Jamyang Rinpoche
When we can’t see the faults of others and instead see their good qualities, Dharma has truly merged with our minds. Otherwise, the more you practice Dharma, the more you see faults in others, then Dharma and the practitioner are already going in opposite directions.
The Dharma has become the source of your afflictions instead of being a remedy for them. This is not Dharma practice. One need not ask your teacher how well you are progressing on the path because today I am already giving you the way to check yourself. If you find a lot of faults in yourself, then the Dharma is beginning to merge into your heart.
Why is recognising faults in oneself a sign of progress? This is because we have been accumulating a great deal of afflictions and negative habitual patterns in samsara for many lives. In even one moment, we give rise to many afflictions. We are controlled by the three poisons of desire, anger and ignorance. These three poisons will always give rise to suffering. It is impossible that they are faultless. These three poisons contaminate our mindstream.
When I was meditating in Yarchen monastery, at first, it went well; but after a while, I felt as if my mind was full of thoughts. I felt as if I was going crazy. Later, I asked Lama Achuk Rinpoche, “I did not have so many afflictions and thoughts in the past, now there are so many thoughts, am I practicing wrongly?”
Guru replied, “No, in the past, you allowed the three poisons to be free to do as they wish, you did not recognize their workings. Now, you are practicing and observing them with mindfulness. You have recognised their workings. This is genuine Dharma practice.”
When you recognize your afflictions, you are already on the path. The Dharma is coming close to you. In the past, when you did not notice your afflictions, you were very happy. For instance, you might meditate in your room and enter a comfortable state, you are attached to this state of comfort or bliss. You are already trapped by this samsaric state — a state of desire for that bliss or happiness.
Or for instance, when we eat something and say, “This is delicious,” then one has already slipped into a state of attachment to that taste, we have already fallen into greed. That’s why I said that we should not practice emptiness or meditate on the higher teachings first before the foundations are solid.
