So while reciting the morning teaching prayers, try to set up the altruistic bodhicitta motivation. Just simply acknowledge yourself, how fortunate you are to have this precious human rebirth. Even in the conventional human life, comparing with so many other humans, we are one of the most conducive we are in the environment of the most conducive rebirth. Even just simply thinking that being Australian already, it is such a very good reason. Just being Australian already it’s one of very conducive environments to practice Dharma, to utilize this rebirth in the most meaningful you have freedom, whatever Dharma, whatever spiritual practice you wish to practice, and you have all the senses faculties are perfectly there, and you have so many Mahāyāna teachers from whom you can learn the Dharma, Mahāyāna Dharma.
You have all the teaching materials, abundance of teaching materials available, and so many. People around or in your city who inspire the Mahāyāna teaching, who aspire to practice great compassion. Just that alone is good enough reasons to feel how fortunate we are. So therefore, having this fortune, then if we don’t dedicate this life for the greater benefit for numberless sentient beings, then it’s wasted. It makes no special sense of obtaining this freedom or having this great human rebirth.
Just completely occupied, just simply taking care of a few family members and securing this lifetime’s needs such as wealth and just simply putting effort to be healthy within the frame of this life. Spending a lot of time in gym, spending a lot of time in a job place, earning money, and spending a lot of time building the ways how to gather friends and how to avoid enemies and how to So, if this human ability is just very much like that, then there’s no difference than the ants. Our life is no different than the ants. Ants and cockroaches, maybe they are more successful than many of humans to gather their needs, to secure their community. If our life is just so close-up, so narrow, the focus is only very limited the number of people, then it’s a great loss of taking this precious human rebirth.
So therefore, while investing our physical efforts being around one’s family members, working together the needs of the family members and taking care of the family members and friends, and working out with your exercise, health, etcetera. But then the attitude, the mental attitude, is always shared with the numberless sentient beings. So physically there’s a limitation for us to reach, to serve how you serve your family members. But then the mental attitude, there’s no boundary, there’s no limitation. So while serving one’s family members perfectly, we can equally fulfill the service of Bodhisattva’s conduct, which is always keeping numberless sentient beings, purpose of one’s life, including having family and taking care of family and taking care of your health, is solely for the purpose of equally for the numberless sentient beings, ultimate enlightenment, ultimate liberation, full enlightenment.
So if we are able to live like that, then whatever way of life you may have in a conventional aspect, whether you are totally hiding in the cave or in the retreat hut, not engaging physically with anybody else, your life is absolutely meaningful. One’s life becomes no different than the bodhisattva’s way of living. The only thing different is bodhicitta is not born spontaneously in your mental state, but then the conduct is the same. Your day to day life is completely caught up with very busy work. Your speech and your body completely, whole energy is completely caught up with very busy work, day and night, but then the mental attitude is concerned of the ultimate enlightenment of all sentient beings.
Know, once day to day life becomes so meaningful, it becomes absolutely beneficial. So with that, then, even how much you earn the wealth, it becomes so beneficial. Naturally, directly or indirectly, it becomes a cause of numberless sentient beings’ happiness. Even though conventionally the wealth may be spending in the family, but then the merit of that wealth somehow shared with numberless sentient beings. Just because of anything, your life is totally dedicated for the numberless sentient beings.
Enlightenment And in conventional act of body and speech, starting with the sentient being your family member. So the merit of the fortune that you achieve through hard work, it all becomes, what do call it, it has the I don’t know what they should say, energy or has the maybe energy, maybe it’s form maybe energy. So, with much accommodation of wealth, you have a beautiful house. The people living there is your family member. But then, the person who actualized that house, someone having the altruistic way of life, and even gathering the wealth always infused by altruistic attitude.
Even that one brick of that house, one one atom of the soil from that house has the energy to bring effect of altruism to the noblest sentient beings. So if every single existence, like a house and earth and water and fire and wind, is transmitted with that kind of altruistic energy, how peaceful the world will be, how blessed the whole world will be. We do the practice of consecration of the land, consecration of the items, consecration of the plants. The reason is through the power of the prayer, infuse the energy of that prayer, and that place becomes a blessed place. That item becomes a blessed item.
So therefore, altruistic intention alone, it blesses everything that it possesses to you. So therefore, the reason is like the example is like Buddhas and Buddhist stupas, by simply seeing relics and Buddhas and Buddhist stupas, anybody sees them, it purifies your mind. How does this happen? Their body, their remains is very much infused by the energy of the altruism. Why it’s called the remain of the great masters as relics?
When the great masters produce a relics and whatever they touch, even the cushion, even the shoes become relics, and it is an object of veneration. And it has the ability to affect the meritorious energy of the sentient being is because it is consecrated by the virtues of positive mind. Therefore, the intention, carrying out altruistic intention in any action we engage, including gathering wealth, then it can be a huge benefit to the sentient being. So if our thinking is not changed to a dharma way, to the altruistic way, then just from the conventional physical level, then what we do is not much different from animals. There’s not much differences.
The most common human being, their whole life effort is to serve your body, your needs, and a few family members. Maybe most of the biggest family members, maybe I don’t know, hundred, but mostly it’s five, six, seven, or twenty, thirty. Entire precious human life is just caught up only thinking about them, their happiness, their goodness, but then the rest is totally forgotten. So that is wasted. Even the ant, the queen ant, I think think of at least a few hundred other ants, and protect them and facilitate them and guide them, lead them.
They’re very good in that. They make shelter, they gather foods. If we have that very much like that limitation, then you see, so it’s greatly wasted. So therefore, how important for us to the benefits of totally making our attitude totally altruistic, compassionate, great compassionate way of mindset in anything we do. Even go for a party or just go to relax, but if we can go to relax with because if we go to relax to the beach, you feel happy, feel comfortable.
And that’s little comfortable wish to share with numberless sentient beings, and that visit of the beach becomes marvelous, altruistic bodhisattva deeds. So it is quite a symbol, not that difficult, but then we get distracted and our days and our lives are very much wasted. We’re just unable to use the very powerful potential of our mind which can be so easily can, if you realize then it so easily can, what do you call, bring into the application in our day to day life to turn everything into bodhisattva conduct. Therefore, today is a long day for all of you, going to be a long day for all you, so it’s quite hard work for everybody here, for all of you. So therefore, at least with the altruistic intention, then whatever sacrifices that you did to provide your time all day for here would be most beneficial in any way.
So therefore, simply express this bodhicitta intention. May every single moment of my time listening of the dharma, or even I get totally confused, even I get totally discouraged, even I get angry, even I get upset, may it still be the cause of numberless sentient beings’ ultimate enlightenment. Whatever happens, as long as my existence, my time, fully be the cause in any way, be the fully cause for numberless sentient beings’ full enlightenment, like that. So, while reciting the morning prayer, you can try to build up this attitude from the depth of your heart. So that way, it will be very good.
Maybe you can start to pray. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. So, we will use this text.
I think everybody may have the Buddhist vows. Today’s topic is to discuss on the Buddhist vows. So, first of all, what makes someone bodhisattva? It’s very much by the attitude, the way of thinking, the mental attitude. That will define whether someone is bodhisattva or enlightenment, Buddha or ordinary being.
Someone having spontaneous bodhicitta. Spontaneous someone having spontaneous bodhicitta in their mental continuum. And that person that person regards as a bodhisattva. And that spontaneous bodhicitta only can be arise, only can be actualized on the basis of genuine renunciation towards saṃsāra and it is causes, genuine renunciations. That renunciation is not the ordinary renunciation.
There are many levels of renunciation. The renunciation which is very much concerns your own well-being, and renounces one’s own samsaric existence and its causes, and renunciation that very much concerns of the rest of numberless sentient beings, saṃsāra and its causes, and aspiring to actualize the ultimate liberation. So, for bodhicitta, in order to arise bodhicitta, one needs the second, more advanced level of renunciation. And that renunciation first has to develop for self, then that renunciation changes the face towards the rest of the sentient beings. So, when that renunciation, wanting to eliminate saṃsāra and its causes, and to actualize the highest level of enlightenment, highest level of liberation.
With the concern of the rest of the numberless sentient beings’ well-being, that renunciation develops on the basis of reasoning for self, for enlightenment, not just ordinary liberation, but the highest level of liberation. When that is expressed for the concern of the rest of numberless sentient beings, freedom from entire suffering and its causes, that renunciation turns into great compassion. There is a sequence to develop. First, oneself needs to develop renunciation for the purpose of self, but not the liberation of Sarvaka and Pattaya ka, Buddha’s state. The renunciation for self has to be developed for the highest state of liberation, which is Buddhahood.
And that naturally brings into a birth of great compassion. Great compassion. So, bodhicitta only can be developed on the basis of great compassion. Great compassion is a cause for bodhicitta. Without the cause, there’s no result.
And great compassion has to be developed on the basis of renunciation. Without the highest level of renunciation, great compassion is not possible. So again, the highest level of renunciation serves the causes, the production of compassion. So when you present the definition of bodhicitta, then bodhicitta actualizes on the basis of two aspirations. The first aspiration is the aspiration that we just expressed in the characteristic of renunciation towards yourself for liberation.
That is the first inspiration. And the second inspiration, which is one of the characteristics of, one of which defines bodhicitta, is the inspiration of inspiration of great compassion. So these two inspirations form up one dedicated attitude, and that attitude is called bodhicitta. So someone possessing that, someone first time possessing the completion, the attitude which completion of these two expressions, then that person is a new born bodhisattva. And that person, that new born bodhisattva has newly entered into the Mahāyāna path.
