Jamyang Rinpoche
Many people who have practiced Dharma for many years develop more attachment to loved ones and more aversion for people they dislike. This is a sign that the Dharma and practitioner have parted ways.
If thoughts of attachment and aversion to friends, relatives, enemies etc remained unchanged in Dharma practice, then no progress has been made. If attachment and aversion have increased instead, then one has regressed and Dharma practice is failing.
One may speak eloquently about Dharma, but if someone even says a few unpleasant words about our faults, we can’t stand it. This shows how far away Dharma is from your mind.
The Dharma is about knowing what to do and what to avoid; these are included in the ten virtues and ten non-virtues. One must always examine and observe one’s own conduct, speech and thoughts to check how much we have improved after learning Dharma. It doesn’t matter how well the person speaks. There are many people who act and pretend.
Some laypeople like to call others “great Bodhisattva” to flatter them. Whether you are a great Bodhisattva or not depends on how great your Bodhichitta is. The key point is your mind, not your external behavior.
If your mind is vast, then you are a great Bodhisattva; if your mind is smaller then you are a tiny Bodhisattva. If your mind is filled with negative thoughts, then you are just a sentient being.
When someone criticizes you a little, you lose your temper. When vajra disciples fight, even the prospect of going to hell doesn’t scare them. In theory, you say you are frightened of the sufferings of the hell realms, but when the afflictions arise, you just rush straight to hell without the slightest fear.
There is a true story of a master in Qinghai. Many local people revered this master and praised him very much. But a few have said that this master was somewhat greedy. He was reluctant to give away the offerings he received for creating merits. Instead, he kept hoarding the money. He was greedy but many people regarded him as a very good master.
One night, a thief entered his house and robbed him. This master got up to chase the thief, and in his haste, he did not even put on his clothes properly and rushed out in a shirtless state. He grabbed a knife along the way and chased the thief into the mountains. The robber warned the master, “Stop chasing me or I will kill you. Go back now, I do not want to kill any monastic. I only need your possessions. If you don’t back off now, I will kill you.”
This master refused to listen and continued pursuing the robber. The robber then shot him with a gun. The master was found dead clutching a knife in the mountains. Although this master was ordained and was considered a spiritual teacher by the locals, if we look at his behavior, we know that he did not practice the Dharma at all. He could not even let go of his attachment to his possessions.
In the past, I told of another practitioner in Xinlong. His family was very wealthy and their family home caught fire. All the family members rushed to put out the fire and rescue their belongings; while this old practitioner simply sat down outside his house and recited the practice for a smoke offering and deliverance.
Firstly, he felt compassion for all the tiny animals and insects such as mice being burned alive and wanted to perform deliverance for them. Secondly, he wanted to make an offering through the burning of all his possessions. He did not have the slightest attachment.
Other family members such as his children and brothers scolded him for not having the slightest sympathy for them. They said that he was useless, lazy and ignorant. The truth is that he was a good practitioner. He had truly let go of these attachments.
Even if you cannot reach the same level as this practitioner, at least you should have greater equanimity and magnanimity through Dharma practice. If your mind remains narrow and grasping, then even a few words from your Dharma brother can make you furious.
You see someone looking at you, you become paranoid and suspicious, imagining all kinds of scenarios such as whether this person is angry or trying to harm you and what is the meaning of his actions. This is the way of an ordinary being with no Dharma practice at all. Even if this person has committed the entire Tripitaka to memory, he is not a Dharma practitioner. He is merely a practitioner of the mouth-Dharma (i.e., good at talking about Dharma). Mouth-Dharma has very little to do with liberation.
What is liberation or freedom? One has to be free from the control of non-virtue and enter into virtue. This way, one proceeds from the lower realms to the higher realms. To remove oneself from non-virtue, one has to end all non-virtuous thoughts. When positive thoughts of virtue arise in the mind, then we can reach the authentic view of Dharma.
When your mind is involved in non-virtue while your external acts seem like virtue, this is completely in opposition to Dharma. It is like a person swallowing poison and wishing to be healthy.
If you keep swallowing poison and hope your body will be in a good way, is it possible? Similarly, we want the best, most beautiful and greatest happiness in this world, yet we continually engage in deceptions, lies, harmful thoughts, greed, slander etc, these non-virtues will only bring us a negative result…
We must examine our body, speech and mind constantly and bring Dharma into our lives. We should see if our conduct accords with the teacher’s advice. Have we made any improvements? Look at how we talk? Did we go against Guru’s teachings? Did we improve our minds? For instance, we used to speak a lot of lies, gossips. divisive, harsh and crude speech, have we changed our habits of speech?
Some people like to talk about extraordinary knowledges or spiritual penetrations. They say they see spirits and gods everywhere, and see our past lives. These are great lies — the most negative type of lie.
Such actions break our samayas and Pratimoksha vows. Some people like to claim realisations like attaining Buddhahood. They did not see anything but they claim they see spirits. They even claim that there is no benefit for virtue and no negative consequences for non-virtue. Such karmas are even heavier than the five uninterrupted karmas.
Some people even say there are no past and future lives. Creating such doubts in the authentic Dharma is worse than even the five uninterrupted karmas.
On the other hand, we need to see if we have improved in terms of renunciation, kindness-compassion and Bodhichitta. When speaking to others, we check if we have more respect for others and praise other peoples’ good qualities more. How much chanting and meditation have we done? How much self-reflection have we done?
If the non-virtues of speech such as gossiping, lying, harsh speech and divisive speech are lessening; desire and harmful intentions are lessening; killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are all gradually reduced and eliminated, then your practice could be said to be truly progressing. You can then face your future life and the bardo with happiness and a smile.
We need to keep habituating ourselves to virtue and mature our practice. What are the signs of maturation? When the mental afflictions are arising in our minds, it becomes easier and easier to deal with them — this means that your practice is maturing.
It is stressful to drive a car at first. Even if you have received a driving licence, your skills are not matured, so you need to be aware of many things such as the accelerator, brake, the rear-view mirror, side mirrors, steering wheel etc, it seems quite alot at first, but as you get used to it, driving becomes completely second nature and effortless, as easy as the act of walking.
Similarly, with correct practice of Renunciation, Bodhichitta and Emptiness, the process of habituation makes it become effortless. Great lineage masters continually habituate themselves to these qualities, so they will not forget these qualities for even a second. But we, as beginners, continually lose our mindfulness of these qualities. That is the difference. Sometimes we remember, sometimes we forget, through repeated success and failures, we train ourselves until we reach the stage of maturation.
If you look at some Dharma practitioners, when it comes to the crux — when their afflictions arise, they are not afraid to enter the hell realms at all. They will fight and criticize and scold their fellow practitioners as their afflictions direct them to do. This happens in many Dharma centers. These people are truly unafraid of falling into the hell realms.
Which is the most suffering hell realm? It is the Vajra Hell. This is the hell that only a practitioner who breaks samaya is able to reach. Fighting with your vajra brothers and sisters is a breakage of samaya which brings this result. Some monastics fight in the sangha and cause a split. Think about it carefully. You can’t even bear a little suffering now, how can you endure the suffering in the hells later?
Dharma brothers and sisters, we are here to change ourselves for the better. For a better future. We are not here just to study knowledge like in a school. We are here to change our lives. Practice of Dharma has to change our life. It is not an academic study. Therefore, when we practice the four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, it is important to habituate yourself continually.
