In history, Buddhism as a system of religious practice has known a number of essence teachings, that is, pithy, brief statements of doctrine or instructions for practice. These so-called essence teachings have played an important part, particularly in the life of Buddhist meditators. One of the most famous of these was introduced into the religious life of Tibet by the great Indian sage Pandit Atisha, who composed his Lojong Danduma, or Seven Practices for Training the Mind.

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These were popularized by his foremost disciple, whose name I've forgotten, and by his successors. So that over the centuries the study and practice of Atisha's seven points or seven trainings of the mind have have become widely known and widely practiced by practitioners belonging to all the major orders of Tibetan Buddhism. There are similar works native to Tibet. In our own Sakya tradition, the most famous of these is known as the

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Lojong, Gemba Shidel, are the four teachings on the development of non-attachment. This teaching, the Gemba Shidel, was transmitted directly by the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri, to the youthful Sachinkunga Nyingpo, the third patriarch of our border. He in turn taught it to his two sons, His successors as patriarchs of the order, Sun Rim Tse Mo and Jetsun Thapa Gansen.

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The latter of these, Jetsun Thapa Gansen, wrote a very beautiful song based upon this essence teaching taught by Menjushri Bodhisattva, known as the Song of Parting from the Four Desires, or the Jambasiddha Nyamkiyam. This short song contains a very lucid and pleasing presentation of the main topics of the Shambhashidel teaching. His successor, the Sixth Patriarch, the great Sakya Pandita,

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wrote a short summary of the Genba Shidao teaching, consisting of a single page of instructions, summarizing the essential teachings of the Genba Shidao. In a later century, great founder of the War Monastery, Morjin Kunga Zangpo, also wrote a commentary in prose on the Jambasidal teaching. His brother, Yes.

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Yes. Kunga Lekvi Rinpoche. No, Kunga Lekvi Rinchen, the brother of Morjong Kunga Tsongkhapa, wrote a more extensive commentary to the Genpa Shidel. And this commentary is also included in the compendium of tantras and instructions for practice known as the Dhamma-sutra or the Five Treasures of Instruction compiled by the great scholar, Kongtul Rinpoche. One of the more famous commentaries on the Shambhasiddha was composed by another great

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sage of the Sakya order, Gaurambha Sonam Singhi. Buddhist tradition knows of six great sages or teachers who, after the Buddha, did most for the development of Buddhist thought. In Tibet also, there is a tradition of six greatest sages, or as they are known in Tibetan, the six ornaments of the Dharma. According to Sakya tradition, these six are identified as the sages Rongton and Yakton, who were especially learned in the doctrines contained in the sutras, or the exoteric Buddhist literature.

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The two kungas, that is, Merchant Kunga Zombo and Kunga Gyamtsang? Kunga Gyamtsang. Yes. Look, Dzongpa Khunga Gyatson. These two scholars, the two Khungas, were especially learned in tantric matters. Finally, two scholars, Goranpa and Shakya Chokten, were famed for their knowledge and mastery of both sutras and tantras. So it is about this, this Gorambha, Sonam Senge, one of the six ornaments of Tibet, that we shall be

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referring to today, since it is his particular commentary on the Jambasiddha that we shall base our discussion of the teaching today. Gorampa was born in a poor family in the eastern part of Tibet, the province of Kham. During his youth he traveled to the west, to central Tibet, and there attended many illustrious masters of the Sakya order. And because of his great wisdom and meditative abilities, he was quickly recognized as an outstanding Buddhist monk. along with his yogic abilities, he was also a very learned scholar.

