(1.35 continued) Even when Bodhisattvas are faced with great adversity,
Negativity does not arise; rather, their virtues naturally increase.

For the vast majority of us, when we encounter some form of adversity we usually don’t take it very well.  We become angry, frustrated, jealous, worried, stressed-out, etc.  The reason for this is simple:  our wishes are still worldly.  What we want is pleasant experiences, wealth, a good reputation and a life of ease.  Anything that threatens these things is viewed by us as a problem.  We then generate delusions, and usually respond with some form of negativity.  While bad enough, this habit quite literally leads to our own damnation.  If we die with a negative or deluded mind, it will activate negative karma throwing us into a lower rebirth from which it is almost impossible to escape.  This is not some fiction or some religious theory, but the reality of how samsara works.  If we respond to the slight inconveniences of modern life with delusion and negativity, what hope do we have of responding to the trauma of death with wisdom and virtue?  Unless we change, our fate is all but sealed.

But the Bodhisattva, in contrast, feasts on adversity.  Venerable Tharchin once said, “my main practice now is my dying body.”  For the Bodhisattva, every adversity is another opportunity to grow and train in virtue.  The reason they can do this is they have the mind of patient acceptance.  The mind of patient acceptance fully accepts samsara as it is without any resistance.  How can it accept samsara?  Because it has the wisdom that knows how to use every last bit of its sufferings to advance on the path.  For the Bodhisattva, the more negativity and difficulties that ripen, the more the bodhisattva is literally ‘pushed out’ of samsara instead of dragged down into it.  More on this when we get to the Chapter on Patience.

(36) I prostrate to those who have generated
The holy, precious mind of bodhichitta;
And I go for refuge to those sources of happiness
Who bestow bliss even upon those who harm them.

In modern times, external expressions of prostration is just seen as weird and cult-like.  Sometimes students who study under other Tibetan Lamas in India will meet with Geshe-la, and when they do, as per their custom, when they enter the room they prostrate.  Geshe-la tells them, “please, get up, it is not the modern way.”  The modern way is spiritual leaders should not hold themselves up as being anything special, quite the contrary they should assume an unpretentious and humble demeanor that puts others at ease.  I remember my first meeting ever with a “Gen-la.”  I was very nervous and when I came in, I was all respectful with my hands pressed together at my heart, etc.  He said, “oh, please, none of that.  Come in, come in, can I get you a tea?”  Geshe-la has said when we interact with our teachers and spiritual guides, we should act “exactly as normal.”  They are our spiritual friends, not our spiritual masters.  We should view them as “Sangha Jewel,” not “Buddha Jewel.”  This represents a huge departure from how things were done in India and Tibet, but in modern times, this makes all the difference.  Such a “normal” approach to relations prevents the tradition from outwardly appearing as some crazed cult, it makes our teachers much more approachable enabling us to more easily receive benefit from them, and it protects our teachers from feeling like they have to put on some pretentious show of how holy they are.  Everybody can relax and be normal.

But inwardly, if we truly understood the infinite good qualities of the Bodhisattva, we would spontaneously throw ourselves at their feet in awe and humility in the face of their greatness.  It would be like for a Christian who found themselves before the radiance of God himself.  But for the Buddhist, prostration takes on a much deeper meaning.  To prostrate is essentially to humbly request, “help me to become just like you.”  It does not just recognize the greatness of that to which we prostrate, but it seeks guidance to cultivate within ourselves these very same qualities.  It says, “this is what I seek to become.  Please help me to do so.”  If we had even the slightest inkling of a fraction of a Bodhisattva’s good qualities, we would realize they far surpass everything good in samsara put together.  Why settle for the table scraps of a dog when we can feast at the table of spiritual kings?  The choice is ours, our destiny is our own.

This concludes the first chapter of Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, entitled “An Explanation of the Benefits of Bodhichitta”.

While a Bodhisattva does not seek to be praised or honored, they don’t shun it either.  Being held in high esteem enables the Bodhisattva to help others more extensively.  They actively seek to avoid other’s hatred and to live up to other’s faith placed in them.  Being worthy of respect doesn’t entitle us to anything, rather it makes us responsible for everything.

(1.34) Buddha said that whoever generates an evil mind
Towards a Bodhisattva, a supreme benefactor,
Will remain in hell for as many aeons
As the moments for which that evil mind was generated;

The reason why is because anger is a mind that seeks to harm the object of our anger, and since a bodhisattva seeks to help all living beings, to harm a bodhisattva is to indirectly harm all living beings.  The problem is we do not know who is and who is not a Bodhisattva, so it is simply best to not get angry at anyone.

But from the perspective of the Bodhisattva, it is important that they realize the responsibility that comes with being such a person.  Because everything we do is for the sake of all beings, everything others do to us has implications on all living beings.  Thus, we become a karmically supercharged object of other people’s actions.  When people get angry at us, they create incalculably negative karma for themselves.  This is not a warning to them to not get angry at us, it is a warning to us to not act in ways which elicit anger from others.  We seek to spare them from creating such negative karma for themselves by striving to be on good terms with everyone, to apologize whenever our actions result in harm, and to compensate others for any losses we might cause.  Sometimes, of course, a higher virtue may dictate that we say no to somebody’s wrong desires which might make them angry with us, but we should try do so in a skillful way so that they understand our saying no to them is actually an act of love.  If they don’t understand and get angry nonetheless, we should seek blessings to know how to heal the situation, engage in purification practices on their behalf and engage in the practice of taking on their delusions and negative karma upon ourself to try minimize the karmic fallout to them.

