The Way-Things-Are

BY AJAHN SUMANO BHIKKHU

Welcome Spiritual Friends,There is a path we can use to lead us towards Happiness right in this life as well as the next one. However, if we ignore the fact that this life of ours is like a candle burning down, the end of our life will catch us unprepared. We will die in fear and regret. With this kind of mind state rebirth is dangerous. We could be reborn as an animal or–a ghost. We could be reborn as a disabled or disfigured person, or as an orphan living in a desperately poor slum, or worse.

The key to our favorable rebirth is our mind. And the key to developing the kind of mind that will lead to a favorable rebirth hinges on our accumulating goodness, or “boon”. Our duty in this life is develop a positive, wisdom-based, selfless, and compassionate mind state. If you can get a sense of how this mind state can impact you in this very life, you can understand how all energies can follow us and intrude into your future…into your next life. The psychological and physical realms that predominate are certain to predominate later. For instance, if you that you allow yourself to be angry often, this anger will be an even more dominant trait In your next life. Or, similarly, if you cannot control hate here, you likely will emerge as an even more hate-filled person in your next life. With insight you can see that living this life haphazardly is a very dangerous entertainment that you will have to pay for later.

In my view, a view founded in Ancient Oriental psychology, perhaps the most crucial challenge facing everyone born on this planet is to die peacefully and to be reborn in a favorable abode. For if we are reborn as a human, in an environment which can nurture us spiritually, we can be certain to be living wisely and compassionately in this lifetime.

From the time we are born to the time we leave this body we have lessons to learn. If we haven’t learned them all, our karma requires us to learn or review our lessons. Our karmic residue will bring us back to a place where we can work towards resolving our karmic predicament. There is no escape from our karma. We are obliged to confront our karma, deal with it, and then go on to help others.

Living usefully in this life means also living well for the next life. We have all accumulated enough good karma to be born as a human being in this life. But being born as a human being is not enough. We need only look at much of Africa to recognize just how difficult life can be as a human being and how deep a hell realm one can be born into. There are a myriad of life-style situations in which the possibility of dramatic evolution is all but impossible.

If we look at our life from a big perspective we can see that we are actually the sum total of everything that has ever happened to us. But if the only thing we gather throughout our lives is bare experience, our lives would be folly, for experience for the sake of mere experience becomes a weight on our mind and deprives us of freshness. We need to look carefully at the events in our lives so that we triumphant over the trails and challenges that inevitably arise for each of us. This is a mature approach to life for it means we are capable of growing, changing, and moving beyond most of our unsupported beliefs and assumptions.

Of course we run into a lot of pain. But this is because we blindly run after immediate gratification. Looking for complete and lasting satisfaction from changing things is a sure recipe for distress.

It is clear to me that the last moments of this life are crucial and deciding. One doesn’t have to die to realize this with utter confidence. This accords with the many stories of people who have experienced a near death experience in which they saw themselves letting go of one’s life and moving through a transition realm toward the next one. This accords with the awareness and insight of meditators who recognize that the mental environment of ones mind at the time of our “small death”, i.e. sleeping, determines precisely where we will awaken into in the morning. This is known as linking-consciousness.

With the help of an array of spiritual friends, I have created this site and an accompanying holy tool kit that I can send to you to help you engineer your mind in a way that can provide you with the maximum opportunity to be re-born in a situation where you can help yourself and help others. The materials contained in this kit have never before been assembled together in order to maximize the spiritual synergy (a spiritual energy vortex) .The kit is designed to help turn your life towards your heart, to hasten your spiritual evolution, and to generate the conditions that will help you ensure a favorable future life. We hope this is of interest to you.

We very much hope this will be of interest to you. Kindly click below to learn more about the Way-Things-Are.

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MAKHA BUCHA DAY

MAKHA BUCHA DAY

It was 9 full months after the Buddha got the Enlightenment, on the full moon day of 6th lunar month, 45 years before the Buddhist era. On the full moon day of the 3rd lunar month, Makha, of the year, 4 special events happened:

1. There were 1,250 Sangha followers, that came to see the Buddha that evening without any schedule.
2. All of them were "Arhantas', the Enlightened One, and all of them were ordained by the Buddha himself.
3. The Buddha gave those Arhantas the principles of the Buddhism, called "The Ovadhapatimokha". Those principles are: - To cease from all evil, - To do what is good, - To cleanse one's mind;
4. It was the full moon day.

Another important event, which happened on the same days (the full moon day of the 3rd lunar month) 44 years later, the last year of the Buddha's life, he decided to 'Parinibbhana', nirvana, leave the mind from the body or die. 3 months after that day (on the full moon day of the six lunar month -- we known as 'Visakha Bucha Day'). 

ACTIVITIES TO BE OBSERVED ON MAKHA BUCHA DAY

'TUM BOON': Making merit by going to temples for special observances, making merit, listening to Dhamma preaching, giving some donations and join in the other Buddhist activities.

'RUB SIL': Keeping the Five Precepts, including abstinence from alcoholic drinks and all kinds of immoral acts.

'TUK BARD': Offering food to the monks and novices (in the alm bowl).

Practice of renuciation: Observe the Eight Precepts, practice of meditation and mental discipline, stay in the temple, wearing white robes, for a number of days. 

'VIEN TIEN': Attending the Candle Light Procession around the Uposatha Hall, in the evening of the Vesak full moon day.

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Educating Compassion

Pohd Dhamma the best way for all to practice dhamma

 

Educating Compassion

by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

© 2006–2012

 

 

If you have any friends or family members who are sick or dying, I know of no one who would tell you to treat them in a hardhearted way. Everyone would agree that you should be as compassionate as you can. The problem is that there's little agreement on how compassion translates into specific actions. For some people, compassion means extending life as long as possible; for others it means terminating life — through assisted suicide or euthanasia — when quality of life falls below a certain level. And neither of these two groups sees the other as compassionate at all. The first sees the second as criminal; the second sees the first as heartless and cruel.

For those of us trying to negotiate the murky territory between these two extremes, there's not much reliable guidance. Ours is a culture that doesn't like to think about illness and death, and as a result, when faced with someone who's sick or dying, we're at a loss as to what to do. Some people will advise you simply to do what feels right, but feelings have a way of turning slippery and devious. Some things feel right simply because they make you feel good, regardless of whether they're genuinely right for the other person. A desire to extend life may mask a deeper fear of your own death; a desire to terminate a miserable illness may rationalize your distress at having to witness suffering. Even if you're told to act from a place of mindful presence, you may find that what seem to be your spontaneous inspirations are actually conditioned by hidden, unexamined assumptions about what life and death are all about.