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He composed some 13 volumes of writings, lengthy writings, in exposition of the teachings and practices of both esoteric, exoteric and esoteric Buddhism. These writings were of such value to other practitioners that they were included in the Sakya Canon and to this day continue to be very exhaustively studied by serious students. His commentary on the Srimad-Bhagavatam is not a long one. It consists of some seven or even really six pages of text. But because in a few words he was able to extract the essential

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teachings, the essential doctrines of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and to present them in a very lucid and helpful way for other students and practitioners. His commentary on the Srimad-Bhagavatam has been greatly appreciated by other masters. Therefore, it is for this reason that Rinpoche has undertaken to make it the basis for our discussion of the Srimad-Bhagavatam today. Hmm. Rinpoche says that it is incumbent upon us as serious students of the Dharma who have... Rinpoche says that he has been asked by his friends and students of this

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Sakya Shedrupling Center in Cambridge to discuss this Shambhashidel. He knows that there are here today some of his students who have been out to India, have received the full teachings of the Lamdre and have generally applied themselves with great sincerity and earnestness to study and practice of the instructions which he has given them from time to time. Therefore, he is very pleased to honor their request. But whether a sakhya-bhā, whether a student of the sakhya order or of other orders, whether one belongs to any Buddhist sect or not, still it is incumbent upon each of us as sincere students of the Dharma, as persons who take seriously these teachings of

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enlightened, to be very clear about our approach to the Dharma. It is never enough merely to listen to teachings. One should be, if one is a serious student of Dharma, one should first of all ascertain What is the nature of this Buddhist religion which we have entered? What is the nature of its doctrines, its principles, and precepts? Let's see. Honestly, I'm very confused because... One should be very clear about the nature of this doctrine of enlightenment.

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One should be very clear also about the way in which it is to be rightly practiced or to be experienced through right practice? And finally, what is the nature of the result which is to be attained through practice? one should make diligent efforts to have a very clear understanding in one's mind about these three aspects of Buddhism if one considers oneself a serious student. It is the purpose, then, of these teachings, such as the Shambhashidā, to make these matters clear to us. The Shambhashidā offers a summary of the Buddhist religion, which, to the intelligent person who applies his or her mind to it carefully, one will receive the answer to these three essential questions.

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So it is the... the function of these, the purpose of these so-called essence teachings to present to the practitioner, the serious student of Buddhism, a guide or a summary of the principle doctrines and essential practices of the path, which will prove helpful in one's own immediate experience of the path, in one's own training. They are presented in a way that is simple, loose, easy to keep in mind, easy to remember and apply in one's daily life. Now, So whether it is the teaching of the seven points of doctrine, or the seven trainings for turning the mind, or the so-called four turnings of the mind, or this very Zimbabwe teaching, one should

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understand the value and the purpose of all such summaries of the Buddhist doctrine and practice for what they are. Rinpoche himself is pleased to be able to share this teaching with you today because of the because of the value that he himself sees in this teaching. He has, in his 77 years, had the opportunity to attend many of the best minds of Tibet, some of the greatest teachers of modern Tibetan Buddhism. He has received teachings from some of the greatest lamas of the various orders, and since he has always found

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that there is much to be learned from each of the teachers of each of the orders regardless of their affiliation. that he has made it a point, whenever he had the opportunity, to seek teachings of Dharma, initiations into tantric practices from any of those teachers, without any regard for their order, but only with regard to the value of the teachings, have mastered. Therefore, even though he makes no claim to any realization himself about this teaching, he has in his life had the opportunity to receive this and other similar teachings from some of the best teachers of the Nyingma, Khyagyu and Gelugpa orders, as well as from his principal preceptors of the Sakya order.

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And through his observation of the realizations attained by these great masters through his own observations of life in general, he has come to recognize that in this Shambhashidal teaching there is much of great value, much that is of value to any serious practitioner of the Dharma. So recognizing the great value in this teaching. He is very pleased to share it with you all today. Now, for our teaching program today then, we will I spend the morning in discussing the first part of the teaching, which consists of two topics.

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Firstly, the orientation of the mind toward Dharma, that is the turning of the mind. toward turning of the mind away from a secular orientation toward the spiritual life. And secondly, what's this image here? Don't you? Yes. And then, secondly, the... Yes, how to... how to transform one's understanding of Dharma into the spiritual path, how to make of one's understanding a spiritual path to liberation.