It is also worth noting that guilt is just anger directed towards ourselves, and if we are a bodhisattva in training, guilt is anger directed towards a bodhisattva with all the negative karmic implications.  Many Dharma practitioners can easily fall into the trap of the more they learn and read of the good qualities of the Bodhisattva, the more they develop self-loathing for all of their shortcomings.  The qualities of the Bodhisattva are ideals we strive for, not standards we judge ourselves a failure against.  When we make mistakes, we should realize the fault lies with our delusions, not ourselves.  Our delusions rob us of control.  They take possession of us and force us to engage in harmful actions.  They fool us into thinking vice is virtue, so we become a willing participant in our own destruction.  When we make a clear distinction between our true self, which is beyond stain, and our delusions we can be utterly ruthless with our delusions while still being loving and compassionate towards ourself.

(1.35) But, for whoever generates a pure mind of faith,
The effects of good fortune will increase even more than that.

Generating faith in a bodhisattva results in infinite virtue for the same reasons, but since the karma that is created is non-contaminated (and thus indestructible) the good results are greater than the bad results.

When we become bodhisattvas and others generate confidence or faith in us they generate infinite virtue.  So we need to make it a priority to become a bodhisattva and help others generate confidence and faith in us.  By doing so, we can enable them to generate infinite, indestructible merit.  This is a real act of kindness.

How do we help others generate faith in us?  Our motivation has to be completely free from self-cherishing – we want them to have faith in us because we know how much we have to share and we want to help them.  People generate confidence in us when we are able to benefit them.  People don’t have faith by virtue of our position, but by virtue of how helpful we are to them.  The best way to help others generate pure faith in us is to generate pure faith in our own spiritual guide and teachers.  This creates the causes for others to have faith in us.

At the same time, we need to be careful to not do anything that causes others to lose their faith in us.  When great spiritual leaders fall, usually as a result of some form of sexual misconduct or other hypocrisy, many people who had faith in us wind up losing their spiritual lives.  Knowingly doing something that could others to lose faith in us is recklessness in the extreme, no different than spiritual manslaughter.

(1.31) If even someone who repays a kindness
Is worthy of some praise,
What can be said of the Bodhisattva who helps others
Regardless of whether or not they help him?

(1.32) If someone regularly, or even just once,
Gives food in a disdainful manner,
Which satisfies a few beings for only half a day,
People honour him or her as virtuous;

(1.33) So what can be said of one who eternally gives
To countless living beings
The everlasting, unsurpassed bliss of the Sugatas,
Fulfilling all their wishes?

A Bodhisattva doesn’t need nor chase after praise or being honored.  But they are nonetheless worthy of the highest praise and the highest honor.  Indeed, there are none more worthy in this world.

In the Middle Ages, the Church placed itself higher than the kings because it viewed all kingdoms as belonging to God.  The nobility went along with this because the Church would then bless their crowns as being ordained by God, and thus beyond reproach.  While such an arrangement reeks of symbiotic corruption, it does reveal why we can validly say the Bodhisattva is more worthy of praise and high honor than even the highest kings.

Samsara is an open air prison built on a foundation of bones and excrement.  What honor is there to be had in ruling over a mountain of dung?  The Bodhisattva, in contrast, seeks to lead all beings to the eternal and supreme happiness that lies beyond.  At most, the leaders of this world, be they in government, business or entertainment, can only make samsara slightly more comfortable and tolerable; but only the Bodhisattva can lead us to lasting freedom.

When we engage in some virtue or repay some kindness, there is part of our mind that seeks some recognition or appreciation for what we have done.  The Bodhisattva seeks none.  When we provide service to others, we usually limit ourselves to our friends, families or those from whom we seek some favor.  The Bodhisattva helps all equally without the slightest desire for anything in return.  People correctly praise and honor those who shelter the homeless, feed the hungry and provide for the needy.  What need is there to say of the praise and honor owed the Bodhisattva who brings all into the shelter of his celestial palace in the pure land, satiates all spiritual hunger with his blessings and provides a path to those in need of permanent freedom?

Most human aspiration comes down to wishing to emulate certain role models.  Trying to play like Michael Jordon, innovate like Steve Jobs, or lead like Jack Kennedy brings out the best in us.  But why stop there?  Surely the Bodhisattva is the greatest role model of all.  Who else dedicates not only this life, but all of their future lives, to patiently help all beings solve all of their problems for all of eternity?  Who else strives to attain every good quality and every necessary ability to realize that goal?  No one is more worthy of being held up as the supreme role model than the courageous bodhisattva who seeks to permanently vanquish the real devils of self-cherishing and self-grasping that have enslaved us all.  It is one thing to declare war on your enemies, it is quite another to declare war on the foundations of samsara itself.