This is why the simple injunction to be compassionate or mindful in the presence of a sick or dying person isn't enough. We need help in educating our compassion: specific advice on how to think through the implications of our actions in the face of life and death, and specific examples of how people who have contemplated these issues thoroughly have actually acted in the past.

With this thought in mind, I searched through the Pali canon — the oldest extant record of the Buddha's teachings — to see what lessons could be drawn from the Buddha's example. After all, the Buddha often referred to himself as a doctor, and to his Dharma as medicine for the sufferings of the world. From his point of view, we're all sick and dying on a subtle level, so we all deserve continual compassion. But what sort of advice did this doctor give when face-to-face with the flesh and blood suffering of illness and death? How did he treat people who were physically sick or dying?

You probably know the story of how, together with Ven. Ananda, he once found an unattended sick monk lying in his own filth. After washing the monk, he assembled the other monks, chided them for abandoning their brother, and gave them strong incentive to follow his example: "Whoever would tend to me," he said, "should tend to the sick." He arranged that monks nursing their fellow monks should receive special allotments of food, to encourage them in their work and help lighten their burden. But he didn't subscribe to the notion that medical treatment should try to extend life at all costs. The Vinaya, his monastic discipline, imposes only a minor penalty on a monk who refuses to care for a fellow monk who is sick or dying, or who totally abandons a sick monk before the latter recovers or dies. And there's no penalty for withholding or discontinuing a specific medical treatment. So the rules convey no message that the failure to keep life going is an offense of any kind. At the same time, though, a monk who deliberately ends the life of a patient, even from compassionate motives, is expelled from the monkhood and can never reordain in this life, so there's no room for euthanasia or assisted suicide.

This means that the middle ground is where true compassion can be exercised. The Buddha sets out some guidelines for this area in his definition of the ideal nurse. You're qualified to tend to the sick if (1) you know how to prepare medicines; (2) you know what's amenable to the patient's cure, taking away whatever's unamenable and providing things that are amenable; (3) you're motivated by compassion and not by material gain; (4) you're not squeamish about cleaning up urine, excrement, saliva, or vomit; and (5) you're competent at encouraging the patient at the proper times with talk on Dharma.

Of these five qualifications, the one most discussed in the Pali canon is the fifth: What qualifies as a helpful and compassionate talk on Dharma to a person who is sick or dying? What doesn't?

Here again, the don'ts mark off the territory for the do's. The Vinaya cites cases where monks tell a sick person to focus his thoughts on dying, in the belief that death would be better than the miserable state of his life. The sick person does as they advise, he dies as a result, and the Buddha expels the monks from the monkhood. Thus, from the Buddha's perspective, encouraging a sick person to relax her grip on life or to give up the will to live would not count as an act of compassion. Instead of trying to ease the patient's transition to death, the Buddha focused on easing his or her insight into suffering and its end.

This is because he regarded every moment of life as an opportunity to practice and benefit from the Dharma. It's a well-known principle in all meditation traditions that a moment's insight into the pain of the present is far more beneficial than viewing the present moment with disgust and placing one's hopes on a better future. This principle applies as much at the end of life as it does anywhere in the middle. In fact, the Buddha encouraged his monks to reflect constantly on the potential imminence of death at every moment, even when in ordinary health, so that they could bring a sense of urgency to their practice and give the present moment their full attention. If you learn to treat all moments as potentially your last, then when your last moment does come you will face it prepared.

Most often, though, a sick or dying person hasn't been living with this sort of urgent alertness, so the first step in advising such a person is to aim at clearing away any emotional obstacles to learning from the present. The Pali texts note two such obstacles: worry over the responsibilities the person is leaving behind, and fear of death. In one poignant discourse, a man appears to be dying and his wife consoles him not to worry: She'll be able to provide for herself and their children in his absence; she won't go looking for another husband; and she'll continue in her practice of the Dharma. With each reassurance she repeats the refrain, "So don't be worried as you die. Death is painful for one who is worried. The Blessed One has warned against being worried at the time of death." The man recovers unexpectedly and, while still frail, goes to visit the Buddha, telling him of his wife's reassurances. The Buddha comments on how fortunate the man is for having such a wise and sympathetic wife.

As for fear of death, the Buddha notes that one of the primary reasons for this fear is the remembrance of hurtful or cruel things you've done in the past. Thus the Vinaya shows that monks would often console a fellow monk on his deathbed by asking him to call to mind something more positive — his highest meditative attainment — and to focus his thoughts there. In a similar vein, a common practice in Asian Buddhist countries is to remind a dying person of the acts of generosity or virtue he or she has performed in this life. Even if the person is unable to muster the mindfulness and alertness needed to gain further insight into the present, any Dharma talk that helps allay worries and forestall fears is an act of true compassion.

The Buddha comments, however, that there are three additional reasons for fearing death: attachment to the body, attachment to sensual pleasures, and a lack of direct insight into the unconditioned Dharma of the Deathless. His more advanced instructions for sick and dying people thus focus on cutting these reasons for fear at the root. He once visited a sick ward and told the monks there to approach the moment of death mindful and alert. Instead of focusing on whether they would recover, they should observe the movements of the feelings they were experiencing: painful, pleasant, or neutral. Observing a sensation of pain, for instance, they should notice how inconstant it is and then focus on the repeated dissolution of all pains. They could then apply the same focused alertness to pleasant and neutral feelings as well. The steadiness of their focus would give rise to a sense of ease independent of sensory feelings, and from this point of independence they could develop dispassion and relinquishment, both for the body and for feelings of any sort. With relinquishment would come a genuine insight into the Dharma which, being Deathless, would end all fear of death.

On another occasion, Ven. Sariputta visited the famous supporter of the Buddha, Anathapindika, who was on his deathbed. After learning that Anathapindika's disease was worsening, he advised him to train himself: "I won't cling to the eye; my consciousness won't be dependent on the eye. I won't cling to the ear; my consciousness won't be dependent on the ear," and so forth through all the six senses, their objects, and any mental events dependent on them. Although Anathapindika was unable to develop this independent consciousness in line with Sariputta's instructions, he asked that these instructions be given to other lay people as well, for there would be those who would understand and benefit from them.

