Meditation Guides
Following are a series of meditation guides given by Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe during Shamatha practices at Sakya Tharpa Ling, to help us with our reflections on the four common foundations and the four immeasurables.
The four common foundations - recognising the difficulty in obtaining human rebirth; the impermanence of all phenomena; the infallability of cause and effect; and the suffering nature of cyclic existence - these are the foundations of meditation that help us to turn our minds towards practising the Dharma.
Reflecting on the four immeasurables, equanimity, loving kindness, compassion and joy, helps us cultivate bodhicitta - the wish to attain enlightenment in order to benefit all sentient beings. The four immeasurables are found in a single prayer:
- May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness
- May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering
- May all sentient beings never be parted from the joy which is sorrowless, and
- May all sentient beings live in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.
Meditation on the four common foundations
First, it is very important to sit in the right meditation posture, in a comfortable position. Try to relax your mind. It is very important to try to free one's mind from all daily activities. This is now the time to relax and focus on the practice of the precious Dharma.
Once the mind is relaxed, it is important to look into oneself to see if all the difficulties, whatever we face in this life, are caused by external phenomena or internal states of mind. Whenever we feel our difficulties are caused by external phenomena, this is just an illusion. The true cause of one's difficulty is not coming from external things. The true or real cause of suffering is coming from one's own state of mind.
In the relative, the mind is the creator, creating all our experience of happiness and suffering. Other than in the mind, feelings of good or bad or positive and negative experiences do not exist. When we don't realise everything is created by the mind, we are always looking outwards to try to fix our problems. No matter how much time and energy we spend, there is nothing to fix, there is nothing to end. If we try to fix one problem, another arises. For this reason, it is very important, if we really want to be free from suffering or difficulties, to try to free our own delusion mind.
Like the great master Shantideva mentioned in his text, The Way of the Bodhisattva, just imagine this world is full of thorns and that to walk on it causes our feet much pain and discomfort. To protect our feet, we need to cover the whole world with leather, but we cannot find a piece of leather big enough to cover the whole planet. If, however, we wear leather shoes, this will be enough to cover the whole planet and our feet. In the same way, if we protect our own mind we protect everything. If we don't know how to protect our mind, we are not safe, we are very insecure. That is the nature of samsara.
All our fears, insecurities, hopes - they are caused by the delusion mind. So, the reason we practise the Dharma is to free this delusion mind, that's the most important thing. In order to free this illusion or delusion mind, it is very important to find the true teaching of the Buddha. Like Buddha, many other enlightened ones followed this path and obtained lasting peace and happiness. Some of us, too, want to follow in his steps.
Just to be born as a sentient being is not good enough to practise this precious Dharma. We need special qualities, the qualities that allow us to understand the meaning of the Dharma. All sentient beings don't have this kind of opportunity to meet the Dharma and understand the Dharma. So, in this way it is very important to realise that we are very, very fortunate to have obtained this precious human life.
In this life, we have so much power and opportunity to liberate ourselves. If we use this opportunity in the right way, as human beings we have the potential to achieve the highest result in this existent world. Other than Dharma practice, no matter what worldly things we do, nothing ends. Just like a wave - if we sit in front of the ocean looking at a wave, we may ask when it is going to end. But there is no end - one wave comes after another, and so on. Our mundane activities are like a wave. With this realisation, it is very important that whenever we have the opportunity to focus on the Dharma we never delay. Sometimes we say, "I will do my practice after I have finished my work." When our mind thinks, "I am going to do my practice when I have finished my work, or sport or whatever", this is creating a big delusion, deceiving oneself.
Again, practice does not mean just sitting down reciting. Practice means always creating a kind heart, being honest to oneself and others. Try to bring your mind into peace rather than let it be dominated by greed and other defilements. The only way we can liberate ourselves from this samsara is to have the right practice of loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta. These are the true causes to attain the state of liberation.
Even when we achieve this precious human life, it isn't going to last forever. We all know that life is impermanent. We even know from our own experience that we are not born at the age we are now, we were born as a baby. Reflect on how much we have changed, mentally, physically, since that time. Just imagine how much we could have achieved by now if we had started this practice at a young age. Even starting at a later age, there is no need to worry, as we are still very fortunate.