There can be two different ways. One is who enters directly into the Mayanic path, and one who enters into Sarvaka and Pateka’s path before. So those who are entering into the Buddhist level path directly from the five paths, entering the Mahāyāna level path directly, then there are three simultaneous actualisations in one moment, three simultaneous actualisations simultaneously. First time actualizing of spontaneous bodhicitta, first time actualizing of the greatest renunciation, which is qualified by renunciation concerning self and rest of the other sentient beings, and actualize the path. So the path, renunciation, bodhicitta, treating bond together simultaneously.
But then, if someone is developing altruism after remaining years and eons into the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha, or hearer and solitary realisers, the nirvana of peace. After gaining the call from Buddhas to awake from that intense nirvana of peace concentration, then the path is already developed, because renunciation is already developed in that practitioner. Because it’s already in the Hīnayāna path, already in either of this solitary the hearer’s path, because it’s already residing in the nirvana in the peace. Now, this being, this particular person, already has path. The only thing is not yet developed the mayanic path.
And that is only lacking of the altruism. So without any further effort of developing renunciation towards your own self, because that is already fully matured, and that’s why he or she is already in nirvana of sarvaka or pateka state. So now, just simply developing inspiration on the basis of great compassion, And that makes that particular practitioner to develop the bodhicitta. The moment he develops bodhicitta, then that person also develops the mayanic path. The mayanic path, bodhicitta, and that person becomes bodhisattva.
So like that. And that bodhicitta is spontaneous. Until one does not surpass the second level of path of accumulation. There’s a five part path of accumulation, part of preparation, path of seeing, part of meditation, of no more learning. These are some of the five paths.
So the path of accumulation has three levels. Path of preparation has four levels. So, path of accumulation, until you surpass the second level, even though the bodhicitta in that practitioner is spontaneous, but it is not definite. Not what do call even though it is a spontaneous one, but then it is not how to say it is not definite to be ever existent Until the second level path of accumulation, still there are chances of degenerating the bodhicitta. So, spontaneous doesn’t just gaining spontaneous realization doesn’t mean it’s going to be an absolutely stable one.
Still requires immense effort to make it sustainable. Therefore, until you surpass the second level of the path of accumulation, it requires tremendous mindfulness to make sure that it never degenerates. So once you surpass the second level of path of accumulation, then that spontaneous bodhicitta will be ever existent. Even the practitioner remains in path of accumulation in the second level for a hundred years, you may not develop so fast the degree of intensity of that bodhicitta, but then never degenerates. The reason I’m saying this is the moment we talk about realization, realization is simply in the manner of spontaneous into that attitude.
And they may be not clear, or there may be negligence. After you gain the spontaneous bodhicitta, then you thought that, now I’m alright. And that brings you into a danger zone, something, some wrong condition encounter is already loosened. So in order not to happen, we need to keep aware that we need to practice as if we are still very fragile, even if you have attained the spontaneous realization of bodhicitta. For that purpose.
So this is especially to those who already enter into the path. For some of us, a long way to go, then anyway we are pressured, we know that. What makes that buddhi mind extra special when it becomes a mind of Buddha, the Buddha’s mind is also an altruistic mind. It’s still that bodhicitta. What I call the there’s intensity of the ten bhūmi bodhisattva’s bodhicitta and the fully enlightened Buddha’s bodhicitta, the intensity is the same.
The manner is the same. The only thing that add up bodhisattva’s mind, Buddha’s mind, bodhicitta surpass from bodhisattva, is simply adorned with omniscient. Adorned with omniscient. And adorned with effortless. Until ten bhūmi bodhisattva, even though the bodhicitta will not degenerate, bodhicitta is such a most intense aspect, but then it requires effort.
So, in Buddha’s realm, then the bodhicitta is effortless, so that surpasses. Not only that, it adorns with omniscience. Not only that, the bodhicitta remains, ever exists in function, ever exists in function. After the tenth bhūmi bodhisattva, whenever the bodhisattva goes into a meditative equipoise, the bodhicitta sees. bodhicitta is in their heart, but then manifesting in action, expressing in the manner of love, in the manner of compassion, is not there because of that bodhisattva remaining in the meditative absorption in emptiness.
Whenever the practitioner, even the tenth bhūmi bodhisattva, engaged in the meditative absorption of wisdom, then the method kind of sleep, remain in sleeping like that, remain unable to express. But in Buddha’s realm, there’s no moment Buddha don’t remain in meditative absorption. Because in Buddha’s realm, meditative absorption and post meditation is simultaneous. So, all the methods, the act of bodhicitta, of love, act of compassion, in full force function, even in the most intense meditation of absorption in Buddhist realm. So that makes again different.
So that makes difference between the sentient being and the Buddha. Buddha’s bodhicitta and sentient being’s bodhicitta. The power and abilities of the Buddha, and power and abilities, the highest power and abilities within the sentient beings. Because Ten Bodhisattva is the highest level of sentient beings. Highest, the greatest degree of perfection within the sentient being, but still not Buddha yet.
So those are the few differences that you can differentiate. So is there any possibility for ordinary being like many of us, before entering into the path? What’s defined by someone entering into the path is gaining spontaneous realization in renunciation. Define someone whether you enter into the path or not is whether you have actualized spontaneous realization in renunciation or not. So whether you have entered into Mahāyāna path or not is whether you have gained the greatest aspect of renunciation or not.
It’s in a spontaneous level. So that defines one individual. You are already entered into the path, the path and ground the path. So we individually can check ourselves whether I am already entered into a path or not. And that can be checked, can be analyzed through whether you have this spontaneous arising of renunciation or not.
You may have spontaneous arising of renunciation, but that is very much concern of you totally freaked out about your own saṃsāra, but there’s nothing much to do with the rest of the sentient beings. That means you’re wonderful, but you haven’t entered into the mayanic path. You have entered into either a hero or solitary realizer’s path. So that’s one thing. See, bodhicitta, once you realize, there’s a tendency and possibility of degeneration.
But as far as renunciation, once you realize, there’s no degeneration. It means once you realize means realize. In any circumstances, it does not degenerate. So it’s a marvelous thing. Once you’re at least able to enter into the Hīnayāna it’s well done.
Therefore, if someone who truly aspires to enter into the path and aspires to practice the Dharma and get the full benefit of Dharma, and truly, truly, genuinely wanting liberation, then the entire effort that, in the initial level, we need to put is to actualize renunciation. So therefore, what makes an individual to mature in the realization renunciation is recognizing the suffering and the causes of suffering. So therefore, the teaching on Four Noble Truths, teaching on Four Noble Truths is a common teaching of any yanas. And that is the principal teachings of the Buddha. And that is the whole reason why Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma.
The first turning wheel of Dharma, he turned the wheel of Dharma on for noble truth. Because that makes possibility of developing the path and actualizing liberation. So even within Four Noble Truth, there’s a sequence. First, recognize the problem, recognize the suffering. Without, it says, First, you recognize the sickness, then you can diagnose the sickness, then you understand what causes that makes this sickness come about.
From there, you will be able to actualize the right medicine. Then that makes a possibility of a complete cure. So similar way, it is so important for a genuine practitioner of Buddhadharma is to truly do a survey on your samsaric nature, on your samsaric fact. Just think of the human problem, I think it’s already an abundance example to convince ourselves that saṃsāra is really a nasty place. So, it is really, really, really no good.
Then when you think about the causes, it’s even more nasty, like anger, like attachment, grasping, all this. When you start to learn about their characteristics, it is really, really awful. Therefore, that’s why even in the Lamrim, there’s an extensive discussion, extensive teaching on the faults of saṃsāra, the general faults of saṃsāra. Then individual, the faults of individual realms, saṃsāra’s sufferings. So this is something which is must.
Even though it’s not nice to hear teaching on suffering. It’s not so nice to read the teachings on suffering, teachings on saṃsāra. But then, the genuine practitioner, that really plays the main role to really make us to enter into the path. Because without entering into the path, We cannot develop higher qualities. We cannot develop higher realizations.
Without entering into the path, all the realizations become very superficial, very gross, very limited. The really concentrated journey to the liberation happens once we enter into the path. The really solid journey of spirituality in Dharma, to really make possibility of actualizing liberation, start after entering into the path. Therefore, thoroughly learning samsaric sufferings, and it causes on the basis of self to make us realize renunciation. Thirdly, learning, contemplating, meditating on the suffering and it causes on the basis of other sentient beings, make us develop great compassion.
Then that makes possibility of developing the greatest inspirational heart of resolve within your mental continuum. And that resolved heart, without delay, it will bring into a production of the mind called the bodhi mind, the bodhicitta. So once you actualize the bodhi mind, the bodhicitta, then that practitioner achieves the greatest tool, the greatest virtue, the greatest of the greatest virtue, and greatest of the greatest platform to where to actualize the antidote that is most forceful to eliminate the entire defilement, including the subtlest state of defilement, make it possible. As Śāntideva said in Bodhicharyavatara, All other virtues, like the plantain tree, produce their fruit, but then their force is spent. Alone, the marvelous tree of bodhicitta will bear its fruit and grow unceasingly.
So, see, how much effort we put in, immense and immense numbers of virtues other than bodhicitta, all has a limitation. But then, the bodhicitta, the altruistic mind, as long as you grab that and utilize that as a tool to accumulate merit and tool to purify karma, tool to purify the saṃsāra in the aspect of motivation, in the aspect of your action, engaging with sentient beings’ well-being. And that virtue is the greatest virtue because the result of that virtue is unceasing and unceasable. And the fruit of that virtue, of that altruism, even it can be just one minor act, just maybe one moment of arising of the concern of well-being of all sentient beings. Even just happened to be just one moment, and that virtue, the result of that virtue will experience by yourself until every single sentient being actualizes fully enlightenment.
