LAMA KYABJE ZOPA RINPOCHE
The stupa respresents Buddha’s holy mind – Dharmakaya – and each part of the stupa shows the path to enlightenment. When seeing the Boudhanath stupa, Nepal, for the first time, close your eyes and make a fervent wish. It is said that anyone doing so will have their wish granted.
Basic Buddhism
Buddhism is both simple and profound. On a daily basis it advocates watching the mind so that all thoughts, actions, and words manifest a kind and compassionate attitude toward all others. It is the loving heart that places others above self. Herein lies the ultimate wisdom of existence. When you understand that the existence of all things, all beings, and all concepts is empty except in relation to other things, beings, and concepts, then you will be close to becoming awakened, so crossing into a state of permanent happiness.
When you succeed in eliminating ignorance and replacing it with real wisdom, suffering comes to an end, because in understanding the true nature of existence you are no longer bound by the illusions of samsara. You awaken and escape the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
When there is no end to samsara, then life and death are governed entirely by the laws of karma, so existence is a never-ending cycle of continuous rebirth in the Six Realms of Existence (see here). The quality of your rebirth and the realm into which you are reborn are determined by your karmic score card. It is karma – the law of cause and effect – that gives life its moral code. The Buddha thus advised doing everything to create good karma, for this has the power to propel you into a rebirth in circumstances that are conducive to practicing Dharma, thereby having the chance to attain enlightenment. Practicing Dharma means showing generosity, having a good heart, purifying negative karma, and creating good karma. It also means embarking on the spiritual path that leads to enlightenment.
There are three types of karma: karma that you create and see its result in this life; karma that you create and see its result in your next life; and karma that you create and see its result after many lifetimes.
LAMA KYABJE ZOPA RINPOCHE
Fresco showing the Six Realms of Existence. Rebirth in the human realm is considered to be most conducive to the practice of Dharma – Buddha’s teachings which show the path to enlightenment.
THE FOUR IMMEASURABLE THOUGHTS
When practicing Dharma, Four Immeasurable Thoughts should arise. These are:
1 Immeasurable equanimity – being free of the bias of liking some and disliking others, so remaining tranquil and unattached
2 Immeasurable compassion, wishing that all beings are freed from suffering
3 Immeasurable joy in the highest happiness and liberation of all beings
4 Immeasurable loving kindness, wishing for the happiness of all living beings.
Buddhism does not believe in a supernatural and omnipotent Creator God. Salvation does not come from the intervention of a divine entity. Instead, Buddha’s teachings advocate the practice of compassion and loving kindness toward all living beings, combined with meditation practices to develop wisdom. It is the union of compassion and wisdom that leads to liberation and awakening.
Prayers to the buddhas are supplications to receive the wisdom to understand the true nature of reality – what are referred to as “realizations.” Every living being possesses buddha-nature. It is by living a moral life, practicing compassion, and meditating on the steps that lead to the awakened mind that can be developed to high levels of concentration and wisdom, leading to enlightenment.
There are different schools of Buddhist practice, but all traditions focus on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path in order to achieve liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Mahayana Buddhism particularly emphasizes the attainment of enlightenment for the sake of all beings. Compassion and love for others represent the selfless, altruistic attitude that is paramount if you are to reach enlightenment.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1 All conditioned existence is suffering.
2 The causes of suffering arise from the afflictive emotions in our minds (attachment, anger, and ignorance).
3 There is a state in which all suffering has ceased.
4 The way to cease all suffering is to follow the Eightfold Path.
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
1 Having the right understanding
2 Having the right aspiration
3 Having the right speech
4 Having the right conduct
5 Having the right livelihood
6 Making the right effort
7 Developing mindfulness
8 Developing concentration.
Today Buddhists of all traditions strive to keep Buddha’s teachings uncorrupt and true to the original texts. Tibetan Buddhists are especially mindful that the words of Buddha can be traced back to their original source, since they have been carefully passed on from one realized master to another over hundreds and thousands of years. It is for this reason that teachings given by highly realized beings, such as the high lamas of Tibet or the master abbots of Buddhist temples in China, are considered so valuable. Like a bright lamp guiding us on a dark night, Buddha’s words hold out the promise of permanent happiness and eternal bliss.
For many centuries, sacred texts containing the secret teachings of Buddha were carefully preserved in Tibet. The country and its beliefs were protected by high mountains, and the Buddhism of Tibet – the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools, which hold out the promise of enlightenment within a single lifetime – florished. The invasion of Tibet by China in 1959 forced the Dalai Lama to flee the Land of Snows. Many high lamas followed him into exile, bringing with them precious teachings, valued lineages, and secret rituals and practices, which they are now sharing with the people of the world.
From the reincarnated high lamas – living buddhas and yogis – we can learn the meditations that will bring the highest purpose into our lives. We can learn to meditate on the Lam-Rim: the graduated path to enlightenment, the step-by-step way to attaining a peaceful and contented heart. But such a heart does not emerge suddenly. It comes from deep understanding, contentment, and genuine love, caused by overcoming greed, hostility, and ignorance. If you are to make spiritual commitment the center of your life, painstaking determination is required.
Transforming our rough, materialistic, and self-cherishing minds into the gentle and immeasurably kind heart of compassion is a long and winding road. For in truth we are embarking on the spiritual path to become saints and sages. We are, in effect, seeking the perfection of wisdom. Buddha knows that it is a hard journey. He has been through the process, so he sends emanations in earthly form to guide us, teach us, pick us up, and occasionally hold our hand.
Prayer flags hung in the wind adorn Buddhist monasteries.