Obviously, these recommendations are all shaped by the Buddha's teachings on how the state of one's mind influences the process of death and rebirth, but that doesn't mean that they're appropriate only for those who would call themselves Buddhist. Regardless of your religious beliefs, when you're faced with obvious pain you're bound to see the value of any instructions that show you how to reduce suffering by investigating the pain in and of itself. If you have the strength to follow through with the instructions, you're bound to want to give them a try. And if you encounter the Deathless in the course of your efforts, you're not going to quibble about whether to call it by a Buddhist or non-Buddhist name.

This point is illustrated by another story involving Ven. Sariputta. Visiting an aged brahman on his deathbed, Sariputta reflected that brahmans desire union with Brahma, so he taught the man to develop the four attitudes of a Brahma — infinite good will, compassion, appreciation, and equanimity. After following these instructions, the brahman was reborn as a Brahma after death. The Buddha, however, later chided Sariputta for not teaching the brahman to focus instead on investigating pain, for if he had, the brahman would have experienced nirvana and been freed from rebirth altogether.

What's striking about all these instructions is that, from the Buddha's point of view, deathbed Dharma is no different from Dharma taught to people in ordinary health. The cause of suffering is in every case the same, and the path to the end of suffering is the same as well: comprehend suffering, abandon its cause, realize its cessation, and develop the qualities of mind that lead to its cessation. The only difference is that the obvious proximity of death makes teaching the Dharma both easier and harder — easier in that the patient is freed from extraneous responsibilities and can see clearly the need to understand and gain release from pain; harder in that the patient may be too weakened physically or emotionally, through fear or worry, to put the instructions into practice. But whatever the case, it's worth noting that up to the moment of death the Buddha would have you focus less on the limitations of the situation than on the potential opportunities. Even one moment of insight in the midst of pain and suffering, he said, is worth more than one hundred years of good health.

From my own personal experience — both in watching my teachers implement these instructions and in trying to implement them myself — I've learned two major lessons. One is that the patients best suited for making the most of the Dharma when sick or dying are those who are not tormented with memories of cruel or hurtful things they did in the past, and who have already developed a meditative or contemplative practice prior to their illness. Even if that practice isn't Buddhist, they intuitively respond to the Buddha's message on pain and are able to use it to alleviate their own sufferings. The lesson here is that as long as you know you're going to die someday, it's a good idea to avoid cruel actions and to get started on a meditative practice of your own, so that you'll be prepared for illness and death when they come. As my teacher, Ajaan Fuang, once said, when you meditate you're gaining practice in how to die — how to be mindful and alert, how to endure pain, how to gain control over wayward thoughts and maybe even reach the Deathless — so that when the time comes to die, you'll do it with skill.

The second lesson is that if you want to help other people overcome their fear of death, you have to learn how to overcome your own fear of death as well, by abandoning attachment to the body, abandoning attachment to sensual pleasures, avoiding cruel actions, and gaining direct insight into the Deathless. With your fears overcome, you'll be much more effective in teaching the Dharma to those on their deathbed. You won't be disturbed by the physical horrors of death, you'll be able to communicate directly to the needs of the dying person, and your words will carry more weight, for they come from direct experience. Your compassion will be educated not by books or feelings, but by a clear insight into what dies and what doesn't.

Ultimately, these two lessons boil down to one: Meditate, as an act of compassion both for yourself and for others, even if death seems far away. When the time comes to die, you'll be less of a burden on those who are caring for you. In the meantime, if you're called on to comfort those who are sick or dying, your compassion will be more genuinely helpful, and you'll have a more effective message to teach.

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THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

Dhamma 

The Four Noble Truths

A Dhammatalk by Ajahn Chah

Today I have been invited by the abbot to give you a teaching, so I ask you all to sit quietly and compose your minds. Due to the language barrier we must make use of a translator, so if you do not pay proper attention you may not understand.

My stay here has been very pleasant. Both the Master and you, his followers, have been very kind, all friendly and smiling, as befits those who are practicing the true Dhamma. Your property, too, is very inspiring, but so big! I admire your dedication in renovating it to establish a place for practicing the Dhamma.

Having been a teacher for many years now, I've been through my share of difficulties. At present there are altogether about forty branch monasteries  of my monastery, Wat Nong Pah Pong, but even these days I have followers who are hard to teach. Some know but don't bother to practice, some don't know and don't try to find out. I don't know what to do with them. Why do human beings have minds like this? Being ignorant is not so good, but even when I tell them, they still don't listen. I don't know what more I can do. People are so full of doubts in their practice, they're always doubting. They all want to go to Nibbāna, but they don't want to walk the path. It's baffling. When I tell them to meditate they're afraid, or if not afraid then just plain sleepy. Mostly they like to do the things I don't teach. When I met the Venerable Abbot here I asked him what his followers were like. He said they're the same. This is the pain of being a teacher.

The teaching I will present to you today is a way to solve problems in the present moment, in this present life. Some people say that they have so much work to do they have no time to practice the Dhamma. ''What can we do?'' they ask. I ask them, ''Don't you breathe while you're working?'' ''Yes, of course we breathe!'' ''So how come you have time to breathe when you're so busy?'' They don't know what to answer. ''If you simply have sati while working you will have plenty of time to practice.''

Practicing meditation is just like breathing. While working we breathe, while sleeping we breathe, while sitting down we breathe... Why do we have time to breathe? Because we see the importance of the breath, we can always find time to breathe. In the same way, if we see the importance of meditation practice we will find the time to practice.

Have any of you ever suffered?... have you ever been happy?... Right here is the truth, this is where you must practice the Dhamma. Who is it who is happy? The mind is happy. Who suffers? The mind suffers. Wherever these things arise, that's where they cease. Have you experienced happiness?... Have you experienced suffering?... this is our problem. If we know suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering and the way leading to the end of suffering we can solve the problem.

There are two kinds of suffering: ordinary suffering and the extraordinary kind. Ordinary suffering is the suffering which is the inherent nature of conditions: standing is suffering, sitting is suffering, lying down is suffering. This is the suffering that is inherent in all conditioned phenomena. Even the Buddha experienced these things, he experienced comfort and pain, but he recognized them as conditions in nature. He knew how to overcome these ordinary, natural feelings of comfort and pain through understanding their true nature. Because he understood this ''natural suffering'' those feelings didn't upset him.

The important kind of suffering is the second kind, the suffering that creeps in from the outside, the ''extraordinary suffering.'' If we are sick we may have to get an injection from the doctor. When the needle pierces the skin there is some pain which is only natural. When the needle is withdrawn that pain disappears. This is like the ordinary kind of suffering, it's no problem, everybody experiences it. The extraordinary suffering is the suffering that arises from what we call upādāna, grasping onto things. This is like having an injection with a syringe filled with poison. This is no longer an ordinary kind of pain, it is the pain which ends in death. This is similar to the suffering which arises from grasping.