Unceasingly, all the time. Not only that, it has the ability of increasing. Even though you generate one moment, after you generate that one moment, it just continually naturally increases the power of merit from that generation of altruism. So that’s what it’s saying. So therefore, that shows how tough we think of the practice of bodhisattva conduct, how tough, how uncapable one may think to take the bodhisattva conduct or to take the bodhisattva vow.
We just have to close our eyes and have to take it. Even one is able to generate genuinely with a certain responsibility, and the responsibility comes from the vow, Until we take the vow, it’s very inspirational, inspirational attitude, but then there’s no commitment. And the commitment makes it complete. It doesn’t matter if you’re able to generate all throughout the day or all the time or not. Even just generating one moment, that compensates the entire rest of the failure in practice.
After take, you break the entire vow badly. But comparing with that one moment of generation of that bodhicitta, is still greater. Greater benefit, greater merit. Even how heavy karma that you accumulate after breaking the vow, but then the merit still surpasses, even generating from one moment. That’s what Śāntideva tried to teach us.
So, it’s like that. So then, it’s also said, just as by the fire at the end of time, great sins are utterly consumed by bodhicitta. Thus, its benefits are boundless. Boundless? Not boundless.
Boundless. As the wise and loving Lord explained to Sudhana. So, bodhicitta is not just the greatest tool to accumulate, the greatest merit, the vastest merit, but bodhicitta is also the greatest tool for the purification of saṃsāra, negativities, karma. The power of bodhicitta is incompatible to any other virtues, any other dharma, any other antidote. So, it is like the example that Śāntideva was giving is like the fire of the end of the aeon.
It has the ability to burn anything. It has the burn to just burn anything. The hardest phenomena that can be existing in this universe, it will burn by the fire of the end of the yawn. So that’s how the entire existence comes to exhaustion. The entire universe comes into exhaustion is because of the fire of the end of the aeon.
So like that, as an example, then the bodhicitta is not just purifying the general negativities, but even the heinous crimes can be purified like that. It’s so quick, so fast, without doubt. bodhicitta has that power. Therefore, the entire job of Buddhist spiritual practice is to accumulate merit and purify karma. These two are our job.
Nothing else. These two are the job. So, since these two are the job and the best tool is bodhicitta, then we cannot resist of having it. Like that. Mentioned before, even one single moment of the bodhicitta intention, not even the spontaneous one, just even a created one, just arise, which is just concerning the ultimate well-being of all sentient beings.
That’s it. That’s the bodhicitta. Just with that intention, for one, maybe a few seconds before engaging into a suffering in the beach, surpass entire virtues, surpass entire dharma. How marvelous it is. And you had, at least for one moment, the greatest antidote to purify the heaviest negative karma.
If one did dedicate to purify even a heinous crime of that one moment generation of bodhicitta, and you are able to purify it. Even committing a heinous crime, you generate one moment of that bodhicitta and dedicate it as an antidote to that hinness crime, instantly purify it. There’s one question that may arise, oh, many great practitioners must have purified everything because they are really always living an artistic life. But then why they have to experience sickness, why they have to die. There are two explanations.
One is just manifestation, just manifesting to get sick, manifesting to die, to really provide the most obvious teachings of impermanence, which is the hardest thing to understand by a sentient being. Even the judgment in Buddha show the manifestation of passing away is to destroy the permanent grasping, which is the root cause of all the sufferings, root cause of the production of all the rest of the delusions. So, that’s one explanation. Even the gurus and great practitioners of altruism may be still ordinary sentient beings, but whatever they are going through, the crisis is the byproduct of past definite karma. So you see, when you talk about karma, there’s definite karma and just a karma.
Or indefinite karma. In other words, you say definite karma. Definite means the cause and conditions are already fulfilled, so the result has to experience. Even Buddha, right there, tries to grab you and hijack you from this pain and suffering, cannot. The karma has already come into fruition.
So, it’s not because of the bodhichi that unable to purify the karma. It’s because its karma is already a fusion, already become definite. But then again, the experience of result is not purified, but still affects of bringing into purification of the intensity the suffering and the duration of the suffering. And the definite karma means definite to experience, but that is not necessarily definite to experience that much long. Maybe definite to experience that much long, but due to the no purification practice, maybe it’s prolonged to experience this much long.
So therefore, engaging the practice of bodhicitta in any way it helps. In any way it helps. Even the hinness crime, which is already committed but it hasn’t encountered all the conducive what was it, all the condition to define definite to produce a result, then even a heinous crime just generating bodhicitta one moment will purify. That’s what Buddha taught that to this Sudhana when he explained the power of bodhicitta. So therefore, to sum up, the bodhicitta is the greatest antidote to purify the karma.
The bodhicitta is the greatest tool to accumulate the merits and virtues. Then also, Śāntideva says, A great and unremitting stream, a stream of wholesome merit, even during sleep and inattention, rays equal to the vastness of the sky. So, you see, this is very much talking about you take the commitment, either inspirational bodhicitta. Even inspirational bodhicitta, you take Even you have the commitment of inspirational bodhicitta, no question about engaging bodhicitta. Just having that produces a boundless, limitless merit even during sleep, even during no intention of bodhicitta.
Just having the vow without any intention of altruism from that very moment onward, infinite, boundless merits are constantly accumulated. Even in our conventional twenty four hours of life, fifty percent of time we’re just wasted sleeping on the bed. Our day to day virtuous intention before sleep may affect some way, but then also we forget most of the time. But then, like insurance, if in case we forget to refresh our bodhicitta, or to set up a correct motivation before going to sleep, and then minimum six, seven hours. And just have even the inspirational bodhisattva vow, that will take care.
Entire sleep will turn into our most productive, the highest level of virtue. Great purification of karma just happens without any kind of effort. So that’s what Śāntideva was saying. So how wonderful, isn’t it? Wow!
Seems like we don’t need anything else. Just take the vow and that’s it. So again, Śāntideva says, If with kind generosity one merely has the wish to soothe the aching head of other beings, such merit knows no bond. With the altruistic intention, the altruistic intention, just with the altruistic intention, with the concern of numberless sentient beings, ultimate liberation with enlightenment, then you engage in an action of someone next to you who is going through a headache and just simply stroke him, say, May you get well as soon as possible, or at least give some massage. And the merit of that is boneless.
Such merit knows no bound. Unbelievable. So, that’s what I’m saying in the motivational time. The attitude pervades to numberless sentient beings, and you work hard to earn money and take care of your five family members, the merit is boundless. And you have this So just having the commitment of engaging in bodhisattva, just having an inspirational bodhisattva commitment, bodhisattva vow, having that, then just take care of your daughter, go to school.
The merit that you produce of that act is limitless, is boundless. So it’s really amazing. So that really makes us more concentrated in whatever things that you’re doing in your life as a good person. If you have family, taking care of family becomes so meaningful because we’re having that altruistic attitude, or at least have an altruistic commitment. So all your conventionally limited action becomes a limitless benefit.
Even though it looks like limited, just taking care of your daughter, taking care of your husband, taking care of your parent, or taking care of your the commitment, the altruistic commitment, makes it, without any choice, accumulation of vast merit, purification also, vast negative karma, and that already sweeps your journey to enlightenment. And the faster you become enlightened, the faster the benefit that you can provide to the sentient beings. So, that. So, I think it is yeah, so in that way, then, we find every aspect of our life becomes so meaningful. Every day, every day, just doing the same thing in physical action, but then it becomes so meaningful because of the artistic mind.
It becomes so meaningful. Taking care of children is not easy. It’s very hard, very hard work. It’s a lifelong commitment. Someone already becomes a parent, that’s it.
You’re kind of surrendered your freedom, your life. Whether the children appreciate it or not, it’s just completely gone. Sometimes you may find that it seems like maybe you’re wasting your life, or maybe it brings a lot of limitations in your opportunities. No time to go for retreat, no time to do social work, and this and that. We may have a lot of delusions like that.
Even though it’s a positive delusion, I don’t know whether there’s a positive delusion or not, it’s confusion, is it? So therefore it’s delusion, is it? So, the moment we know this teaching, and the moment we adopt this practice, according to what Śāntideva is saying, you know, what do you call, there’s no limitation in you. You taking care of your children is the best platform to develop your path. You’re taking care of your children.
It’s the best way to become Buddha, you see, the best way to accumulate merit. So that’s why the main, the essence of bodhisattva vow, even though when you count the number, looks quite scary. Eighteen root vows. Then what, forty six secondary vows. It’s like you go one by one, and it’s, Oh no, no, no, no.
I better don’t take. It’s quite sure that it will break quite a lot of them. The main essence is remaining one’s life within the sixth paramita. As long as you remember the sixth paramita, practice of sixth perfection, and doing your best in any circumstances, in any level of your life, any way of your life, you are completely protecting the eighteen root vows and forty six secondary vows. You are completely practising or preserving the bodhisattva vows.
So as long as we remember what are the six perfections, what are the six paramita, and that is easy to remember, and that is very easy to remember. And whatever you do, just try your best. It’s not asking you to be like Buddha now. Trying your best is the best. So trying your best, do everything within that Paramita, within that boundary, you’re preserving the bodhisattva contact or bodhisattva bound perfectly.