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That is the the first two, these are the first two stages which correspond to the first two lines of the Zimbabwean teaching. To summarize the four stages of this teaching which we will receive, these are, as we have said, firstly the orientation of the mind away from the world and towards the Dharma. Secondly, the transformation of understanding of Dharma into a spiritual path. Thirdly, the overcoming of all obstacles to the spiritual life. And finally, the dawning of transcendent wisdom. These are the four stages to which the teaching of the Zimba Shiddel refers.

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And so, for our discussion this morning, we will turn first to the first line of the Zimba Shiddel. for the purposes of our discussion which I will base his teachings on the text composed by Gurama Sonam Singhi and he will from time to time interpolate his own explanation of the text wherever fields if necessary. First let's describe the text. It is, in its title, it is called a key, and this is certainly very apt in as much as

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one needs, just as one needs a key in order to enter a mansion or other lovely residence, that unless one has access to a house, no matter how comfortable or delightful it may be, then it is one does not derive any of its benefits. So it is with the profound meaning of the Dharma. Unless one has access to the understanding and realization and experience of those profundities, then it is one one is unable to partake of their riches. So in order to unlock the true meaning of this teaching of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and therefore the true meaning of the whole of Mahayana doctrine, Gurambha calls his book, A Key to the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

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So this title, you know, Jiggy feels is quite apt, that it does fulfill its function. In Buddhist tradition, a text on Buddhist doctrine should always begin with certain preliminaries. These are the invocation of one's chosen deity, an invocation of the blessings of one or another deity, and secondly, a statement of purpose. It's considered auspicious to begin one's work with the invocation of one's chosen deity. First of all, because it invokes upon one's efforts the blessings of that deity, and ensures that one's work will be accomplished without obstacle, and having been accomplished, that it will endure.

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So, Guramba, in accord with Buddhist tradition, begins his text also with certain verses invoking or is invoking the blessings of and offering salutation to his particular deities. In this case he offers an invocation of the Buddha Shakyamuni the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and finally, to the great Sakhipa, that is, Sachin Kungu Nyingbo, the third patriarch, who received the Srimad-Bhagavatam teaching directly from the Bodhisattva Manjushri. And so, Gauramba's work begins with several verses invoking the blessings of all these Buddhas and enlightened beings.

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And then he offers a statement of his purpose, that is, in response to a pure-hearted request, to a pure-hearted petition he has undertaken to provide here instructions on the important aspects of Mahayana Buddhism. This, Rinpoche says, is a reference to a request which Gorampa had received from one of his disciples. A particular householder, a householder Bodhisattva, who belonged to the illustrious Rinpoche family. Rinpoche? [...]

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Rinpoche? Rinpoche? Rinpoche? He was a minister in the court of the Rinpoche monarch by the name of Rala Dorje and a He and his family were patrons of and devotees of Gurambha Saraswati and was himself undoubtedly a great Bodhisattva. On one occasion he asked Gurambha to provide his family and himself with instructions for practice, a practice that could be undertaken even by his household of children and servants.

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And so it was in response to this request by Relap Dorje that Guramba composed these few pages. Our teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, taught the various principles of enlightenment and the path to enlightenment out of compassion for the suffering beings of this and other worlds.

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And he taught those, he taught, he compassionately taught with regard also to the to the capacities of those beings, knowing that each being is endowed with a different karmic background, with differing capacities for understanding spiritual profundities. He, through his great skill and means, presented the Dharma in different forms and through the use of many expedient teachings was able to provide each being with just the right teaching in the right time and the right place.

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Generally speaking, all of the doctrines or all of the countless teachings of the Buddha may be subsumed into two categories. Firstly, there are the exoteric teachings of Buddhism, and secondly, the esoteric or tantric teachings of the Buddha. for our purposes of discussion today, the Shambha Shidel belongs to the first category, that is, it belongs to the exoteric presentation of the Dharma. Now, there are, here again, there are two two principled presentations of the Dharma.

