The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa Collected Works: Volume Two (38 page)

To take on the second principal cause is to realize that one’s mind should be tamed. For instance, your mind might be into a business deal, or a teaching deal, or a book-writing deal, or into making a funny kind of monumental experience for yourself. You might have all kinds of ambitions about your life. This attitude was not all that prominent in the days when Jamgön Kongtrül wrote his commentary on the slogans, but today we have a lot more choices. You might think you can hunt animals by becoming a great Buddhist or a great bodhisattva, or be a great author, a great prostitute, or a great salesman. But that state of mind, that type of ambition, is not all that good. Instead, you have to come to the point at which your state of mind would say, “I would like to devote myself to the dharma completely and fully.”

To take on the third principal cause is to realize that it is possible for you to practice the dharma because of having the right circumstances, because you have been taking an open attitude toward your life and have already worked out some kind of livelihood. Your food and clothes and shelter are taken care of, and economically you can afford to practice.

So you should take on and practice these three causes: [1] working with a teacher, [2] training your mind, and [3] establishing an economic base for practice.

46

Pay heed that the three never wane
.

The first thing you should not let wane is devotion to your spiritual friend [kalyanamitra]. Your mental attitude of admiration, dedication, and gratefulness toward the spiritual friend should not diminish. The second thing you should not let wane is a delightful attitude toward lojong, or the taming of your mind. Your appreciation for receiving such teachings as lojong or mind training should not diminish. And the third thing you should not let wane is your conduct—the hinayana and mahayana vows that you have taken. Your practice of the hinayana and mahayana disciplines should not diminish.

This slogan is straight and low-key. At this point, in practicing mahayana, it is very necessary for us to pick up some basic strength. We are not just careless, carefree people, but our attitude is one of having basic strength, basic energy.

47

Keep the three inseparable
.

Your practice of lojong should be wholehearted and complete. In body, speech, and mind, you should be inseparable from lojong.

48

Train without bias in all areas
.

It is crucial always to do this pervasively and wholeheartedly
.

The practice of lojong includes everyone and everything. It is important to be thorough and impartial in your practice, excluding nothing at all that comes up in your experience.

49

Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment
.

Always meditate on that which is most difficult. If you do not start right away, the moment a difficulty arises, it is very hard to overcome it.

50

Don’t be swayed by external circumstances
.

Although your external circumstances may vary, your practice should not be dependent on that. Whether you are sick or well, rich or poor, have a good reputation or bad reputation, you should practice lojong. It is very simple: if your situation is right, breathe that out; if your situation is wrong, breathe that in.

51

This time, practice the main points
.

“This time” refers to this lifetime. You have wasted many lives in the past, and in the future you may not have the opportunity to practice. But now, as a human being who has heard the dharma, you do. So without wasting any more time, you should practice the main points.

This teaching is threefold: [1] the benefit of others is more important than yourself; [2] practicing the teachings of the guru is more important than analytical study; and [3] practicing bodhichitta is more important than any other practice.

52

Don’t misinterpret
.

There are six things that you may twist or misinterpret in your practice: patience, yearning, excitement, compassion, priorities, and joy. It is a misinterpretation of patience to be patient about everything in your life but the practice of dharma. Misinterpreted yearning is to foster yearning for pleasure and wealth but not to encourage the yearning to practice dharma thoroughly and properly. Misinterpreted excitement is to get excited by wealth and entertainment, but not to be excited by the study of dharma. It is twisted compassion to be compassionate to those who endure hardships in order to practice dharma, but to be unconcerned and uncompassionate to those who do evil. Twisted priorities means to work diligently out of self-interest at that which benefits you in the world, but not to practice dharma. Twisted joy is to be happy when sorrow afflicts your enemies, but not to rejoice in virtue and in the joy of transcending samsara. You should absolutely and completely stop all six of those misinterpretations.

53

Don’t vacillate
.

You should not vacillate in your enthusiasm for practice. If you sometimes practice and other times do not, that will not give birth to certainty in the dharma. Therefore, don’t think too much. Just concentrate one-pointedly on mind training.

54

Train wholeheartedly
.

Trust yourself and your practice wholeheartedly. Train purely in lojong—single-mindedly, with no distractions.

55

Liberate yourself by examining and analyzing
.

Simply look at your mind and analyze it. By doing those two things, you should be liberated from kleshas and ego-clinging. Then you can practice lojong.

56

Don’t wallow in self-pity
.

Don’t feel sorry for yourself. If somebody else achieves success or inherits a million dollars, don’t waste time feeling bad because it wasn’t you.

57

Don’t be jealous
.

If somebody else receives praise and you don’t, don’t be envious.

58

Don’t be frivolous
.

Don’t demonstrate frivolous jealousy at your friends’ success. If an acquaintance is wearing a new tie or a new blouse that you yourself would like, don’t capriciously point out its shortcomings to him or her. “Yes, it’s nice, but it has a stain on it.” That will only serve to irritate him and won’t help either his or your practice.

59

Don’t expect applause
.

