Monday, December 28, 2015

Verse 4 from the 37 practises of Bodhisattva's

Loved ones who have long kept company will part,
Wealth created with difficulty will be left behind,
Consciousness, the guest, will leave the guesthouse of the body,
Let go of this life. This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

Geshe Tenzin Zopa said:

Giving up this life, is the 4th practice. How do we give up this life?
Giving up this life does not mean committing suicide! It means
giving up the clinging to samsaric pleasures and use this precious
human rebirth to practice dharma for higher purposes.
How does one do that? By first meditating on impermanence.
One begins by reflecting how this life, friends, family members,
competitors, whoever likes or dislikes you, will soon be left
behind. It is just a matter of time. Whatever wealth, fame, status,
or even power over the whole world that one has, has to left
behind at death. One’s body, to which one has devoted one’s
life and attention to, that too will cease. Example, we constantly
need to feed ourselves. When we are hungry, we complain. When
we are too full, we complain. If you are short, you complain. If
you are tall, you also complain. If you are fat, you complain and
if you thin, you also complain. That is because you care so much
for yourself in physical form. However, that form is what we will
have to leave behind at death. So why cling to this life that will
end? Everything is going to separate from us. For most of us
here, half our lives are already gone. Like myself, even if I live up
to 70, more than half my life is already gone.
In fact no one knows when our lives will end. It can be any
moment. Is there a continuance to this life? Yes! Every Buddha
and every great master have given us proof and numberless
reasons for there being continuance of one’s life. And for how
long? It could be many eons in samsara. That is the point. Birth in
samsara brings at best, temporary happiness and much suffering.
Therefore it’s worth while to give up this life, not be attached to
this temporal happiness and work for long term happiness. How
do we do that? One has to practice Dharma.
When we engage in business deals, we think we are honest and
fair but somehow it often involves much negativities. It is very
rare to engage in purely virtuous business, something that only
benefits others. So whatever possessions we gather, we do not
necessarily deserve it all, as a part of it has come through the
efforts of others. This in itself should also be a reminder to us to
share whatever gains we have.
No matter how much we cling to our possessions, we have to
leave them behind. Either we get robbed of them or have to
leave them at the time of death. This is true, isn’t it? We will
definitely separate from our possessions. Nothing can stop this.
Therefore, the best antidote is to be satisfied with what we have
and release this clinging mind of ours.
Bodhisattvas realize this and hence do not cling to this life’s
pleasures including one’s dearest physical form and they
optimise their lives by practicing dharma for the benefit of
others indefinitely.
When we say we live a life of dharma, as a minimum, we are
referring to having the motivation for next life time’s benefit.
One may then wonder what benefit from practicing Dharma in
the present life! The answer is that by cultivating a good cause for
one’s next life time’s benefits, it will naturally result in benefits
for this life also. The reference to the next life time’s benefit
is because our attachment makes us cling to this life and go to
every extent merely to gain benefit for this life. For us to be free
from this attachment mind, it is helpful to think in terms of the
benefits of one’s next life time.
Such as when you do the Dzambhala practice of water offering,
the merits gained should not be merely for this life’s wealth but
for one’s next lifetime resources to be able to benefit of others.
If you do Dzambhala practice for this life’s prosperity, it will be a
cause of samsara. Whether an act is a Dharma or non Dharma
act depends on the motivation e.g. whether it’s directed towards
this life’s gains or the next life. If only for this-life’s purposes, it is
not Dharma. This is a clear and strong statement.
If one does Dzambala practice dedicated to one’s next life’s
benefit, with the intention to benefit all living beings as well,
that practice is true and will bring wealth in this life. This is
because through the power of motivation, through the power
of the bodhicitta mind, one is able to hook the wealth from
the ten directions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas even now. In
ordinary terms, it may be difficult to dedicate for one’s next life’s
purposes and not that of this life; similarly, it might be difficult to
dedicate for the well being of others and not oneself. It may not
sound realistic to you. But in truth, this manner of dedication is
pure and by doing so, both living beings and oneself will gain the
benefits.
Ordinary virtue and Dharma virtue are different. Dharma is
virtue but not all forms of virtue are Dharma. It depends on the
motivation of whether it is for this life or next life’s gains. Be
mindful of this.
Making offering or any form of generosity to others, respecting
others and praising others, if your motivation mainly to gain
benefit for yourself in this life, it is worldly. But if your motivation
is for next life’s benefit, then even if that person whom you
praised disappoints you or criticizes, your mind will not be
disturbed.

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