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One can practice, one can approach one's path of practice through reliance upon sacred literature, upon the various utterances of the Buddha which have been recorded, and upon the various writings found in commentaries written by Buddhist masters in elucidation of the Buddhist words. or one can rely upon oral instructions, that is, the instructions for practice which have been transmitted from one realized master to his or her disciple. To summarize the

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To summarize what is meant by the first of these, that is, reliance upon the scriptural authority for one's practice, we can seek to learn the nature of Mahayana Buddhism by turning to the definitions of some of the greatest of Buddhist sages. For example, Maitreya, the great teacher of Maitreya, wrote in his text the Abhisamaya Lankhara, said that essentially the true meaning of the Pragyaparamita is that the stages of the path are to be found in the eight conceptualizations or eight perceptions.

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His writings were an elaboration, offered an elaboration upon these eight perceptions. We won't go into those here. Also he wrote in the Sutra Langhara that the basic intent of all Mahayanist sutras is to show that the stages of the path consist of logical reasoning, faith in the Dharma, and so forth, that is, an enumeration. He offered an enumeration at the various successive stages of the path, beginning with logical reasoning. And Nagarjuna also wrote in his Madhyamika Ratnavali that, The goal of religious practice lies in the attainment of, first of all, the happiness of higher realms of existence, that is, human or godly existence, and the attainment of the final happiness of liberation.

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The stages of the path to the attainment of these goals of temporal and spiritual happiness is to be accomplished through the practice of faith and wisdom. Nagarjuna's disciple, Acharya Aryadeva also I defined the Buddhist path in these words. He said that one should have as one's aim, as one's goal, Supreme Enlightenment, which is to be attained through discarding the four erroneous views. These four reality's views are the perceiving oneself to be pure, happy, permanent and equipped with a self or an ego.

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If in the process of purifying one's mind of these four erroneous views, one also destroys or overcomes all the negative mental attitudes and impulses which are a hindrance to the bodhisattva's career. In this way, one makes oneself a worthy vessel of the truth. And at that time, one's practice becomes principally that of gaining a full perception of the truth, that is a full realization of the nature of ultimate reality. So, according to I.E.

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David, these are the essential stages of the path. Removing the obscurations of wrong views and of negative mental states and then awakening perfect insight into the nature of ultimate truth. The great Bodhisattva Shantideva also described the path in these words. One should practice the six perfections which comprise the Bodhisattva's career and accomplish each of them with an attitude of pure resolve, that is a pure resolve to benefit all living beings.

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These are the stages of the path that leads to Buddhahood. Again, the great Indian sage Atisha described the path in other words. He described the path with reference to the capacities, the spiritual capacities of its practitioners. He said a person of inferior spiritual capacity, that is one who practices with a limited scope, seeks to abandon attachment to this life in order to attain benefit in his next life.

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A person of middling capacity, middling spiritual maturity, thoroughly rejects further involvement in deluded worldly existence and seeks to attain personal, that is, individual salvation. Finally, a person of great spiritual maturity, one who undertakes the religious life on a greater scale, seeks to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all living beings. That is, this is one who has a concept, who practices with the concept of universal salvation. So these are the three kinds of practitioners and the spiritual career of a

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Each person partakes of these three stages. It is necessary to pass through each of these three stages of spiritual maturity. And this process of maturation is what a teacher calls the path to enlightenment. Now, you will recognize in this doctrine of Atisha the basis for the great Tsongkhapa's teaching in the Lamrim of the path with reference to the three types of practitioners. Finally, the great Indian sage Chandrakirti I describe the path in these words. If an ordinary person undertakes to practice three things, that is, compassion, a resolve to attain enlightenment for the sake of the world, and

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a non-dualistic point of view, a non-dualistic perspective, that person will be transformed into an Arya, that is to say, a spiritual being. And then, through the accomplishment of the ten The point that Chandrakirti is making is that through the training on the path according to the scriptures, even an ordinary being will, through right practice, become transformed into a spiritual being, a great being endowed with the wondrous, miraculous spiritual powers of the Bodhisattva and finally of Buddhahood.