It is frankly impossible to adequately extol the worthiness of a Bodhisattva.  It is quite literally beyond words, thoughts and conceptions.  There is quite simply nothing higher.  In terms of being worthy of praise and honor, a Bodhisattva is even higher than all of the Buddhas.  Just as we prostrate to the new moon and not the full moon, so too we hold highest the Bodhisattva who is the cause of which Buddhahood and all that follow is the effect.

We should consider again and again the many qualities of the Bodhisattva, and in our heart of hearts long day and night to become one ourself.  There is no higher goal, no more noble calling, no more meaningful purpose.

(1.29) For those who are deprived of happiness
And afflicted with many sorrows,
Bodhichitta bestows upon them boundless joy,
Eradicates all their suffering, 

(1.30) And even dispels their confusion.

Why does bodhichitta do this?

First, we must understand why people are unhappy.  Normally we think our happiness depends upon our external circumstance.  But happiness is a state of mind, therefore its cause must come from mind.  Geshe-la repeatedly explains in the introduction to pretty much every book that happiness depends upon inner peace.  When our mind is peaceful, we are happy, even if our external circumstance is terrible.  When our mind is unpeaceful, we are not happy, even if our external circumstances are perfect.  We all have many examples of this in our life.  This shows that whether we are happy or not depends entirely upon whether our mind is at peace and has absolutely nothing to do with our external circumstance.  This is a huge claim with far-reaching consequences, but when checked we are left to conclude that it is true.

The only reason why it seems that our happiness depends upon our external circumstance is because we lack the ability to keep our mind peaceful when things go badly.  There is no other reason.  Those who have such ability are able to maintain their inner peace and thus remain happy, even in the face of great adversity.

Our unpeaceful minds are not limited to when externally things go badly, but also to when things go well.  For example, the more we acquire (wealth, fame, position, etc.) the more anxiety we face about losing it all.  Our lives become increasingly complex, our friends become less sincere, and most importantly no matter how much we have, it is never enough.  The mind that “wants” and “needs” can never be satisfied by getting more.  Quite the opposite, it feeds the hunger.  We want and need ever more, but like a drug it becomes harder and harder to get what we desire.  While we may externally be richer than we previously ever dreamed possible, we still feel poor.  When we have it all we become insufferably spoiled.  We get so used to having everything go our way, that we simply can’t tolerate anything going wrong, and we feel quite put upon when it does.  Our pride shoots through the roof, thinking we are somebody special who feels terribly slighted at the smallest thing.  Many rich and powerful people find their lives incredibly empty of meaning and devoid of personal growth precisely because there is nothing they have to struggle for, and no adversity that needs to be overcome.  Learning becomes impossible.  The Ambassador in Brussels once said, “the worst part about being an Ambassador is people are always kissing your ass and they stop telling you when you are acting like a real fool.”

Bodhichitta brings equal happiness to both external misfortune and fortune.  The goal of bodhichitta is to grow and develop our qualities so that we may better serve others, even unto leading them to enlightenment.  When misfortune strikes, that is when the bodhisattva grows.  When fortune strikes, that is when the bodhisattva serves.  Both are equally good, just in different ways.  A bodhisattva generates a genuine equanimity to external circumstances.  Why?  Because the cause of inner peace is virtue.  When our mind is virtuous, it is peaceful.  When our mind is overrun by delusions it is unpeaceful.  Bodhichitta is the supreme virtuous mind.  There is no higher virtue, therefore no greater inner peace and happiness.  Bodhichitta is the supreme opponent to all delusions.  Indeed, it is impossible for delusions and bodhichitta to be present at the same time.  The bodhisattva is able to equally feast on good and bad external circumstance and use both for fulfilling their bodhichitta wishes.  Nothing is a problem, everything can be used.  Who would not feel boundless joy when possessed of a confidence that knows no fear and which marches inexorably to eternal happiness for all?

Bodhichitta dispels all confusion, both temporarily and ultimately.  Temporarily, confusion arises when we don’t know what to do or we don’t know how to use a particular circumstance to our advantage.  With bodhichitta, we always know what to do.  We know how to use everything that happens, good or bad, to fulfill our spiritual wishes.  The supposed conflict of interests between self and others dissolves away for the mind that grows by serving.  Ultimately, confusion arises from ignorance.  With bodhichitta, we are not satisfied with merely protecting others temporarily from some of samsara’s discomforts, but it seeks to deliver all beings out of the bondage of ignorance.  Slavery is awful, but it is nothing compared to the ignorance of self-grasping.  We can be freed from slavery, but only the wisdom realizing emptiness can free us from the prison of samsara.  Moses delivered the Jews out of Egypt, the Bodhisattva delivers all out of samsara.  Bodhichitta drives the bodhisattva to realize emptiness directly and thereby open the prison gates for all.

Where is there virtue equal to this?
Where is there even such a friend?
Where is there merit such as this?

(1.27) If the mere intention to benefit others
Is more meritorious than making offerings to the Buddhas,
What can be said of actually striving
For the happiness of every single living being?

