpa chok dang pejung gi
And may the compassionate prayers and aspirations

གས་ེད་ོན་ལམ་བན་ར་ག །
tuk kyé mönlam shyin gyur chik
Of the Supreme Sage and the Lotus Born come true!

བདག་གཞན་མཉམ་ད་་ས་དིངས། །
dakshyen nyamnyi yeshe ying
In the wisdom space of the equality of self and other,

ོང་ད་ིང་ེ་ལ་ཤར་བས། །
tongnyi nyingjé tsal sharwé
Through the dawning of emptiness and compassion's power,

གཞན་ཕན་འབའ་ག་བབ་་ིར། །
shyenpen bashyik drubjé chir
Just so the benefit of others may be secured,

ོན་ལམ་བཏབ་བན་ར་འབ་ཤོག །
mönlam tab shyin nyur drub shok
May this prayer of aspiration swiftly be fulfilled!

ས་ོད་ས་ི་འགལ་ེན་ང་བ་ལམ་ི་ོགས་་མཐོང་བ་ོན་ལམ་འ་ཡང་འཇམ་མན་་མ་གང་་
བད་བས་ནས། །ད་ང་ང་བ་མས་ི་མངའ་བདག་ིགས་མ་པ་མས་ི་གག་་ནོར་་ོགས་པ་སངས་
ས་་ན་པ་བཀའ་ིན་ལས་ག་པ་ན་པོ་ལམ་ལ་མོས་པས་ར་ན་པ་་་་ལ་བ་ས་པོ་ོ་ོས་ི་ད་
ག་བིད་རབ་་དགའ་བ་དཔལ་ིས་ིས་ང་ཁ་ཏོན་་བིས་པ་ར་འབ་པར་ར་ག། །།
This aspiration prayer for seeing adverse conditions as supports on the path to enlightenment encapsulates the
words of the Jamgön Lama1 and was written by Lodrö Drimé Ziji Rabtu Gawé Pal, a mendicant heir to the
victorious buddhas, who ardently and devotedly follows the Mahāyāna path, as a result of the kindness of the
perfect buddha of Shechen (i.e., Shechen Gyaltsab), who was a master of wondrous bodhicitta and a crowning jewel
for beings in this degenerate age.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2015. With thanks to Po-yu Sung for providing the
Tibetan text and a draft translation.

49
1. ↑ A reference to The Gateway to the Ocean of Bodhicitta (byang sems rgya mtsho'i 'jug ngogs) by Jamgön
Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé.

50
༄༅། །ག་ན་ོ་ོང་ོན་ལམ་ནོར་་ིང་པོ་ས་་བ་བགས་སོ། །

The Finest Jewel

An Aspiration Prayer of Mahāyāna Mind Training

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

ན་མོ་་།
namo guru
Namo guru!

ོན་པ་མཉམ་ད་་ལ་པོ་དང་། །
tönpa nyammé shakyé gyalpo dang
Incomparable teacher, king of the Śākyas,

ན་རས་གགས་དང་ེ་བན་ོལ་མ་ཞབས། །
chenrezik dang jetsün drolmé shyab
Avalokiteśvara and reverend noble Tārā,

ོ་བོ་ལ་པོ་་གཡོ་མན་པོ་དང་། །
trowö gyalpo mi yo gönpo dang
Lord Acala, sovereign of the wrathful ones,

་གག་་བོ་ན་པོ་ཡབ་ས་མས། །
lha chik jowo chenpo yabsé nam
Sole deity, great Jowo Atiśa and your heirs—

་ངན་བདག་་གག་་ན་བགས་ནས། །
mi ngen dak gi tsuk gi gyen shyuk né
Remain upon my, an evil person's, crown,

ོ་གམ་ས་དང་འེས་པར་ིན་ིས་ོབས། །
go sum chö dang drepar jingyi lob
And inspire me to mix my body, speech and mind with Dharma.

ེན་ག་ན་ཚོགས་དལ་དང་འོར་པ་འ། །
ten shyi püntsok dal dang jorpa di
This perfect support with its freedoms and advantages

ས་བ་ལན་གག་ཐོབ་པ་ད་ས་ཙམ། ། 51
ས་བ་ལན་གག་ཐོབ་པ་ད་ས་ཙམ། །
dü gya len chik tobpa daré tsam
Presents a one-in-a-hundred-lifetimes opportunity.

་་སོས་དལ་བལ་བ་་ལོང་ས། །
mitsé södal kyalwé melong yi
With the mirror of this human life of leisure

བད་ིས་མ་བས་ད་ས་དོན་ཡོད་། །
dü kyi ma lü daré dön yö du
Unspoilt by demonic forces, may I make it meaningful

དམ་པ་ས་ལ་འབད་པ་ག་པོས་བོན། །
dampé chö la bepa drakpö tsön
And exert myself with intense effort in the sacred Dharma.

སང་དང་འག་ེན་ི་མ་ང་བ་གས། །
sang dang jikten chimé nangwa nyi
I cannot be certain which will come first:

ོན་ལ་གང་འང་ས་པར་ཆ་་འཚལ། །
ngön la gang jung ngepar cha mi tsal
Tomorrow or the appearances of the next life.

ན་ང་ོད་པ་བས་ས་ངན་པ་འས། །
yün ring döpé drab chü ngenpa di
And since this wicked habit of procrastination

གཏན་བ་འན་མ་བག་པར་ེད་པས་ན། །
ten dé dünma lakpar jepé na
Will only ruin my chances of lasting happiness,

ར་བ་ར་བར་ས་ལ་འབད་པར་ཤོག །
nyurwa nyurwar chö la bepar shok
May I apply myself to the Dharma ever so swiftly.

བོན་འས་ནགས་ི་་ན་རབ་ར་ནས། །
tsöndrü nak kyi mé chen rab bar né
Having ignited the great forest fire of diligence,

འར་བ་་མཚོ་ེམ་པར་ེད་པ་དང་། ། 52
འར་བ་་མཚོ་ེམ་པར་ེད་པ་དང་། །
khorwé gyatso kempar jepa dang
So that the ocean of saṃsāric existence runs dry,

དཀར་ནག་བསགས་པ་ལས་ལ་ངས་་ད། །
karnak sakpé lé la drang mi chö
The incalculable acts, good and bad, that I’ve amassed

གཞན་ལ་བ་ལ་ེད་་མ་མས་ང་། །
shyen la go kal jé duma chi shing
Will not be apportioned to anybody else.

རང་ས་མཚོན་ཆ་ཐམས་ཅད་རང་ལ་འར། །
rang jé tsöncha tamché rang la khor
All the weapons I’ve forged will be deployed against me,

རང་་ང་པོར་ོང་བ་གདོན་་ཟ། །
rang gi pungpor nyongwa dön mi za
And I will undoubtedly experience my own comeuppance.

དཀར་ནག་ལས་ི་འས་་མ་ནོར་བ། །
karnak lé kyi drebu manorwa
May I find certainty as to the infallible ripening of actions,

ིན་ལ་བ་བ་ད་པ་ས་ེད་ཤོག །
min la luwa mepé ngé nyé shok
The unerring fruition of wholesome and unwholesome acts.

ལས་ངན་བསགས་པ་འས་་ན་པོ་། །
lé ngen sakpé drebu chenpo ni
As the major consequence of accumulated evil deeds,

འར་བ་གནས་ན་ག་བལ་ན་ཆད་ད། །
khorwé né na dukngal gyünché mé
I will suffer uninterruptedly in the realms of saṃsāra.

ངན་སོང་གམ་ི་ག་བལ་བཟོད་་ད། །
ngensong sum gyi dukngal zö du mé
The torments of the three lower realms are unbearable.

མཐོ་ས་གམ་ི་བ་བ་འར་ནས་འོ། །
tori sum gyi dewa gyur né dro
The joys of the higher realms transform and fade away.

ན་འང་ས་བེད་ག་བལ་གབ་་ད། ། 53
ན་འང་ས་བེད་ག་བལ་གབ་་ད། །
künjung gyü kyé dukngal zeb tu tsü
We are trapped within the sufferings that origination brings.

ག་བལ་གམ་ིས་མ་བ་ལ་ཙམ་ད། །
dukngal sum gyi ma khyab dul tsammé
Not even so much as an atom is immune to the three sufferings.

གནས་ངན་ན་ིས་ན་ཐག་གད་པ་ིར། །
né ngen len gyi gyün tak chöpé chir
In order to interrupt the flow of negative tendencies

ཐར་པ་ལམ་ོན་བས་གན་བེན་པར་ཤོག །
tarpé lam tön shenyen tenpar shok
May I follow a guide who shows the way to liberation.

མ་ནོར་ལམ་བཟང་ས་ི་ང་་། །
manor lamzang chö kyi nyingkhu ni
May I encounter precious bodhicitta, which is

ན་ན་ང་བ་མས་དང་འད་པར་ཤོག །
rinchen changchub sem dang trepar shok
The essence of Dharma, the excellent, unmistaken way.