Wrong view, not knowing the impermanent nature of all conditioned things, is another kind of problem. Conditioned things are the realm of samsāra  Not wanting things to change - if we think like this we must suffer. When we think that the body is ourselves or belonging to us, we are afraid when we see it change. Consider the breath: once it comes in it must go out, having gone out it must come in again. This is its nature, this is how we manage to live. Things don't function in that way. This is how conditions are but we don't realize it.

Suppose we lost something. If we thought that object was really ours, we would brood over it. If we couldn't see it as a conditioned thing faring according to the laws of nature we would experience suffering. But if you breathe in, can you live? Conditioned things must naturally change in this way. To see this is to see the Dhamma, to see aniccam, change. We live dependent on this change. When we know how things are then we can let go of them.

The practice of Dhamma is to develop an understanding of the way of things so that suffering doesn't arise. If we think wrongly we are at odds with the world, at odds with the Dhamma and with the truth. Suppose you were sick and had to go into hospital. Most people think, ''Please don't let me die, I want to get better.'' This is wrong thinking, it will lead to suffering. You have to think to yourself, ''If I recover I recover, if I die I die.'' This is right thinking, because you can't ultimately control conditions. If you think like this, whether you die or recover, you can't go wrong, you don't have to worry. Wanting to get better at all costs and afraid of the thought of dying... this is the mind which doesn't understand conditions. You should think, ''If I get better that's fine, if I don't get better that's fine.'' This way we can't go wrong, we don't have to be afraid or cry, because we have tuned ourselves in to the way things are.

The Buddha saw clearly. His teaching is always relevant, never out-dated. It never changes. In the present day it's still the way it is, it hasn't changed. By taking this teaching to heart we can gain the reward of peace and well-being.

In the teachings there is the reflection of ''not-self'': ''this is not my self, this does not belong to me.'' But people don't like to listen to this kind of teaching because they are attached to the idea of self. This is the cause of suffering. You should take note of this.

Today a woman asked about how to deal with anger. I told her that the next time she gets angry, to wind up her alarm clock and put it in front of her. Then to give herself two hours for the anger to go away. If it was really her anger she could probably tell it to go away like this: ''In two hours be gone!'' But it isn't really ours to command. Sometimes in two hours it's still not gone, at other times in one hour it's gone already. Holding onto anger as a personal possession will cause suffering. If it really belonged to us it would have to obey us. If it doesn't obey us that means it's only a deception. Don't fall for it. Whether the mind is happy or sad, don't fall for it. Whether the mind loves or hates, don't fall for it, it's all a deception.

Have any of you ever been angry? When you are angry does it feel good or bad? If it feels bad then why don't you throw that feeling away, why bother to keep it? How can you say that you are wise and intelligent when you hold on to such things? Since the day you were born, how many times has the mind tricked you into anger? Some days the mind can even cause a whole family to quarrel, or cause you to cry all night. And yet we still continue to get angry, we still hold onto things and suffer. If you don't see suffering you will have to keep suffering indefinitely, with no chance for respite. The world of samsāra is like this. If we know the way it is we can solve the problem.

The Buddha's teaching states that there is no better means to overcome suffering than to see that ''this is not my self,'' ''this is not mine.'' This is the greatest method. But we don't usually pay attention to this. When suffering arises we simply cry over it without learning from it. Why is that so? We must take a good hard look at these things, to develop the Buddho, the one who knows.

Take note, some of you may not be aware that this is Dhamma teaching. I'm going to give you some Dhamma that's outside the scriptures. Most people read the scriptures but don't see the Dhamma. Today I am going to give you a teaching that's outside the scriptures. Some people may miss the point or not understand it.

Suppose two people are walking together and see a duck and a chicken. One of them says, ''Why isn't that chicken like the duck, why isn't the duck like the chicken?'' He wants the chicken to be a duck and the duck to be a chicken. It's impossible. If it's impossible, then even if that person were to wish for the duck to be a chicken and the chicken to be a duck for the rest of his life it would not come to pass, because the chicken is a chicken and the duck is a duck. As long as that person thought like that he would suffer. The other person might see that the chicken is a chicken and the duck is a duck, and that's all there is to it. There is no problem. He sees rightly. If you want the duck to be a chicken and the chicken to be a duck you are really going to suffer.

In the same way, the law of aniccam states that all things are impermanent. If you want things to be permanent you're going to suffer. Whenever impermanence shows itself you're going to be disappointed. One who sees that things are naturally impermanent will be at ease, there will be no conflict. The one who wants things to be permanent is going to have conflict, maybe even losing sleep over it. This is to be ignorant of aniccam, impermanence, the teaching of the Buddha.

If you want to know the Dhamma where should you look? You must look within the body and the mind. You won't find it in the shelves of a bookcase. To really see the Dhamma you have to look within your own body and mind. There are only these two things. The mind is not visible to the physical eye, it must be seen with the ''mind's eye.'' Before the Dhamma can be realized you must know where to look. The Dhamma that is in the body must be seen in the body. And with what do we look at the body? We look at the body with the mind. You won't find the Dhamma looking anywhere else, because both happiness and suffering arise right here. Or have you seen happiness arising in the trees? Or from the rivers, or the weather? Happiness and suffering are feelings which arise in our own bodies and minds.

Therefore the Buddha tells us to know the Dhamma right here. The Dhamma is right here, we must look right here. The Master may tell you to look at the Dhamma in the books, but if you think that this is where the Dhamma really is, you'll never see it. Having looked at the books you must reflect on those teachings inwardly. Then you can understand the Dhamma. Where does the real Dhamma exist? It exists right here in this body and mind of ours. This is the essence of contemplation practice.

When we do this, wisdom will arise in our minds. When there is wisdom in our minds, then no matter where we look there is Dhamma, we will see aniccam, dukkham, and anattā at all times. Aniccam means transient. Dukkham - if we cling to the things that are transient we must suffer, because they are not us or ours (anattā). But we don't see this, we always see them as being our self and belonging to us.

This means that you don't see the truth of convention. You should understand conventions. For example, all of us sitting here have names. Are our names born with us or are they assigned to us afterwards? Do you understand? This is convention. Is convention useful? Of course it's useful. For example, suppose there are four men, A, B, C, and D. They all must have their individual names for convenience in communicating and working together. If we wanted to speak to Mr. A we could call Mr. A and he would come, not the others. This is the convenience of convention. But when we look deeply into the matter we will see that really there isn't anybody there. We will see transcendence. There is only earth, water, wind and fire, the four elements. This is all there is to this body of ours.