Making offerings to the Buddhas is an extremely beneficial thing to do.  In ancient times, people would make sacrifices to their gods when they would make requests.  Why they thought killing something would make their gods happy is anybody’s guess, but the mind willing to make a sacrifice and the mind of offering is quite similar.  When people would make a sacrifice, the basic idea was you take something that is very dear and valuable to you, such as your best lamb, and you are willing to offer that to the holy beings because you recognize receiving their guidance and protection is worth far more.  The greater the request being made, the more valuable a sacrifice would be given.  The sacrifice was not the killing of the animal, rather it was the giving up of something valuable for the sake of receiving blessings.  In Buddhism, there is a particular type of offering called a Torma offering.  The basic idea of a torma offering is we are willing to give everything we have for the sake of realizations, understanding it is worth it.

Because most of the offerings we make in the context of our Buddhist practice are mentally imagined, there is a tendency for us to lose this mind of being willing to give up something valuable to us for the sake of receiving blessings.  There is an external appearance of an offering, but there is no real sacrifice being made on our part.  As such, we actually accumulate little merit.  A monk friend of mine once went to a Tsog puja and didn’t bring anything.  His teacher chastised him for it.  About a month later, there was another Tsog puja and the monk looked at his bank account, and he had a total of $2.75 in it.  He took out all of his money and bought some cookies to bring to the puja.  His teacher asked him, “did you bring an offering?”  My friend replied, “I am making a Torma offering.”  He quite literally offered everything he had.  Even though the cookies were only worth $2.75, mentally he offered everything.  This is perfect.

Benefiting others is more beneficial than even making torma offerings.  Why?  Buddhas, from their own side, need nothing.  But we, from our side, need a great deal of merit.  It pleases Buddhas for us to make offerings not because they like receiving presents, but rather because they know we are receiving such benefit from doing so.  The highest offering we can make to the Buddhas is our own practice of Dharma, and amongst Dharma practices, cherishing and benefiting living beings is the one that pleases the Buddhas the most.

If benefiting living beings is like a candle, Bodhichitta is like the blazing of the sun.  It is a mind that wishes to bring every conceivable benefit for each and every living being, not just now but for all of time.  And it and actually does something about it – it works towards that end.  It is necessarily a greater virtue than any other because its final goal is beyond all others.  There is no greater offering than bodhichitta, there is no greater virtue.

(1.28) Although living beings wish to be free from suffering,
They run straight towards the causes of suffering;
And although they wish for happiness,
Out of ignorance they destroy it like a foe.

We all want happiness, but what we do to get it just guarantees more suffering.  Why?  The fundamental reason is because our delusions have utterly deceived us.  We follow the advice of our delusions for securing happiness, and since all delusions are deceptive we wind up with only suffering.  Attachment promises us the satisfaction of our desires, but it leaves us more unsatisfied.  The cruel truth of attachment is it karmically functions to separate us from the object of our attachment.  For example, many women desperately want to become pregnant, but no matter how hard they try they never become so.  Then, as soon as they give up trying, they suddenly become pregnant.  This is no mystery, this is how karma works.

Our other delusions are just as deceptive.  Anger promises us that we will feel better and by getting angry we will protect ourselves.  But when we get angry we feel worse and we create more enemies for ourself.  Karmically speaking, just as attachment creates the causes to be separated from the objects of our attachment, so too anger creates the causes to have to encounter the objects of our aversion.

Jealousy promises us if we get jealous we will be able to possess the object of our desire, but in reality our jealousy just pushes others away and it creates the cause to be separated from such good fortune.  There is little more annoying than a jealous partner, so quite quickly they flee from our possessive and jealous attitudes.

Doubt promises to protect us from making a mistake.  We think, I am not sure if this is true or not, so it is better that I don’t believe it.  But when doubt is our habit, we wind up lacking the ability to believe anything and we never go anywhere.  Many people are like this, they can spend literally decades in the Dharma but they never wind up believing any of it, always plagued by doubts, and so they never make any progress.

Self-cherishing promises us happiness.  It tells us “if we don’t look out for our own happiness, nobody else will.”  It tells us if we work to secure our own interests then we will be happy, but in reality self-cherishing is the root of all suffering.  All suffering comes from negative actions, and all negative actions are motivated by self-cherishing.

Self-grasping promises us that we have an objective view of reality. It convinces us there is some objective truth out there independent of our mind and we seek to discover it.  But believing this just imprisons us in the chains of samsara and ordinary appearance and conception.

It is not enough to consider these things theoretically, we need to examine the delusions we personally have and see how they are deceptive.  We need to see how our personal delusions promise to make us better, but in the end they always make us worse.  When we see this clearly, then we will have no difficulty to not follow them because we know they are deceptive and treacherous.

(1.25) This mind to benefit living beings,
Which does not arise in others even for their own sakes,
Is an extraordinary jewel of a mind,
Whose birth is an unprecedented wonder.

Seeing how far we ourselves are from bodhichitta enables us to truly marvel at the mind of a bodhisattva.  Not only do they wish permanent freedom for themselves, but they wish it for all living beings without exception.  Not only do they have this wish, they have assumed personal responsibility to do whatever it takes to realize this wish.  In this respect, we can say that a bodhisattva loves somebody else more than they love themselves.  We wish for them a happiness and a freedom from suffering much more vast than they even wish for themselves.  Such a being is a true wonder in this world.

