Phurpa Tashi Rinpoche
How should busy people turn a short practice into infinite merits?
The lineage master Longchenpa wrote, “Preliminary—a pure motivation; main practice—free from reference points; conclusion—sublime dedication. These are the three vital points for liberation.”
In other words, whether our virtuous deeds will produce the result of liberation depends on whether it is done with a pure motivation, a pure main practice and a pure dedication.
If any of these three factors are lacking, then it is difficult to attain liberation. Therefore, the lineage masters cautioned their disciples, “It is not necessary to have anything more than the three pure Dharmas, but anything less will make liberation impossible.”
Thus, these three pure Dharmas are the only path to attaining liberation. We should reflect on our usual habits to check if our practice includes these three pure Dharmas. If you lack one— for instance, a pure motivation, or a pure main practice or a pure dedication— then wishing to attain liberation is out of the question.
This is why I always emphasize the three pure Dharmas. In particular, if you wish to make your merits increase infinitely, you need the pure motivation. Since you have attained the precious human life, but are entangled with heavy habits and afflictions from past lives, it means that your conditions for Dharma practice are not quite optimal.
You are distracted by many worldly matters and have little time to practice Dharma. Since your time is limited, how should you turn whatever short practice you are doing into infinite merits? By utilizing the Dharma method of pure motivation.
Whether you are meditating or practicing other virtues, if your motivation is for yourself or just one particular person, then no matter how advanced or powerful your practice is, it becomes only one limited portion of merit. However, if you practice for the liberation of all sentient beings in the six realms, then even doing only one practice transforms into limitless merits. Thus, a pure motivation is extremely important.
A story of a Highest Yoga Tantra practitioner
Motivation can be categorized into indifferent motivation, non-virtuous motivation and virtuous motivation. A virtuous motivation can be of three scopes: vast scope, middle scope and limited scope. We should constantly look at our mind. What type of motivation do we have when we perform virtues?
If your virtuous action is arising from an indifferent motivation, even if you feel the virtue to be very great, due to the motivation or direction of the virtue being indefinite or vague, it has not the slightest benefit in terms of bringing you to the state of Buddhahood. The same can be said for a virtuous motivation of the limited or middle scope — they are all obstacles for attaining ultimate Buddhahood.
When Lama Atisha first came to Tibet, one early morning his attendant, Lochen Rinchen Zangpo, brought his breakfast and saw that the venerable Atisha was extremely sorrowful and sighing repeatedly. Rinchen Zangpo asked the reason for his distress.
Atisha replied that earlier that morning, during his meditation of luminosity, he saw that a disciple in India who was practicing the Highest Yoga Tantra (Hevajra) had fallen into the view of the Hinayana. Rinchen Zangpo was utterly stunned. This disciple had received teachings from a master who was among the foremost among India’s great siddhas—Lama Atisha himself; the practice belonged to the highest teaching of Vajrayana—the Highest Yoga Tantra. How then could the resulting view be that of the Hinayana?
Lama Atisha answered, “Although the Dharma he practices is extremely profound, both his motivation and his view have fallen into the Hinayana. But this is already considered fortunate among all possible unfortunate outcomes. If it were any worse, then even though he practices the Highest Yoga Tantra, he could take rebirth in the three lower realms.”
Therefore, Lama Atisha taught, “If Dharma is practiced incorrectly, the practice itself could become the cause of falling into the three lower realms.”
We often think naively that as long as we have a Dharma text, we need not learn any further Dharma principles. We think that it is enough to just recite the text and visualize according to the words. We think that this is the genuine Dharma.
But remember, the genuine Dharma and the false Dharma is separated by only a very fine line. To stay on the right side of the line depends on following a genuine master, because only a genuine master can explain what is the authentic Dharma and what is authentic virtue.
The genuine Buddhadharma is not what you recite or what you do externally with a particular liturgy or text. As our teacher Lord Buddha Shakyamuni said, “Purify your mind, this is what the Buddha taught.” Buddha did not say, “Recite the text, this is what the Buddha taught.”
Our lineage master Longchenpa also said, “If your mind does not become the Dharma, a superficial appearance of practice is utterly meaningless.” This warns us against pursuing an external appearance of Dharma practice. No matter how wonderful it seems, it has not the slightest benefit for liberation.
The genuine Dharma is not in outer appearances or externalities, it is in one’s own mind. We need to constantly watch and adjust our motivation for this very purpose.
(Note: Limited scope refers to practicing for having a good future life in the human or heavenly realms. Middle scope refers to practicing for liberating oneself from the cycle of samsara entirely. Vast scope refers to practicing to liberate all beings, bringing them to Buddhahood.)