But we don't see it in this way because of the clinging power of Attavādupādāna. If we were to look clearly we would see that there isn't really much to what we call a person. The solid part is the earth element, the fluid part is the water element, the part which provides heat is called the fire element. When we break things down we see that there is only earth, water, wind and fire. Where is the person to be found? There isn't one.

That's why the Buddha taught that there is no higher practice than to see that ''this is not my self and does not belong to me.'' They are simply conventions. If we understand everything clearly in this way we will be at peace. If we realize in the present moment the truth of impermanence, that things are not our self or belonging to us, then when they disintegrate we are at peace with them, because they don't belong to anybody anyway. They are merely the elements of earth, water, wind and fire.

It's difficult for people to see this, but even so it's not beyond our ability. If we can see this we will find contentment, we will not have so much anger, greed or delusion. There will always be Dhamma in our hearts. There will be no need for jealousy and spite, because everybody is simply earth, water, wind and fire. There's nothing more to them than this. When we accept this truth we will see the truth of the Buddha's teaching.

If we could see the truth of the Buddha's teaching we wouldn't have to use up so many teachers! It wouldn't be necessary to listen to teachings every day. When we understand then we simply do what's required of us. But what makes people so difficult to teach is that they don't accept the teaching and argue with the teachers and the teaching. In front of the teacher they behave a little better, but behind his back they become thieves! People are really difficult to teach. The people in Thailand are like this, that's why they have to have so many teachers.

Be careful, if you're not careful you won't see the Dhamma. You must be circumspect, taking the teaching and considering it well. Is this flower pretty?... Do you see the ugliness within this flower?... For how many days will it be pretty?... What will it be like from now on?... Why does it change so?... In three or four days you have to take it and throw it away, right? It loses all its beauty. People are attached to beauty, attached to goodness. If anything is good they just fall for it completely. The Buddha tells us to look at pretty things as just pretty, we shouldn't become attached to them. If there is a pleasant feeling we shouldn't fall for it. Goodness is not a sure thing, beauty is not a sure thing. Nothing is certain. There is nothing in this world that is a certainty. This is the truth. The things that aren't true are the things that change, such as beauty. The only truth it has is in its constant changing. If we believe that things are beautiful, when their beauty fades our mind loses its beauty too. When things are no longer good our mind loses its goodness too. When they are destroyed or damaged we suffer because we have clung to them as being our own. The Buddha tells us to see that these things are simply constructs of nature. Beauty appears and in not many days it fades. To see this is to have wisdom.

Therefore we should see impermanence. If we think something is pretty we should tell ourselves it isn't, if we think something is ugly we should tell ourselves it isn't. Try to see things in this way, constantly reflect in this way. We will see the truth within untrue things, see the certainty within the things that are uncertain.

Today I have been explaining the way to understand suffering, what causes suffering, the cessation of suffering and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. When you know suffering you should throw it out. Knowing the cause of suffering you should throw it out. Practice to see the cessation of suffering. See aniccam, dukkham and anattā and suffering will cease.

When suffering ceases where do we go? What are we practicing for? We are practicing to relinquish, not in order to gain anything. There was a woman this afternoon who told me that she is suffering. I asked her what she wants to be, and she said she wants to be enlightened. I said, ''As long as you want to be enlightened you will never become enlightened. Don't want anything.''

When we know the truth of suffering we throw out suffering. When we know the cause of suffering then we don't create those causes, but instead practice to bring suffering to its cessation. The practice leading to the cessation of suffering is to see that ''this is not a self,'' ''this is not me or them.'' Seeing in this way enables suffering to cease. It's like reaching our destination and stopping. That's cessation. That's getting close to Nibbāna. To put it another way, going forward is suffering, retreating is suffering and stopping is suffering. Not going forward, not retreating and not stopping... is anything left? Body and mind cease here. This is the cessation of suffering. Hard to understand, isn't it? If we diligently and consistently study this teaching we will transcend things and reach understanding, there will be cessation. This is the ultimate teaching of the Buddha, it's the finishing point. The Buddha's teaching finishes at the point of total relinquishment.

Today I offer this teaching to you all and to the Venerable Master also. If there is anything wrong in it I ask your forgiveness. But don't be in a hurry to judge whether it is right or wrong, just listen to it first. If I were to give you all a fruit and tell you it's delicious, you should take note of my words, but don't believe me offhand, because you haven't tasted it yet. The teaching I give you today is the same. If you want to know whether the ''fruit'' is sweet or sour you have to slice a piece off and taste it. Then you will know its sweetness or sourness. Then you could believe me, because then you'd have seen for yourself. So please don't throw this ''fruit'' away, keep it and taste it, know its taste for yourself.

The Buddha didn't have a teacher, you know. An ascetic once asked him who his teacher was, and the Buddha answered that he didn't have one⁶. The ascetic just walked off shaking his head. The Buddha was being too honest. He was speaking to one who couldn't know or accept the truth. That's why I tell you not to believe me. The Buddha said that to simply believe others is foolish, because there is no clear knowing within. That's why the Buddha said ''I have no teacher.'' This is the truth. But you should look at this it the right way. If you misunderstand it you won't respect your teacher. Don't go saying ''I have no teacher.'' You must rely on your teacher to tell you what is right and wrong, and then you must practice accordingly.

Today is a fortunate day for all of us. I have had a chance to meet with all of you and the Venerable Master. You wouldn't think that we could meet like this because we live so far apart. I think there must be some special reason that we have been able to meet in this way. The Buddha taught that everything that arises must have a cause. Don't forget this. There must be some cause. Perhaps in a previous existence we were brothers and sisters in the same family. It's possible. Another teacher didn't come, but I did. Why is that? Perhaps we are creating the causes in the present moment itself. This is also possible.

I leave you all with this teaching. May you be diligent and arduous in the practice. There is nothing better than the practice of Dhamma, Dhamma is the supporter of the whole world. People are confused these days because they do not know the Dhamma. If we have the Dhamma with us we will be content. I am happy to have had this opportunity to help you and the venerable teacher in developing the practice of Dhamma. I leave you with my heartfelt good wishes. Tomorrow I will be leaving, I'm not sure where for. This is only natural. When there is coming there must be going, when there is going there must be coming. This is how the world is. We shouldn't be overjoyed or upset by the changes in the world. There is happiness and then there is suffering; there is suffering and then there is happiness; there is gain and then there is loss; there is loss and then there is gain. This is the way things are.