In the modern world, we usually marvel at the abilities of our computer scientists and engineers to make the next electronic wonder, such as Google, Facebook or the iPhone.  Who can deny Steve Jobs’ genius?  But such mental abilities pale into petty insignificance compared to the incomparable wonder of the mind of bodhichitta.  Google knows a lot, but only the omniscient mind of a Buddha realizes all things past, present and future.  Facebook connects billions of people together as friends, but only a Buddha is a true friend of the whole world.  The iPhone is a technological wonder without equal, but only the “apps” of full enlightenment have the power to bring lasting happiness.  Who has made the greater contribution to the world, Bill Gates or Jesus?  Henry Ford or Gandhi?  Who has more power to shape eternity, the President of the United States or a cute Tibetan monk in Cumbria?

If we are going to marvel at and aspire towards greatness, there is no greater wonder in the world than the mind of bodhichitta.

(1.26) How can we possibly measure
The benefits of this jewel of a mind –
The source of joy for all living beings
And the cure for all their sufferings?

Why is bodhichitta the source of joy for all living beings?  All happiness comes from the ripening of virtuous karma.  All virtuous karma is planted with virtuous actions.  All virtuous actions are inspired by receiving blessings from the Buddhas.  All Buddhas arise in dependence upon the precious mind of bodhichitta.  Therefore, bodhichitta is the real cause of all happiness of all living beings.  Indeed, we can say there is no other root cause of joy.

Why is bodhichitta the cure for all the suffering of all living beings?  Because the only cure to suffering is escaping from samsara, and only Buddhas know the way out.  Without bodhichitta, there can be no Buddhas.  It is not enough to just intellectually understand these reasons, we need to have them touch our heart.  We chase after wealth, fame, and pleasurable experiences, but what do they bring us?  Usually only new problems.  But the precious mind of bodhichitta will never deceive us.  It gives us an inexhaustible source of inner wealth, a great renown held only for holy beings, and the supreme uncontaminated pleasure of great bliss.  It is a treasure we can take with us beyond death, it is a jewel we can bequeath to all living beings.  Nothing can compare to bodhichitta, it is a veritable universal panacea available to us all.  We merely need want it enough to do what is required to generate it, and it’s fruit will be ours.

(1.23) Does our father or mother
Have such a beneficial intention as this?
Do the gods or the sages?
Does even Brahma himself?

I am a father of five, and there is literally nothing I wouldn’t do for my kids.  I have been practicing Dharma for more than 20 years now and know all of the benefits of bodhichitta, etc., but if I am honest with myself, most of my wishes for my kids are still worldly wishes – hoping they get good grades, get into a good college, meet somebody nice, get a good job and so forth.  Our parents love us very much, but they only wish for us samsaric happiness.  That is about as virtuous as my mind gets.  The intention we should have for others is not simply that they experience a better part of samsara but that they be completely free from all contaminated aggregates.

But a bodhisattva’s wish infinitely exceeds such trivialities, and they have this wish not only for their children, but for all living beings without exception.  Venerable Tharchin says he believes that at the time of the ancient Greeks, there was a much closer relationship between the human realm and the realms of the gods and demi-gods.  The gods and Titans (demi-gods) of Greek mythology were very powerful and they did much to protect their followers, but they still showed partiality.  The God of Abraham in the stories of the Bible has done tremendous things over the millennia for the sake of his people, but he did not hesitate to smite their enemies.  Noone can doubt the love of the God of Abraham for his chosen people, but the love of a Bodhisattva far exceeds even that.  The bodhisattva does not wish to merely free a chosen people from Egyptian or Babylonian bondage or even to one day abide with them forever in heaven, but he wishes for all living beings to transcend even heaven and to become themselves one with the Dharmakaya (the Godhead).  (Yes, I am aware there are Christian mystic traditions, including the Mormons, whose practice and love is for all living beings without exception.  I am merely invoking the example of the God of Abraham according to conventional appearance to make a point.  Forgive the poetic license).

(1.24) If, before generating bodhichitta, these living beings
Do not even dream of such a mind
For their own sakes,
How will they develop it for the sake of others?

Even if we have been practicing Dharma for a very long time, most of us (or at least myself) usually think, “liberation and enlightenment would be nice,” but if we check our actions they are still primarily aimed at securing the happiness of this life alone.  Despite our words, our actual actions reveal our real, deep-seated desires.  There is no shame in admitting this.  If we can’t honestly acknowledge where we are at, how can we possibly get any better.  If we arrogantly think we are some advanced bodhisattva when in reality we are quite ordinary, progress becomes impossible.

The reality is, despite having been around the Dharma for a long time, we still don’t genuinely wish for the attainment of spiritual goals.  Perhaps occasionally we do, but most of the time our thoughts and aspirations lie elsewhere.  If we do not wish for liberation and enlightenment for ourself, we cannot possibly genuinely wish it for others.  We might give lip service to compassion and bodhichitta, but it will not be very qualified.  Even though we are Mahayana practitioners, we should take the time to develop a genuine and personal wish for liberation from samsara.  Only then do we have a chance at generating a qualified bodhichitta.