བས་གནས་་མ་མག་གམ་ན་པ་དང་། །
kyabné lama chok sum drenpa dang
May I recollect the sources of refuge, guru and three supreme jewels,

དད་དང་མོས་ས་ལམ་ི་ག་་གས། །
dé dang mögü lam gyi shyi tsa tsuk
And with faith and devotion, may I establish the foundation of the path.

་མ་གདམས་ངག་ག་པ་ིང་ར་བང་། །
lamé damngak khokpé nying tar zung
Guarding the guru's instructions like the heart within my chest,

ས་མས་ན་་གསོལ་བ་ག་པོ་འབས། །
dü nam küntu solwa drakpo deb
May I offer fervent prayer at all times,

དཔལ་མན་་མ་ིན་བས་འག་པར་ཤོག ། 54
དཔལ་མན་་མ་ིན་བས་འག་པར་ཤོག །
palgön lamé jinlab jukpar shok
And may the glorious guru inspire me with blessings.

མས་ཅན་འ་མས་བདག་་ིན་ན་ན། །
semchen dinam dak gi drinchen yin
Sentient beings have been so very kind to me:

ཐོག་མ་ད་ནས་བདག་་ཕ་མ་ས། །
tokma mé né dak gi pama jé
They have been my parents throughout beginninless time—

་ིན་ཚད་ད་བཏགས་པ་ིན་ཅན་མ། །
kudrin tsemé takpé drinchen ma
Kind mothers, who have treated me with boundless care.

ད་་ག་བལ་་མཚོ་ོང་་ད། །
danta dukngal gyatsö long du tsü
Now they are immersed in the ocean of suffering,

ིག་དང་ག་བལ་་ིན་ིས་བང་མས། །
dik dang dukngal chusin gyi zung nam
Seized by the sea monsters of misery and misdeeds.

གས་པར་བསམ་ན་ན་པ་་བས་ལ། །
lekpar sam na senpé gokab dral
Thinking about this well, it is impossible to bear;

ག་་མ་མ་ག་་འགས་པ་དང་། །
mik gi chima drak tu trukpa dang
It is enough to make me weep profusely

ཤས་་བཟོད་པ་མས་དང་ིང་ེ་ོམ། །
shé mizöpé jam dang nyingjé gom
And engender overwhelming love and compassion.

རང་་བ་བ་མ་ན་མས་ལ་ིན། །
rang gi dewa magen nam la jin
All my own happiness I transmit to my old mothers,

་མས་ག་བལ་་འས་རང་ལ་ངས། །
denam dukngal gyundré rang la lang
And their suffering, in cause and result, I take upon myself.

ས་འ་ཡང་་ངས་ད་ིན་ས་ནས། ། 55
ས་འ་ཡང་་ངས་ད་ིན་ས་ནས། །
lü di yang ni drangmé jin jé né
May I even give away this body of mine countless times

བདག་་འན་པ་འེ་ན་བག་པར་ཤོག །
dak tu dzinpé dré chen lakpar shok
And conquer the terrible demon of self-clinging.

ས་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་རང་བདག་འན་ལས་ང་། །
nyepa tamché rang dakdzin lé jung
All faults arise from my clinging to a self.

ད་ལ་སོགས་པ་མས་ཅན་་ན་། །
dra lasokpé semchen dé kün ni
All beings including my supposed enemies

ས་པར་ཕན་འདོགས་ད་བ་བས་དང་མངས། །
ngepar pendok geweshé dang tsung
Are simply teachers offering me assistance.

ད་གདོན་བགས་ང་རང་ད་འལ་པ་ན། །
dra dön gek nang rangnyi trulpa yin
Enemies, demons and obstacles are my own delusion.

ནད་གདོན་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ་བ་མ་འལ་དང་། །
nedön tamché gyalwé namtrul dang
Sickness and evil influences are but buddha manifestations,

་དང་འེ་མས་ང་བ་བ་པ་ོགས། །
lha dang dré nam changchub drubpé drok
Gods and demons, assistants of awakening;

གས་ད་མན་ེན་བད་ི་་འལ་ན། །
lek gu tünkyen dü kyi chotrul yin
Fortune and advantage, the contrivance of māras.

ན་ཚ་ག་བལ་ེན་ངན་ང་བ་ི། །
natsa dukngal kyen ngen changchub kyi
May sickness, suffering and adversity

མས་མག་འལ་བ་ཐབས་ལ་འང་བར་ཤོག །
sem chok pelwé tab la jungwar shok
Assist me as I develop supreme bodhicitta.

56
ད་བོ་མ་ནོར་ིང་ལ་གས་པ་། །
drawo manor nying la shyukpa yi
The unmistakable enemy is within my heart:

ང་དང་ང་ར་འན་པ་འང་ན་འ། །
nga dang nga yir dzinpé gong chen di
This great demon of attachment to I and mine.

ད་་བདག་་་མ་ིན་ལས་མཐོང་། །
danta dak gi lamé drin lé tong
Now that I see it, through the guru's kindness,

ས་པར་ོད་་དགའ་བ་ག་བལ་མས། །
ngepar khyö mi gawé dukngal nam
I shall certainly take the sufferings that you,

ད་ིས་ངས་ནས་འང་པོ་ོད་ལ་ིན། །
ngé kyi lang né gongpo khyö la jin
O demon, so dislike and give them all to you.

གས་ན་འོར་སོགས་ོད་ལ་དགའ་བ་ས། །
drak nyen jor sok khyö la gawé dzé
Fame, riches and the things that delight you

གག་ང་མ་ས་འོག་ནས་ོད་ིས་། །
chik kyang malü trok né khyö kyi ni
I shall steal them all from you without exception

ད་་བང་བ་མས་ཅན་་ལ་ིན། །
dra ru zungwé semchen dé la jin
And give them away to the beings you revile.

ིན་པ་་བན་ས་པར་ཐོབ་ར་ག །
jinpa deshyin ngepar tob gyur chik
May they receive this gift of mine in such a way.

་བོ་མས་ཅན་འ་མས་བཀའ་ིན་། །
jowo semchen dinam kadrin ché
Noble sentient beings are exceptionally kind.

འ་མས་ལ་་ོགས་ངན་ེད་པ་། ། 57
འ་མས་ལ་་ོགས་ངན་ེད་པ་། །
dinam la ni drok ngen jepa ru
May I never seek to awaken myself if this would

བདག་་ནམ་ཡང་སངས་ས་ལ་་ོན། །
dak ni namyang sangye la mi mön
Make me a bad friend to them,

མས་ཅན་ལ་ིས་མས་ཅན་དོན་ེད་ཤོག །
semchen tsul gyi semchen dönjé shok
But act as an ordinary being for ordinary beings' sake.

ང་་ས་འ་ད་བན་ནོར་་ར། །
nga yi lü di yishyin norbu tar
Let this body of mine become a wish-granting jewel

འོ་བ་མས་ི་་བ་བངས་ས་ནས། །
drowa nam kyi rewa kang jé né
To fulfil the hopes and aspirations of all beings,

་མས་ོགས་སངས་ས་མག་ཐོབ་པ་དང་། །
denam dzoksang gyé chok tobpa dang
So that they may attain supreme and perfect awakening,

བདག་་མས་མག་མ་ཉམས་ང་འལ་ཤོག །
dak gi sem chok ma nyam gongpel shok
And may this supreme mind not decline but further increase.

དཀའ་ད་བཟོད་པ་་ཆ་རབ་བས་ནས། །
kaché zöpé gocha rab gö né
Donning the armour of hardship and endurance,

ས་མས་རང་བན་བན་ད་ས་པ་དང་། །
chö nam rangshyin denmé shepa dang
May I realise how all phenomena lack true reality.

རང་བན་དོན་དམ་ོང་གསལ་འགགས་པ་ད། །
rangshyin döndam tong sal gakpamé
And with the supreme vajra mind that has no beginning, middle or end,

ཐོག་མཐའ་དས་ལ་མས་མག་ོ་ེ་ས། ། 58
ཐོག་མཐའ་དས་ལ་མས་མག་ོ་ེ་ས། །
tokta üdral sem chok dorjé yi
The unobstructed emptiness and clarity of the ultimate nature,

ིབ་གས་ན་པ་ང་་ངས་ས་ནས། །
drib nyi münpa ring du pang jé né
May I banish the darkness of the two kinds of obscuration,

ཡང་དག་་ས་ང་བ་ས་པ་ས། །
yangdak yeshe nangwa gyepa yi
And with the expansive light of genuine wisdom,

འོ་བ་དོན་ལ་མ་ོབས་ལ་ན་ཤོག །
drowé dön la tutob tsalden shok
Have the power and skill to come to beings' aid.

