General Practice Advice from Rinpoche

Many other religions have good things to offer different people for their happiness and peace. But what is missing in these other religions is the complete path to liberation and enlightenment - total renunciation of the whole of samsara. If you study and check, you will not find such things mentioned there.

The other very special things missing in other religions are right view (emptiness) and bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is not just a kind, generous mind - it is the ultimate good heart which is developed in a step-by-step way. The first step is to realize (1) the root of the path: guru devotion, next is (2) the realization of renunciation of this life and renunciation of future lives, and then comes (3) bodhicitta.

Why these three are so important, not only for your own complete inner development but especially for others, is because there are numberless other sentient beings who want happiness and do not want suffering and they need your help. So, you have the responsibility to help them. But without renunciation you cannot achieve liberation, without bodhicitta you cannot achieve enlightenment, and without right view you cannot cut the root of samsara, which is delusion and karma. Without cutting the root and cause of all the sufferings of samsara, you can never be liberated from all of samsara’s sufferings, which means you cannot liberate others from suffering.

This is something you need to know in order to practice Dharma, the knowledge that leads to awakening.

What is most important for this world's peace, which has so much suffering, both globally and individually, is the practice of Dharma. For numberless sentient beings from whom we have received all our happiness from beginningless time, and from whom we are receiving and will receive all happiness, including liberation from samsara and full enlightenment – for those sentient beings who are totally obscured, in order to give them all happiness, one should learn Dharma.

One should learn not just one meditation, giving some peace, but the whole path, including Mahayana tantra. To be a scholar is not enough. One needs to train in the path, transform the mind into the path, including the root, guru devotion, transforming the mind from the mistaken thought to the guru, which is the biggest obstacle to enlightenment. One also needs to develop renunciation of the whole, entire samsara, and transform the mind into renunciation, the determination to be free from samsara, to emerge from and to be liberated from it, which is to let go of the attachment which ties one to samsara, to all the suffering, including death and rebirth. Also, one needs to develop the realization of emptiness, which cuts all suffering and gives the possibility to achieve all happiness, and as well to develop bodhicitta.

The root of samsara, ignorance, holds phenomena such as the “I” and aggregates as truly existent, while they are empty of that, and causes delusion and karma, and the results, the oceans of suffering of samsara, all the sufferings of each realm. One needs to transform the mind into bodhicitta, the ultimate thought of cherishing others, seeking enlightenment for sentient beings, giving up the selfish mind which interferes, stops, and blocks developing the whole path to enlightenment for oneself. Bodhicitta causes the cessation of the mistakes of the mind, the development of all understanding, and causes others all the happiness of this and coming future lives, including liberation from samsara and full enlightenment, causing all this for numberless suffering, obscured sentient beings.

Then one needs the two stages of highest tantra for quickest enlightenment, to liberate numberless sentient beings of each realm from suffering and to lead them to enlightenment as quickly as possible. This makes your life most meaningful and beneficial and allows you to use your life most productively for sentient beings.

A life spent practicing Dharma by meditating on the path and actualizing the path is the best life and the best service for sentient beings. Why? If your mind is not liberated from delusion and karma and the suffering of samsara, then you can't liberate others from samsara, its suffering and causes. It's like if you are drowning, you can't help others who are drowning. Through your experience you have to show sentient beings the path to enlightenment and bring them to enlightenment. Why do you need to do this? Because they, the sentient beings, need the highest happiness and the most long lasting happiness, and that is enlightenment. To do that, of course, first you have to become fully qualified. Therefore, you need to become fully enlightened. Life spent in ways other than this, other than meditating on the path and transforming the mind into liberation and enlightenment, are suffering, and you repeat this endlessly, just as it had no beginning.