I believe the key to being a long-term Dharma practitioner is to make a correct diagnosis of our problem.  When we first encounter the Dharma, it is all new and wonderful, and it is relatively easy to sustain joyful effort for the first several years.  After about 10 years in the Dharma, though, the novelty of it all wears off.  Sure, it is fun hanging out with our Dharma friends and travelling the world to the different festivals, but that is not enough to sustain the effort and discipline required for a daily practice that continues to blossom year after year.  Yet, we have no difficulty whatsoever generating sustained effort in all of our samsaric pursuits, even in the face of repeated failure.  It is worth checking, “why the difference?”

I believe the explanation for this difference is we have misdiagnosed what is our problem.  We naturally and effortlessly generate effort to work on solving whatever we perceive to be our problem.  By nature, we are problem solvers.  Unfortunately, though, we are confused about what is our problem.  In my view, one of Geshe-la’s most liberating examples is that of the car breaking down.  When our car breaks down, we normally say, “I have a problem.”  No, our car has a problem.  Our problem is our deluded mental reaction to our car breaking down.  That is what is making us unhappy in the face of our car breaking down.  He says we need to clearly distinguish between our outer problems, which require outer solutions; and our inner problems, which require inner solutions.  When we make this distinction, we will naturally apply effort to two different solutions to two different problems, the mechanic for the car, the Dharma for our mind.

All of the Lamrim is really a systematic method for realizing what our problem really is.  We have a precious human life with which we can accomplish all spiritual goals, but we can die at any point.  Because we haven’t purified our negative karma and we routinely respond to misfortune with delusion, there is a very real danger that when we die we will fall into the lower realms.  It is said it is easier to attain enlightenment once born human than it is to be born human once having fallen into the lower realms.  Even if we manage to avoid the lower realms at the time of our death, we will be thrown somewhere else in samsara where we will continue to experience the suferings of being born, getting sick, growing old and dying.  In reality, samsara is a meat grinder in a slaughterhouse, time and time again, we are slaughtered only to be revived to be tortured and killed again.  Each time we are killed, we again play Russian Roulette where virtually every chamber in the karmic gun will send us tumbling into the lower realms.  This is the reality of our situation, it is not just some random theory Buddhists believe.  We must escape.  But not only are we trapped in such a house of horrors, so too are our kids, parents, friends, spouse, neighbors, etc.  How can we leave them in such a state?  We must free them too.  This is the reality of our problem.  If we see this – really realize this to be truth – then we will have no difficulty generating the necessary effort to sustain our Dharma practice.

Without this realization of our problem, bodhichitta will never be anything more for us than a new word we banter on about with our Dharma friends.

(1.20) For the sake of those with lesser inclinations,
These benefits were explained with logical reasons
By the Tathagata himself
In Sutra Requested by Subahu.

(1.21) If even the thought to relieve
The headaches of others
Is a beneficial intention
That results in infinite merit,

(1.22) What can be said of the wish
To dispel the immeasurable misery
Of each and every living being
And lead them all to countless good qualities?

This refers to a story where in a previous life of Buddha he got in a fight with his mother and walked over her head as she tried to stop him from leaving.  This negative karma ripened in the form of a rebirth in hell where he and others were having their heads drilled into.  Upon seeing this, he generated compassion and practiced taking on the suffering of the others experiencing the same thing.  He prayed that they were freed from all head pain and he imagined he took all such suffering upon himself.  As a result, even though he was in hell, he was immediately reborn in a god realm.  Once we are reborn in a god realm, we enjoy pleasant experiences that far exceed anything in the human realm, and we do so for many aeons.  If just the intention to relieve others from such pain results in a god realm rebirth, what need is there to say of the merit from the intention to liberate all beings from all suffering?

Every time we experience any form of pain or discomfort, we should be inspired by this story to do as Buddha did.  We should mentally pray that all of this type of pain or discomfort experienced by all living beings ripen upon ourselves so that they are freed.  We imagine that our accepting and transforming our own discomfort into the path is actually us having taken on the suffering of others upon ourselves so that they don’t have to experience it.  If this becomes our habit, every time we have a headache or any other difficulty, we will be creating powerful causes for higher rebirth.  If we dedicate such merit to our eventual enlightenment, we daily create powerful causes to become a Buddha.

By training in this way, our bodhichitta will quickly become stronger.  We do not merely wish to take on the simple sufferings we see in our daily life, but we aspire to be able to take on all of the infinite sufferings of all living beings upon ourself so that they never have to experience it again.  In the beginning, the thought of such a thing seems impossibly daunting, indeed overwhelming.  But the reality is our ability to take on suffering is merely a question of capacity.  In the beginning, our capacity is quite low so we can only comfortably and willingly take on small sufferings.  But as our practice matures, we become able to take on more and more without it overwhelming us.  It is no different than training a muscle of our body to be able to lift more and more weight.  Eventually, we can get to the point where can take on greater and greater sufferings.  A true holy being can take on all of the infinite suffering of all living beings upon themselves without even breaking a sweat.  The primary reason for this is they do not identify with their suffering, so they do not experience it as their own.  Ultimately, they realize it is not even there.