འཇམ་དཔལ་དཔའ་བོ་མ་ཐར་མན་ས་ནས། །
jampal pawö namtar ngön jé né
Realizing the liberational deeds of the heroic Mañjuśrī

ང་བ་ོད་པ་་མཚོར་གཞོལ་བན་། །
changchub chöpé gyatsor shyol shyindu
And immersing myself in oceanic bodhisattva activity

མས་ཅན་ོང་པར་མ་ར་་ིད་། །
semchen tongpar magyur desi du
For as long as sentient beings remain,

་་དོན་མས་རབ་་བ་པར་ཤོག །
dé yi dön nam rabtu drubpar shok
May I perfectly accomplish their welfare.

སངས་ས་་མཚོ་མད་པ་ེད་པ་དང་། །
sangye gyatso chöpa jepa dang
May I make offerings to an ocean of buddhas,

ང་ཁམས་་མཚོ་ཡོངས་་ང་བ་དང་། །
shyingkham gyatso yongsu jangwa dang
Thoroughly purify an ocean of realms,

མས་ཅན་་མཚོ་ཡོངས་་ིན་པ་ལ། ། 59
མས་ཅན་་མཚོ་ཡོངས་་ིན་པ་ལ། །
semchen gyatso yongsu minpa la
Bring to maturity an ocean of beings,

་ས་་མཚོ་་ལ་འག་པར་ཤོག །
yeshe gyatso ché la jukpar shok
And access the vast ocean of wisdom.

ས་པའང་ལ་་བ་བད་པ་ས་བ་གམ་ལ་ང་བ་མས་དཔའ་ོ་ོས་ང་ོགས་་མཚོ་གཞན་ཕན་ི་མ་
ད་པ་འོད་ིས་ིང་ནས་ོན་ལམ་་བཏབ་པ་ས་པར་འབ་པ་ག་་མ་ལ་བ་ས་བཅས་ི་ིན་ི་བས་་
གསོལ། འ་་ན་འབ་པར་ར་ག། །།
On the thirteenth day of the eighth month of a snake year, the bodhisattva Lodrö Lungtok Gyatso Shenpen Drimé Ö
made this heartfelt aspiration. May the guru, the buddhas and their heirs all grant their blessings so that it may be
definitively accomplished. Let this alone come to pass!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2020.

60
༄༅། །མ་དག་ང་བ་མག་་མས་བེད་པ་ོན་ལམ།

Aspiration to Generate Bodhicitta, Utterly Pure and Supreme

by Patrul Rinpoche

ན་མོ་་།
namo guru
Namo guru!

བལ་མང་ང་ནས་གཡོ་་ངས་པ་གས། །
kal mang gong né yogyu pangpé tuk
Your mind, many aeons ago, rid itself of all deceit,

བས་མ་ལ་ངས་ང་ང་བན་པ་གང༌། །
chömé tsul pang drang shying denpé sung
Your speech, honest and true, is free of any form of artifice,

ལ་འས་་མངའ་ལ་དང་མན་པ་། །
tsul chö mi nga tsul dang tünpé ku
Your body's acts are disciplined and unpretentious—

བ་པ་ང་ོང་ན་པོ་ལ་ག་འཚལ། །
tubpa drangsong chenpo la chaktsal
Great sage, genuine and wise, to you I prostrate!

བ་པ་་ས་བན་པ་དོན་གགས་པ། །
tubpa dé sé denpé dön zikpé
Buddha's heirs, who have seen the ultimate meaning,

བན་གང་མངའ་བ་བན་ག་བ་པ་ཚོགས། །
den sung ngawa dentsik drubpé tsok
Speakers of truth, whose words have prophetic power,

ག་པ་གམ་ི་ཐར་པ་ལམ་གས་པ། །
tekpa sum gyi tarpé lam shyukpa
Those on the way to liberation through the three vehicles—

་དག་ན་ལ་ས་པས་ག་འཚལ་ལོ། །
dedak kün la güpé chaktsal lo
Before you all, in devotion, I bow down!

61
བདག་་ང་ནས་ེ་དང་་རབས་། །
dak ni deng né kyé dang tserab su
From now on, in all future rebirths, throughout my lives,

ལ་བ་ས་བཅས་ེད་དང་་འལ་ང༌། །
gyalwa sé ché khyé dang mindral shying
Buddhas and bodhisattvas, may I never part from you!

ལ་བ་ས་བཅས་ེད་ིས་ེས་བང་ནས། །
gyalwa sé ché khyé kyi jezung né
Buddhas and bodhisattvas, please accept me as your follower!

ལ་བ་ས་བཅས་ེད་བན་འབ་པར་ཤོག །
gyalwa sé ché khyé shyin drubpar shok
Buddhas and bodhisattvas, let me gain accomplishment just like you!

ས་ོད་ལ་འས་ད་པར་ལ་བ་དང༌། །
lü chö tsul chö mepar dulwa dang
My body's actions—may they be disciplined and unpretentious,

ངག་ག་ན་གཏམ་ད་པར་བན་པ་དང༌། །
ngak tsik dzün tam mepar denpa dang
My speech—may it be honest, without falsity or deception,

མས་ོད་གཡོ་་ད་པར་ང་བ་ས། །
sem chö yogyu mepar drangwa yi
My mind—may it be genuine, without artifice or deceit,

ས་མན་ོགས་དང་བས་གན་བེན་པར་ཤོག །
chö tün drok dang shenyen tenpar shok
And may I rely upon spiritual guides and true Dharma friends!

ཐར་པ་ལམ་ལ་དང་པོ་འག་པ་ོ། །
tarpé lam la dangpo jukpé go
The first entrance to the path of liberation,

འར་བ་གནས་ནས་དང་པོ་ོས་པ་ལམ། །
khorwé né né dangpo dröpé lam
The first route of escape from saṃsāra's perils,

ཉམས་ན་ས་མས་ན་ི་དང་པོ་འ ། 62
ཉམས་ན་ས་མས་ན་ི་དང་པོ་འ །
nyamlen chö nam kün gyi dangpö go
The first preliminary to all practices of Dharma:

བས་ན་ས་འང་ད་ལ་ེ་བར་ཤོག །
chömin ngejung gyü la kyewar shok
Genuine renunciation—may it dawn within my mind!

ཡོད་ན་སངས་ས་བ་ལ་ས་ག་ང༌། །
yö na sangye drub la dé chok ching
With it, I have all that's needed to attain enlightenment,

ད་ན་སངས་ས་བ་ལ་ཐབས་ཆག་པ། །
mé na sangye drub la tab chakpa
And without it, there's no way to find awakening,

སངས་ས་བ་པ་ས་བོན་མ་ནོར་བ། །
sangye drubpé sabön ma norwa
The indisputable seed from which buddhahood is gained,

མ་དག་ང་བ་མས་མག་བེད་པར་ཤོག །
namdak changchub sem chok kyepar shok
May I generate bodhicitta, utterly pure and supreme!

ང་ནས་ང་་ང་བ་མས་མག་འལ། །
gong né gong du changchub sem chok pel
Further and further, may supreme bodhicitta develop,

་རབས་ན་་ང་བ་མས་་བེད། །
tserab küntu changchub sem mi jé
Throughout my lives, may bodhicitta never be forgotten,

ཡང་དང་ཡང་་ང་བ་མས་བོམས་ནས། །
yang dang yang du changchub sem gom né
Again and again, may I meditate on bodhicitta,

ང་བ་མས་དཔ་ོད་ལ་འག་པར་ཤོག །
changchub sempé chö la jukpar shok
And always train in the way of the bodhisattva!

བ་པ་མག་དང་འཇམ་དཔལ་དཔའ་བོ་དང༌། ། 63
བ་པ་མག་དང་འཇམ་དཔལ་དཔའ་བོ་དང༌། །
tubpa chok dang jampal pawo dang
Whatever the enlightened actions of the great Sage,

ན་་བཟང་པོ་ོད་པ་གང་ན་པ། །
kuntuzangpö chöpa gang yinpa
Heroic Mañjuśrī, or Samantabhadra,

བདག་་་རབས་ོད་ན་་འ་བར། །
dak gi tserab chö kün dedrawar
In all my lives, may my own actions be equal to theirs,

ར་ནས་དོན་གས་ོད་པ་ན་བ་ཤོག །
gyur né dön nyi chöpa lhündrub shok
And spontaneously may I accomplish my own and others' welfare!

་གག་སངས་ས་བ་པ་ལམ་བཟང་ཅན། །
tsé chik sangye drubpé lamzang chen
Excellent path, which brings about buddhahood in but a single lifetime,

ས་གག་དོན་གས་བ་པ་ཐབས་མཁས་པོ། །
dü chik dön nyi drubpé tab khé po
With skilful methods to benefit oneself and others at one and the same time,

ལ་གག་འར་འདས་དེར་ད་་བ་ས། །
tsul chik khordé yermé tawa yi
And the view of a single reality in which saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are inseparable—

ལམ་གག་ོ་ེ་ག་པར་འག་པར་ཤོག །
lam chik dorjé tekpar jukpar shok
May I embark upon this unique path of the vajra vehicle!