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These attributes of the Bodhisattvas and of the Buddhas are so exalted and so vast in scope that it is beyond the power of our ordinary minds to apprehend them, to comprehend these these spiritual stages of attainment. However, these various stages of attainment and realizations can also be attained through us if we, like them, rely upon the explanations and instructions presented in the sutras. These profound teachings of the sutras are accessible to all who are endowed with intelligence and diligence and are serious about seeking Buddhahood through relying upon them.

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The results are there for the attaining So that is a brief summary then of the first type, of the first kind of approach to practice, that is through reliance upon scriptural explanations and instructions. Next, Richard. Approach to practice of exoteric Buddhism which is to be accomplished through reliance on oral instructions. These are summaries of the essential doctrines and practices of the path which results in enlightenment. There are many such

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many such oral instructions, but in Tibet there are two principle teachings which have been transmitted down through the centuries. The first of these consists of the teachings of the Master Suvarna Dweepa, or Sir Lingpa, whose student was the great Indian sage Pandit Atisha. Pandit Atisha, that was the first of the, that is the, first of the two most, the two major oral instructions.

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The second is that, the second is that teaching imparted by the Bodhisattva of Wisdom Manjushri to Sakyong Kunti Nyingpo and is known as the Genpa Shidao. to summarize the first teaching that was introduced into Tibet by Pandit Atisha. It consists primarily of the instructions for the four turnings of the mind, that is, through reflection upon the difficulty of obtaining an opportunity for practicing the Dharma. through reflection upon death and impermanence, through reflection upon the efficacy of karma, that is, the relationship between cause and effect with regard to one's own moral actions.

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And finally, through reflection upon the unsatisfactoriness of worldly existence as a whole, one's mind becomes attuned to the Dharma, one's mind becomes a suitable vessel for the realizations of Dharma. At this point, one then undertakes the practices of meditation upon friendliness and compassion, and then develops, and then based upon these two meditations one develops an attitude of bodhicitta, that is a resolve to attain the salvation, to achieve the salvation of all living beings.

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Along with this course of training, one also undertakes so-called branch practices which are described as transforming obstacles into the path. The various signs to be achieved through training one's mind, the various signs that will arise as a result of one's training, the various vows of training the mind which are to be undertaken, and in general the various precepts and

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instructions for training one's mind. Now, this is the essence then of this first oral instruction which was introduced into Tibet by Pandit Atisha. He gave this set of instructions to his disciple, Drongchenpa, and to no one else. He gave these instructions only to one person, one disciple. Drongchenpa himself transmitted the teaching to three disciples who were known as the Three Brothers. They were not actually relatives, blood relatives, but were brothers in the Dharma.

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They, these were the, the Lama Potowa, his brother, what was it? Puchongwa. Puchongwa. Puchongwa. And who is the third one? And Sheng Awa. Sheng Awa. And so these three brothers, in turn, taught it widely so that now in Mount Tibetan Buddhism, these instructions on turning the mind, etc., are widely known and widely practiced by meditators everywhere.

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If you want to study an extensive extensive commentaries on this particular system of training of mine. The works of Gyaltsit Chodzong and Mool Chodzongme are recommended, as well as those of the great teacher, Genu Gyaltso. There is also a very extensive commentary on these seven trainings of the Mahayana. Yes.

[58:42]

So the work by the Palden Yeshe and also the Lekshe Kuldu? The Lojong Lekshe Kuldu written by Junyu Gyaltso. Yes. Second of these essence teachings or essential oral instructions, that is the Jambasiddha which was transmitted to the boy Sachin Kundalini by the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushree. In their intent, these two teachings are very similar.