So this is the thing that I wanted to say, in fact. No need to fear, no need to escape, no need to worry taking bodhisattva vow. Even you don’t remember any of the one by one of the eighteen root vows, if you remember, if you want to count, you have a lot of time, yeah, please count. Every moment you count, it will take a long time to count. But then, if that is inconvenient, put aside.
No problem. As long as you remember, reminded yourself to remain within the six paramita in your best ability. Why I’m saying the best ability is the best? Because the perfection only happens when you become Buddha. The six perfection is the qualities of the Buddha, not the qualities of the sentient beings.
We are just engaging in the practice of six perfection. So, it’s not possible for us to get perfected while being a sentient being unless you become Buddha. Even in the practice of generosity, practice of morality, practice of joyous effort, practice of patience, practice of concentration, practice of wisdom, the absolute perfection of it only happens when one becomes Buddha. So never put pressure on yourself that you need to be one hundred percent perfect. I mean, you are very near to Buddha, then say, Quickly become Buddha.
But then if you think that I’m still struggling a lot in the past, then okay, take your time. Take it easy. Take it easy. Yeah, it’s not so intense, generosity, perfectly generosity, but still doing your best. Or morality, you cannot perfect it in all the moral conduct, but then you just try your best to refrain from any misconduct as much as possible, and reminded all the good conduct as much as possible, that itself is doing perfectly in the practice of practicing morality.
The generosity is the same thing. Enjoy your effort, just trying your very best. Whatever good, whatever virtuous thing comes in your way, always help yourself to see the advantage of it and make yourself happy to do so. And then cultivating the advantage of virtues which are not in your way. But knowing the advantage, then you pursue joyously.
It may take a long time to gather all those virtues, but knowing the advantage, you have a joyous journey towards striving for that. And that itself is a joyous effort. Buddhahood, at the end of our there’s one quotation that we need to keep in our heart. That will really sustain the joyous effort in our heart. It’s one of the Śāntideva’s, the promises, the aspirational promises.
As long as space remains, may I remain to benefit sentient beings. That’s the one. We just need to keep that in our heart. And even I need to be born in the hell realm, but as long as my purpose of life is to benefit sentient beings, then why not? Even if I need to reincarnate as this type of human being again and again, as long as I have this altruistic manner of life, at least altruistic mind, why not?
So, even seeing that you are most likely falling into the lower realm, you will still be very happy. You will still never discourage. Even if you find that enlightenment is like looking at knowing the fact of low concentration and less environment to practice, and summing up your life towards enlightenment is going to be a long, long time. It may take many countless eons. But then again, the whole purpose is, even after becoming Buddha, is to benefit sentient beings.
And now I’m trying my best to benefit sentient beings. So it’s all right, even if it takes countless years to become Buddha. So that brings up joyous effort. And patience. We really need this paramita, the practice of patience.
Especially in our lifetime, in the twenty first century. Everything is so fast. Really cannot what do call it? It’s so difficult to remain calm, secure the calmness and the peacefulness in our heart, because every surrounding makes us so anxious, so rushed. The patient is even in that manner of life, the practice of patience is needed.
And taking care of children, taking care of business, including running Dharma center. Without the practice of the Paramita of patience, we will be freaked out. So it’s really, really a requirement, it’s a must requirement. So every day to day, reminded to live within the paramita of the patient, and how wonderful the day will be, how wonderful your journey of life will be. Because you know you are doing the right thing, and you know that you are actualizing great progress in the path because of remaining within the six parameters.
That requires a lot of concentrations, you see. Even to take care of children, even how we should behave towards children, how we should groom the children, how we should talk to the children. It requires a lot, a lot of mental energy or concentration. Even to take care of a sender, will be hundreds of different people who may come and those in charge people, you need to have hundreds of very concentrated minds really focus on each individual’s needs in your best ability. And it requires a lot of energy, concentration.
But then you take that effort as perfecting the practice of six paramita, keeping the bodhisattva conduct. The more varieties of people come, the more your brain is squeezed, you feel more bliss. The more difficult situations come in benefiting sentient beings, it makes your life more meaningful. So that’s why in the Mayanic teachings, he said, whenever you meet difficult people, you see them as a precious jewel. You found a precious gem.
When you meet difficult people, you regard them as your guru. You regard them as the precious thing that you ever found. The reason is that intensifies your six paramita practice. That’s why it’s become very precious. Otherwise, who do not want to meet the right one and not the difficult one, isn’t it?
But the difficult one is a good one because it intensifies your practice of six parameters. See, intensifies the patient because he’s so difficult person, intensifies your concentration because you really need to know well, otherwise you don’t know how to handle. Or you need to be very moral disciplined because other one is already very wild and you also become wild. Get into big trouble, big fight, you see? Then you need to use a lot, a lot of wisdom.
When you take care of sentient beings, especially when take care of difficult people, there’s great great needs of suppressing your ego, great needs of selflessness attitude. You think that your comfort, your respect is the most important part, and someone is so nasty towards you, you will immediately give up. So it requires immense mindfulness to stay grounded and reminded being selfless. Your purpose is to benefit sentient beings, and now here is the marvelous opportunity because I meet the most nastiest person. Or I need to live with the nastiest husband, or nastiest wife, or nastiest parent, or nastiest children, or nastiest friend, whatever.
It becomes marvelous. That’s why it’s a blessing. It really makes you sweep in your path to the enlightenment because it really intensifies your practice of six paramita. So as long as we are aware of the six paramita and we are perfectly preserving the bodhisattva vows, both aspiring bodhisattva vows and engaging bodhisattva vows. So, very good, like that.
So, that’s not so difficult, isn’t it? Is it? Even the number only six to remember. And those six tools really make your life easier in your day to day life, and how wonderful to adopt it. It doesn’t suppress you.
It doesn’t make your life more restricted. It doesn’t make your life more isolated. Whenever we take vows, first thing comes like, Oh, it’s more restricting yourself. Then it makes you feel more suffocated, more isolated. And that’s wrong.
Actually taking more vows makes you more open, more engaged and more relaxed because you’re more protected with the vows, you naturally become more relaxed. Like that. Okay, now we stop for morning tea. Yes, thank you. So, I’ll continue with the benefit of cultivation of bodhicitta based on the Śāntideva Bodhicharyavatara.
So if with a kindly generosity one merely has the wish to soothe the aching head of other beings, such merit knows no bones. No need to speak then of the wish to drive away the endless pain of each and every living being, bring them boundless virtues. So, for if the simple thought to be of a help to others exceeds in the word the worship of the Buddhas, what need is there to speak of actual deed that brings about the will and benefit of beings. So just even having the aspiring bodhicitta having the aspiring bodhicitta commitment and the merit produced by that is surpassed, exceeds in the world of worshipping infinite Buddhas by making offerings, doing prostrations, venerating them. So that much power, that much powerful, even just simple, even just inspirational bodhisattva attitude.
And no question about actual engaging in the act of bodhisattva conduct, which is with the bodhicitta intention, engaging in your best ability into the six paramita. So that is the greatest. No need to speak about how great virtue it is, how beneficial it is, not only to self, but also the rest of the numberless sentient beings’ ultimate enlightenment. So if they who do some good in thanks for favor wants to receive praise, why need we speak of bodhisattva, those who freely benefit the world. Noble sentient beings will be thankful, appreciated, just simply observing even inspirational bodhisattva promises.
Here, I’ll give you an example. If we do something good, even for one person, how thankful that person will be, and you become his or her object of praise, object of respect, object of appreciation. As I mentioned a few days ago, there are numberless sentient beings whose spirit has clairvoyance of seeing our mind, seeing what we think. And there are not just one or two, there’s a numberless. So the moment you generate or the moment you cultivate altruism concerning the well-being of all beings.
Numberless of this living being who has clairvoyance will be so happy, will be so appreciative, will put yourself in a position of veneration, put yourself in a position of praises, appreciation. More than that, how fulfilling, how satisfying of your day or that moment or your life that’s able to make so many beings, many numberless beings happy, feel benefited by your attitude, attitude, by who you are being, just having this artistic attitude. And the moment you take the vow, these noblest sentient beings who have these clairvoyance already in your mind feel protected, feel secure, definitely that we are protected from gaining harm from this person and feel so grateful that at least there’s someone who truly is concerned of our well beings. It’s like knowing that your parents are still supporting you even though you’re not staying together, even though you’re in a different country, but you know your parents are always there, concerned about your well-being, and they are there for you. How secure, how much secure feeling that you will have.
That security is the practice of generosity of protection. Generosity of protection within the three different types of generosity, this one is generosity of protection. Protecting beings from fear, protecting sentient beings from insecurity or from loneliness, from unhappiness, from fear. So taking the bodhisattva vow, sentient beings are totally free from harm from at least one person. So your one person’s action of living in bodhisattvahood vow gives protection to numberless ancient beings.
So one action benefits numberless. We may think it’s just me, what’s the big deal? But then you can imagine it did affect the rest of the numberless sentient beings, benefit the rest of Numberless Sentient beings. Therefore, living in engaging bodhisattva promises or bodhisattva conduct by taking the engaging bodhisattva vow, then no need to speak about it, how great benefit it is. And that practice of engaging Buddhist level conduct, just simply as mentioned before, trying your very best, leaving your conduct of body, speech and mind within these six paramita.
And that is manageable. And practiced perfectly in relation to someone next to you while taking care of that person next to you, in the application of six paramitas as a tool to take care of that person, is to perfectly perform the practice of six paramitas and perfectly engaged practice of bodhisattva conduct. So that is the way to become ordinary practitioner of Mayanipath, eventually becoming ordinary bodhisattva, then ārya bodhisattva and then buddha. That’s how we progress. So this is the way how we progress.