ལམ་འ་ལམ་ོམ་ོ་ེ་འན་པ་ཚོགས། །
lam di lam gom dorjé dzinpé tsok
Hosts of vajra holders, who cultivate the approach of this path,

ན་ལ་བ་ོང་བེད་པ་ོགས་བིད་ང༌། །
kün la detong kyepé drok gyi ching
Taking as partners those who bring about blissful emptiness,

ན་ག་ེས་པ་མཚོན་པ་ོར་ར་པ། ། 64
ན་ག་ེས་པ་མཚོན་པ་ོར་ར་པ། །
lhenchik kyepa tsönpé gor gyurpé
As a way for co-emergent wisdom to be introduced—

ལམ་གག་མཁའ་འོ་ིང་་རོལ་བར་ཤོག །
lam chik khandrö ling du rolwar shok
May this unique path be enjoyed in the realm of the ḍākinīs!

བས་མ་ངས་པ་མས་ད་གག་མ་ཞལ། །
chöma pangpé semnyi nyukmé shyal
The face of my original nature, mind itself, left unaltered,

བས་མ་ན་པར་རང་་ེན་པར་མཐོང་། །
chöma minpar rang ngo jenpar tong
My very own essence, beyond contrivance—may I see it laid bare!

བས་ད་ལ་བ་མཉམ་བཞག་ན་བངས་། །
chö lé dralwé nyamshyak gyün kyang té
Sustaining meditation untainted by any trace of alteration,

བས་ད་དོན་ི་འས་་ཐོབ་པར་ཤོག །
chömé dön gyi drebu tobpar shok
May I gain the ultimate fruition free from any fabrication!

གནས་བས་་ཡང་བསམ་པ་དོན་ན་འབ། །
nekab su yang sampé dön kün drub
In the meantime, may all my wishes be fulfilled!

གསོན་པ་་ན་བསམ་པ་ངན་པ་ད། །
sönpé tsé na sampa ngenpa mé
For as long as I live, may I have no negative intentions,

འ་བ་་ན་གནད་གད་ག་བལ་ད། །
chiwé tsé na né chö dukngal mé
And when I die, may I not suffer a painful death,

་ནས་འལ་ང་འགས་ག་ད་པར་ཤོག །
shi né trulnang jiktrak mepar shok
Having died, may there be no fear of delusory appearances!

བདག་མཐོང་ཐོས་དང་ན་ག་འོ་བ་ན། ། 65
བདག་མཐོང་ཐོས་དང་ན་ག་འོ་བ་ན། །
dak tong tö dang dren rek drowa kün
May all who see me, hear me, think of me, or come in contact with me in any way,

ས་འང་ང་བ་མས་དང་ན་ག་ེས། །
ngejung changchub sem dang lhenchik kyé
Develop renunciation, bodhicitta, and co-emergent wisdom

་ར་གས་པ་་བན་ད་ེས་ནས། །
jitar rigpa jishyin gyü kyé né
In whichever way is appropriate within their minds,

ར་་ོགས་པ་སངས་ས་ཐོབ་པར་ཤོག །
nyurdu dzokpé sangye tobpar shok
So that, swiftly, they may arrive at perfect buddhahood!

སངས་ས་་མ་མཚན་ད་ཞལ་མཐོང་ང༌། །
sangye nyima tsenpé shyal tong shying
May I behold the sun-like Buddha with his signs and marks,

དམ་ས་་མ་ིང་་བད་ིར་ོད། །
damchö nyima nying gi dütsir chö
May I savour the nectar of the sun-like Dharma in my heart,

ད་འན་་མ་ཐར་པ་ོགས་ར་ནས། །
gendün nyima tarpé drok gyur né
And may the sun-like Saṅgha accompany me to liberation—

མག་གམ་་མ་འོད་དང་་འལ་ཤོག །
chok sum nyimé ö dang mindral shok
From the light of these three sun-like Supreme Ones, may I never part!1

བ་པ་པོ་་མ་གས་བད་བན་བན་གགས་དཔལ་དས་ིས་པའོ། །དའོ། །
To fulfil the wishes of the practitioner Nyima, this was written by Palge, the mere reflection of a genuine monk.
May virtue abound!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey 2010. Many thanks to Alak Zenkar Rinpoche. Revised
2012& 2020.

1. ↑ Here Patrul Rinpoche plays on the word nyima, meaning sun, which is the name of the person who
requested the prayer.

66
The Bodhisattva’s Garland of Jewels
by Atiśa Dīpaṃkara

In the language of India: Bodhisattvamaṇyāvalī

In the language of Tibet: changchub sempé norbü trengwa
In the English language: The Bodhisattva’s Garland of Jewels

Homage to great compassion!

Homage to the deities who inspire faith and devotion!
Homage to the masters!

Be done with doubt and indecision,

And embrace your practice with all your heart.
Shake off lethargy, dullness and laziness,
And strive always with enthusiasm and joy.

Mindful, vigilant and careful,

Guard the doorways of your senses at every moment.
Three times each day, three times at night,
Again and again, examine your thoughts.

Make plain your own failings,

But don’t look for faults in others.
Make known the good points of others,
But keep quiet about your own best qualities.

Let go of craving for gain and honour,

And give up the urge for profit or fame.

Cultivate love and compassion,

And make your bodhicitta stable.
Avoid the ten unwholesome actions,
And make your faith and confidence be strong.

With few wants, be content with what you have,

And with gratitude repay any kindness you receive.

Overcome anger and arrogance,

And let humility rule your mind.
Give up any unwholesome kind of living,
And pursue a livelihood in keeping with the Dharma.

Do away with your addiction to material things,

And adorn yourself with the riches of the Āryas.

67
The wealth of faith, of discipline,
Generosity and learning,
Decency, self-control,
And wisdom—such are the seven riches.
These most sacred forms of wealth
Are seven treasures that never run out.
Do not speak of this to those who are not human.

Leave all busyness and distraction behind,

And dwell instead in seclusion and solitude.

Refrain from meaningless chatter,

And always keep a check on what you say.

Whenever you see your master or preceptor,

Offer to serve them with devotion and respect.
Those who possess enlightened vision
And those first setting out upon the path—
Regard them both as your spiritual teachers.

Whenever you see any sentient beings,

Regard them as your parents or your children.
Don’t befriend those who act in harmful ways;
Instead rely on true spiritual friends.

Drop any feelings of hostility or ill will,

And be happy, wherever you choose to go.

Avoid getting attached to anything at all,

And stay free from craving and desire.
Attachment not only keeps you from happy births,
It kills the very life of liberation.

Should you find a way to peace and happiness,

Strive constantly to put it into practice.
Whatever task you set out to do,
Accomplish that very thing first.
This way, everything will turn out well;
If not, nothing will succeed.

Never take pleasure in acts that harm.

And when thoughts of superiority creep in,
There and then, deflate your self-importance,
And recall your master’s personal advice.
Or whenever you feel discouraged or inadequate,

68
Raise your spirits and encourage yourself.
And always meditate on emptiness.

Should the objects of attachment or aversion appear,

View them as no more than illusions or projections.
Should you hear unpleasant words,
Consider them nothing more than echoes.
Should you suffer physical harm,
See it as the result of your past actions.

Keep entirely to solitude, far away from town,

And, like the carcass of some wild animal,
Stay hidden in nature by yourself,
Free of all entanglement and attachment.

Always keep up your pledges and commitments,

And should laziness or procrastination strike,
Immediately take note of your errors, one by one,
And remind yourself of the heart of your discipline.

Whenever you meet another person,

Speak calmly, sincerely and truthfully.
Take care not to frown or glare,
And always wear a cheerful smile.

And when you’re with those you see every day,

Don’t be stingy, but be happy to give,
And banish all feelings of envy.

So as to protect others’ peace of mind,

Stay clear of quarrels of any kind,
And be patient and always forbearing.

Don’t flatter, or be a fickle friend,

But be steadfast and reliable all the time.
Never disparage or belittle other people,
But treat everyone with respect.

When giving advice or instructions,

Do so with compassion and a genuine wish to help.
Be sure never to criticize the teachings.
Set your sights on what inspires you most,
And, through the ten forms of Dharma practice,1
Exert yourself in sessions, day and night.

69
Among others, keep a check on your speech;
When alone, keep a check on your mind.

Whatever virtues you amass in the past, present and future,

Dedicate them all towards great, unsurpassable awakening,
Share your merit among all sentient beings,
And with the seven branch practice,
Continually make great prayers of aspiration.

Practising like this, you will complete

Accumulations of both merit and wisdom,
And eliminate the two forms of obscuration.
You will make this human life meaningful,
And, in time, gain unsurpassable awakening.

This concludes the Bodhisattva’s Garland of Jewels, composed by the great Indian
paṇḍita Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna.

| Rigpa Translations, 2008. Revised 2012.

