Phurpa Tashi Rinpoche
Yes, we know that we should practice Dharma well. When I was in school, my teachers kept telling us to study hard. But I couldn't help but play when I see my friends playing. Although I know that the right thing to do is to study, why do I still act in the opposite way? This is human nature.
Practicing Dharma diligently is the same. For instance, who doesn't know how to recite "Amitabha"? Yet, how enthusiastic are we to recite "Amitabha”? How many recitations have we completed so far? Not much, I’m afraid. We do not feel like reciting it.
So, to simply tell the student that he has to recite Amitabha and practice diligently is not enough. Because it's not that we don't know the necessity of reciting Amitabha diligently. Since our entry into Buddhism, we already know that we should recite Amitabha, yet we don’t do it much. Is it because it is too difficult for us to pronounce "Amitabha"? No, it is perfectly easy.
So where is the difficulty? What holds us back from diligent practice?
Because there is something called "karma and afflictions" pulling us back. We don't know how to go about practicing Amitabha diligently; we need a strong force to push us ahead and support us in this practice.
Hence, I always say that Dharma practice must follow a step-by-step sequence. The first teaching to give is not what practice to do, but explaining why we need to do this practice. We must first teach how to cultivate the mind so that the practitioner becomes a person who likes or enjoys Dharma practice, and wishes to engage in it seriously.
It is not realistic to expect a person to become accomplished when they do not even have the basic requirements of a practitioner. You and I are the perfect examples of this; there is no need to ask anyone else. If someone asks us, "Don't you know how to recite Amitabha?" Our reply would be, "Of course I do, right from the start of learning Buddhism."
Then how many recitations have you completed thus far? Isn't it just a small number of recitations? Is it because you are too busy to recite Amitabha? No, you have the time. Then why do you not recite? Because you are reluctant to spend the time reciting.
Therefore, the real question is: how do we transform ourselves into a person who wishes to recite? …
It is necessary to start from the foundation. The four thoughts that turn the mind towards Dharma are very very important. You need to keep listening about it, contemplating it and using it in your practice. Without this habituation, Dharma practice will become really difficult for you.
Some may ask me, why do you talk about this so well?
Because I myself have been engaged in this very same process in my own practice for the last few decades. Once I may also have been a very lousy practitioner, but due to meeting a Guru who is the Buddha himself, with his compassionate blessings and guidance, I began to understand the proper way to practice Dharma. Therefore, I am now sharing my experience with all of you.
Some people say, "I don't have much time for practice." That is quite impossible. Even if you have to work, you will have enough time for practice. If you are diligent and can utilize all spare time for practice, you can both accomplish worldly activities and Dharma practice in the course of the day. You definitely have the time.
So why are you unable to do this? It is again due to your ignorance and strong afflictions. This controls you and makes you lazy and lax. Therefore, you need to really put your efforts into thinking about the four thoughts. Even if you can't do much formal practice, you should still think more about the four thoughts.
No matter how much theory you know, as long as your mind remains separate from the
theory, you will be an ordinary suffering being. What is Dharma practice?
Dharma practice is to do practice with our mind. All the theory we learn must be absorbed into
our heart. Our mind must become the
Dharma itself.