My suggestion is to do Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga every day, as it contains the path in its stages up to enlightenment. There is the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga that I put together and also its commentary, and within that there is guru devotion. To know guru devotion in the beginning is extremely important, then one can practice correctly, most carefully, without mistakes and with awareness. Otherwise, there are only mistakes and nothing good happens; things only get worse. Life, already with so much suffering, then becomes worse, heavier, only suffering. Practicing this guru yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa and lamrim has skies of benefits, now and in the future. To read it every day, with mindfulness, brings one closer to liberation and enlightenment, which means closer to enlightening sentient beings, closer to their liberation and enlightenment. Practicing Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga has many special advantages, such as allowing you to develop wisdom, to be born in Tushita, Maitreya's Pure Land, and to meet Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings in the future. Why this result is important is that Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings are the clearest, purest teachings of the Buddha, having no mistakes. So, for practice, this is the quickest and easiest. Even if the teachings are the purest, if the person doesn't practice correctly, then enlightenment can't be achieved. Through this practice, one is also able to develop guru devotion, and then receive the blessing of the guru and achieve all the realizations. This way, all realizations, up to enlightenment, come from within. It is like when one has soil and water, a sprout comes from a seed, and then all the rest comes out.

Concerning practice, then one also needs to study. If one has found a qualified guru, who is living in the practice, having the attainment of the path, which I mentioned before, then there is no question (about suitability). If from the teacher's side, he/she is not an enlightened being – if one can't find a reliable teacher – then the most important text to study is lamrim, in valid translations, containing the complete lamrim. Valid teachings are not missing the lamrim. Other philosophical teachings are there to understand lamrim teachings in depth, clearly.

Read and meditate by following the lamrim outlines. Also, study to give oneself a chance, beginning with the lamrim and writing down questions if one doesn’t understand. Then check with others and with lamas who study well. So, like this, understanding can be developed. If one cannot decide if someone is a guru, then study with him or her for some time, then by being close, after some months or a year, or one to two years, then if you are able to trust and have devotion, then you can take this person as one's guru. In this way, you are protected, saved, and secure. Otherwise, later you end up with huge mountains of confusion and the heaviest negative karma.

In the meantime, read books which are valid. After having gone over the lamrim once, two, or three times, then go through each meditation topic from Perfect Human Rebirth, spending maybe a month on each topic and meditating on it for some time. The time for meditation is not fixed, it's one's own choice – even half an hour is good. The most important thing is continuity. Then, one can achieve liberation and enlightenment and then enlighten others.

Spend one month per meditation topic, except to achieve shamatha you need a solitary place (that is the correct way) and all the conditions. When you finish emptiness, come back and do the meditations again till you achieve stable realizations of renunciation, bodhicitta, and right view. This means not just a few days’ experience but something long lasting, stable, and without effort, without needing to go through the reasons and quotations. The mind naturally goes on that path. One should meditate on guru devotion a little bit every day, with whatever time you have, till one gains a stable realization, till one guru is all Buddhas and Buddha is all the gurus.

In the breaktimes between meditations, keep the mind in bodhicitta, the thought of cherishing sentient beings, benefiting sentient beings – a bodhicitta motivation. Whether walking, sleeping, or eating, whatever one is doing, keep this mind. Keep the experience of the morning meditation throughout the day. Then one will be able to progress in the development of the realizations of the path, of renunciation, bodhicitta, and emptiness.

Some general advice for everyone is to do the practice of Chenrezig every day, together with the recitation of the mantra. There are skies of benefits which come from this, but the main point is to develop compassion for all sentient beings, for your friend, for strangers, and not only that, for the enemy. Otherwise, working to benefit them becomes very partial, very limited. Without compassion for all sentient beings, one can't have the realization of bodhicitta, which is the source of happiness for oneself up to enlightenment and the source of happiness for infinite sentient beings.

Without great compassion, one can't have the realization or entrance into the Mahayana path to enlightenment and hence can't achieve enlightenment and can't liberate countless sentient beings from the oceans of suffering and bring them to enlightenment. One can't fulfill the purpose or objective of one's life – to free sentient beings from all sufferings and enlighten them. So, for anyone who desires happiness and doesn't want suffering, and especially those who want to help others, one must do Chenrezig practice.