First we work on the intention for wanting to have the ability to do this, and then after the intention is sufficiently strong we will start to actually do things which take us in that direction.  Becoming a Buddha is not just about taking on other’s suffering, but rather gaining the abilities to help others cultivate within themselves the tools to abandon their own suffering once and for all.  We cultivate within ourselves every good quality, then we help others do the same.  Then, no matter what happens, it won’t be a problem for them or for us.

We continue to build this desire, and it continues to grow stronger and stronger until we are actually willing to bear some discomfort for the sake of others, until eventually we genuinely wish to take their suffering, delusions and negative karma upon ourselves and work through it for them.  For me, the easiest way to get a feeling for this mind is to imagine that our own contaminated aggregates, delusions and so forth are actually those of our loved ones that we have previously taken on.  On a daily basis, we have to experience problems and suffering anyways.  Instead of imputing “my problems and suffering” we can instead impute “the problems and sufferings of others I have previously taken on.”  By working through that suffering, learning to accept it and transform it into the path, we can feel as if we are literally feeding off of the suffering of others and using it to strengthen our body of enlightenment.

We strongly believe that by or having taken on the sufferings of others they will now be freed from such suffering.  We don’t believe this because it is somehow objectively true, rather we do so because this belief functions to complete the karma of the mental action of taking.  Since ultimately, this is all a karmic dream, when we purify the contaminated karma giving rise to the appearance of this world of suffering, the beings that appear to our mind will literally appear to progressively become freer and freer from all suffering until eventually it appears as if everyone has quite literally made it to the pure land.  We change our dream from a world of suffering to a pure world.  We might object, “well, that’s nice for me if it appears that way, but what about others – they will still see their own suffering.”  The answer to this objection is what appears to the minds of others is empty also.  We can also karmically change that too! 

What is the promise of bodhichitta?  The real promise is the promise to eventually become a Buddha and then lead all living beings to full enlightenment.  So it is a decision about the final destination you want to head towards.  For me, the easiest way to arrive at this decision is by asking myself the question, “is there something more meaningful I can do with my eternity?”  When we meditate on this question again and again we eventually arrive at the conclusion that there is not and we can make the decision.

It is not enough to make this decision intellectually, but we need to pose this question to our heart to come to an actual decision that this is what we are going to do.  We should start by making this promise with respect to a few people, such as our friends, family, neighbors and work colleagues, and then gradually we expand the scope until it includes all living beings.  If this is too much for us, in the beginning we can simply make a promise that moves in that direction, such as I will confront all of my delusions or issues that are preventing me from being able to one day make this promise.

(1.17) From the mind that aspires to enlightenment,
Great effects arise while in samsara;
But an uninterrupted flow of good fortune does not ensue
As it does from the engaging mind.

Of course the engaging mind of bodhichitta is superior to aspiring bodhichitta, but that doesn’t mean aspiring bodhichitta alone is not a very beneficial and sublime mind.  Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking, “because there is something better, this lesser thing is somehow bad.”  This is totally wrong.  For example, sometimes people think, “I love my family and I do much for them, but I do little to nothing for anybody else.  Maybe I shouldn’t be so biased towards my family.”  Then, we start to cherish our family less and so we cherish everyone equally.  Obviously cherishing others equally is a good thing, but why cherish our family any less?  Instead of loving them less, we should use them as an example of what it means to cherish others, and then gradually we strive to cherish all beings in the same way as we do our family.  Cherishing our family is good, cherishing all living beings is even better.

In the same way, the mind of aspiring bodhichitta is good; but engaging bodhichitta is even better.  Just because it is even better doesn’t mean aspiring bodhichitta is somehow bad.  We can sometimes feel guilty thinking, “I want to become a Buddha, but if I am honest I don’t really do anything about it to make it happen.”  And since we aren’t yet ready to do anything about it, we stop wanting to become a Buddha.  This is exactly wrong.  It is by continually fanning the flames of wanting to become a Buddha that we eventually will one day do something about it.

Wanting to become a Buddha alone brings enormous benefits.  Many factors go into determining what karma we create, but our intention is by far the most important factor.  In the same way, the karmic benefits of bodhichitta are nearly limitless, but it is the aspiring intention which is the most important factor.

(1.18) For whoever takes up the engaging mind of bodhichitta
With the intention never to turn back
From completely liberating
The infinite living beings throughout all realms,

(1.19) From that time forth, for him there will arise –
Even if he is asleep or apparently unconcerned –
Vast and powerful merit, equal to space,
That flows without interruption.

With engaging bodhisattva vows, we are actually doing things which takes us towards our goal.  Geshe-la said that it is not enough to just enjoy Dharma, there needs to be movement in the mind.  We need to move somewhere.  The mind of engaging bodhichitta is a mind that is ready to do “whatever it takes” to accomplish the final goal.  It is a courageous mind that will “never give up” no matter how hard it is and no matter how long it takes.  When we offer a mandala, mentally we imagine we are offering up a pure universe.  But in reality, we are offering up a promise:  the promise that we won’t stop working until we have made this pure world a reality.