We have so much time to practise the Dharma. Dharma is not just worshipping the Buddha. Dharma is the true medicine to overcome one's samsaric sickness. Whether we want to practise Dharma or not, we are always trying so many different things to overcome our suffering, pain or difficulties. But if we don't have the right wisdom, we may continually be doing the wrong things. This can lead us to experience more suffering and difficulty than happiness and peace. For this reason, it is important to have the right wisdom to know what to adopt and what to abandon.
So, true happiness comes from within one's mind, not from outside. Sometimes when we are not happy, we may go shopping or to a nice restaurant or we may go to see a movie. These are only short-term solutions - they are not going to bring lasting peace and happiness. Instead of spending all this energy on this short-term happiness, we could spend time for the longer term benefit for ourselves and others by gaining the right wisdom. This is very wise. It is very important to have confidence and belief in the teachings of the Dharma. Dharma has the qualities of peace and positivity. If our mind is full of positive, virtuous merit, then even if we try to find suffering or difficulty we cannot. With a positive mind, nothing exists that will be the cause of suffering.
If we are always doing negative deeds mentally, physically and vocally, then no matter how hard we try, we cannot find any peace or happiness. This is because the causes and conditions of peace and happiness do not exist. So, practising the Dharma spontaneously achieves the result. We don't have to wait for a long time to gain the result of happiness. While we practise the Dharma, our mind is totally engaged in positive deeds. These positive deeds abandon all the causes and results of suffering. For this reason, many people, both during or after meditation, find so much peace because the mind is engaging in positive directions.
Again, it is very important to remind oneself, not just once or twice but many times, that this sickness or samsaric suffering is not just a short-term problem. It is a very serious sickness, as we have had this pain and suffering for many lifetimes. So, we need to take regular medicine to fix this ongoing suffering. For this reason it is very important, on a daily basis, to discipline ourselves and take on the responsibility of treating our sickness.
The suffering or happiness, whatever we are experiencing, is not up to somebody else like Buddha or other spiritual beings. It is entirely up to us. If we really want to be happy, it is our responsibility to accumulate the cause of happiness. If we wish to avoid all the suffering, it is our responsibility to avoid all the causes and conditions of suffering. Without our own practice, there is no one who can give us lasting peace and happiness.
Even though we realise this, we might think, "I can't do that by myself". This is why it is very important to have a teacher. A teacher is like Buddha, protecting us. It is important also to have a path, the Dharma, and a community for support, the Sangha. If we have these three most precious objects, we will never feel lonely. We will always have support, nourishing our mind, to be able to develop a more positive mind. In this way, we will find more peace in our mind and peace surrounding wherever we live.
Most human beings have the power to change the environment. If one person has one negative mind, this can totally pollute that environment and create great difficulties. If someone has a very positive mind, this can also greatly contribute to changing the environment to the positive. Like when the sun rises, light issues from it and illuminates all the darkness. So, too, a kind heart is like the sun, illuminating all the ignorance and bringing all the peace and happiness.
This is why it is very important to reflect on the Dharma on a daily basis. The reason we are doing this is for peace and happiness. There is nothing more important than practising the Dharma. No matter what important project we take on, the reason we are taking it on is that we think it is going to benefit ourselves and others, but there is no guarantee that mundane activities are going to bring peace. More than likely, they are going to bring more suffering, more worry, more stress.
I am not saying that we should totally renounce all mundane activities because we do live in the ordinary world. We need a job, we need these activities. What I am saying is don't rely on them for the ultimate cause of happiness. These mundane activities are only for a temporary benefit, to help us to live day to day. They are not going to bring final, lasting peace and happiness. Only the Dharma can be guaranteed to do this.
April 2001
First, it is very important to sit in the right meditation posture, in a comfortable position. Try to relax your mind. It is very important to try to free one's mind from all daily activities. This is now the time to relax and focus on the practice of the precious Dharma.
Once the mind is relaxed, it is important to look into oneself to see if all the difficulties, whatever we face in this life, are caused by external phenomena or internal states of mind. Whenever we feel our difficulties are caused by external phenomena, this is just an illusion. The true cause of one's difficulty is not coming from external things. The true or real cause of suffering is coming from one's own state of mind.
In the relative, the mind is the creator, creating all our experience of happiness and suffering. Other than in the mind, feelings of good or bad or positive and negative experiences do not exist. When we don't realise everything is created by the mind, we are always looking outwards to try to fix our problems. No matter how much time and energy we spend, there is nothing to fix, there is nothing to end. If we try to fix one problem, another arises. For this reason, it is very important, if we really want to be free from suffering or difficulties, to try to free our own delusion mind.