So those who scornfully with condescension give just one single meal to others, feeding them for only half a day are honored by the world as virtuous. The benefit that you provide to sentient beings on the basis of inspirational and engaging Buddhists practice, there’s no caution in how great it is, how great practice it is, how generous practice it is, how great virtue it is. If someone just making a generosity of a meal to a hunger without even any altruistic intention, it becomes a noble being, regarded as a noble being. It is a noble act. It is so beneficial.
But then, any act that you perform on the basis of bodhisattva vow or bodhisattva conduct, bodhisattva attitude, is definitely your act to become noble. Definitely you become a noble being, and you become an object of others’ veneration. Even others venerating you, others influence virtues by committing merit because you have that attitude. Someone who has a bodhisattva vow, someone who has bodhisattva even you have an intentional bodhisattva vow, then you make a cup of tea offering. The person who offers accumulated tremendous merit just because of the attitude that you have.
It becomes so beneficial to cause other sentient beings to accumulate merit, accumulate causes for their happiness, accumulate causes for their better life, their liberation. And someone who has an engaging bodhisattva vow as well, plus engaging in bodhisattva conduct in your best ability, then you become an object of others’ offering, others’ veneration, others’ praises. So if one person praises you, then that other person benefitted naturally, accumulated so much merit, created so much causes of his or her own happiness. So you become an object of veneration. Otherwise, we consume our merit.
You have no such kind of merit or virtues in you and people service you, you exhaust your karma, exhaust your merit. You exhaust. Maybe you receive the service, you receive the offerings from others and praises from others may be the result of past merit, but then because of not having this sustainable merit, after you receive the praises, after that you become empty. You finish everything. No more left to enjoy more.
But then for the bodhisattvas and for those having bodhisattva conduct, bodhisattva vows, just intentionally, you experience unexhaustible. You will have unexhaustible merit. Merit. Not only unexhaustible, but it creates others to commit merit. It influences others to commit merit.
And just by doing so, you commit merit. It’s like win win, what do call it? Win win game. So when you have bodhicitta, even in the intentional level, then anything you do, it just brings winning to everybody, gain to everybody. There’s no loss at all.
So it’s so marvelous. So this is not just because of Śāntideva saying, Buddha saying, but even when we use our logical understanding and common sense, because this heart is so marvelous. Who does not appreciate the heart, the attitude which is overwhelmed with love, care, kindness, respect. Who doesn’t like it? Everybody will appreciate it.
Even the nastiest person will like it if someone shows love, kindness, care. Buddhism attitude is a fully matured state of love mind, kindness mind, compassionate mind. So whether there is try to convince with got merit, not merit, but just having that attitude is already so precious, so marvelous. So what need is there to speak of those who constantly bestow on boundless multitude the peerless joy of blissful Buddhahood, the ultimate fulfillment of their hopes. When bodhisattvas relate any action to one ordinary being, it naturally affect through transmitting the altruistic energy in the form of inspiration, altruistic energy in the form of ripening their past virtuous imprints.
Whatever influenced by the artistic, the bodhisattvas’ conduct through either prayer, through either just a thought or through speech or through physical interaction, it naturally affects that person’s accumulations of karma which become the cause for karma, the merit, the cause for their liberation, their ultimate hope, the peerless happiness. It’s like a magic hand. Whatever you touch, it becomes gold. Whatever you touch, it becomes precious. So the bodhicitta attitude with the responsibility, the responsibility with the vow, then every single engagement of your body, speech and mind with others, even just simply from a prayer, the other person or other being is already affected.
So in the contents of a family, within one family, maybe the rest of the other families don’t even have faith in Buddha, no question about practicing Mahayani teaching, never heard about bodhicitta, don’t want to talk about bodhicitta. But then you being part of that family and taking this vow, and you constantly have to interact with these this group of family members, almost all throughout their lifetime. And every single interaction of your body, speech, mind towards them, they get influenced. They get affected. You transmit them.
That makes an abundance of energy in the form of imprint in their mental continuum, which quickly will ripen into an altruistic attitude, in the form of compassion, and they themselves will have the causes and conditions to meet the right teacher, born in the right time where there’s Mahāyāna teaching, and have conducive conditions for them to practice even from their mind, with their inspiration. That’s how they themselves progress into their to enlightenment. And you become the cause for that. So in the family, especially in the family, someone really mindful to remain in bodhisattvahood conduct, that means that person is going to be so patient, going to be so generous. Generous is generous in your kind words, generous in cooking delicious meals, and generous in making so comfortable with the rest of the family members.
Generous in making the rest of the family members so comfortable home. So much discipline of yourself to really remain so subdued, so kind, so gentle, so considerate because of the moral discipline in your mind, just naturally becomes so considerate among all the family members. So mindful of the speech that comes out from your mouth, the action that you do. So if someone is really living in the practice of engaging bodhisattva conduct by taking the promises of the vow, your life totally changes. Your changes.
Your life totally, inwardly and outwardly, totally changes. Inwardly, you become such calm, peaceful, contented, joyous, because what can be more meaningful than remaining in the altruistic attitude or altruistic conduct. What can meaningful? What can ask more meaningful than this? And that naturally provides serenity, peaceful, joyful state of yourself, naturally.
Things may ups and downs, the samsaric things happening around, but then you stay cool. Stay You stay very cool. Because of this, what do call it, within this parameter, somehow, there’s a timely wisdom arises. A sudden obstacle comes, wisdom of impermanence arises in your mind, why you need to grasp on it. We have a problem.
When a problem comes, impermanence doesn’t arise in our mind. The problem comes, we just kind of start to grasp onto the problem and it torture you so much. Need urgently when the problem comes, some solution comes in your mind, And the solution is those wisdoms. Wisdom is impermanent. Or just a certain positive mind.
Optimistic, okay, this problem compared to the rest of the world, other families are suffering. This is nothing. Why do you need to be so suffering into it? Naturally uplift yourself. With this conduct, somehow you produce living bodhisattva in that family.
Even conventionally, without much choice, the rest of the family will fall in love with you. The rest of the family will like you so much because you have everything that everybody wants for you to be for them. Even conventionally you can influence like that, but then in in an energy level, in a chemical level, then without any doubt, Without any doubt. Even if you feel like conventionally you’re failing it or you’re not achieving greatly, influencing my good energy, my bodhisattva way of energy to the rest of the family, but then cosmically the rest of the families are naturally very intensely influenced. And that becomes an ultimate fulfillment of their hope.
The ultimate fulfillment of what is and every being’s hope is everlasting happiness. Whether that everlasting happiness, whatever term they use, actual meaning is Buddhahood, because everlasting happiness only actualizes when you become Buddha. Before Buddha, there was no everlasting happiness. So everlasting happiness is actually referring to the state of full enlightenment. So you cause to fulfil this family member’s ultimate hope, the enlightenment.
So how beneficial, at least ourselves in the family, to have this conduct, have this promise. Then even totally keep quiet. It’s so beneficial. Or you just keep speaking, talking, also beneficial. Or you feel like you’re sleeping and anything you do becomes so beneficial.
So these are amazing benefits. So by contrast, good and virtuous thoughts will yield abundant fruit in greater measure, even in adversity. The bodhisattvas never bring forth evil, only an increasing strain of goodness. Anyway, any virtues have a yield, it’s very much talking about never wasting, will never waste. As long as it’s a virtue or even a negative karma, it will be never wasted because it’s directly stored as an imprint in our mental continuum.
How much do you think that is gone? But it is there in the form of imprint. So therefore, bodhisattvahood’s abundance of merit, even though you get the opportunity to commit for one moment, commit it because it lives, what do call it, is one of the virtues that has the greatest yield. One of the virtues has the greatest yield. Can you say it like that?
Greatest yield, yeah. So it’s a very good investment. To them in whom this precious secret mind is born, to them I bow. I go for refuge in the source of happiness that that bring it is very enemies to perfect bliss. Basically, per ordinary level, just taking the commitment, then you become an object of respect.
But then, if one born spontaneous realization, then no doubt, definitely. It’s the greatest object of wow, bold object of respect. You become the source of sentient beings’ refuge of ultimate happiness. So you become a source of sentient beings’ happiness. Every single you also become a cause to eliminate the adversities and the delusion which is the main enemy or which causes suffering to sentient beings will be eliminated, made possible to eliminate, possible to purify because of you yourself living in that vow and engaging through your body, spirit and mind in your best ability with all sentient beings.
So therefore, the courageous, after knowing there’s so much benefit, then you just sum up your purpose of life to really to adopt the inspiration and bodhisattva, engaging bodhisattva promises, and try to live accordingly as possible with this courageous supplication or wishes or prayer. Śāntideva says, For as long as sentient beings remain, may I too remain to dispel their suffering. So as long as sentient beings remain, may I too remain to dispel their suffering. So this is the one thing that we should remind every now and then. Good times, bad times, in good situations, in bad situations, the purpose of me is to be here or to be in this situation or to be in this adversity is to dispel the suffering of sentient beings.
To be in this family, to be in this difficult situation in this family is for me to resolve the suffering of the rest of the family. To be in this center or this organization, a good time or a bad time, is for me to pacify the sentient beings’ suffering and gather all the conducive causes to bring the ultimate hope of a sentient being. So you can apply this in any circumstances. Sometimes an individual may have some emotional crisis, emotional difficulty, and remind them, how can I let myself drown into emotional difficulty of any of the situations that you’re facing now, or any of the negative incidents that happened in the past and the memory keeps haunting you? And to liberate from there, use this courageous attitude, courageous thinking of Śāntideva.