1. The ten spiritual trainings of: writing, making offerings, generosity, listening to
the Dharma, memorizing, reading, teaching, recitation, contemplation and
meditation. ↩

70
Transforming Suffering and Happiness into
Enlightenment
by Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima

Homage
I pay homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, recalling his qualities:
Forever joyful at the happiness of others,
And plunged into sorrow whenever they suffer,
You have fully realized Great Compassion, with all its qualities,
And abide, without a care for your own happiness or suffering!1

Statement of Intent
I am going to put down here a partial instruction on how to use both happiness and
suffering as the path to enlightenment. This is indispensable for leading a spiritual
life, a most needed tool of the Noble Ones, and quite the most priceless teaching in
the world.

There are two parts:

1) how to use suffering as the path,

2) and how to use happiness as the path.

Each one is approached firstly through relative truth, and then through absolute
truth.

1) How to Use Suffering as the Path to Enlightenment

i. Through Relative Truth

Whenever we are harmed by sentient beings or anything else, if we make a habit out
of perceiving only the suffering, then when even the smallest problem comes up, it
will cause enormous anguish in our mind.

This is because the nature of any perception or idea, be it happiness or sorrow, is to

grow stronger and stronger the more we become accustomed to it. So as the strength
of this pattern gradually builds up, before long we’ll find that just about everything
we perceive becomes a cause for actually attracting unhappiness towards us, and
happiness will never get a chance.

If we do not realize that it all depends on the way in which mind develops this habit,
and instead we put the blame on external objects and situations alone, the flames of
suffering, negative karma, aggression and so on will spread like wildfire, without

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end. This is what is called: “all appearances arising as enemies.”

We should arrive at a very precise understanding that the whole reason why sentient
beings in this degenerate age are plagued by so much suffering is because they have
such feeble powers of discernment.

So not to be hurt by the obstacles created by enemies, illness or harmful influences,

does not mean to say that things like sickness can be driven away, and that they will
never occur again. Rather, it simply means that they will not be able to obstruct us
from practising on the path.

In order for this to happen, we need: first, to get rid of the attitude of being entirely
unwilling to face any suffering ourselves and, second, to cultivate the attitude of
actually being joyful when suffering arises.

Dropping the Attitude of Being Entirely Unwilling to Suffer

Think about all the depression, anxiety and irritation we put ourselves through by
always seeing suffering as unfavourable, something to be avoided at all costs. Now,
think about two things: how useless this is, and how much trouble it causes. Go on
reflecting on this repeatedly, until you are absolutely convinced.

Then say to yourself: “From now on, whatever I have to suffer, I will never become
anxious or irritated.” Go over this again and again in your mind, and summon all
your courage and determination.

First, let’s look at how useless it is. If we can do something to solve a problem, then
there is no need to worry or be unhappy about it; if we can’t, then it doesn’t help to
worry or be unhappy about it either.

Then, the enormous trouble involved. As long as we don’t get anxious and irritated,
then our strength of mind will enable us to bear even the hardest of sufferings easily;
they’ll feel as flimsy and insubstantial as cotton wool. But while we are dominated
by anxiety, even the tiniest problem becomes extremely difficult to cope with,
because we have the additional burden of mental discomfort and unhappiness.

Imagine, for example, trying to get rid of desire and attachment for someone we find
attractive while continuing to dwell all the while on their attractive qualities. It
would all be in vain. In just the same way, if we concentrate only on the pain
brought by suffering, we’ll never be able to develop endurance or the ability to bear
it.2 So, as in the instructions called ‘Sealing the Doors of the Senses’, don’t latch onto
all kinds of mind-made concepts about your suffering. Learn instead to leave the
mind undisturbed in its own natural state, bring the mind home, rest there, and let it
find its own ground.

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Cultivating the Attitude of Being Joyful when Suffering Arises
Seeing suffering as an ally to help us on the path, we must learn to develop a sense
of joy when it arises. Yet whenever suffering strikes, unless we have some kind of
spiritual practice to bring to it, one which matches the capacity of our mind, no
matter how many times we might say to ourselves: ‘Well, as long as I’ve got roughly
the right method, I’ll be able to use suffering and obtain such and such a benefit’, it’s
highly unlikely that we’ll succeed. We’ll be as far from our goal, the saying goes, as
the earth is from the sky.

Therefore, use suffering as the basis for the following practices:

a. Using Suffering to Train in Renunciation

Sometimes, then, use your suffering in order to train your mind in renunciation.

Say to yourself: “As long as I wander, powerless and without any freedom, in
samsara, this kind of suffering is not something unjust or unwarranted. It’s simply
the very nature of samsara.” At times, develop a deep sense of revulsion by thinking;
“If it’s already so hard for me to bear even the little suffering and pain of the happy
realms, then what about the suffering of the lower realms? Samsara is indeed an
ocean of suffering, fathomless and without any end!” Then turn your mind towards
liberation, and enlightenment.

b. Using Suffering to Train in Taking Refuge

Say to yourself: “Life after life, again and again we are continuously plagued by
these kind of fears, and the one and only protection that can never fail us is the
precious guide, the Buddha, the precious path, the Dharma, and the precious
companions on the way, the Saṅgha: the Three Jewels. So it is on them that I must
rely, entirely. Whatever happens, I will never renounce them.” Let this become a firm
conviction, and train in the practice of taking refuge.

c. Using Suffering to Overcome Arrogance

As I explained before, [as long as we are in samsara] we are never independent or
truly free or in control of our lives. On the contrary, we are always dependent on and
at the mercy of suffering. So we must eliminate ‘the enemy that destroys anything
that is wholesome and good’, which is arrogance and pride; and we must do away
with the evil attitude of belittling others and considering them as inferior.

d. Using Suffering to Purify Harmful Actions

Remind yourself and realize: “All this suffering which I’m going through, and
suffering which is greater still—all the boundless suffering that there is—come from
nothing but harmful, negative actions.”

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Reflect, carefully and thoroughly, how:

1. karma is certain—cause and effect is infallible;

2. karma multiplies enormously;3
3. you will never face the effects of something you have not done;
4. whatever you have done will never go to waste.

Then say to yourself: “So, if I really don’t want to suffer any more, then I must give
up the cause of suffering, which is negativity.”4 With the help of ‘The Four Powers’,
make an effort to acknowledge and purify all the negative actions you have
accumulated in the past, and then firmly resolve to avoid doing them in the future.

e. Using Suffering to Find Joy in Positive Action

Say to yourself: “If I really want to find happiness, which is the opposite of suffering,
then I have got to make an effort to practise its cause, which is positive action.”
Think about this in detail, and from every angle, and dwell on the implications. Then
in every way possible, do whatever you can to make your positive, beneficial actions
increase.

f. Using Suffering to Train in Compassion

Say to yourself: “Just like me, others too are tormented by similar suffering, or even
much worse...” Train yourself by thinking: “If only they could be free from all this
suffering! How wonderful it would be!” This will also help you to understand how to
practise loving kindness, where the focus of the practice is those who have no
happiness.

g. Using Suffering to Cherish Others More Than Yourself

Train yourself to think: “The very reason why I am not free from suffering such as
this is that from time immemorial I have cared only about myself. Now, from this
moment onwards, I will only cherish others, as this is the source of all happiness and
good.”

It is extremely difficult to use suffering as the path when it has already struck, and is
staring us in the face. That is why it is crucial to become familiar in advance with the
specific practices to be used when misfortune and difficulties befall us. It is also
particularly helpful, and will really count, if we use the practice we know best, and of
which we have a clear, personal experience.

With this, suffering and difficulties can become a help for our spiritual practice—but
that alone is not enough. We need to gain a sense of real joy and enthusiasm,
inspired by a thorough appreciation for our achievement, and then to reinforce this,
and make it stable and continuous.

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So, with each of the practices outlined above, say to yourself: “This suffering has
been of tremendous assistance; it will help me to achieve the many wonderful kinds
of happiness and bliss which are experienced in the higher realms and in liberation
from samsara and which are extremely difficult to find. From now on too, I know
that whatever suffering lies in store for me will have the same effect. So however
tough, however difficult the suffering may be, it will always bring me the greatest joy
and happiness, bitter and yet sweet, like those Indian cakes made of sugar mixed
with cardamom and pepper.” Follow this line of thought over and over, and very
thoroughly, and get used to the happy state of mind that it brings. By reflecting like
this, our minds will be so suffused with happiness that the suffering we feel through
the senses will become almost imperceptible and incapable of disturbing our minds.
This is the point at which sickness can be overcome through forbearance. It’s worth
noting that this is also an indication as to whether difficulties brought about by
enemies, harmful spirits and so on can be overcome.

As we have already seen, reversing the attitude of not wanting to suffer is the whole
basis for transforming suffering into our spiritual path. This is because we simply
won’t be able to turn suffering into the path as long as anxiety and irritation
continue to eat away at our confidence and disturb our mind.

The more we arrive at actually transforming suffering into the path, the more we
will enhance and reinforce all our previous practice. This is because our courage and
good humour will grow all the more, once we can see from our own experience how
suffering causes our spiritual practice and qualities to blossom.