Like the great master Shantideva mentioned in his text, The Way of the Bodhisattva, just imagine this world is full of thorns and that to walk on it causes our feet much pain and discomfort. To protect our feet, we need to cover the whole world with leather, but we cannot find a piece of leather big enough to cover the whole planet. If, however, we wear leather shoes, this will be enough to cover the whole planet and our feet. In the same way, if we protect our own mind we protect everything. If we don't know how to protect our mind, we are not safe, we are very insecure. That is the nature of samsara.
All our fears, insecurities, hopes - they are caused by the delusion mind. So, the reason we practise the Dharma is to free this delusion mind, that's the most important thing. In order to free this illusion or delusion mind, it is very important to find the true teaching of the Buddha. Like Buddha, many other enlightened ones followed this path and obtained lasting peace and happiness. Some of us, too, want to follow in his steps.
Just to be born as a sentient being is not good enough to practise this precious Dharma. We need special qualities, the qualities that allow us to understand the meaning of the Dharma. All sentient beings don't have this kind of opportunity to meet the Dharma and understand the Dharma. So, in this way it is very important to realise that we are very, very fortunate to have obtained this precious human life.
In this life, we have so much power and opportunity to liberate ourselves. If we use this opportunity in the right way, as human beings we have the potential to achieve the highest result in this existent world. Other than Dharma practice, no matter what worldly things we do, nothing ends. Just like a wave - if we sit in front of the ocean looking at a wave, we may ask when it is going to end. But there is no end - one wave comes after another, and so on. Our mundane activities are like a wave. With this realisation, it is very important that whenever we have the opportunity to focus on the Dharma we never delay. Sometimes we say, "I will do my practice after I have finished my work." When our mind thinks, "I am going to do my practice when I have finished my work, or sport or whatever", this is creating a big delusion, deceiving oneself.
Again, practice does not mean just sitting down reciting. Practice means always creating a kind heart, being honest to oneself and others. Try to bring your mind into peace rather than let it be dominated by greed and other defilements. The only way we can liberate ourselves from this samsara is to have the right practice of loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta. These are the true causes to attain the state of liberation.
Even when we achieve this precious human life, it isn't going to last forever. We all know that life is impermanent. We even know from our own experience that we are not born at the age we are now, we were born as a baby. Reflect on how much we have changed, mentally, physically, since that time. Just imagine how much we could have achieved by now if we had started this practice at a young age. Even starting at a later age, there is no need to worry, as we are still very fortunate.
We have so much time to practise the Dharma. Dharma is not just worshipping the Buddha. Dharma is the true medicine to overcome one's samsaric sickness. Whether we want to practise Dharma or not, we are always trying so many different things to overcome our suffering, pain or difficulties. But if we don't have the right wisdom, we may continually be doing the wrong things. This can lead us to experience more suffering and difficulty than happiness and peace. For this reason, it is important to have the right wisdom to know what to adopt and what to abandon.
So, true happiness comes from within one's mind, not from outside. Sometimes when we are not happy, we may go shopping or to a nice restaurant or we may go to see a movie. These are only short-term solutions - they are not going to bring lasting peace and happiness. Instead of spending all this energy on this short-term happiness, we could spend time for the longer term benefit for ourselves and others by gaining the right wisdom. This is very wise. It is very important to have confidence and belief in the teachings of the Dharma. Dharma has the qualities of peace and positivity. If our mind is full of positive, virtuous merit, then even if we try to find suffering or difficulty we cannot. With a positive mind, nothing exists that will be the cause of suffering.
If we are always doing negative deeds mentally, physically and vocally, then no matter how hard we try, we cannot find any peace or happiness. This is because the causes and conditions of peace and happiness do not exist. So, practising the Dharma spontaneously achieves the result. We don't have to wait for a long time to gain the result of happiness. While we practise the Dharma, our mind is totally engaged in positive deeds. These positive deeds abandon all the causes and results of suffering. For this reason, many people, both during or after meditation, find so much peace because the mind is engaging in positive directions.