Don’t expect others to praise you or raise toasts to you. Don’t count on receiving credit for your good deeds or good practice.

Concluding Verses

When the five dark ages occur
,

This is the way to transform them into the path of bodhi
.

This is the essence of the amrita of the oral instructions
,

Which were handed down from the tradition of the sage of Suvarnadvipa
.

Having awakened the karma of previous training

And being urged on by intense dedication
,

I disregarded misfortune and slander

And received oral instruction on taming ego-fixation
.

Now, even at death, I will have no regrets
.

[These two verses are the concluding comments of Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, the author of
The Root Text of the Seven Points of Training the Mind
.]

A
PPENDIX

Forty-six Ways in Which a Bodhisattva Fails

T
HIRTY-FOUR
C
ONTRADICTIONS TO
E
MBODYING
V
IRTUE

Contradictions to the Paramita of Generosity

Contradictions to Generosity with Regard to Material Things

1. Not offering to the three jewels

2. Giving in to possessiveness

Contradictions to the Generosity of Protection from Fear

3. Not respecting more experienced people

4. Not answering questions

Those That Prevent the Generosity of Others

5. Not accepting invitations as a guest

6. Angrily refusing gifts

Contradiction to Generosity with Regard to Dharma

7. Not teaching the dharma to those who want it

Contradictions to the Paramita of Discipline

Contradictions Mainly to Benefiting Others

1. Rejecting those who do not keep their discipline

2. Not developing learning, which inspires others’ faith

3. Making little effort for the benefit of sentient beings

4. Not performing evil actions even though it is permitted when one has compassion and there is a need

Contradictions Mainly to Benefiting Oneself

5. Willingly taking up any of the five kinds of wrong livelihood

6. Mindlessly indulging

7. Due to desire and attachment, remaining in samsara

Contradictions to Benefiting Both Oneself and Others

8. Not preventing getting a bad reputation

9. Not controlling the kleshas

Contradictions to the Paramita of Patience

1. Not practicing the four dharmas of a practitioner (not returning curses for curses, anger for anger, blow for blow, or insult for insult)

2. Not working peacefully with, but rejecting, people who are angry at you

3. Refusing to accept another’s apology

4. Giving in to anger

Contradictions to the Paramita of Exertion

1. Collecting followers for fame and fortune

2. Not overcoming laziness and so forth

3. Indulging in busyness and chatter

Contradictions to the Paramita of Meditation

1. Not seeking instruction in samadhi

2. Not abandoning obscurations to meditation

3. Viewing the experience of meditation as good and being attached to it

Contradictions to the Paramita of Prajna

Faults Related to Lesser Things

1. Not respecting the shravakayana, and therefore rejecting it

2. Having abandoned one’s own tradition, the mahayana, exerting oneself in the shravakayana

3. In the same way, studying non-Buddhist literature

4. Although exerting oneself in the mahayana, preferring shravaka and non-Buddhist literature

Faults Related to Excellent Things

5. Not taking interest in the distinctive features of mahayana

6. Not seeking the holy dharma due to pride, laziness, and so forth

7. Praising oneself and disparaging others

8. Relying on the words rather than the meaning

T
WELVE
C
ONTRADICTIONS TO
B
ENEFITING
S
ENTIENT
B
EINGS

General Application

1. Not helping those in need

2. Not caring for the sick

3. Not removing the suffering of others

4. Not correcting those who are heedless

Specific Application

Faults of Not Being Helpful

1. Not repaying kindness

2. Not removing the pain of others

3. Not giving to those in need even though you can

4. Not benefiting those around you

5. Not acting in accord with the customs of others

6. Not praising those who have good qualities

Faults of Not Overpowering

1. Not overpowering those on a perverted path

2. Not taming with miracles and higher perceptions those who must be tamed in that way

Translated by the Nālandā Translation Committee from the compilation of Jamgön Kongtrül the Great in his
Treasury of Knowledge
.

Notes

Editor’s Foreword

1
. The Kadam lineage, founded by Dromtönpa, the main disciple of Atisha, places great emphasis on monastic discipline, the cultivation of bodhichitta and compassion, and mind training. This emphasis was carried into the Kagyü lineage by Gampopa, who studied with Kadampa teachers prior to studying with Milarepa.

2
. For further discussion of the origin and history of these teachings, see Geshe Kelsang Gyatso,
Universal Compassion;
Jamgön Kongtrül,
The Great Path of Awakening;
Geshe Rapten and Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey,
Advice from a Spiritual Friend
.

3
. Vidyadhara: “insight or awareness holder” or “crazy-wisdom holder,” an honorific title given to the author of this book, Chögyam Trungpa.

4
. Vajradhatu is an association of Buddhist meditation centers founded by Chögyam Trungpa. Following Trungpa Rinpoche’s death, Vajradhatu was incorporated into the larger umbrella organization Shambhala International.

Introduction

1
.
Hinayana, mahayana
, and
vajrayana
refer to the three stages of an individual’s practice according to Tibetan Buddhism, not to the different schools of Buddhist practice.

Point Two