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However, their presentation, they differ quite radically in their presentation of the path. In this particular teaching of the Shambha Siddha, the practice of the six paramitas or six spiritual perfections is presented in correspondence to four successive stages of non-attachment. This is the gist of the teaching which was spoken by the Bodhisattva Manjushri when he said, if you have attachment to this life, you're not a religious person. If you have attachment to the world of existence, you haven't renunciation.

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If you have attachment to your own purpose, you haven't the enlightenment thought. And if grasping arises, you haven't the view. Generally, if you have attachment to this life, the meaning of these four lines is interpreted in this way by Brahma. He says it's a matter of learning first to relinquish attachments to this life and thereby one's mind proceeds toward the Dharma, that is, one's mind becomes Dharma-oriented or oriented toward a religious goal, a spiritual goal.

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Second stage is described as learning to give up attachments to the whole realm, the whole of worldly existence. And in this way, one traverses the spiritual path. In the third stage, one learns to give up attachment to selfish goals, even on the spiritual path, that is, one gives up attachment to personal aims and objectives. And in this way, one's path becomes cleared of all errors. Finally, having learned to give up attachment, to relinquish attachment to philosophical views, to the extremes of philosophical views, whether of existence, non-existence, and so forth, one learns to

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perceive all things as they really are. That is, one experiences the arising of what is known as gnosis or transcendent wisdom. The instructions for the The first stage of practice are as follows, keeping in mind that it is the purpose of these instructions, this first stage, to help us to turn our mind away from further involvement in useless worldly pursuits and to redirect our mental energies toward a spiritual goal. develop a reorientation of the mind.

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This is to be accomplished through three practices. First of all, there is the preparatory practice of meditation upon the difficulty of obtaining an opportunity for practice of the Dharma. Secondly, there is the main practice of meditation upon death and impermanence. And finally, there is the auxiliary meditation upon karma, that is, the efficacy of karmic cause and effect. What follows now is are instructions on the way to meditate upon the difficulty of obtaining the opportunity for practice of the Dharma.

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You should, first of all, Make yourself comfortable and seated upon a comfortable cushion before your altar or in any other place of solitude that is suitable for the practice of meditation. Begin your practice by taking refuge in your teacher and in the three jewels that is affirming your reliance upon the the guidance and blessings of the Buddhist trinity of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and then request their blessings also that your mind might indeed be turned away from further involvement in delusions and redirected toward enlightenment.

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I think you should reflect in the following manner upon our first topic, which is, as we said, the difficulty of obtaining the opportunity to practice Dharma. Should I consider the ways in which it is difficult to find just such an opportunity to practice, which one now has? First of all, it is very difficult to obtain human existence even. It is difficult to obtain human existence because the causes of human existence are only rarely obtained by living beings.

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In the context of all the myriad forms of life, human existence is only very rarely obtained. because its causes are only rarely obtained. The causes of human existence are a sense of morality, a sense of intelligence and responsibility for one's actions. This sense of awareness, this sense of moral conduct is is not often attained by beings, therefore they fail ever to cultivate even the causes of human existence. So by way of cause it is very difficult to attain.

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It is also in the context of of numbers also, one can see that human existence is rarely obtained by beings. We are wont to think of the world as overpopulated with humans, that we think that there are plenty of people in this world. But when we consider that how numerous are the other life forms, we can see that human existence is truly rare. In fact, it has been described in various sutras as being so rare, rarely obtained by beings, that it is as if one were to throw a handful of sand against a wall, all of them would fall down

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perhaps only one or two grains might remain on the wall. In this way, it is the same way with living beings, of all the beings that are constantly being reborn, dying and being reborn. It is only a few who ever make it through to human rebirth. To give another example, One could liken the difficulty of obtaining human rebirth to the efforts of some blind turtle that lives at the bottom of an ocean. If once every hundred years that blind turtle were to swim to the surface of the ocean, in an attempt to put its neck through a wooden yoke floating on the ocean, surface of the ocean.

