Practice correctly while having the chance

Geshe Sopa

Attaining nirvana or enlightenment isn’t easy; it takes a lot of effort over a long time. Most of us are not able to attain those goals in this life. So what should we do?

We need to create the causes for a good rebirth in our next life, and our lives thereafter, during which we can continue to work toward the attainment of the permanent states of nirvana or enlightenment.

So, our temporary spiritual goal is a high rebirth. Here high doesn’t just refer to a human life, a life as a god, or a level of status. It indicates a life suitable for the practice of virtue and the elimination of the mental afflictions.

A high rebirth is a temporary goal because it does not last. But by using this good temporary situation to study and practice, we can work toward our definite goal without much interruption.

If you have that type of life for rebirth after rebirth, eventually you will never fall to a lower rebirth and you will attain your long-term permanent goal. Or, if you do go down to a rebirth in the lower realms, it is for a short time.

If the method you employ to reach your goal is incorrect, or if you have the right method but don’t understand it properly, everything goes wrong. In the world, people do many things to attain a variety of goals. We need an infallible method to achieve our spiritual goals.

The complete and error-free methods to attain a higher rebirth and the permanent spiritual goals are taught extensively in the Buddhist scriptures.

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Although a Buddha has compassion and wants to liberate every living being, some — such as animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings — have such heavy karma that they cannot be taught at present.

You may have an adorable dog that you love very much. You want the best things for your pet. You can give them good food, a nice bed, and a comfortable life. But more than that you can’t do. You can’t teach them about spiritual practice. For the time being they are left out.

The most suitable disciples are humans and some of the gods. However, many people do not have the ability and propensities to benefit from the Buddhas and spiritual teachers who have come into the world. Their own karma keeps them from being a disciple.

So, from a Buddhist point of view the opportunity to develop spiritually is a very rare and fortunate situation.

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When you have a serious problem and don’t have the ability to alleviate it yourself, you look for someone who can provide a solution.

We are suffering in samsara and cannot find the way to liberation on our own. We need a perfect guide: someone who is already free from their own suffering and the cause of that suffering; someone free from all internal and external obstacles; someone with perfect wisdom, so that their advice contains no mistakes regarding the goal, the purpose, the path, and the obstacles; someone who has universal compassion and love for others without any type of discrimination.

A Buddha has all these qualities. They are like an excellent physician who knows how to diagnose every type of sicknesses and is able to precisely prescribe the medicine and course of therapy to cure them.

Shantideva makes this analogy:

"When I am anxious about an ordinary sickness

I follow a physician’s prescription.

So what needs to be said about being wracked constantly

by the disease of the afflictions, desire and so forth?"

When you have an ordinary illness, you are in some pain and discomfort. You try to care for yourself: you search for someone who can treat your sickness; you investigate the best methods of treatment; and then you do exactly what the experts say.

Even if a medication is bitter, you have to drink it if the doctor says it is necessary. You may have to give up a favourite food if the doctor says you should not eat it. It doesn’t matter how hard, how difficult, or how much you dislike it, you must do it. You have to follow the treatment plan precisely if you want to recover…

You have a much deeper type of sickness; this is not a temporary illness dependent upon environmental or internal physical conditions. You suffer continuously from the disease of the mental afflictions: hatred, desire, jealousy, pride, disappointment, discouragement, and so forth.

These faults are in your mind all the time. First one is dominant and then another, without any break. These mental problems lead you to act in many different ways as you try to make yourself safe and happy.

Hatred makes you do certain things; jealousy makes you do certain things; and so do all the other mental afflictions. Many of your actions of body, speech, and mind harm others. You may get some small advantageous return for yourself in this life, but the consequences of your actions will be greater in future lives. These actions will make you suffer for a long, long time. They throw you into a lower rebirth. Life after life you suffer.

This disease of the mental afflictions is terrifying. An ordinary sickness cannot compare to the sickness of the mental afflictions from the perspective of duration, nature, and pain.

But there is a treatment for this disease. There is a way to eliminate the mental afflictions and permanently recover from the misery of repeated rebirth. The treatment to completely cure this mental disease is the spiritual practice taught by the Buddha. In this regard, the Buddha is far superior to an ordinary doctor.

Shantideva said,

"The omniscient physician’s advice

will alleviate all misery.

The thought to not take it

is deluded and disgraceful."

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Āryaśūra wrote,

“Hearing the teachings is the lamp that clears away the darkness of ignorance.

Study is the best form of wealth: it cannot be stolen or destroyed.

It is a staunch comrade even if you become impoverished.

Instruction on the method is your best friend.”

Ordinary wealth can be lost, stolen, or destroyed by various factors. When you are rich in an ordinary way you may have friends cluster around you. But if you lose that affluence they may give you up and go away. But the wisdom that you gain from studying can’t be lost. That knowledge brings you great benefit.