Again, it is very important to remind oneself, not just once or twice but many times, that this sickness or samsaric suffering is not just a short-term problem. It is a very serious sickness, as we have had this pain and suffering for many lifetimes. So, we need to take regular medicine to fix this ongoing suffering. For this reason it is very important, on a daily basis, to discipline ourselves and take on the responsibility of treating our sickness.
The suffering or happiness, whatever we are experiencing, is not up to somebody else like Buddha or other spiritual beings. It is entirely up to us. If we really want to be happy, it is our responsibility to accumulate the cause of happiness. If we wish to avoid all the suffering, it is our responsibility to avoid all the causes and conditions of suffering. Without our own practice, there is no one who can give us lasting peace and happiness.
Even though we realise this, we might think, "I can't do that by myself". This is why it is very important to have a teacher. A teacher is like Buddha, protecting us. It is important also to have a path, the Dharma, and a community for support, the Sangha. If we have these three most precious objects, we will never feel lonely. We will always have support, nourishing our mind, to be able to develop a more positive mind. In this way, we will find more peace in our mind and peace surrounding wherever we live.
Most human beings have the power to change the environment. If one person has one negative mind, this can totally pollute that environment and create great difficulties. If someone has a very positive mind, this can also greatly contribute to changing the environment to the positive. Like when the sun rises, light issues from it and illuminates all the darkness. So, too, a kind heart is like the sun, illuminating all the ignorance and bringing all the peace and happiness.
This is why it is very important to reflect on the Dharma on a daily basis. The reason we are doing this is for peace and happiness. There is nothing more important than practising the Dharma. No matter what important project we take on, the reason we are taking it on is that we think it is going to benefit ourselves and others, but there is no guarantee that mundane activities are going to bring peace. More than likely, they are going to bring more suffering, more worry, more stress.
I am not saying that we should totally renounce all mundane activities because we do live in the ordinary world. We need a job, we need these activities. What I am saying is don't rely on them for the ultimate cause of happiness. These mundane activities are only for a temporary benefit, to help us to live day to day. They are not going to bring final, lasting peace and happiness. Only the Dharma can be guaranteed to do this.
April 2001
Meditation on the four immeasurables
Now we will do a short four immeasurable thoughts meditation. Again, it is very important to relax and be open. Then look into oneself and ask what are we really trying to accomplish, what do we really wish to achieve?
Every sentient being wishes to be happy and be free from suffering, to have sympathetic joy and to live in equanimity. In order to follow one's wish, we need the right instructions and right instructor. The right instructor is the Buddha, the person who journeyed this path and obtained the highest result of enlightenment for the sake of all other sentient beings. This result was not just possible for only Buddha. All of us, all mother sentient beings, have the potential to achieve this result.
Whether or not we are going to achieve this result is up to one's practice, one's connection, one's merit and one's wisdom. It is up to us. We do have the potential to achieve enlightenment like the Buddha himself. If something is achievable, why do we suffer or have difficulties from beginningless time until now? What causes the obstacles to stop us attaining Buddhahood?
The main cause is our selfish mind, our self-clinging. As long as we have self-clinging or a selfish mind, we create positive and negative thoughts and actions.
The things we most like, we regard as positive. We most desire them, to protect this desire, we do so many negative things. Alternatively, the things we don't like, we are always trying to avoid. Through this kind of discrimination, desire and anger arise. We think our desire is a cause of pleasure, we are always listening to our own desire, whatever it asks. We try our best to fulfil this desire, but no matter how much we work hard, there is no way we can fulfil our desire. The reality is that we are a slave to desire. Desire never gives us freedom to gain peace and happiness.
Why is it important to protect our mind from desire which causes all these difficulties? Even in simple examples, sometimes we're not happy with what we eat, where we live, not happy with what we wear, not happy with the people we meet. The reality is that the food we eat, the place we stay, the people we meet or clothes we wear are not going to make us happy or unhappy. It is our own mind, dissatisfaction mind, non-appreciation mind, that causes this unpleasantness, this unhappiness. To make us happy, we don't need to change the house, there is no need to change the food, no need to change that person, no need to change our clothes, and so on. What we have to change is our mind.
How can we change? When we ask ourselves, we realise that the Dharma is very important. Dharma explains how we can develop our mind, Dharma explains what to adopt and what to abandon. If we follow the right instruction of what the Buddha bestowed on us, we have a great opportunity to find happiness through the practice of loving kindness, we have the chance to be free from suffering through the practice of compassion, we have the chance to achieve bliss and joy through the practice of joyfulness. If we have a better understanding of all this, we realise that there are no good and bad external beings and that we can live in equanimity.