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Its chances of success are about as good as our chances of obtaining human rebirth in the context of other life forms. It's the chances of that turtle achieving its goal when one considers the odds that are against it, how the waves carry the yoke to the east, to the west, and to the other directions, and waft it about over a vast expanse. That tortoise that would rise to the surface once every hundred years sightless and try to accomplish its goal would have as much chance as we do of obtaining human birth. Even if human birth is obtained, it is...

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It is no guarantee of an opportunity for the practice of dharma to be free from all of the other life, from the rebirth in the other forms of life. where there is no opportunity to practice dharma, and to succeed in obtaining human birth, where there is a possibility of practicing dharma, still there's no guarantee of good fortune. When one considers how frequently humans are born in times and places where the teachings of enlightenment are not available to them, how they are born among barbarians or in places where teachings of liberation are not known or are not regarded, are not taken seriously. When one considers how many beings are born

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with their mental and physical faculties impaired, insane or stricken by diseases, stricken by being deaf or dumb, otherwise hindered from the practice of the Dharma. When one considers also how many beings are born, how many humans are born with unwholesome habits, with evil inclinations, with minds that do not appreciate the value of the spiritual life, do not appreciate the prospect of liberation, but whose minds are instead controlled by a deluded and dark impulses that prevent them from entering into the path, then one can consider just how rare is this opportunity for practice to be

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a person who somehow, through some chance, through some lucky break, was able to obtain human existence at a time and a place where teachings are available, to have one's body and mind unimpaired, and to be a person whose mind is sensitive to these teachings of the path to enlightenment and able to appreciate them, able to make use of them. If one has at last gained such an opportunity, it certainly becomes one to take the present moment seriously and to make the best possible use of the present opportunity while one has it. Therefore one should reflect in this way again and again until one has developed a sense of

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alertness and awareness of the value of this present moment for practice and resolve that to the best of one's ability one will indeed apply one's mind to the practice of Dharma which makes human existence meaningful. And while, so long as one has this opportunity, one will make the utmost use of it. We described the reflection upon the difficulty pertaining the opportunity for practice of dharma. It is essential that we take advantage of the present moment, the present opportunity, while we have it.

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Because although we are not sure about our past, where we have come from, or where we are going, one thing is sure about us, that we will surely die. This is the case with all human beings, like ourselves, that no matter how many beings, how many humans have lived on this planet, they have all, without exception, been subject to death. And we have no reason to think that it will be otherwise with ourselves. Though death is certain, the time of our death is quite uncertain. None of us has a guarantee for long life. No one has promised any of us that we will have ample time in the future for the practice of dharma.

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Therefore, it behooves us to face up to this fact of imminent death, to face up to the fact of our own impermanence, and thereby come to appreciate better the value of the present moment for practice. And indeed practice is the practice of the Dharma. The training in this path of liberation is the best possible use we could put, the best possible use we could make of our present life. Because no matter how long we live, no matter what we accomplish in this life,

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no matter how comfortable or pleasant our situation may have been, no matter how popular, wealthy-looking, or eloquent, or what property we may possess, none of these are going to be of the slightest use to us at the time of death. When it is time for us to die, then none of our cleverness and skill is going to help us avoid death. It doesn't matter. When it's time to die, no amount of medicine, no amount of prayers or religious ceremonies or long life initiations or whatever is going to prevent you from dying. and no number of friends or servants or attendants are going to be able to help you at the time of death.

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At that time, only virtue will be of any use to you. That is, only the good, the wholesome inclinations of your own mind will be a friend to you at that time. And these wholesome inclinations of mind are to be developed through repeated practice, through wholehearted and persistent efforts to direct the mind in wholesome ways rather than in unwholesome ways. If we neglect to work with the mind while we have the opportunity, then at that time of death we will have nothing to work with, we will no longer have the opportunity and we will have failed to achieve our own best interest.