It is said that by training gradually with smaller sufferings, ‘step by step, in easy
stages’, then in the end we’ll be able to handle big suffering and difficulties too. We
must go about it like this, because it is extremely difficult to have an experience of
something which is beyond our level or capacity.

In the breaks between sessions, pray to the Lama and the Three Jewels that you may
be able to take suffering onto your path. When your mind has grown a little bit
stronger, then make offerings to the Three Jewels and to negative forces and insist:
“Please send me misfortune and obstacles, so I can work on developing the strength
of my practice!” At the same time, always, always stay confident, cheerful and
happy.

When you first begin this training, it is vital to distance yourself from ordinary social
activities. Otherwise, caught up in everyday preoccupations and busyness, you will
be influenced by all your misguided friends, asking questions like: “How can you
bear to put up with so much suffering...so much humiliation...?”

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Besides, the endless worrying about enemies, relatives and possessions will cloud our
awareness, and upset our minds beyond all our control, so that we inevitably go
astray, sliding into bad habits. Then, on top of this, we’ll be swept away by all kinds
of distracting objects and situations.

But in the solitude of a retreat environment, since none of these are present, your
awareness is very lucid and clear, and so it’s easy to make the mind do whatever you
want it to do.

It is for this very reason that when practitioners of Chöd train in ‘trampling right on
top of suffering’, at the beginning they put off doing the practice using the harm
caused by human beings and amidst distraction, but instead make a point of working
with the apparitions of gods and demons in cemeteries and other desolate and
powerful places.5

To sum up: Not only so that your mind will not be affected by misfortune and
suffering, but also to be able to draw happiness and peace of mind out of these things
themselves, what we need to do is this: Do not see inner problems like illness, or
outer troubles like rivals, spirits or scandalous gossip, as something undesirable and
unpleasant, but instead simply get used to seeing them as something pleasing and
delightful.

To accomplish this, we need to stop looking at harmful circumstances as problems

and make every effort to view them as beneficial. After all, whether a thing is
pleasant or unpleasant comes down to how it is perceived by the mind.

Take an example: someone who continually dwells on the futility of ordinary,

mundane preoccupations will only get more and more fed up as their wealth or circle
increase. On the other hand, someone who sees worldly affairs as meaningful and
beneficial will seek, and even pray, to increase their power and influence.

With this kind of training then:

our mind and character will become more peaceful and more gentle;
we will become more open (and more flexible);
we will be easier to get along with;
we will be courageous and confident;
we will be freed from obstacles that hinder our Dharma practice;
we will be able to turn any negative circumstances to our advantage, meet
with success, and bring glory and auspiciousness;
and our mind will always be content, in the happiness born of inner peace.

To follow a spiritual path in this degenerate age, we cannot be without armour of

this kind. Because if we’re no longer tormented by the suffering of anxiety and
irritation, not only will other kinds of suffering fade away, like soldiers who’ve lost

76
their weapons, but even misfortunes like illness will, as a rule, vanish on their own.

The saints of the past used to say:

“If you are not unhappy or discontented about anything, then your mind will
not be disturbed. Since your mind is not disturbed, the subtle wind energy
(Tib. lung) will not be disturbed. That means the other elements of the body
will not be disturbed either. As a result, your mind will not be disturbed, and
so it goes on, as the wheel of constant happiness turns.”

Also:

Horses and donkeys with sores on their backs

Are an easy prey for scavenging birds.
People who are prone to fear,
Are easy victims to negative spirits.
But not those whose character is stable and strong.

Thus it is that the wise, seeing that all happiness and suffering depend upon the
mind, will seek their happiness and well-being within the mind. Since all the causes
of happiness are entirely within themselves, they will not be dependent on anything
external, which means that nothing whatsoever, be it sentient beings or anything
else, can do them any harm. And even when they die, this attitude will follow, so
that they will always, always be free and in control.

This is just how the bodhisattvas attain their meditative stabilization (samādhi) called
‘overwhelming over all phenomena with bliss’.

However, foolish people chase after external objects and circumstances in the hope
of finding happiness. But whatever happiness they do find, great or small, it always
turns out like the saying:

You’re not in control; it’s all in others’ hands.

As if your hair were caught up in a tree.

What you’d hoped for never comes to be; things never come together; or else you
make misjudgments, and there is only one failure after another. Enemies and thieves
have no trouble harming you, and even the slightest false accusation will separate
you from your happiness. However much a crow looks after a baby cuckoo, it can
never turn it into a baby crow. In the same way, if all your efforts are misguided and
based on something unreliable, they will bring nothing but fatigue for the gods,
negative emotions for the spirits, and suffering for yourself.

This ‘heart advice’ brings a hundred different essential instructions together, into
one crucial point. There are many other pith instructions on accepting suffering and

77
hardships in order to practise the path, and on transforming illness and destructive
forces into the path, as taught for example in the ‘Pacifying’ tradition. But here, in a
way that’s easy to understand, I have given a general outline of how to accept
suffering, based on the writings of the Noble Śāntideva, and his wise and learned
followers.

ii. Through Absolute Truth

By means of reasoning, such as ‘the refutation of production from the four
extremes’,6 the mind is drawn towards emptiness, the natural condition of things, a
supreme state of peace, and there it rests. In this state, let alone harmful
circumstances or suffering, not even their names can be found.

Even when you come out of this state, it’s not like before, when suffering arose in
your mind and you would react with dread and lack of confidence. Now you can
overcome it by viewing it as unreal and nothing but a label.

I have not gone into detail here.

2. How To Use Happiness as the Path to Enlightenment

i. Through Relative Truth

Whenever happiness and the various things that cause happiness appear, if we slip
under their power, then we will grow increasingly conceited, smug and lazy, which
will block our spiritual path and progress.

In fact it’s difficult not to be carried away by happiness, as Padampa Sangye pointed
out:

We human beings can cope with a lot of suffering,

But very little happiness.

That’s why we need to open our eyes, in whatever ways we can, to the fact that
happiness and the things that cause happiness are all actually impermanent, and are
by nature suffering.7

So try as best you can to arouse a deep sense of disillusionment, and to stop your
mind indulging in its usual apathy and negligence. Say to yourself:

“Look: all the happiness and material wealth of this world is trifling and
insignificant, and brings with it all kinds of problems and difficulties. Still, in a
certain sense, it does have its good side. Buddha said that someone whose freedom is
impaired by suffering will have great difficulty attaining enlightenment, but for
someone who is happy, it is easier to attain.

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“What good fortune then to be able to practise the Dharma in a state of happiness
like this! So, from now on, in whatever way I can, I must convert this happiness into
Dharma, and then from the Dharma, happiness and well-being will continuously
arise. That’s how I can train in making Dharma and happiness support one another.
Otherwise, I’ll always end up where I started—like trying to boil water in a wooden
saucepan.”

The main point to get here is that whatever happiness, whatever well-being, comes
our way, we must unite it with Dharma practice. This is the whole vision behind
Nāgārjuna’s Garland of Jewels.8

Even though we may be happy, if we don’t recognize it, we will never be able to
make use of that happiness as an opportunity for practising the Dharma. Instead
we’ll be forever hoping that some extra happiness will come our way, and we’ll
waste our lives on countless projects and actions. The antidote to this is to apply the
practice wherever it is appropriate, and, above all, to savour the nectar of
contentment.

There are other ways of turning happiness into the path, especially those based on
recalling the kindness of the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha, and on the instructions
for training in bodhicitta, but this will do for now. As with using suffering as the
path, so with happiness too, you need to go to a solitary retreat environment and
combine this with practices of purification and accumulating merit and wisdom.

ii. The Absolute Dimension

This is the same as for turning suffering into the path.

What this Training Brings

If we cannot practise when we’re suffering because of all the anxiety we go through,
and we cannot practise when we’re happy because of our attachment to happiness,
then that rules out any chance of our practising Dharma at all. That is why there is
nothing more crucial for a practitioner than this training in turning happiness and
suffering into the path.

And if you do have this training, no matter where you live, in a solitary place or in
the middle of a city; whatever the people around you are like, good or bad; whether
you’re rich or poor, happy or distressed; whatever you have to listen to, praise or
condemnation, good words or bad; you’ll never feel the slightest fear that it could
bring you down in any way. No wonder this training is called the ‘Lion-Like Yoga’.

Whatever you do, your mind will be happy, peaceful, spacious and relaxed. Your
whole attitude will be pure, and everything will turn out excellently. Your body
might be living in this impure world of ours, but your mind will experience the
splendour of an unimaginable bliss, like the bodhisattvas in their pure realms.

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It’ll be just as the precious Kadampa masters used to say:

Keep happiness under control;

Put an end to suffering.
With happiness under control
And suffering brought to an end:
When you’re all alone,
This training will be your true friend;
When you are sick,
It will be your nurse.