The other practice to do is Medicine Buddha, both mantra recitation and practice, reciting the names of the Medicine Buddhas, together with the Medicine Buddha mantra:

TADYATHA / OM BHEKANDZYE BHEKANDZYE MAHA BHEKANDZYE [BHEKANDZYE] / RADZA SAMUDGATE SVAHA

This is for powerful purification, merit, and success, and to fulfill all wishes, benefiting oneself and all sentient beings. This practice makes life so easy, grants happiness, liberation, and enlightenment and causes that to be received by others, who are numberless.

I can't say when I will be able to meet you, but I thought to give you this advice. Now it is up to you to make this one time, precious human rebirth useful.

My giving practices to people, instructions, is so important. This way, whatever practice or activity they do directs their life towards benefiting sentient beings: to cause them all happiness, temporary happiness, liberation from samsara, and enlightenment. So, people don't waste their most precious human life, which they achieve just about once. This opportunity is just about once.

My very dear Keith,
Thank you very much for practicing Dharma and opening your heart to sentient beings. You are turning toward enlightenment.

Please study well these instructions (attached), then you will understand well how to follow the path. Please make your life most beneficial with bodhicitta.

With much love and prayers...

With whatever virtuous action you create, please dedicate like this:

This is the year of obstacles for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, so please dedicate strongly for His Holiness to have a healthy, stable life and for the quick success of all His Holiness' holy wishes.

Please also pray for the success of all the FPMT Dharma projects, especially that the building of the Maitreya Project can start very, very soon. May all the FPMT projects that cause sentient beings to create merit and receive purification and achieve enlightenment quickly be successful.

May our service to all the monasteries, large and small, the support of all our Sangha, the building of monasteries, nunneries, centers, retreat places, holy objects, and so on, in all parts of the world, be without obstacles and completed very soon.

May all our social services be developed in the best way and be of most benefit to sentient beings.

May Essential Education (UCWP) be developed in the best way possible, receive all the finances that it needs, and be of most benefit to all, especially in those parts of the world that are experiencing great violence and turmoil.

May our Dharma publications spread all over the world and in every corner of the world.

May the Liberation Prison Project be of most benefit to all prisoners, and may they all be liberated from the prison of samsara.

In Mongolia, may all our efforts in helping with the revival of Buddhism be quickly successful and without obstacle, may our social services there be as beneficial and successful as possible.

May our Dharma and social work in the Bodhgaya area be most effective and helpful; may all Maitri’s work, the Shakyamuni Buddha Clinic at Root Institute, etc, be most effective and able to bring not only benefit in this life, but also in the next lives.

May all those who come in contact with the Dharma through these social services and so on receive a perfect human rebirth, meet the Dharma, attain a pure land, and achieve enlightenment quickly.

May all our service to fulfill His Holiness’ wishes succeed as quickly as possible.

May all the FPMT centers be of most benefit to all sentient beings, liberating them from the oceans of samsara and bringing them to enlightenment as soon as possible. May all the projects of all the centers be of most benefit and be successful. May those who need to buy new facilities or whatever needs they have, may they be quickly and instantly received. May all the teachers in the centers have long and healthy lives and be without obstacles in teaching the Dharma.

May the FPMT International Office receive all its needs instantly, and may it be able to give the best service possible.

May all the wishes and work of the FPMT Board of Directors be successful.

May all the directors and organizers of all the FPMT centers and projects in all the different parts of the world, who are sacrificing and giving their life to serving sentient beings, Lama Yeshe, and myself, have long lives, healthy minds, and may they actualize Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings, which are like refined gold, in this very life.

1. Losar: Four sessions a day. Do Chenrezig guru yoga, with meditation on the Eight Verses, in the first two sessions in the morning, and do Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga, with meditation on the Three Principal Aspects of the Path in the last two sessions. We will do these practices in retreat mode at Shakyamuni Center during Losar. Also, we invited all FPMT nuns and monks in Taiwan to attend the retreat.

2. Saka Dawa: Shakyamuni Buddha Puja with extensive offerings.

3. First Dharma Wheel-turning Day: Morning—Lama Chöpa with tsog, plus Praise to Guru Shakyamuni Buddha.

4. Buddha's Descending Day: Tara Puja (Four Mandalas) with Praise to the Twenty-one Taras (as many as possible).