How can I depress? My purpose in life is to dispel the suffering. And the first person, first sentient being is me, myself. The first sentient being is me, myself must dispel this misery, this difficulty. So then, get up early, go for jogging for the benefit of sentient beings, and eat timely, right food for the benefit of sentient beings.
Protect your mind from disturbing emotions for the benefit of sentient beings. Keep your mind healthy and keep your body healthy. And be cheerful and find ways, find places or people or activities that really boost your courage, your inspiration, your happiness. So don’t just lock up the house and stay inside there. Rather, if need to spend some money, go for a nice coffee.
If you like coffee, if coffee makes you a bit happy, go for it. Like that, or just want to call somebody, at least uplift you, just keep a call, it’s okay. Even if the person says I’m so busy, it’s all right, it still benefits. Because sentient beings are there, sentient beings are still there’s a great number of sentient beings that are still in saṃsāra, so how that allowed myself to be depressed? How possible can I use this word how can I use this word?
Good word or eccentric? I don’t know, it sounds like quite good to use, but I don’t know what is this word. So basically it’s scolding yourself. Something is scolding yourself. Can stay in depression?
How can you think so bad about yourself? How can you let yourself drown into this keep thinking the same, this disturbing idea? Sometimes you need to just slap. I know how stupid you are. Say, How stupid you are.
Sentient beings are still in, so many sentient beings are still in saṃsāra, and you being in this situation, how possible? So is it? Like that. So whatever way, if you need to shout, you just shout. Just make you wake up.
Sometimes we need a lot of ways to wake up, because one after another negative idea just gets you totally drowned really in the beneath of the mud. Then from there coming up is so difficult. So the moment you see such crisis coming or negative emotions are coming, then you have to rush to guard it. Don’t let it so long. And also, as a society, everybody has people around you, as a human being.
And the moment you see someone is a little bit in that condition, then everybody should try to help to pull from that drowning. So, we don’t have to surprise even after practicing so long, even practice very high level. Even you are maybe already ten boom is bodhisattva, you know, even tomorrow morning going to become Buddha. If someone pinches you, the bodhisattva will say, Achha, Ayo. The ten boom is bodhisattva.
Someone come and pinch you, pinch that bodhisattva, still say, Ayah. The ten bodhisattva say, Oh, wonderful. He won’t say like that. He won’t say like that. He say, If he pinches very hard, say, you will feel the pain.
Even the ten bhūmi bodhisattvahood, you see. So, for us, something pinches you, sure we’ll feel pain. There’s nothing to surprise, nothing to feel failure in practice When crisis comes and feel the pain, feel disturbed, it’s nothing to surprise. Nothing to surprise. When the crisis comes, you don’t feel the pain in the initial, you don’t recognize it as pain, then maybe something is strange.
So feeling pain when the crisis is rising, it’s a normal thing. It is a normal thing. We cannot judge ourselves that we failed the practice because you feel the pain. Someone just like that and you feel the pain and they say, Oh, I failed my practice. I practiced for so long and I shouldn’t feel pain when people hit you.
So, not recovering or grasping to that pain. Now how to put how fast you recover from there, that determines how good a practitioner you are. For the tenth bhūmi bodhisattva, feel utter, and after that, oh, okay. Forgive compassion or whatever, all the wisdom and all the positive mind will come intrude, what you call, overtake, including the mind that just felt the pain. You see, maybe instantly.
You feel the pain, then instantly after that wisdom and all the positive. From an ordinary practitioner, for some maybe five minutes, and some may take for ten hours, and some may take days of the pain that someone hit you. You may equally hit bodhisattva yourself and just line up there and tag, tag, tag, tag. Tack. Then you just put some kind of meter to see how fast you recover.
So you are maybe last one, then you take longest time to recover, grasping onto that thak, the pain. Everybody equally feels the pain. Everybody equally feels the pain, but the tenth bhūmi bodhisattva is so great practitioner, the grasping just eliminate within next moment. Your practice is so lousy, it took ten years to heal it. So that is how you determine how well you practice.
And if you think that it’s taking a long time and you should practice harder because it’s so beneficial for you, because you don’t want to be stuck in there experiencing the same pain because someone already got rid of it and you’re still stuck there, continue to feel pain even though just one hit, equal hit. So therefore, we don’t have to feel bad. Things are ups and downs in our life. It will come because it’s saṃsāra. Otherwise, it won’t qualify to be saṃsāra.
If things are not up and down, then we must be in the Buddha realm. We are not in the Buddha realm, so we need to have the qualification of being in saṃsāra, which is ups and downs. Therefore, there’s nothing to be a failure in practice and give up practice because you can’t handle a certain situation in life. So rather, intensify if you think that it’s difficult to let go of any bad things happening in your life. Then, instead of staying away from practice, you’d rather get more engaged in practice.
Therefore, any suffering circumstances arise in our life, then we have to help ourselves to overcome. What do you call, if needed to let go and try to find every ways to let go as fast as possible from the grasping. And through many techniques in Dharma, like a tonal practices you can use, practice of compassion that you can use, the wisdom of karma. Sometimes bad things happen to you, you just blame the whole world, and the more you blame, the more suffering you get. Rather accept that this is the result of my karma, and now I need to engage in purification practice rather than blaming the whole world.
That itself liberates you. That itself liberates ourselves. That’s how Dharma benefits, overcome and purify negativities and suffering, because all the different Dharma methods, the Dharma learning, we need to manage to take either of any practice, whatever is suitable, bring into it as long as it makes you to come out from that grasping to any death situation or that suffering. So, as I mentioned the other day, all Dharma is an antidote to all the suffering. All dharma is an antidote to all the miseries, all the karma.
Then, of course, learn. If you have learned a lot of varieties of dharma, then you come to a stage that you gain a knowledge of a specific antidote to a specific problem. So if you have that wisdom, then apply those specific antidotes to those specific problems, then it can be even more effective. But otherwise, whatever degree, even just heard one single word of Dharma, one single idea of Buddha’s way of sinking, which is the Dharma, as long as you bring into as an open end to the problem that you’re facing, will anyway, someway, somehow will help, will be able to overcome. So like that.
So therefore, as long as sentient beings are there, there’s no way that we can give up, even in the most difficult situation in our life. So this is the courage, courageous motivation. So I will stop here for the motivation to take the bodhisattva vow. Then I will follow from the text. Wishing bodhicitta.
The commitment of having taken the vow to develop wishing bodhicitta are divided into two sections. How to guard the vow from degenerating in this life, and how to maintain and enhance your practice in future lives. Then how to guard the vows from degenerating in this life has a So here you see A, B, C, D, how to guard the vows from degenerating in this life. One of the methods is always reminded the benefit of the whatever we discussed in the previous session until now, it is one of the very marvelous ways to guard the vow within this lifetime, never to give up the vow, all the benefits. Here, there are more ideas presented, turned over different benefits are presented, good reminders time to time so that the Buddhist level commitment will be very lively.
So, to develop inspiration, contemplate the advantage of bodhicitta. The advantage of bodhicitta, it is the only door to the Mahāyāna path. Because of bodhicitta, it’s possible to becoming Mahāyāna. The Mahāyāna is a big deal, becoming Mahāyāna. The big deal is, and it is a great deal of becoming Mahāyāna because of the altruism, because of the openness, because of the courage to serve the sentient being, not just in a limited number but infinite.
As long as there’s a sentient being, you just take them within your family. Take them within the object of your benefit. Such attitude has limited to even many other Buddhist practitioners. They have limitations having this attitude. So therefore, maha means great, yana means vehicle or the path.
Why become great vehicle? Why become great path or great journey, is because the object is great. As great as the object, the numberless sentient being, your heart also, the subject also becomes as great and as vast, which really pervades without leaving out even a single sentient being. So it’s not just simply wishing others to be free from suffering. Wishing sentient beings to be free from suffering is not just like that.
But taking responsibility by myself alone, even though everyone may be taking the same commitment, but then you, individually, having the courage to say by myself alone, take the full responsibility to eliminate the entire suffering and cause of suffering of all sentient beings. So as long as a Buddhist practitioner, or as long as a follower of Buddhism, then the basic attitude is compassion. So every practitioner has compassion, whether sarvaka follower, patekha follower, or buddha follower, enlightenment follower. Whatever path that you choose, the basis of Buddhism is compassion. Then not necessarily becoming Buddhist is not necessarily you have great compassion.
The great compassion is almost like a ninety nine percent degree of the resolved heart from the seven causes and effect. Number six is the resolve heart, which is the courageous heart that by myself alone, yourself alone taking the entire responsibility of liberating all sentient beings’ entire suffering causes. That’s the resolve heart. And great compassion is just a moment before that. And the degree of the resolve, number six causes for bodhicitta and number five causes for bodhicitta, is about ninety nine percent.
It’s about one percent or half a percent is different. It’s almost the same. But then the compassion that number five causes for bodhicitta, the great compassion, is very much like a ninety nine percent degree of resolved heart. Not the one hundred percent one, but ninety nine percent. And that ninety nine percent develops into one hundred percent, then it becomes the number six cause, which is the resolved heart.
And the compassion is far, far away from great compassion. Even though the object of compassion is all sentient beings, but there’s no responsibility, there’s not taking responsibility. It’s more like wishing, wishing all sentient beings free from suffering. Every Buddhist should have. As long as you inspire Buddhadharma and that is the basic needs concerning all sentient beings free from suffering and causes of suffering.