Goldsmiths first remove the impurities from gold by melting it in fire, and then make
it malleable by rinsing it over and over again in water. It is just the same with the
mind. If by using happiness as the path, you become weary and disgusted with it,
and by taking suffering as the path, you make your mind clear and cheerful, then
you will easily attain the extraordinary samādhi which makes mind and body capable
of doing anything you wish.

This instruction, I feel, is the most profound of all, for it perfects discipline, the
source of everything positive and wholesome. This is because not being attached to
happiness creates the basis of the extraordinary discipline of renunciation, and not
being afraid of suffering makes this discipline completely pure.

As they say:

Generosity forms the basis for discipline;

And patience is what purifies it.

By training in this practice now, then when you attain the higher stages of the path,
this is what it will be like:

You will realize that all phenomena are like an illusion, and
To be born again is just like walking into a lovely garden.
Whether you face prosperity or ruin,
You’ll have no fear of negative emotions or suffering.9

Here are some illustrations from the life of the Buddha. Before he attained
enlightenment, he abandoned the kingdom of a universal monarch as if it were straw
and lived by the river Nairañjanā without a care for the harshness of the austerities
he was practising. What he showed was that in order to accomplish our own
ultimate benefit, the nectar of realization, we must have mastered the one taste of
happiness and suffering.

Then after he attained enlightenment, the chiefs of humans and gods, as far as the
highest realms, showed him the greatest reverence, placing his feet on the crown of

80
their heads, and offering to serve and honour him with all manner of delights.
However, a brahmin called Bhāradvāja abused him and criticized him a hundred
times; he was accused of sexual misconduct with the impudent daughter of another
brahmin; he lived off rotten horse fodder for three months in the land of King
Agnidatta, and so on. But he remained without the slightest fluctuation in his mind,
neither elated nor downcast, like Mount Meru unshaken by the wind. He showed
that in order to accomplish the benefit of sentient beings, again we have to have
mastered that equal taste of happiness and suffering.

Afterword
A teaching like this should really be taught by the Kadampa masters, whose very
lives enacted their saying:

“No complaints when there’s suffering,

Great renunciation when there’s happiness.”

But if it’s someone like me who explains it, then I’m sure that even my own tongue
is going to get fed up and cringe with embarrassment. Still, with the sole aim of
making one taste of all the worldly preoccupations10 my second nature, I, the old
beggar Tenpe Nyima, have written this, here in the forest of many birds.

| This edition was prepared especially for Lotsawa House by Adam Pearcey, 2006, based on earlier
versions by Rigpa Translations.

1. By Candragomin. ↩

2. bzod sran: the ability to bear suffering—forbearance, endurance, patience,

fortitude, and stability. ↩

3. Alak Zenkar Rinpoche: “You might complain: ‘I didn’t do anything bad, or

very little, in this life, so why do I go through such suffering?’ It’s easy for
karma to increase. Just as how from a tiny seed in the earth, a lot of fruit can
grow. The results of one action (karma) can multiply enormously, as they
themselves spawn further consequences, like a family tree.” ↩

4. What is the difference between harmful actions (sdig pa) and negativity (mi
dge ba)? ‘Negativity’ is a general term to denote the unvirtuous and immoral.
‘Harmful action’ is more intense; not only are such actions unvirtuous, but they
are destructive and cause harm. To have an unvirtuous thought is only in the
mind, and it is not necessarily acted out. In general ‘harmful action’ is
connected to physical action. ↩

5. gnyen sa: the eerie places in Tibet, where people would be afraid to cause any

81
 kind of disturbance. For example, on top of a high mountain, where you would
not dare make a noise for fear of offending the spirits of the place. ↩

6. Things are not produced from themselves, from something other than
themselves, from both or without causes. See Mipham Rinpoche, The Four
Great Logical Arguments of the Middle Way. ↩

7. This is a reference to the ‘suffering of change’. When a pleasant situation

changes, it becomes a source of suffering. Consider, for example, the sorrow
caused by the death of a child. It is because we were so happy when the child
was alive that his or her death causes us such pain. ↩

8. Nāgārjuna wrote the Garland of Jewels (Ratnāvalī) as advice for his friend who
was a king living in great luxury, so he suggested how to use his situation and
turn it into the path of Dharma. ↩

9. Maitreya, Ornament of Mahāyāna Sūtras (Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra). The first

line is connected with wisdom, the second with compassion. ↩

10. The ‘eight worldly concerns’ of happiness and suffering, praise and blame,
gain and loss, fame and insignificance. ↩

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The Sayings of Geshe Langri Tangpa
From the Collected Sayings of the Early Kadampa Masters
As no ordinary being can truly take the measure of another, do not disparage anyone
at all.

As all the Buddha's teachings yield their own particular results, don't relate to them
as good or bad.

As there's nothing to do in the Great Vehicle but work for sentient beings, don't let
your 'armour'1 for benefitting others be insubstantial.

As there can be no guiding others until you've seized the stronghold [of fruition] for
yourself, apply yourself to meditation in solitude.

Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2016

1. 'Armour' here has the sense of 'courage' (AZR) ↩

83
How to Transform Sickness and Other
Circumstances
by Gyalsé Tokmé Zangpo

Namo guru!

This illusory heap of a body, which, like others, I possess—

If it falls sick, so be it! In sickness I’ll rejoice!
For it will exhaust my negative karma from the past.
And, after all, many forms of Dharma practice
Are for the sake of purifying the two obscurations.

If I am healthy, so be it! In freedom from sickness I’ll rejoice!

When body and mind are well and at ease,
Virtuous practice can develop and gain strength.
And, after all, the way to give meaning to this human life
Is to devote body, speech and mind to virtue.

If I face poverty, so be it! In lack of riches I’ll rejoice!

I will have nothing to protect and nothing to lose.
Whatever quarrels and conflicts there might be,
All arise out of desire for wealth and gain—that’s certain!

If I find wealth, so be it! In prosperity I’ll rejoice!

If I can increase the stock of my merits that will suffice.
Whatever benefit and happiness there might be, now and in the future,
All result from merits I have gained—that’s certain!

If I must die soon, so be it! In dying I’ll rejoice!

Without allowing negative circumstances to intervene,
And with the support of positive tendencies I have gathered,
I will surely set out upon the genuine, unerring path!

If I live long, so be it! In remaining I’ll rejoice!

Once the crop of genuine experience has arisen,
As long as the sun and rainfall of instructions do not diminish,
If it is tended over time, it will surely ripen.

So, whatever happens then, let us always cultivate joy!

In response to a question from a Sakya geshé, asking what should be done in the event
of sickness and the rest, I, the monk Tokmé, who discourses on the Dharma, set down
these ways of bringing sickness and other circumstances onto the spiritual path.

84
Sarva maṅgalam!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2007. Edited by Phillippa Sison. Revised 2012.

85
Thirty Pieces of Heart Advice
by Longchen Rabjam (1308—1363)

From his great clouds of prayers arising through wisdom, which permeates the
dimension of reality completely, and through the sunrays of compassion, amṛta falls
down unceasingly onto the field of students, ripening the offshoots of the three
kāyas. I bow down at the feet of the lama, who protects as the embodiment of the
Three Jewels.

Though I entered the sacred lineage of accomplishment through the power of my

prayers, due to my lack of effort my life has turned out meaningless and is now
vanishing. I had wanted to act in an honest manner, but now I am in despair and
have seen many like me. Out of renunciation I composed these thirty pieces of heart
advice.

1. Kyeho! Drawing a large following by employing a variety of methods

Although we accumulate the right facilities to establish a monastery,
This will become a field of dispute causing attachment.
‘To remain alone’ is my heart advice.

2. Performing village rites, like taming demons of dead children and the
living,
Peddling our qualities as merchandise amidst the people
Out of attachment to food and wealth, we get carried away by the demons
of the mind.
‘To tame one’s own mind’ is my heart advice.

3. By gathering donations from the poor as if imposing taxes,

We can erect large statues and distribute offerings on a vast scale.
But even though this is to support virtuous goals, we instigate others to
commit negative actions.
‘To keep one’s mind virtuous’ is my heart advice.

4. Teaching others Dharma out of a desire for greatness and

Maintaining a retinue of important and humble people through skilled
methods—
A mind involved with this is the source of pride.
‘To have few aspirations’ is my heart advice.

5. Were we to offer a hundred valuable things accumulated through wrong

livelihood,
Based on conducting business, taking interest, deception and so on.
We might attempt to be virtuous, but instead give rise to the eight worldly
dharmas.

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 ‘To meditate on renunciation’ is my heart advice.

6. Through taking on responsibility, bearing witness, enforcing the law and

so on,
We reconcile people in their disputes, thinking this benefits them,
But still, aversion and attachment arise.
‘To be without hope and fear’ is my heart advice.

7. To have subordinates, wealth, a retinue, good fortune and

Fame spreading through the whole world –
At the time of death all this is of no benefit.
‘To be diligent in one’s practice’ is my heart advice.

