[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
best way of cherishing yourself.
Cherishing others brings enlightenment
Cherishing others means that you don t harm others, and not harming
others is not harming yourself. Even in terms of protection, this is the
best way to protect your life. Similarly, when you cause others to be
happy, you bring happiness to yourself. The karma created by making
others happy causes you to experience happiness too; that s the kind of
karma that results in happiness. Even if you don t want happiness, once
you have created its cause, that s what results.
If you plant a seed in the ground and all the right conditions are pres-
ent, such as perfect soil, water, and heat everything is together and
. . . . . . 55
the purpose of being human
there are no obstacles then no matter how much you pray for the
plant not to grow, it will grow. It will definitely grow because the seed
planted in the ground has met all the conditions necessary for growth;
the cause and conditions have met. Since it is a dependent arising, it is
inevitable that that flower or fruit will grow, no matter how much you
pray for it not to.
Similarly, if you lead your everyday life with compassion, bringing as
much happiness to others as you possibly can, the natural result will
be for you yourself to experience happiness, both now and in the
future there s the immediate effect of peace of mind in this life and
the long-term effect of happiness in all your future lives. All this is the
definite result of bringing happiness and benefit to others.
Therefore, there is much to be gained by cherishing others, taking
care of other living beings as you do yourself. Whether they are insects
or humans, they are living beings just like you wanting happiness; not
wanting suffering. Just as you need the help of others to eliminate prob-
lems, so do they. Just as your happiness depends on others, so does
theirs. Not only humans but also insects need your help. Their freedom
from problems depends on you; their happiness depends on you.
Why is cherishing others, taking care of others as you do yourself,
not harming but benefiting them, the best way of looking after yourself,
taking care of yourself? Because it is through having a good heart, cher-
ishing others, benefiting others, that all your own wishes get fulfilled.
In general, in the world, when others see a person who has a compas-
sionate, loving nature, who is good-hearted, they get good vibrations, a
positive feeling from that person. Even when strangers meet that per-
son on the road, in airplanes, in offices or shops, just the sight of that
56 . . . . . .
the joy of compassion
person makes them happy, smile, want to chat. Because of your good
heart, good vibrations, positive feeling, you make others happy. Even
their facial expressions change to reflect their happy minds. Even if you
aren t experiencing any problems, others keep offering you help.
When you have a good heart towards others, all your wishes for your
own happiness get fulfilled by the way. Even though your motivation,
like that of a bodhisattva, is only the happiness of others and you have
not a single expectation of happiness for yourself, even if everything
you do, twenty-four hours a day, is exclusively dedicated to the happi-
ness of others with not a thought for your own, you yourself will expe-
rience all happiness.
Because of their realization of bodhicitta, the attitude of those holy
beings, the bodhisattvas, is such that they totally renounce themselves
for others; they have no thought for their own happiness but instead
spend every moment seeking the happiness of others. So what happens?
With bodhicitta, they are able to develop the ultimate wisdom realizing
the very nature of the I the self and the aggregates, the association of
body and mind that is the base that is labeled I and all other phenom-
ena. Because of their bodhicitta and the ultimate wisdom they develop,
they are able to eradicate all errors of mind, the cause of all suffering
both the gross defilements, the delusions of ignorance, attachment and
aversion, and the subtle defilements, which are in the nature of imprints
left on the mental continuum by the delusions.
This, then, is the special feature of bodhicitta, because with its sup-
port you can develop not only the wisdom realizing emptiness but can
also stop the subtle defilements and thus become fully awakened, attain-
ing the state of omniscience, the fully enlightened mind, knowing
. . . . . . 57
the purpose of being human
directly and without a single mistake, not only the gross karma but also
every single subtle karma of each of the numberless sentient beings;
seeing all their different characteristics, wishes and levels of intelligence;
knowing every single method that suits the minds of all these different
sentient beings at different times; and revealing the appropriate method
that suits the mind of each individual sentient being at different times
in order to guide that being from happiness to happiness, all the way up
to enlightenment.
Thus, bodhicitta allows your wisdom to function such that it can
overcome even the subtle defilements, making your mind fully enlight-
ened. In this way, bodhicitta allows you to become a fully qualified
guide, a perfectly enlightened being, and therefore to liberate number-
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]