So the mahayana becomes maha, the great is because of the mind of taking responsibility by yourself. So something like that. bodhicitta makes you in the category of the sons of the Buddha, which is also called bodhisattva, actualize all the qualities of the Buddha, which is marvelous. The second is, you will be called this is already you will be called a child of the Buddha. Yes, yes, okay, better focus here.
So, you will be called a child of the Buddha, you know. So, then, third is you will surpass in brilliant even the hina and adhanth. So, that’s what I said before. The arahat has already abandoned, eliminated saṃsāra. The delusions are already eliminated, you see.
But then again, because of not having altruism, unable to overcome the defilement, which is the obscuration to omniscience. Arhats definitely eliminated obstruction to nirvana, but in far away to eliminate the obscuration to omniscience. So the seed, the stain of the delusions are still there. There’s no anger, there’s no attachment, and the contaminated karmas are purified, but in a long way for the ultimate perfection of enlightenment. So you will become an object of highest respect and offering.
I mentioned this just now. Otherwise you think that you take the bodhisattva vow leads people to make offerings to you, people to venerate you. It’s quite a selfish thinking, isn’t You naturally become into that position, and that position is so powerful influencing, benefiting others. So that’s what I explained before. You have this conduct and someone offer a cup of tea, the other person who is offering a cup of tea benefited so much.
He’s already kind of planted the seed, or as if the seed is already there but you pour menu and water to actualize enlightenment. So it’s because of that. So you will easily complete the extensive collection of merit. Again, we have discussed before, because it is the greatest virtue. It is the best tool to accumulate merit.
Then number six is obstruction of your negative karmic impression will quickly be purified. So again, as Śāntideva said, it’s like the fire of end of the yawn. It is the greatest antidote to purifying negativities. Then, number seven, you will be successful in whatever you attempt and you will be without needs. So in life, there’s so much obstruction to achieve wishes, actualized wishes, and that is because of lacking merit.
Lama Tsongkhapa says, Sonam means merit, chen means having, Samba means wishes, drup means actualize. Those who have merit, then whatever wishes they have, they actualize it. Sometimes we may think that, Oh, in my life I did so many virtues, so many good things, but still my wishes are still so difficult to actualize. But I can imagine in previous lifetimes, abundance of negativities. All are obstacles for us.
So yes, the amount that we accumulate virtues in this life is actually so little. So little. And many of those virtues are lacking of this altruism. If those virtues are accumulated on the basis of altruism, then maybe even in the short time, maybe quite forceful. But otherwise, we may think we have done a lot of good things, but it’s all minor virtues, simple virtues.
So therefore, it’s so difficult to fulfil our wishes in our life. So if we want now our wishes to fulfil so swiftly, then try to gather as vast merit as possible, as quick as possible. Possible. And one of the best ways is taking the principle bodhisattva vow and accumulating virtues on the basis of that. Then number eight, you will not be overcome by either harm or interference.
Best protection, best healing, best healer. Like the bodhisattva, the altruistic attitude, which is the main practice of the Kadampa master of the past, is the essence of the entire katama masters’ practice. All Lojong mind training practices are to develop altruism. So in one stage, during the early Kadampa masters, even before Lama Tsongkhapa came into existence, Geshe Dromtönpa, Chekawa, Sharawa, during that period, the practice of developing altruism, or in other words, Lojong, is regarded as the practice of what you call the Dharma of leprosy. Why give this name at that time?
Because there’s a suburb or an area where most people suffer with leprosy. Then, these Kadampa masters use the mind training practice of developing altruism and dealing with those leprosy patients with an altruistic manner, with altruistic intention in the form of prayer, in the form of serving those leprosy patients. An entire village, entire leprosy was cured. An entire patient was cured by the power of the altruism, and therefore it’s given a name as dharma of leprosy. So it’s a great healer.
One more example, his son at Dalai Lama often says that he doesn’t really know how to perform much of the pujas. And in Dharamsala, one auntie or something said that possessed the spirit, and asked his own Dalai Lama to help, to rid of the spirit. Then Dalai Lama said he struggled a bit, he didn’t know what to do, because he humbly, just for the sake of humbly saying, I don’t know what kind of puja to conduct to dispel the spirit from this woman. But yet, he had to go and visit this woman. The moment he saw this woman, he just meditated on bodhicitta.
Then after that, he came back, and the next morning he was told that the lady was cured. The spirit left and she’s fine. So he says that really affecting. The bodhicitta, really affecting. So therefore, if there’s any obstacle in Buddhist teachings, in Buddhist practices, there are so many practices that are recommended to clear obstacles in life, in business, in health, and this and that.
So many pujas. In Tibetan Buddhism, there are so many pujas that are recommended. Among all the pujas, among all the practices, the best, the most effective is bodhicitta. You generate bodhicitta to someone who is sick, you generate bodhicitta to the person. If someone is going through obstacles, then you generate bodhicitta to that person, to clear the obstacle of that business.
So it’s the most effective. With the bodhicitta motivation, they recite Om Mani Padme Hum and dedicate that merit to clear the obstacle of that particular person. That’s the most effective. So even though there are so many different ritual pujas and practices that are recommended, and in the practice, one of the main criteria is to generate bodhicitta. Sometimes pujas are not effective because just do the ritual and forget about the main point, it also becomes like that.
So in short, the main theme, main power that generates from puja rituals is bodhicitta. Therefore, all the pujas are conducted starting with the preliminary of bodhicitta. So even once they’re performing a journey to somewhere else, in samsaric world, a lot of distractions, a lot of obstacles may be there. To clear obstacles, just simply generate, simply express bodhicitta and make your journey for the purpose of benefiting numberless sentient beings, and that makes the path very smooth. And even if any obstacle comes, why not?
It’s okay, because with bodhicitta you’re able to encounter the obstacle, then it’s so meaningful. But most likely you won’t encounter, but in case, why not? Even death comes, but if you’re able to die with bodhicitta, then why not? So, you will be an inexhaustible source of comfort and happiness for sentient beings. So that’s exactly what I said before.
Keeping the vow, the promises, and then summarizing the actual essence of the vow is the sixth parameter. Take that into a family or into an office or into a society or into anybody that you interact with, then you become an inexhaustible source of comfort and happiness. Naturally become, because you will be so subdued, so patient, so kind, so loving. That is the unexhaustible source of comfort to your family, your people, happiness, like that. Then you will quickly attain all the realizations of the path to enlightenment.
So that’s for sure. If we practice like that, and all the Kadampa masters whose main essence of practice is altruism, That’s why their track records are all one hundred percent good. Every one of them achieved fully enlightenment within that very lifetime. And when they first practiced, and some of them are worse than us, when they first practice, some of them, maybe not some of them have a very, very bad history, very negative histories. Can you imagine Milarepa?
Milarepa’s history before he became Milarepa is Killed so many people. Destroyed the village. But then the essence of his practice is altruism. Look at Je Tsongkhapa. And look at Geshe Dromtönpa.
Gise Dong Thamba, who is from the Tibetan lineage, as a Tibetan practitioner, he is one of the root gurus. Because Lama Atisha passed to Dromtönpa, then Dromtönpa passed to the rest of the other Kadampa masters, all the way come down to the new Kadampa, Lama Tsongkhapa, after our living Kadampa gurus. So Geshe Dromtönpa’s lifestyle is very much like a lifestyle of a lay householder. He just needs to change the office for the cow pasture. He has to look after the cow, has to milk, he has to make butter, and he’s so busy, he has to take care of lama Atisha as an attendant.
He’s so busy. So in fact, there’s no time for him to chant mantra. There’s no time for him to sit quietly or comfortably, so called as I’m now, it’s my session to do meditation. He has no time at all. He’s whole throughout the day, rushing until completely exhausted in the evening.
Think we have quite a life similar to that. Quite a rushing day every day, isn’t it? A lot of responsibilities. But then, every single busy life is just simply infused by the artistic bodhicitta. Just simply infused by bodhicitta.
Outwardly, don’t see his practicing. During that time, there were three main disciples of Lama Atisha who were residing nearby, and one is a meditator in the cave, seriously meditating, really locked up. Then another one is seriously pursuing scholarly learning in the teaching. And then there’s another one, Dromtönpa, who is just merely one very busy attendant who has lay like work of taking care of cow. He’s a lay person, taking care of jobs and like that.
Besides Dromtönpa, the other two disciples were already thinking. I think among the three of us, the meditators think that my realization will be the highest, even in case we have to check it out, whose realization is where. Then the scholar thinks that the meditators don’t understand much of philosophy, and I do. And at the same time, I’m practicing maybe correctly or precisely, according to the advanced scriptures. And he thought his realization would be the highest.
And they already gave up on Dromtönpa, it’s not possible. Look at him, so busy. Then Lama Atisha’s clairvoyant realized these delusions are happening in his disciple, and he called three of them in front of him and he said, Right this very moment, the highest realization the Dromtönpa has the highest realization. And the second one is a scholar, and the third one is a meditator in the cave. So, know, what do you call it?
Study is extremely important, but then if that is separating from developing your heart with altruism, that’s it. It’s like just a brain food. It’s like taking notes, put that. If you don’t apply it into practical practice, it becomes like that. It’s like, thank you, thank you, starve on the altar and be very proud of saying, I have all this knowledge.
So that’s why Then meditating, but then Meditating in what? If you are not meditating that which really develops the altruism, then even you are developing śamatha or even you are realizing emptiness, but then altruism is neglected, you cannot get far. Yes, by restricting yourself, it’s conducive in the cave. Definitely it’s very conducive to develop like a śamatha, etc. But then the real altruistic engaging practice happens among the sentient beings, And that’s why it especially happens among difficult sentient beings.