Without knowing all these things, we have friends that we become attached to, enemies that we become angry with. With our friends and enemies, there is great uncertainty. A friend is not always going to be friend. An enemy is not always going to be an enemy. Some of our friends cause us much pain and suffering, some enemies cause much happiness and peace in our mind. So the reality is that sometimes the enemy is better than a friend. But we treat friend and enemy differently. This is because we have the mind that distinguishes, the mind that categorises them as two persons. However, if we look at them both in a positive way, they are equal, there is no difference. However much your friend needs happiness, your enemy also wishes the same, to attain happiness.
Without understanding the equality of all beings, it is impossible to practise the Mahayana path. Mahayana means the great vehicle. In the Mahayana, we practise for the sake of ourselves and all sentient beings. In order to practise for all sentient beings, we must see all beings as equal. Otherwise, it is very hard to practise for one's enemy or disliked beings. Even if we do practise, there may arise more anger because our ordinary mind always wishes to defeat our enemy or disliked person. But when you look closely, who is the real enemy? Is it the external person or is it one's own anger mind? The outside enemy is actually very small, it may cause us small problems in this life. The outside enemy cannot follow us continuously, life after life, unlike our own anger mind which brings all the suffering from beginningless until now.
If we don't do anything with this internal enemy, it will follow us continuously in life after life, like a shadow. While we have this opportunity to be born in this human life and to meet this precious Dharma, we therefore have the power to change. This is the greatest opportunity to transform our mind from the negative to the positive, to reduce all defilement emotions and to increase positive thought, positive action and positive speech.
Therefore, it is so important to practise these four immeasurables. The reason we call it immeasurable is because the object of this meditation is sentient beings, and the number of beings is limitless - no one can count how many sentient beings exist in samsara. So when we practise on behalf of or for the benefit of all beings, our practice is of countless benefit, has enormous power. So whether one's practice is effective or powerful depends on how we think. If we do our practice for small reasons, for one's own problems, this small practice will bring only a small result. If we open up our heart and look and see that all sentient beings are the same, we will see that they are all trying to achieve the one goal, which is happiness and peace. Why then, we ask, is only me important, when the wish for peace and happiness is just as important for all beings? Therefore, one must practise for all beings. This we call the diamond heart, big heart. This brings one so much joy, so much happiness and is a much quicker method to achieve the result.
This is the reason the Dharma is like a key, it opens our heart. When we open our heart, we see that our heart and another's heart are not different. We only have a different container. Like a diamond, whether it is mined in Australia or another country, only the name is different, the actual diamonds are not different. Likewise, with human beings and non-human beings, our physical form is different but there is no difference between our hearts. So when we practise for all beings this brings so much joy and rejoicing. This is the true happiness in our life. Through this practice we can also attain the highest liberation or full enlightenment.
When we meditate on loving kindness, it is important to open our heart and welcome all sentient beings in and to contribute to helping all beings. Just imagine that oneself is like a rescuer and all sentient beings are sinking in the ocean. If we save one life, imagine how much joy this would bring to oneself and others. So, in this way, just imagine oneself is a rescuer, rescuing all beings from the samsaric ocean.
April 2001
Now we will do a short four immeasurable thoughts meditation. Again, it is very important to relax and be open. Then look into oneself and ask what are we really trying to accomplish, what do we really wish to achieve?
Every sentient being wishes to be happy and be free from suffering, to have sympathetic joy and to live in equanimity. In order to follow one's wish, we need the right instructions and right instructor. The right instructor is the Buddha, the person who journeyed this path and obtained the highest result of enlightenment for the sake of all other sentient beings. This result was not just possible for only Buddha. All of us, all mother sentient beings, have the potential to achieve this result.
Whether or not we are going to achieve this result is up to one's practice, one's connection, one's merit and one's wisdom. It is up to us. We do have the potential to achieve enlightenment like the Buddha himself. If something is achievable, why do we suffer or have difficulties from beginningless time until now? What causes the obstacles to stop us attaining Buddhahood?
The main cause is our selfish mind, our self-clinging. As long as we have self-clinging or a selfish mind, we create positive and negative thoughts and actions.
