Praxis Thinking

His Holiness The Dalai Lama on taking the Bodhisattva vow, teaching given at Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India [excerpts herein]

“As human beings, we should live in a way that accords with dignity, honesty and warm-heartedness. Without concern for past or future lives, as human beings our primary interest should be in helping others. This is something that people who are not Buddhists, as well as Buddhists, can appreciate… cultivate humility and a peaceful mind. If we can achieve love and compassion, it will lead to harmony among people around the world. And if we do that, our lives will have been meaningful and worthwhile. On the other hand, it would just be unfortunate to fight on the basis of ‘us’ and ‘them’. To share our lives with others out of love and compassion for them and a sense of the oneness of humanity is the best way to lead our lives.”

“As human beings living on this earth, we need to be honest and truthful, to cultivate love and compassion for each other and avoid making enemies.”

“Dharma, is about taming our minds and cultivating a heart intent on being of help to others, take the Bodhisattva vow and observe Bodhichitta as part of our daily lives.

“The Buddha Shakyamuni passed away more than 2500 years ago and yet his teaching has not become stale, it remains relevant today.”

“Seize this precious opportunity to take the Bodhisattva vow with delight in our hearts. This will be something significant. Please think about how fortunate we are.”

[Whilst taking the vow] visualize the Buddha in front surrounded by the Sixteen Arhats, the Six Ornaments and Two Supremes, the Tibetan Dharma Kings and masters of all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Recite the following verses three times and to try to take the vow daily:

I seek refuge in the Three Jewels;
Each and every wrongdoing I confess.
I rejoice in the virtues of all beings.
I take to heart the state of Buddhahood.

I go for refuge until I am enlightened
To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly,
In order to fulfil the aims of myself and others
I develop the awakening mind.

Having developed the aspiration for highest enlightenment,
I invite all sentient beings as my guests,
I shall enact the delightful supreme enlightening practices.
May I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings.

It is impossible to attain the twofold purity of Buddhahood or to realize fully the truth of emptiness without completing the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.

The Conqueror, in his great compassion and with all his skill in means, taught innumerable methods by which the two accumulations can be performed. The best of all these methods is the offering of the mandala.

Take the rimmed base of the mandala and rub it clean with your hand. Holding it in your left hand, pick up a handful of [offering, such as rice]  and place it in the centre. Each grain of rice serves as a base of imagination of one of the enlightenment beings.

This [centre] heap represents Vairochana surrounded by his retinue of many deities of the Buddha lineage.

Place a second heap in front of the first [the east] to represent Akshobhya and his retinue of deities in the Vajra lineage. 

To the right  [the south] of Vairochana place a third pile of rice representing Ratnasambhava surrounded by deities of the Jewel lineage.

A fourth [offering] behind [the west] Vairochana to symbolize Amitabha and his retinue of the Lotus lineage.

A fifth on Vairochana’s left [the north] to represent Amoghasiddhi with his retinue of the Karma lineage.

Rendered from chapter 8 of “The Mind and its Functions” by Geshe Rabten  

Consider the eleven positive qualities of the mind that cause the omnipresent, object-ascertaining and variable mental factors to likewise take on a wholesome aspect and, as a result, produce peace and wellbeing for oneself and others:

1. Faith: the joyous state of mind free from the turmoil of the root and proximate afflictions
2. Self-respect: to avoid evil for reasons of personal conscience
3. Consideration for Others: to avoid evil for the sake of others
4. Detachment: the remedy for attachment to conditioned existence 
5. Non-hatred: bears the characteristics of loving kindness 
6. Non-bewilderment: acts as remedy for ignorance 
7. Enthusiasm: acts as remedy for laziness 
8. Suppleness: to enable the mind to apply itself to a wholesome object 
9. Conscientiousness: to cherish the accumulation of what is wholesome 
10. Equanimity:  leaving the mind in rest upon that wholesome 
11. Non-violence: without any intention to cause harm

Through constantly striving to cultivate them they will become firmly rooted in the mind thus naturally counteracting the negative mental factors and leading one to a liberating vision of reality.

Since these eleven wholesome mental factors never occur simultaneously in any one primary state of mind, we may wonder at what times and in which combinations they do occur. We can classify six distinct occasions for their occurance:

1. At times of having belief, faith occurs.
2. At times of turning away from evil, self-respect and consideration for others occur.
3. At times of engaging in virtue, detachment, non-hatred, non-bewilderment and enthusiasm occur.
4. At times of freeing oneself from attachment by worldly means, suppleness occurs.
5. At times of freeing oneself from attachment by non-worldly means, conscientiousness and equanimity occur.
6. At times of benefitting others, non-violence occurs.

“Heedfullness is the path of the Deathless, 
heedlessness is the path to death. 
The heedfull do not die, 
the heedless are already dead.” 
- The Dhammapada (2.21)