With engaging bodhisattva vows on our mind that we keep, everything we do becomes a cause of our enlightenment.  Geshe-la says we need to be like a businessman who never forgets his projects.  A very good friend of mine from college is a very successful businessman.  Because he never stops thinking about how to make money, wherever he goes he “sees” business opportunities, risks and rewards.  Whether he is eating at a restaurant or riding a roller coaster at an amusement park, he is constantly learning business lessons.  In the same way, if we are as obsessed with attaining enlightenment as my friend is with making money, no matter where we go or what we are doing, we will see the connection between what we are doing and the accomplishment of our bodhichitta wishes.  All of our goals in life fuse together into one overarching goal of becoming a Buddha for the sake of liberating others.  Even taking out the trash or brushing our teeth becomes part of our bodhisattva’s training.

Miraculously, as long as we never make the decision to abandon our prior promise, we continue to accumulate infinite merit even when we are not thinking about bodhichitta or even while dreaming.  It is like a snowball we have set in motion within our mind that, unless we make the decision to abandon it, it continues to roll.  All good fortune comes from merit, or positive karma.  If our wishes are not being fulfilled, it is because we lack sufficient merit.  But with bodhichitta, we never want for merit, but we become spiritually very rich, so much so that we generously give away all our merit on a regular basis knowing we have within ourselves an inexhaustible fountain of new merit.  In this way, all of our wishes, both temporary and ultimate, are easily fulfilled.

Generating bodhichitta occurs in a series of steps.  First, we consider others to be precious.  In dependence upon this, we generate cherishing love.  We then consider how those we love suffer, and compassion naturally arises.  On the basis of compassion, we naturally ask ourselves how we can help free them from their suffering.  The answer is to become a Buddha ourselves.

We naturally generate compassion for those we cherish when we consider their suffering.  We find somebody important to us, such as our children, and when they suffer we naturally develop the wish that they be free from their suffering.  The compassion a parent generates for their child is very pure, but it is still quite limited in scope.  We want them to get good grades, get a good job, marry somebody nice, etc.  The compassion of a bodhisattva is much more vast.  The main suffering we consider in the context of generating bodhichitta is the fact that those we love suffer from identifying with contaminated aggregates.  We wish that they were free from all contaminated aggregates and environments.  Contaminated aggregates is the fancy Buddhist name for our ordinary body and mind.  Humans suffer from human problems because they identify with a human body and mind.  Animals suffer from animal problems because they identify with animal bodies and minds.  The same is true for hungry ghosts, hell beings, demi-gods and gods.  Bodhisattva’s see that the root cause of all the suffering of living beings is they identify with the contaminated bodies and minds of samsaric beings instead of the completely pure bodies and minds of enlightened beings.  Having a good job and a nice partner is great; but having the body and mind of a Buddha is so much better.  Besides, if we are a Buddha we have the greatest job (eternally leading others to permanent freedom) and partner (Heruka or Vajrayogini) possible!

The way in which great compassion naturally leads to bodhichitta is explained in the next verses.

(1.15) In brief, you should know
That bodhichitta has two types:
The mind that observes enlightenment and aspires,
And the mind that observes enlightenment and engages.

(1.16) Just as the distinction between wishing to go
And actually going is understood,
So, respectively, the wise should understand
The difference between these two bodhichittas.

Our compassion grows until we realize it is not enough to wish that beings be free from contaminated aggregates, but we ourselves must do something about it.  We take a personal responsibility for making this happen.  This is superior intention.

When we first entered the Dharma, we all felt a strong wish to help others by becoming Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.  Yet, if we are honest, we know we still have an underlying concern arising from a selfish intention.  We still long for the temporary pleasures of samsara.  We still wish we had temporary freedom from any kind of adversity.  So we need to honestly ask ourselves, in our heart, do we have this wish to help others like a Bodhisattva or Buddha?  Or do we still have a deep concern for samsaric life?  There is a big contradiction between these two.  Now is the time for us all to ask:  what do I really want from my life?  What do I want for myself?  What do I want from others?  How much do I want to change?  How much am I prepared to change?  Am I prepared to put myself out for others?

When we contemplate these questions, we realize that as long as we still have contaminated aggregates ourselves we will never be able to help the other person because we won’t know how to, we won’t have the ability to and we won’t be around long enough to be able to.  We then consider who does have such ability, and we realize only a Buddha does.  This naturally leads to the conclusion:  I must become a Buddha for the benefit of all.  This is the precious mind of bodhichitta.

This mind of bodhichitta has two different levels:  aspiring bodhichitta and engaging bodhichitta.  Aspiring bodhichitta is we aspire to become a Buddha.  We maintain this wish throughout our entire spiritual journey, but it arises before we actually do anything about it.  Engaging bodhichitta is when we actually start doing something about it.  It begins when we actually take the bodhisattva vows.  We decide to move beyond aspiration to actually doing what it takes to become a Buddha – namely train in the six perfections.

There are a great many people who have a great interest in Dharma, but there are very few who actually are engaging in the process of changing themselves.  This is true even for changing themselves for their own interest, much less the interest of others.  The resistance to Dharma instructions always becomes the fiercest when it implies that we actually need to change our behavior.  If we check, we want to become a Buddha without having to change a thing about ourselves.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way!