In the Buddha's time there were disciples of the Buddha who didn't like him, because the Buddha exhorted them to be diligent, to be heedful. Those who were lazy were afraid of the Buddha and resented him. When he died, one group of disciples cried and were distressed that they would no longer have the Buddha to guide them. These ones were still not clever. Another group of disciples were pleased and relieved that they would no longer have the Buddha on their backs telling them what to do. A third group of disciples were equanimous. They reflected that what arises passes away as a natural consequence. There were these three groups. Which group do you identify with? Do you want to be one of the pleased ones or what? The group of disciples who cried when the Buddha passed away had not yet realized the Dhamma. The second group were those who resented the Buddha. He was always forbidding them from doing the things they wanted to do. They lived in fear of the Buddha's scorn and reprimands, so when he passed away they were relieved.

These days things aren't much different. It's possible that the teacher here has some followers who are resentful towards him. They might not show it outwardly but it's there in the mind. It's normal for people who still have defilements to feel this way. Even the Buddha had people hating him. I myself have followers who resent me also. I tell them to give up evil actions but they cherish their evil actions. So they hate me. There are plenty like this. May all of you who are intelligent make yourselves firm in the practice of Dhamma. 

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Embrace death

Embrace death 

 BY PHRA PAISAL VISALO

 Life and death are actually one and the same matter. We will die in more or less the same fashion as how we live. If we live in ignorance, our final moment will likely be spent in agony, without any sense of peace and mindfulness. But if we constantly cultivate merits and self-awareness, we should be able to pass away peacefully, being in the state of mindfulness until our last breath.

Life of the awakened one is to be aware of the prevalence of death all the time. There is this ever readiness to confront death. And even when the mind does not yet feel ready, it can be further trained every day as the person performs his or her duty to the best, having accepted that uncertainty is but a fact of life.

There are several methods to cultivate this contemplation on death, or moranassati. Just a thought that we will all die sooner or later so we should maximise the remaining time we have is one example. However, for most people, such recollections may not be enough. They may be keen for a while, but eventually, their lives will fall back into the same patterns of habits, being again indulged in the work or entertainment at hand, while forgetting what is the most important thing to do in their lives.

One simple way to contemplate on death is to imagine what might happen to us if a death really took place _ now. What would we lose? Whom would we miss? There might arise a feeling of pain for those who think they are not yet ready. But such an unpleasant situation might help him or her to be better prepared, to practise for the remaining time we still have, in order to deal with the suffering when the moment of loss actually comes.

Here are some more ideas about how to contemplate on death and dying:

Practice dying at bedtime

At the end of the day, the time to rest the mind and the body, is a good opportunity to reflect on the inevitability of death. Practice the process of dying as if we were facing it at this very moment.

The suitable posture is to lie down and relax every part of the body from the head to the toes and especially the face. Breathe in and out freely. Feel the tip of your nose and the softness of the in- and out-breaths. Put down every thought, be it about the past or the future.

As the mind calms down, think of how we are approaching death. We just don't know when. Tonight might be the last night for us. Tomorrow might never come.

Think of how every breath will dissolve as death arrives. The heart will stop beating. The body will no longer be able to move, and it will turn cold and stiff, not unlike a useless log.

Then think of how every valuable material we have acquired and kept will no longer be ours. They will belong to someone else. We cannot do anything with them. What we used to hold dear will be left unattended.

Moreover, we will no longer have another chance to talk with our children or our beloved. Everything we used to do with them will become the past. We will no longer be able to visit our parents or do anything more for them. There is not even time to say good-bye, or to make amends with those we have had grudges with.

All the work has to be left behind too, even those that have not been finished. We can no longer make any further revision. However important that work is, it will have to be abandoned. The same with all the knowledge and experiences we have accumulated _ they will all disappear with us.

All the fame, power and supporters will leave our hands. No matter how powerful we are, we cannot take any of these things with us. Do not expect that people will continue to praise us after we die. Even our name will be finally forgotten.

As we reflect on this, observe our feelings. Do we worry, regret, or have an attachment to any of these? Are we ready to accept these losses? If not, what makes us still agitated? Such contemplation will help us realise that there are a few things that we should do but have not yet done (or done enough), as well as things that we still feel a strong attachment to. Such awareness will prompt us to do the important but often overlooked matters, as well as practicing the art of letting go.

Contemplation on death on various occasions

In fact, one can contemplate on death any time during the day. When travelling, by car or boat or plane, always be prepared. If there is something untoward happening in the next few seconds, how should we confront it? What would we think of first? Are we ready to give up everything we feel attached to at that point in time?

When leaving the house, think if this could be our last trip and we may not be able to return to see our parents, beloved, or children again. Is there anything left that we may have regretted for not finishing them first? Are there any conflicts that we may wish we should have reconciled? Such awareness will urge us to try to treat our family better and not let certain issues to be resolved in the future _ for such a day may never come.

Reading newspapers, especially reports about accidents or disasters, is another opportune moment to contemplate on the uncertainty of life. Anything could happen without warning; people can die at any place and time. Try to think of how the same thing might happen to us, too. Will we be able to confront it? Are we prepared to die?

Attending a funeral service should also be the time to remind ourselves of the imminence of death. Once the deceased also walked and moved about like us. In the future, we would all have to lie down like him or her, not being able to take anything with us except the effects of our good or bad deeds.

The best dharma teacher is the body in the coffin in front of us. He or she is trying to wake us up from indulgence and heedlessness in life. Whoever believes they still have a few more years to go will have to think again as they attend the funeral of a child or a teenager. Those engrossed in their power should realise that however ``big'' they may have been, everyone will end up being smaller than the coffin that would contain their body.

Similarly, when visiting the sick person, we should remember that our body will one day be in similar condition. Again, the patient, especially the terminally ill, is like our dharma teacher. Whatever their reactions _ anxious, traumatic, desperate _ they are teaching us how to prepare ourselves, so that when our turn comes, we may not suffer as much as they do. The sick person who seems to be in peace and able to maintain his or her composure despite the apparent physical pain, is also showing us examples on how we should likewise prepare ourselves, especially while we are still in good health.

To keep our mind still in time of sickness is the same matter as to keep our mind still when facing death. So think of the period when we fall sick as an exercise to prepare ourselves for death. Sickness is like the first few lessons before we move on to the most difficult level _ if we cannot deal with sickness, how then can we confront death?

