The Path to Enlightenment

Student's Letter

Dear most kind Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
I offer you my heartfelt praises, my aspirations to free all beings from samsara, my Dharma practice, and positive actions. I am still working hard on my ngon-dro, and I offer you whatever positive actions have been generated from this, as well as any other positive actions that I may have accidentally committed.

I wanted to thank you immensely for your continual prayers and guidance. I am continuing to deepen my commitment to the path of Lama Tsongkhapa. Living here has been very challenging for me and I'm getting lots of practice in transforming obstacles. I have realized, among many things, that trying to weave two traditions into my daily practice was not benefiting my mind, and so I am focusing all my prayers and energy on the path of Lama Tsongkhapa and your advice, as best I can. I feel happiness deep down when I practice Lama Tsongkhapa, and I'm beginning to really appreciate how precious this path really is.

My practice is helping me realize that enlightenment is all in my mind, it is my responsibility, no one can "make" me enlightened. My mind has to make this happen, so I must work very hard and not dwell so much on what is happening outside. I am realizing that if the mind lacks proper motivation, or is unaware of the subtleties of ego fixation, even the most powerful teaching, lama, or relic cannot make much difference. It is all up to me to utilize the precious and complete teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa and my precious guru to transform my mind. So, in this way, I am deepening my practice and trying to let go of grasping to appearances and focus on training my mind more and more. This is so difficult, and I am easily distracted. Please, please continue to make lots of prayers for me so that my mind loosens its grip on distractions and realizes more and more the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa and guru devotion, so that I may reach enlightenment in this lifetime. I promise your prayers will not go to waste.

Please, most kind lama, may you live long, may your students follow your advice perfectly, may you forever remain until we reach enlightenment. With all my love, I dedicate my deepest wishes to benefit all beings, to the Maitreya project, to your good health and long life.

With all my love, please live long!

Love ___

Rinpoche's Response

Rinpoche replied with a handwritten card that said on the inside, "Thanks for being so sweet!”

My dearest of dearest one,
I have received your kindness. Yes, I am inspired by your wonderful letters, your great inspiration on the path to enlightenment.

Now you have come to know by yourself, after my advice to you, that when one studies one tradition clearly, then one can integrate certain practices into that tradition. At the beginning it can be complicated, one can be confused, because one doesn't know how.

Now you have your own experience, what fits for you, and what is comfortable and clear. Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings have everything to achieve full enlightenment. Especially clear are the most important points of sutra and tantra. Even many famous meditators make mistakes. With Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings, there is clear understanding, easy, quick realizations, and one makes less mistakes. You should know that you are extremely fortunate to meet Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings and practice them. It is extremely important to practice Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga. This way you will be able to meet Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings in future lives.

To meet Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings is extremely difficult, to be born in Amitabha’s pure land is much easier. One lama in Tibet asked Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen whether he would be reborn in the pure land. Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen said, “Yes.”

Then he asked whether he would meet Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings in his next life. Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen said, “Very difficult.”

Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings have unified sutra and tantra. In the pure land of Amitabha, there is no tantra. It is only with tantra that you can become enlightened in one lifetime. So, those bodhisattvas born in Amitabha's pure land have to pray to be born in the southern continent to have realizations, such as guru devotion.

With big love and prayer,

Lama Zopa

Lamrim is what you should focus on your whole life, even while you are doing your job. You should keep your mind in this. It is the most meaningful, most profound practice, doing each action with the mind in bodhicitta. This should be your practice; this is what you should try to accomplish in life.

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Keep the mind in the lamrim—guru devotion, renunciation of samsara, and bodhicitta. These things help you to not commit negative karma again. Every day, meditate on the lamrim and keep it in your mind, even during break times from sitting meditation.

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Please make your life most beneficial with the thought of bodhicitta.

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The root of the problems in your life becomes non-existent when you start to cherish others.

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There are so many practices, but the whole thing comes down to living your daily life with a bodhicitta motivation, putting all your effort in that, whatever you do. This way, your life isn’t wasted and becomes very full of joy and happiness, with no regrets later, especially when you die. Then, you can die with a smile outside and a smile in your heart.

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The root of the path to enlightenment is guru devotion. Through meditation, you develop true devotion, and also from your personal experience of the guru. By looking at Buddha you see the guru and your mind is transformed. After that transformation, the Buddha and the guru are inseparable. All the Buddhas and all the gurus (like milk mixed with tea) become total oneness. You have a definite understanding from your heart that remains not just for a few hours or a few days but is stable and does not change.

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The very bottom line is to do all your actions with bodhicitta. That is the best, most meaningful way to think during your break time. This makes your life most beneficial. As much as possible, with awareness, keep your attitude and thoughts in bodhicitta, the thought of benefiting others. Try to do all activities with that mind, including your job and throughout the day. This way, even in your break time, whatever you do becomes the cause of happiness.

Otherwise, your most precious life is used to create the cause of suffering. One’s whole life becomes like that, so sad, the most sad thing. While there were all the opportunities to achieve enlightenment, the highest success, the most beneficial thing for all sentient beings, instead it is just wasted.

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Of all the practices, the main thing is meditation on the lamrim, to have lamrim realizations, tantric practice is secondary.

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There is no harm that comes to oneself that doesn't come from one's own mind, one's past negative karma.

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The essence is to collect the most extensive merit in your daily life with the attitude of always keeping your motivation in bodhicitta, the thought to benefit all sentient beings. The more sentient beings you think about, the more merit you create. Try to think, whatever you do, 24 hours a day, of sentient beings: when you chant mantras, when you eat, go to sleep, when you go to work, and when you are talking; if you can, keep your mind in that thought. Then, with every action, you collect numberless merits. Not only is this how to have a happy, satisfying, fulfilling life every day, every moment, but especially it is best for the future, and not only for liberation from samsara, but for enlightenment.

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What makes your whole life most beneficial is bodhicitta. The root of the path to enlightenment is correctly devoting oneself to the virtuous friend, in thought and action.

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Obtaining and following the guru’s word, for us, is really wish-fulfilling, because by following advice then you achieve everything, including enlightenment. The more you do that, the quicker and easier it is to achieve enlightenment. Each word of your guru that you follow is more precious than wish-granting jewels filling the whole sky. Remember this always, how precious and how important it is.

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There is nothing better than actualizing the lamrim, including tantra, which actually looks yummier than the lamrim. But lamrim is like the yummy cream on the cake, actually lamrim is the cream. This is the best life, the most meaningful life in the world.