[81:41]

So, therefore, this reflection upon impermanence, our own impermanence, the eminence of our own death, the certainty of our own death, should be like a goad to our consciousness. It should stir us out of complacency, of smugness about practice, of procrastination, it should goad us into diligence to practice here and now to the utmost of our ability. In this way the meditation of of impermanence, death and impermanence can be very salutary to our practice and it is certainly in our own best interest because when we reflect upon our present situation and we

[82:57]

recognize our own responsibility for our present situation, that it is through our past mental and physical actions that have brought us to this present, to these present circumstances, then we must recognize that it is also, that our future also depends on just our present actions of body, voice and mind. When we consider the operation of karma, we learn to become mindful of our actions, seeing our responsibility for them. When we understand that karmic actions of body, voice and mind determine our present and future states, we learn to be mindful, to make every effort to avoid unwholesome

[84:29]

Actions. and to develop, to cultivate wholesome actions. Basically, there are three types of karma, that is, wholesome, unwholesome and neutral. That is, actions which are by their very nature produce pain as a result, such as taking life produces pain as its result. Other actions are virtuous by their very nature because they have a wholesome result. They produce benefit or well-being as the result, such as making gifts. Other actions are neutral, that is, they neither happiness or suffering as their result. These are said to be karmically neutral actions such as just standing or walking, sitting, eating, something like this.

[85:34]

They neither hurt nor help in a karmic sense. When we understand the connection between causes, our present actions, and their ripening results, then we learn to be careful about what we say and do and think. Actions, all actions spring from impulses within the mind. And when these impulses are reinforced by being put into action physically or vocally, then one has developed a karmic pattern, so that the inclination is to repeat those actions, whether good or bad.

[86:42]

again and again. In this way, one develops karmic patterns, which carry to their logical conclusion, producing altered states of existence even for us. They alter our entire perception, our experience. First of all, they create the impulse to act again and again in that positive or negative way. For example, a thief who once succeeds in... who gets away with theft will be tempted to do it again and again, and the more of it he steals, the more... the more reinforced will his propensities as a thief be. would become, and in this way one develops the lifestyle and the mental thought patterns of a thief and so forth.

[87:47]

So these are the results, the first result of developing karmic habits. And then also there is the fully ripening results of one's actions, good and bad, through, carried to their conclusion, one's unwholesome actions, committed by body, voice and mind, can always result in the experience of pain. As the sutras have stressed again and again, all actions that proceed from a mind which is governed by attachment, aversion or delusion, have pain as the result.

[89:00]

Conversely, all actions which proceed from a mind that is free from desire, aversion and delusion have happiness as their result. Unwholesome actions committed by body, voice and mind can can and do ripen in the experience of great pain. Actions committed by... actions of anger can propel one's consciousness into hellish states of existence. Actions of great desire, of lasting desire, an attachment, can propel one into the ghost realms.

[90:09]

Actions of great delusion, of ignorance, can cause one to be reborn in the animal realms. Conversely, wholesome actions, committed by body, voice and mind, can result in rebirth in happy states of existence, either as a human endowed with good fortune or even among the God realms. are carried to their logical extreme, if one cultivates the ten wholesome actions of body, voice and mind, and link those wholesome actions to the Bodhisattva's path, they will result in the attainment of Buddhahood, the happiness of liberation.

[91:10]

So, in general then, it can be said of karma is that the effects, good and bad, of our actions all depend upon our state of mind. It is there in the mind that we must be mindful. We must take responsibility for our attitudes, our impulses, our states of mind, good and bad, because it is we who will experience the ripening of these karmic impulses. And yet, if we are honest about our ordinary state of mind, we must recognize that only rarely, only occasionally, do thoughts of virtue arise and remain within the mind.

[92:24]

It is only occasionally that our minds might be really described as wholesome or virtuous, or that we are entertaining virtuous thoughts, virtuous thoughts as we just define them, mental states that are free from attachment, aversion and ignorance. It is only rarely that we, in our ordinary life, have occasions to experience these really virtuous thoughts.

[92:58]

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