Reminders on death

We could apply anything we come across in our daily life to remind us about death. It depends on one's circumstances and creativity.

Some Tibetan meditation masters would pour all the water from their personal glasses and put them with the bottom up next to their beds. They do this because they were not certain if they would be able to wake up and use the glass again on the following day. The ritual thus served like a reminder for the masters that death could come to them at any given time.

Later, a Thai writer has learned about this story and applied it to herself: Every night before she goes to bed, she always makes sure that every dish has been washed thoroughly. So if she happened to die in her sleep, there would be no dirty dishes left as burdens for others, she said.

A 55-year-old man used marbles as his ``death reminders''. Each marble is equivalent to about a week of living. The man has calculated that if he were to reach the average life span, taken to be about 75 years old, he would have about 1,000 weeks left. So he bought 1,000 marbles and put them in a plastic box. Every week he would take out one marble from the box. The diminishing amount of the marbles reminds him that his days are numbered. It reminds him of the approaching death, which enables him to choose to do the most important thing, and not let himself drift away worrying over the inconsequential.

Each person can choose different ``reminders'' _ from the sunrise and sunset, or the flower that comes out in a bud, blooms and finally withers away, or a leaf that springs from a tree branch and finally falls down to the ground. They remind us of the transience of life. Lord Buddha once suggested one should view life not unlike the foamy top of the waves, or as a dew drop, a lightning flash _ they are all transitory, and thus is our own existence.

Other activities to prepare for death

We could try an exercise of ``letting go'' of our beloved people and belongings. Choose seven objects _ they could be a person, a pet animal, or something we consider dear to us _ and ask yourself if we were forced to give up one thing, what would that thing would be. Continue with each of the remaining six objects. We could imagine ourselves being in an unpleasant situation _ like facing a fire, an earthquake or an accident _ that prompts us to lose each of our cherished items. What would we choose to keep? And what to give up?

Such an exercise will teach us how to let go. It will help us review our own sets of attachments, to discover what we consider to be the most important in our lives. Some may find they love or worry about dogs more than their brothers and sisters. Others may be willing to give up everything but not their favourite doll. Still others would choose their computer as the last item to give up. We may uncover something in ourselves that we have not been aware of before _ and then we could try to adapt to the changing circumstances. All this is crucial in the preparation for death since ultimately we will have to lose everything one way or the other. Actually, even when we are still alive, we are bound to lose certain things or people, and often without the ability to make a choice of what we would like to keep and what we would like to lose.

Contemplation on death and dying

Here is an example of a prayer you can recite every night, as a way to remind yourself of the transience of life:

"As you breathe in and breathe out, try to keep your mind in the calm and peaceful state.

Imagine a picture of a beautiful flower. Then visualise how the same flower starts to wilt, losing each petal, one by one. How the once dazzling colours slowly faze away until the whole flower becomes eventually lifeless. 

Imagine a scenery of a beautiful landscape at dawn. How the whole sky is basked in the first soft light of the day. Then think of the same place at noontide when the sun is at its fiercest. Time gradually tickles away until it is now dusk, and finally everything is dissolved into the darkness.

Absorb all these pictures into ourselves. Our existence is like the flower that will one day wither away. And like the sun that has to leave the sky every day, we will all have to leave this Earth sooner or later.

We will all have to leave this Earth. Nobody knows when that time will come. Maybe next year. Maybe next month. Or maybe tomorrow.

Let's imagine that today is the last day we will live on this Earth. There will no longer be tomorrows for us. By the time tomorrow comes, our body will be lying still, no longer able to feel anything, even our own breaths.

Let's imagine that in the next few hours, every person we have met, talked, and laughed with, those who have always been part of our lives, we will no longer be able to see them again. There is no exception whatsoever.

Imagine the picture of our parents, children, brothers and sisters whom we have met everyday. We will have to leave them all in the next few hours. Imagine the face of our beloved. The time to leave him or her is soon to arrive. Imagine how soon we will have to leave all the friends behind. We will no longer be able to see them again.

Think of what has happened this morning. Whom did we see? What did we do? Think of the time we spent during breakfast this morning.

Think of the time we went to see our children off at school. Think of the friends we have met in the meeting room.

Think of all the valuables we have toiled our labour to acquire them. The house, cars, jewellery, money, all the things we used to hold as dear. We will soon have to give up everything we once owned.

Think of all the work we have loved and devoted ourselves through all these years. Whatever it is, we will no longer have the opportunity to do it now. All the work that is still left undone, there will be no time to finish it now.

Soon the world we have known all our lives will disappear. There will be nothing left. Nothing at all. The important thing is that our whole lives will come to an end in the next few hours.

Now come back to explore our feelings at the moment. How do we feel right now? Are we scared? Contemplate on this fear. Feel it. Acknowledge it. What exactly are we fearful of? Where is this fear located actually? Take in this feeling called fear. Observe our own reactions thoroughly.

Are we worried about anything? What do we think is the hardest to leave behind? Our father and mother? Our beloved? Our children? Friends? Wealth? Work?

Keep our heart still. Contemplate if everything we think belong to us - are they ours really? Can we take them with us? Or are they just placed under our care, but only for a while. Now it is time for us to leave them so that others can take care of and to make use of them instead.

For all the work we have done, now it is time to give it up. It is time for others to carry it on. We have left enough legacies on this Earth. They are now part of this Earth, and not ours. They are no longer what we should worry about anymore.

Our parents, children, brothers and sisters, and everyone whom we have loved, we have had the fortune to live with them for a while. We have done what should be done. Now it is time for us to take leave. Do not worry that they will not be able to live without us. We used to leave them on their own before. The only difference is that this time around we will have to leave them longer than before.

We will soon have to leave this body. This body is not ours. We have borrowed it from nature.

We have been given this body for free through our parents. It is now time to return it to nature. It is now time for this body to return to all the four elements in nature - the Earth, the water, the wind and the fire.

It is now time for us to shed away every feeling of guilt, anxiety, remorse. Do not let these feelings burden our heart. It is not too late to ask for forgiveness. Now let's ask for everyone we have once hurt or harmed to forgive us. Let everyone of us be free from animosity toward one another. 

If we still hold grudges or revengeful feelings toward some people, give them up. Do not let the ill feelings eat us from the inside. Forgive them. Forgive everyone who has caused us to suffer. Free our heart from all the hatred and anger. Let everyone of us live in peace.

