Verse 9 of 37 Bodhisattva practises

Like dew on the tip of a blade of grass, pleasures of the three worlds, Last only a while and then vanish, Aspire to the never-changing supreme state of liberation, This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

Geshe Tenzin Zopa said:
The 9th practice is to understand the overall suffering of samsara
(not only the suffering of the lower realms as discussed under
verse 8) and aspire for liberation.

Here, one will explore the sufferings of the higher realms in
order to generate strong renunciation not only from the lower
realms but from samsara. This means that even if we are able
to obtain rebirth in Desire Realms such as human realms or in
god realms (such as Form realms and Formless realms), as long
as one attains rebirth within cyclic existence up to the 33 gods
which reside at the Peak of Samsara, as long as one has obtained
rebirth based on contaminated aggregates, there is no true nor
lasting happiness. It is like standing on a bed of needles with bare
feet. In fact we are already experiencing this level of suffering
but due to lack of awareness and understanding of reality, we
do not realize it.

What do I mean? Is one’s present life that bad? We are able

to sense the gross suffering of suffering and the suffering of

change but pervasive suffering is much more difficult to detect,

yet it brings un-ending suffering. Merely having our bodies

with the contaminated aggregates gives rise to discomfort and

unhappiness e.g. sitting too long in the sun will make us feel hot;

then we go under shelter and if we stay there too long, we feel

cold and want to return to the sunlight. No matter how much

we say we are happy with delicious food and comfortable beds,

rebirth in samsara through karma and delusion is no less painful

as sitting on the tip of the needle. Therefore, strongly resolve

to be free from samsaric existence, not just for yourself but for

others. Renounce samsara and strive to attain enlightenment for

yourself and all beings. Bodhisattvas practice this way.

In the Bodhicaryavatara, Shantideva interestingly pointed out

that without realizing suffering, there can be no renunciation.

Renunciation is about renouncing contaminated existence.

When we generate spontaneous renunciation in our mental

continuum, we gain the first moment of the first of the 5 Paths.

We had previously concluded that we need to practice Dharma

or else our lives are in danger. This means practising Dharma

with the motivation of achieving peerless happiness for self and

others (or in the case of the Hinayana practitioners/Theravadans,

the motivation to attain nirvana). Then that becomes pure

dharma. Otherwise, even when we commit virtuous actions

e.g. giving food to the hungry but we do it with the eight worldly

concerns (e.g. wanting praise and not criticism), then that act of

generosity is virtue but is tainted and thus a cause of samsara.

Virtuous action can be a cause of suffering, if one is not mindful.

This sounds very strange, doesn’t it? This happens if our virtuous

actions are contaminated with the 8 worldly concerns e.g. doing

charity with a hope to gain praise. Or if our virtuous actions are

in relation to objects which give rise to attachment, anger or 

ignorance.

Another example is a Buddha statue. The Tibetan word for tantra

is “Ngak” and the meaning is “yee kiop”. “Yee kiop” means protect 

the mind from ordinary perception. This requires us view the statue 

not as an ordinary object but view it in its purest state, as the living

Buddha with all His qualities. Otherwise, if we merely view the statue 

as a holy object of beauty to be possessed by oneself, that would be

ordinary thinking based on attachment and hence, admiring that statue

becomes a cause of samsara instead of a cause of liberation and 

enlightenment.

Whatever Buddha statue we have, we should feel content rather

than think “Oh, my Buddhas face is not nice, so I must buy

another one”. There is no better Buddha outside. It is all about

one’s mind and how pure it is.

A Dharma text is a further example. Let us say, one has 2 scriptural

texts and one is thicker than the other. One then offers a nice

brocade cloth for the thicker text and neglect the thinner text.

This shows that one does not have the pure mind to see that

the Buddha’s teachings as being equal and that the Buddha’s

teachings are his realizations. The discriminating manner of

paying homage to the 2 texts indicates that one’s offering the

brocade was based on the delusion of ignorance and hence a

cause for samsara.

Offerings: If you are very innocent and you offer water only to

Tara without offering to other Buddhas, then it is alright. But

once you know you should offer to all Buddhas but you only want

to offer to Tara because it is your “favourite” Buddha emanation,

then that is ordinary, biased, attached thinking which will be a

cause of samsara and not liberation. It’s contaminated.

One prays and prays, yet nothing happens. That is because we

have ordinary thinking and do not know how to pray properly,

which is why nothing happens. We never think that a simple

Buddha statue is the real Buddha. We go around looking for

nicer statues to pray to, just like shopping for more possessions.

We pray with worldly motivation, forgetting entireoy about

suffering sentient beings. That is why prayers our don’t succeed.

We communicate to our statues rather than communicate with

the Buddha, failing to see our statues, no matter what material

they are made of, as the real Buddha; neglecting all other living

beings. So how does one get blessings with such a improper

attitude?

If one is able to talk to the Buddha from one’s sincere heart, one

does not even need a statue. That is how the great mahasiddhas

of the past practiced. Many did not have even a single statue.

You might then ask the question, “So why do we need so many

holy objects?” It is because we ordinary practitioners need

frequent reminders of the Buddha, his qualities and realizations.

Our minds are unstable. The minute we turn away from a holy

object, we forget what they represent. We forget about karma,

we forget about respect. So when one sees Tara, then one

remembers the need to practice and eliminate the obstacles to

practice. Otherwise, one simply forgets.

~