A middle being is someone who has ceased to be interested in obtaining changeable worldly happiness either in this present life or in any future life, and who seeks only the perfect happiness of freedom from all kinds of uncontrolled rebirth. Although the aspiration of a middle being extends beyond obtaining merely worldly happiness, it does not reach further than the limited goal of fulfilling only his or her own welfare. A middle being can fulfil this wish by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a middle being.
A great being is someone who has ceased to be interested in fulfilling only his or her own welfare, and who seeks to become fully enlightened so that he or she can help others to find freedom from their suffering and experience the bliss of Buddhahood. A great being can fulfil this wish by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a great being.
Mahayana practitioners begin to develop bodhichitta, the aspiration of a great being, from the very beginning of their spiritual practice. For a long time, though, this motivation is artificial because spontaneous bodhichitta is generated only after gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path that are common to a small being and a middle being, and some of the realizations of the stages of the path of a great being, such as the realization of great compassion. Great compassion, the determination to release and protect all living beings from their suffering, gives rise to genuine bodhichitta, the determination to become enlightened solely for the sake of benefiting others. Great compassion itself is generated only after we have realized renunciation, the determination to free ourself from samsara; for if we do not sincerely wish to be free ourself, how can we develop such a wish for limitless living beings?
It is not easy to realize renunciation because this special virtuous mind arises only when we have given up attachment to this life and its pleasures. Training the mind in the stages of the path of a middle being is the actual method for gaining the realization of renunciation. Training the mind in the stages of the path of a small being is the actual method for overcoming attachment to this life. Without developing a mind of renunciation it is impossible to generate a mind of great compassion. In the beginning we should develop renunciation, and gradually renunciation will cause compassion to arise. As Shantideva said:
If we do not even dream of becoming free from samsara ourself, how can we have the wish to release others from its miseries?
Contents Page
Chandrakirti
Meditation on Death
training the mind in the stages of the path of a person of initial scope
This has two parts:
1 Developing the aspiration to experience the happiness of higher states in future lives
2 The actual methods for gaining the happiness of higher states of existence in future lives
developing the aspiration to experience the happiness of higher states in future lives
This has two parts:
1 Meditating on death
2 Meditating on the sufferings of the lower realms
meditating on death
This has three parts:
1 Considering the dangers of forgetting about death
2 Considering the benefits of remaining mindful of death
3 The actual meditation on death
considering the dangers of forgetting about death
The dangers of forgetting about death are:
1 We will easily forget Dharma
2 Even if we do not forget Dharma we will not be likely to put it into practice
3 Even if we do not forget Dharma and we put it into practice, our practice will not be pure
4 Even if we do not forget Dharma and we put it into practice purely, we will lack persistent effort in our practice
5 We will continue to perform non-virtuous actions
6 We will die full of regret
we will easily forget dharma
If we do not remember death we will not have any wish to train our mind in Dharma, and so the door of Dharma will remain closed to us and we will not experience the good results of spiritual practice. Even though we may be fortunate enough to receive Dharma instructions, to us they will mean almost nothing. Forgetting about death we become completely engrossed in the concerns of this life alone and we devote all our energy to its welfare. When death comes we realize, too late, that all our activities have been futile.
If we remember death again and again we will overcome the habit of assuming that we are going to live in this world for ever, and we will begin to see ourself as a traveller bound for future lives. Thinking in this way reduces our anxieties, irritations and attachment to this life and all its pleasures, and it restrains us from committing actions solely for the sake of this one short life.
When a traveller stays a few nights in a luxurious hotel he does not develop strong attachment to its comforts because he knows he will soon be moving on. When he has to leave the hotel he does not feel miserable, because he has never regarded it as his real home. In the same way, if we cease to think of this life as our permanent home and begin to regard ourself as travellers bound for future worlds, we will be less attached to this life and we will naturally develop great interest in Dharma, for Dharma alone helps us in all our future lives.
even if we do not forget dharma we will not be likely to put it into practice
If we do not remember death, even if we do think about practising Dharma we will be inclined to put it off, thinking ‘I will practise Dharma properly when I have finished my work’ – but our life ends before our work is done. The tasks and activities of worldly life are endless.
If we stop to think we will see that almost all the time we are assuming ‘I will not die today.’ Day after day we have the same thought. Even on the day of their death many people continue to think ‘I will not die today.’ This complacency prevents us from being serious about our Dharma practice. When death actually comes and destroys our complacency we feel great regret, and it seems to us that this precious human life has become completely worthless. We are like someone who has visited a treasure island and, knowing that his family is in poverty, nevertheless returns home empty-handed. If we do not use this precious human life for practising Dharma we are even more foolish than this careless voyager, for what could be more foolish than to arrive at death empty-handed?
even if we do not forget dharma and we put it into practice, our practice will not be pure
If we have already been practising Dharma for some time but we have not experienced perfect results the reason is that we have not yet developed mindfulness of death. Although we may be practising Dharma, if we do not remember death our practice will not be pure and we will not be able to gain realizations.
What is pure Dharma practice? It has been explained by Teachers such as Dromtonpa that if we have renounced attachment to the comforts of this life our Dharma practice will be pure. However, if we have not renounced attachment to the comforts of this life, even if we engage in the advanced practices of Secret Mantra our practice will not be pure. To develop detachment to the pleasures of this life we do not need to abandon our wealth and possessions, our friends and family. Simply being poor and alone does not mean that we have no attachment to the good things of this life; many poor and lonely people are strongly attached to this world and its pleasures.
To renounce attachment to the comforts of this life means to be free from eight worldly attitudes:
(1) Being pleased when receiving resources and respect