Finally, abandon everything we used to hold as ours. Give up everything, including ourselves. Actually, there is nothing that can be thought of as ours, even this thing we called "mine". They are not really ours. Give up every attachment to the notion of self. Do not anticipate about what will happen to us, in what form we will be reborn. Just remember that whatever that is will be [another cause of] suffering. There is nothing to grasp, to hold onto. Give up everything, be it the past or the future. Keep your mind in the state of peace, emptiness, the bliss of complete freedom." 

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Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

       Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (Servant of the Buddha) became a monk in 1926. He established Suan Mokkhabalarama (The Grove of the Power of Liberation, Thailand) in 1932. He worked to explain the essential principles of what he called ‘pristine Buddhism’—the original realisation of the Buddha— before it was buried beneath commentaries, ritualism, and clerical politics. His work was based in research of the Pali texts, especially of the Buddha’s Discourses (Sutta Pitaka), followed by personal practise. He taught whatever he could say truly quenches dukkha (dissatisfaction, suffering). His approach was always straightforward and practical. Most of the monks involved in nature conservation and community development were inspired by him. He provided the link between the scriptural trad­ition and engaged Buddhist practice today.

       After the founding of , he studied all schools of Buddhism, as well as the other major religious traditions. This interest was practical rather than scholarly. He sought to unite all genuinely religious people in order to work together to help, as he put it, ‘drag humanity out from under the power of material­ism.’ This broadmindedness won him friends and students from around the world, including Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. He died in 1993.

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Countering Stress and Depression

By His Holiness the Dalai Lama

At a fundamental level, as human beings, we are all the same; each one of us aspires to happiness and each one of us does not wish to suffer. This is why, whenever I have the opportunity, I try to draw people's attention to what as members of the human family we have in common and the deeply interconnected nature of our existence and welfare.

Today, there is increasing recognition, as well as a growing body of scientific evidence, that confirms the close connection between our own states of mind and our happiness. On the one hand, many of us live in societies that are very developed materially, yet among us are many people who are not very happy. Just underneath the beautiful surface of affluence there is a kind of mental unrest, leading to frustration, unnecessary quarrels, reliance on drugs or alcohol, and in the worst case, suicide. There is no guarantee that wealth alone can give you the joy or fulfilment that you seek. The same can be said of your friends too. When you are in an intense state of anger or hatred, even a very close friend appears to you as somehow frosty, or cold, distant, and annoying.

However, as human beings we are gifted with this wonderful human intelligence. Besides that, all human beings have the capacity to be very determined and to direct that strong sense of determination in whatever direction they like. So long as we remember that we have this marvellous gift of human intelligence and a capacity to develop determination and use it in positive ways, we will preserve our underlying mental health. Realizing we have this great human potential gives us a fundamental strength. This recognition can act as a mechanism that enables us to deal with any difficulty, no matter what situation we are facing, without losing hope or sinking into feelings of low self-esteem.

I write this as someone who lost his freedom at the age of 16, then lost his country at the age of 24. Consequently, I have lived in exile for more than 50 years during which we Tibetans have dedicated ourselves to keeping the Tibetan identity alive and preserving our culture and values. On most days the news from Tibet is heartbreaking, and yet none of these challenges gives grounds for giving up. One of the approaches that I personally find useful is to cultivate the thought: If the situation or problem is such that it can be remedied, then there is no need to worry about it. In other words, if there is a solution or a way out of the difficulty, you do not need to be overwhelmed by it. The appropriate action is to seek its solution. Then it is clearly more sensible to spend your energy focussing on the solution rather than worrying about the problem. Alternatively, if there is no solution, no possibility of resolution, then there is also no point in being worried about it, because you cannot do anything about it anyway. In that case, the sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be for you. This formula, of course, implies directly confronting the problem and taking a realistic view. Otherwise you will be unable to find out whether or not there is a resolution to the problem

Taking a realistic view and cultivating a proper motivation can also shield you against feelings of fear and anxiety. If you develop a pure and sincere motivation, if you are motivated by a wish to help on the basis of kindness, compassion, and respect, then you can carry on any kind of work, in any field, and function more effectively with less fear or worry, not being afraid of what others think or whether you ultimately will be successful in reaching your goal. Even if you fail to achieve your goal, you can feel good about having made the effort. But with a bad motivation, people can praise you or you can achieve goals, but you still will not be happy.

Again, we may sometimes feel that our whole lives are unsatisfactory, we feel on the point of being overwhelmed by the difficulties that confront us. This happens to us all in varying degrees from time to time. When this occurs, it is vital that we make every effort to find a way of lifting our spirits. We can do this by recollecting our good fortune. We may, for example, be loved by someone; we may have certain talents; we may have received a good education; we may have our basic needs provided for - food to eat, clothes to wear, somewhere to live - we may have performed certain altruistic deeds in the past. We must take into consideration even the slightest positive aspect of our lives. For if we fail to find some way of uplifting ourselves, there is every danger of sinking further into our sense of powerlessness. This can lead us to believe that we have no capacity for doing good whatsoever. Thus we create the conditions of despair itself.

As a Buddhist monk I have learned that what principally upsets our inner peace is what we call disturbing emotions.  All those thoughts, emotions, and mental events which reflect a negative or uncompassionate state of mind inevitably undermine our experience of inner peace. All our negative thoughts and emotions - such as hatred, anger, pride, lust, greed, envy, and so on - are considered to be sources of difficulty, to be disturbing. Negative thoughts and emotions are what obstruct our most basic aspiration - to be happy and to avoid suffering. When we act under their influence, we become oblivious to the impact our actions have on others: they are thus the cause of our destructive behaviour both toward others and to ourselves. Murder, scandal, and deceit all have their origin in disturbing emotions.

This inevitably gives rise to the question - can we train the mind? There are many methods by which to do this. Among these, in the Buddhist tradition, is a special instruction called mind training, which focuses on cultivating concern for others and turning adversity to advantage. It is this pattern of thought, transforming problems into happiness that has enabled the Tibetan people to maintain their dignity and spirit in the face of great difficulties. Indeed I have found this advice of great practical benefit in my own life.

A great Tibetan teacher of mind training once remarked that one of the mind’s most marvellous qualities is that it can be transformed. I have no doubt that those who attempt to transform their minds, overcome their disturbing emotions and achieve a sense of inner peace, will, over a period of time, notice a change in their mental attitudes and responses to people and events. Their minds will become more disciplined and positive. And I am sure they will find their own sense of happiness grow as they contribute to the greater happiness of others. I offer my prayers that everyone who makes this their goal will be blessed with success.

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