Phurpa Tashi Rinpoche
I told you this story before. It happened when I first received teachings of the Longsal Ngondro (Preliminary Treasury that Pleases The Ears) from Lama Achuk Rinpoche. When I began practicing the Ngondro, I had just returned to my hometown. I stayed in a secluded holy place above Kolri Monastery, where generations of lineage masters had practiced. An old monk was guiding me in my practice. There was another old monk in retreat nearby. There were only three of us living on the mountain. The two old monks spent their time meditating in retreat, while I practiced the Ngondro.
One day, a lay practitioner came and said he had left home in such a rush that he forgot to bring thick thread. His original intention was to bring thick thread and request the two old monks to make blessed vajra knots that he could collect the next time he came. But since he was in such a hurry, he did not have time to buy thicker thread, he could only bring some fine sewing thread. He gave the thread to me and asked, "When you have some spare time, could you twist these fine threads into thicker ones, tie them into vajra knots and have the two monks bless them so that I can get them the next time I come?" I said, “Okay.”
At that time, I was still a little monk and since I couldn’t trouble the two elderly monks with twisting the finer threads into thicker strands, I decided to do it myself. It happened to be the completion of a certain section of my practice, so I went outside where there were many trees around. I tied one end of the thread to a tree trunk and began twisting the fine thread into a thicker strand by myself.
While I was doing this, one of the old monks walked by. He had a daily habit of walking a few laps around the retreat area, which wasn’t very large. When he saw me twisting the thread like that, he was astonished and exclaimed, “This really is the degenerate age! It’s terrifying how complicated young people’s minds have become. Something that would normally require two people to do, they find a way to do alone. Such a complicated mind!”
At the time, I thought to myself, “The old monk is making a big deal out of nothing. This is not any special technique. All I did was tie one end of the thread to the tree and twist it on the other side (so that another person is not needed to hold the other end of the thread). It’s nothing complicated at all.” But the old monk was clearly very taken aback.
Later, I reflected on it more deeply. I realized that the old monk wasn’t speaking against my creativity in managing a task cleverly. Instead, he was pointing out how scattered and restless our minds had become. Even a simple matter could lead to endless overthinking and endless doubts that needed to be resolved. It’s like the saying “looking for bones in an egg” (finding issues where none exist). Youths of this generation tend to overcomplicate everything. Our minds are overly complicated, and we think too much.
As I mused over this point further over time, I began to appreciate that the old monks weren’t lacking in wisdom. In fact, they had achieved incredible levels of spiritual realization. When this particular old monk passed away, his death was extraordinary and filled with tremendous signs of accomplishment. For someone who had reached such high spiritual attainment, what is a little worldly cleverness to him?
What shocked the old monk wasn’t my intelligence but how impure and scattered my mind was. The more one experiences the world, the more habitual tendencies multiply. When habits accumulate, calming the mind becomes extremely difficult…
Compared to the minds of past lineage masters which are pure like these old monks, our current state of mind is far more complicated— many times more so. The old monk’s remark wasn’t against gaining wisdom but a reflection on how far from simplicity and clarity our minds are. Therefore, it becomes hard (for present-day practitioners) to master meditation.
Thus, we must use appropriate methods. Shamatha (calm abiding) unrelated to liberation is not of much value. One doesn’t need spiritual practice to cease all thoughts — taking a few sleeping pills or engaging in certain worldly activities could yield similar results. This has nothing to do with true liberation.
Therefore, if we want to cultivate Shamatha that leads to liberation, we must ensure that our methods are correct. Second, it requires a great deal of time and consistent effort.
Because of the scattered nature of our minds, calming down in a short period is very challenging. It might be extremely difficult, and regardless of the difficulty, we must dedicate sufficient time to gradually quiet the mind. This is a long process, and it requires sustained effort.
I remember that when I accompanied Lama Achuk Rinpoche on travels, whenever we saw a beautiful scene, I would instinctively say, “Wow, what a beautiful place!” My master would immediately interrupt and say, “Stop planting those seeds! Haven’t you wandered in samsara long enough? Do you still want to continue sowing these habitual tendencies and roam around in the world like this?” Because of my teacher’s constant reminders, my mind experienced considerable improvements.
But in our daily lives, who is there to stop us from indulging in worldly habits? We do whatever we want and think whatever we want. Without such discipline, it becomes difficult to purify and calm the mind.