8. Even though caretakers, attendants, people in charge and cooks

Constitute the lifeblood of a monastery,
Entertaining dualistic perception is the cause for strife.
‘To give up such chores’ is my heart advice.

9. To carry whatever we think necessary to the cave,

Statues, offerings, texts, cooking utensils and the like,
All hastily gathered together, leads to suffering and dispute.
‘To be frugal’ is my heart advice.

10. Pointing out faults to a short-tempered retinue

In these degenerate times, even with the wish to benefit,
Gives rise to negative states of mind.
‘To speak peacefully’ is my heart advice.

11. Giving advice with a wish to benefit and without self-interest,

Or lovingly pointing out someone’s hidden faults,
We might be honest, but still it creates heartache.
‘To speak pleasantly’ is my heart advice.

12. When we support our own side and refute the other,
We might think this is the way to propagate the teachings during debate,
But instead it will give rise to negative states of mind.
‘To stop talking’ is my heart advice.

13. Through being partial towards our lama, lineage and practice,
We believe we are upholding them.
But to praise our own side whilst disparaging others is the source of
attachment and aversion.
‘To give all this up’ is my heart advice.

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14. After differentiating and examining the teachings we have studied,
We find faults in the teachings of others and might believe this to be
wisdom.
But through this we accrue negative deeds.
‘To train in pure view’ is my heart advice.

15. Speaking about blank emptiness and disregarding cause and effect,
Thinking that non-action is the ultimate,
We give up the two kinds of accumulation, leading to the deterioration of
our practice.
‘To practice unifying both’ is my heart advice.

16. We let the innermost essence descend for the sake (of practicing) the third
(empowerment),
Thinking we enhance our practice by relying on a consort.
Yet many have been deceived by such contaminated ways.
‘To practice the path of liberation’ is my heart advice.

17. To bestow empowerments upon improper people,

And to distribute sacred substances among the ordinary
Is the basis for slander and the deterioration of samaya.
‘To start in the proper way’ is my heart advice.

18. To be naked and so on in the middle of ordinary people,

We might think of such eccentric behaviour as part of higher asceticism,
But it is a reason for worldly beings to lose faith in what is pure.
‘To act with mindfulness’ is my heart advice.

19. Aspiring to be someone superior where we reside,

Even if we act purely and are learned,
Is the cause to fall from the highest point to the lowest.
‘To be neither too tight nor too loose’ is my heart advice.

20. In villages, monasteries, caves and such places—

Wherever we might stay—let us not look for close friendship,
But with whomever we become acquainted, be neither too intimate nor
too hostile.
‘To remain self-reliant’ is my heart advice.

21. In order to receive provisions from the faithful,

We might pay respect in a hypocritical way
To attract attention, but that will only fetter us.
‘To act regarding everything as equal’ is my heart advice.

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22. There are many texts on craft, astrology and medicine,
All sources for understanding the methods of interdependence,
Yet to know too many things ruins one’s meditation.
‘To limit the objects of knowledge’ is my heart advice.

23. To replicate the arrangements of the home,

When venturing into solitude
Is to waste one’s life in a meaningless manner.
‘To give up too many activities’ is my heart advice.

24. There might be excellent qualities in striving

For learnedness and purity,
But whatever we are attached to will only bind the mind stream.
‘To be without bias’ is my advice from the heart.

25. Summoning hail and thunderbolts and the like, producing black magic
spells and protecting oneself,
We might believe these are activities to subdue those who are hardest to
tame,
But this will only inflame their minds and lead us to the lower realms.
‘To take a humble place’ is my heart advice.

26. To amass a multitude of profound texts

Such as scriptures, commentaries and oral instructions,
Without practicing them, will be of no benefit at the time of death.
‘To watch your mind’ is my heart advice.

27. When we accomplish remaining one-pointedly, we can gain insights and

understanding,
But to write spiritual texts and songs of realization about them,
Even though they are signs of experience, will give rise to
conceptualization.
‘To maintain a non-conceptual frame of mind’ is my heart advice.

28. When conceptual thoughts arise, the direct view is crucial;

Having examined the mind, to settle it is crucial;
Even as there is nothing to meditate on, to meditate is crucial.
‘To remain undistracted’ is my heart advice.

29. Dwelling in the state of emptiness, acting according to (the law of) cause
and effect;
Realizing non-action, keeping the three vows;
Without focus, exert yourself in benefitting beings through compassion.
‘To engage in the two accumulations indivisibly’ is my heart advice.

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 30. If we have listened to many learned masters and received deep
instructions,
Have studied a few sūtras and tantras,
Without ever applying them—‘Oh how pitiful!’—we are just fooling
ourselves.

For myself and others like me, I have explained these thirty pieces of heart advice.
Through composing this, with a mind of renunciation, may all beings be freed from
cyclic existence and reach the pure realms. May I emulate the conduct of the victors of
the three times, their heirs and the great rishis, so that I may become their foremost heir.

Motivated by a slight sense of renunciation, I, Tsultrim Lodrö, composed these thirty

pieces of heart advice. May all be auspicious!

| Translated by Daniela Hartmann and edited by Judith Amtzis, Jacqueline Bourbon and Monsieur "Fifi"
Greywhiskers.

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Three Principal Aspects of the Path
by Je Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa

Homage to the precious noble masters!

1. The very essence of all the buddhas’ teachings,

The path that is praised by the noble bodhisattvas,
And the entrance for all fortunate ones desiring liberation—
To the best of my ability, I shall now set forth.

2. You who are unattached to saṃsāra’s pleasures,

And strive to make full use of the freedoms and advantages,
You who follow the path delighting all the buddhas—
Fortunate ones, listen well, with a clear and open mind.

3. Whilst lacking pure renunciation there is no way to pacify

The continual thirst for pleasure in the ocean of saṃsāra,
And since all living beings are bound by their craving for existence,
You must begin by finding the determination to be free.

4. The freedoms and advantages are rare, and there’s no time to waste—
Reflect on this again and yet again, and dispel attachment to this life.
To dispel attachment to your future lives, contemplate repeatedly
The unfailing effects of karma and the sufferings of saṃsāra.

5. When, through growing accustomed to thinking in this way,

Hope for the pleasures of saṃsāra no longer arises even for an instant,
And throughout both day and night you long for liberation,
Then, at that time, true renunciation has been born.

6. Yet if this renunciation is not embraced

By the pure motivation of bodhicitta,
It will not become a cause for the perfect bliss of unsurpassed awakening,
So the wise should generate supreme bodhicitta.

7. Beings are swept along by the powerful current of the four rivers,1
Tightly bound by the chains of their karma, so difficult to undo,
Ensnared within the iron trap of their self-grasping,
And enshrouded in the thick darkness of ignorance.

8. Again and yet again, they are reborn in limitless saṃsāra,

And constantly tormented by the three forms of suffering.2
This is the current condition of all your mothers from previous lives.
Contemplate their plight and generate supreme bodhichitta.

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 9. If you lack the wisdom that realizes the nature of things,
Although you might grow accustomed to renunciation and bodhicitta,
You will be incapable of cutting through conditioned existence at its root.
Exert yourself, therefore, in the methods for realizing interdependence.

10. The one who sees that cause and effect operate infallibly
For all the phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa,
And for whom any objects of conceptual focus have subsided,
Has set out upon the path delighting all the buddhas.

11. The knowledge that appearances arise unfailingly in dependence,

And the knowledge that they are empty and beyond all assertions—
As long as these two appear to you as separate,
There can be no realization of the Buddha’s wisdom.

12. Yet when they arise at once, not each in turn but both together,
Then through merely seeing unfailing dependent origination
Certainty is born, and all modes of misapprehension fall apart—
That is when discernment of the view has reached perfection.

13. When you know that appearances dispel the extreme of existence,
While the extreme of nothingness is eliminated by emptiness,3
And you also come to know how emptiness arises as cause and effect,
Then you will be immune to any view entailing clinging to extremes.

14. When, in this way, you have correctly understood

The key points of the three principal aspects of the path,
Withdraw to solitude, dear son, strengthen your diligence,
And swiftly accomplish the ultimate and lasting aim.

This advice was given by the bhikṣu of extensive learning, Lobzang Drakpé Pal, to
Tsakho Önpo Ngawang Drakpa.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2006. Revised 2012.

1. According to Ngulchu Dharmabhadra, this refers either to the sufferings of

birth, old age, sickness and death, or to the four rivers of desire, becoming,
ignorance and belief. ↩

2. Suffering of suffering, the suffering of change and the all-pervasive suffering of

conditioned existence. ↩

3. It is commonly said that the fact that things appear eliminates the extreme of
nihilism or a belief in the total non-existence of things, and that emptiness

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 dispels the extreme of eternalism, or the belief in things as truly existent. Here,
Tsongkhapa goes further and says that the fact that things appear dispels the
extreme of taking things to be truly existent, because for things to appear they
must lack inherent existence. Moreover, the fact that things are empty
eliminates the extreme of non-existence, since it is only because things are
empty that they can appear. ↩

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