So therefore, what do you call the saying that learning contemplation meditation cannot be separated. These three things have to come together from the very beginning. So if this is not introduced, then we may be wasting a lot of our time. But as far as it’s concerned, Dromtönpa summarized into certain simple instructions from his guru, then the total emphasis is to develop the heart in altruism. And that’s why he has gained high realization in bodhisattva conduct.
You have any questions? I think I talked too much, a bit boring for you. Do you have any questions? Does bodhicitta It can be quite many different causes. One of the causes is just feel it’s too hard, too hard to benefit so many.
It’s just too much. It’s overwhelming. Seeing that there are a lot of limitations in myself, rather focus on myself first to actualise liberation. Then from there I will think about it. So that’s how you degenerate.
So that is one of the factors. And of course, not knowing, not reminded the advantage of bodhicitta. A reminder. You generate bodhicitta initially, maybe with the inspirational events or circumstances that happened, but then you yourself didn’t really remind it consistently the advantage, then something hard time arises, then you just give up. So that’s why it teaches us to know all these benefits.
And it’s not only in the initial level, but all the time reminded all these benefits, then we will stick with the bodhicitta. Otherwise, there’s danger of this generation. First. Anymore? Okay, then we’re almost there.
Near one fifteen, so we will stop. So the text here continues, To strengthen one’s bodhicitta, contemplate it and recite the prayer three times a day and three times at night. It is very heavy negative karma to give up bodhicitta because you promise to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment. It is heavy negative karma to break your promise and to abandon bodhicitta. You should never be disheartened, even if it seems that it will take such a long time to receive enlightenment.
Instead of becoming dismayed, complete the benefit and advantage and revive your vows by saying the prayer of wishing bodhicitta. So again, I have clarified this at the beginning. Of course, you promise that you break the promise, It’s not good, not nice, isn’t it? Even in our worldly world, or even in a small matter, you promise, then you break the promise. This is not right.
In the dharma, just use the term negative karma. Even in the later term, yes, it’s bad, and that bad means negative karma. No need to wow, I created so much negative karma? But then in our usual day, we promise, we break promise, we promise, we break promise, and it’s just very casual. It’s the same degree, same thing.
It’s the same thing. We cannot be freaked out with that. So that’s why it says even if it breaks, by just taking and having it even for one moment, it surpasses in benefit. Even if you terribly break, but just able to take even for one moment, generate one moment is a greater benefit than not taking by the fear of I may break it. Another reason is that it’s not because you commit so much negative karma, then therefore you shouldn’t give up.
It’s not because That is one way of saying, but the main thing that what what try to let us understand is all the rest of the samsaric sentient beings has a relation to you. They are related to you as your mother. They all have been your mother, and they have been your mother for countless times. They have benefited you countless times. They have sacrificed for your own benefit for countless times, countless lives.
So just look at the example of this very life’s mother. Generally, if we use our wisdom, mother is always the most precious one. But then if we use the self grasping, self-cherishing mind, then we also have a lot of complaints about our mother. There are a lot of complaints about our mother. Many things that it’s the mother’s fault.
But then you compare the sacrifices, even talk about the nine months of baby in their womb, it’s unimaginable, the sacrifices, and just to secure your life there in the most fragile period of your life. The discomfort of the physical body. So many difficulties you have to go through just to protect the life of you when you are in the womb. I used to say that those people who complained about their mother, maybe one day you just tie one kilo of rice on your stomach and go to bed. One kilo of rice, tie it onto your stomach and go to lie on your very comfortable bed, and just sleep there for one night and see how it goes.
So it’s for nine months, and now you are just carrying rice and the other one is a very fragile life. So if we use our wisdom, then of course when it comes to the kindness of a mother, nothing can compare. So that is the reality. Even mother acted badly towards you, and that has to be due to some negative circumstances that she has to go through for the sake of the child. And because of that, either emotional, such as anger arises or whatever, by the control of the outer factor.
And that brings the delusion in the mother. In it, the nature of mother to child is unconditional, how bad you think the mother may be. Therefore, all sentient beings who are in the saṃsāra now play the same role, not only one time but many rounds of time, to oneself. Just because of a certain inconvenience and you just neglect the bodhisattva’s promise or give up bodhisattva’s vow, then it is really kind of like a worthless child. How do say?
Shameless child. It’s almost like a shameless child, irresponsible child, because we have all the potential to work for the sentient being, and we didn’t. It’s as equal as what’s described in Lamrim, like all sentient beings are like the mother who is blind and about to jump into the fire hall. You’re such a strong and capable son just sitting there and watching, and mother is getting closer and closer to the fire hall, and let her jump and suffer. Our position, after meeting the Buddhadharma, having the precious memory, if we are unable to commit into this kind of altruistic commitment, then we are taking so lightly about the kindness and the contribution that Mother St.
Jinping has provided for us. So in Lamrim there are plenty of teachings to convince that. And even in the second volume of the English translation of Lamrim Chenmo, extensively discussed about the seven causes and the effect to develop the bodhicitta. The first one is recognizing all sentient beings as a mother. And it is a practice that without developing the cherishing heart to all sentient beings as your mother, you won’t be able to repay the sentient beings’ kindness.
You won’t develop love, unconditional love. You won’t be able to develop compassion. You won’t be able to develop bodhicitta. So everything is stuck there. And in this life, you are an individual who is unable to develop that affection at heart towards this very life of a mother, then the rest is again more like a word, not really practical.
So therefore, someone who is truly inspired in Mayanic practice and altruistic practice, then those who have close connection, great affection to this life’s mother, wonderful, then develop from there. Even develop greater and try to expand that heart to the rest of the sentient beings, starting with the father, then brother, sister, then uncle, auntie, etc. But even to someone who has a difficult relationship, through your main projection you feel that you have a bad relationship with your mother, then someone who is inspiring Mayanic teaching, then you just have to change your attitude. There’s no choice. If you inspire Mayanic teaching, then the whole objective is bodhicitta for enlightenment, and without changing the attitude toward this very life is a nasty mother, the rest is not possible, very difficult.
So therefore, if needed to forgive, need to forgive. If you still believe the false are from mother, then the only thing left forgive. And for your own benefit and for the benefit of a greater level, then you develop the attraction and affection to your mother first in order for that heart to expand the rest of the sentient beings. So whether the mother is alive or passed away, it doesn’t matter. It’s all about developing the heart, developing the affection.
So this is, in fact, marvelous teaching even to make one individual a very good person. If you’re a good person, you somehow find a way to have gratitude towards your mother, if you’re a good person. That’s one basic quality a good person. So as far as it’s concerned, becoming a bodhisattva is a great being, then service, affection, gratitude towards one’s mother is much needed. Because the reason why using mother, if you use your girlfriend or boyfriend or your lover, that’s a great attraction, but it’s just a mixture.
Or it may mix with delusion, so it won’t be pure affection that is required to develop altruism. Some may say, Why can’t I use my husband? Because I anyway love him. And it’s so easy for me. First, let me develop altruism.
Recognizing my husband as the most precious one, most attractive one, then I will develop to my sister and brother, then it will come to my mother. Some do say that. So my answer is no, no, no, no, it doesn’t work that will somehow, you may not able to distinguish the fine line of delusional affection and the altruistic affection that is required for the altruistic bodhicitta. So therefore mother still comes. The love to mother is either the attraction to mother is either through gratitude, which is virtue, either through compassion, which is virtue.
Because you’re so close, you’re born from her and you don’t want her to suffer and you want to make her happy. So you create every manifestation of love towards her, and that is virtue because the arising of those positive attitudes are all virtue, And there’s much danger of delusion. So this is one of the practices that we talk so much about, wonderful things about bodhicitta, and it’s so powerful, but we are yet to develop the realization into it. The realization comes actualizing the causes, and one of the most important causes is recognizing all sentient beings as like your mother. In order to do that, you need to be successful in recognizing your mother as the most precious thing that ever happened in your life first.
So good luck for those who have a very, very close relationship with mother, and all the best for those who don’t have. But anyway, we had to work it out. Otherwise, it cannot become bodhisattva. This saying that recite three times in the day, three times in the night, it is how to say it’s like kind of making some lightly discipline to your undisciplined child. It’s like a totally wild, undisciplined child.
Then you say, okay, get up this time, you sleep this time, you eat this much, this and that. Otherwise, there’s no such kind of limited with three times a day and limited with three times at night to remind the bodhicitta, no. It has to be reminded all the time. It’s reminded all the time. If you really don’t have discipline at all, very poorly to really, really poor to remember the practice, then at least put an alarm clock three times in the day and three times in the night, and just read this text, it says.
Otherwise, you don’t need this text. You have to remember the sentient being. You don’t need this texts. You remember the sentient being. And whatever you do, even go to poo poo, go to toilet, you remember the sentient being.
Even the toilet didn’t waste your time. There are so many sentient beings who are capable to consume your poo poo, only karma is to consume your poo poo, nothing else. They are sentient beings. Due to their karma, even if you give them nectar, they cannot. They have no ability to consume nectar.
Chocolate, no. But your poo poo. But then, if you remember that you are making charity to so many of those bacterias who have karma to consume. Perfect practice of generosity then happens in the toilet. So, all the time, keeping all sentient beings in whatever way in your heart is the daily commitment.
So not about three times or three times a day, three times like that. Okay, we stop here, then we go for lunch, and we do the lunch offering from here. Thank you.