The things we most like, we regard as positive. We most desire them, to protect this desire, we do so many negative things. Alternatively, the things we don't like, we are always trying to avoid. Through this kind of discrimination, desire and anger arise. We think our desire is a cause of pleasure, we are always listening to our own desire, whatever it asks. We try our best to fulfil this desire, but no matter how much we work hard, there is no way we can fulfil our desire. The reality is that we are a slave to desire. Desire never gives us freedom to gain peace and happiness.
Why is it important to protect our mind from desire which causes all these difficulties? Even in simple examples, sometimes we're not happy with what we eat, where we live, not happy with what we wear, not happy with the people we meet. The reality is that the food we eat, the place we stay, the people we meet or clothes we wear are not going to make us happy or unhappy. It is our own mind, dissatisfaction mind, non-appreciation mind, that causes this unpleasantness, this unhappiness. To make us happy, we don't need to change the house, there is no need to change the food, no need to change that person, no need to change our clothes, and so on. What we have to change is our mind.
How can we change? When we ask ourselves, we realise that the Dharma is very important. Dharma explains how we can develop our mind, Dharma explains what to adopt and what to abandon. If we follow the right instruction of what the Buddha bestowed on us, we have a great opportunity to find happiness through the practice of loving kindness, we have the chance to be free from suffering through the practice of compassion, we have the chance to achieve bliss and joy through the practice of joyfulness. If we have a better understanding of all this, we realise that there are no good and bad external beings and that we can live in equanimity.
Without knowing all these things, we have friends that we become attached to, enemies that we become angry with. With our friends and enemies, there is great uncertainty. A friend is not always going to be friend. An enemy is not always going to be an enemy. Some of our friends cause us much pain and suffering, some enemies cause much happiness and peace in our mind. So the reality is that sometimes the enemy is better than a friend. But we treat friend and enemy differently. This is because we have the mind that distinguishes, the mind that categorises them as two persons. However, if we look at them both in a positive way, they are equal, there is no difference. However much your friend needs happiness, your enemy also wishes the same, to attain happiness.
Without understanding the equality of all beings, it is impossible to practise the Mahayana path. Mahayana means the great vehicle. In the Mahayana, we practise for the sake of ourselves and all sentient beings. In order to practise for all sentient beings, we must see all beings as equal. Otherwise, it is very hard to practise for one's enemy or disliked beings. Even if we do practise, there may arise more anger because our ordinary mind always wishes to defeat our enemy or disliked person. But when you look closely, who is the real enemy? Is it the external person or is it one's own anger mind? The outside enemy is actually very small, it may cause us small problems in this life. The outside enemy cannot follow us continuously, life after life, unlike our own anger mind which brings all the suffering from beginningless until now.
If we don't do anything with this internal enemy, it will follow us continuously in life after life, like a shadow. While we have this opportunity to be born in this human life and to meet this precious Dharma, we therefore have the power to change. This is the greatest opportunity to transform our mind from the negative to the positive, to reduce all defilement emotions and to increase positive thought, positive action and positive speech.
Therefore, it is so important to practise these four immeasurables. The reason we call it immeasurable is because the object of this meditation is sentient beings, and the number of beings is limitless - no one can count how many sentient beings exist in samsara. So when we practise on behalf of or for the benefit of all beings, our practice is of countless benefit, has enormous power. So whether one's practice is effective or powerful depends on how we think. If we do our practice for small reasons, for one's own problems, this small practice will bring only a small result. If we open up our heart and look and see that all sentient beings are the same, we will see that they are all trying to achieve the one goal, which is happiness and peace. Why then, we ask, is only me important, when the wish for peace and happiness is just as important for all beings? Therefore, one must practise for all beings. This we call the diamond heart, big heart. This brings one so much joy, so much happiness and is a much quicker method to achieve the result.
This is the reason the Dharma is like a key, it opens our heart. When we open our heart, we see that our heart and another's heart are not different. We only have a different container. Like a diamond, whether it is mined in Australia or another country, only the name is different, the actual diamonds are not different. Likewise, with human beings and non-human beings, our physical form is different but there is no difference between our hearts. So when we practise for all beings this brings so much joy and rejoicing. This is the true happiness in our life. Through this practice we can also attain the highest liberation or full enlightenment.
When we meditate on loving kindness, it is important to open our heart and welcome all sentient beings in and to contribute to helping all beings. Just imagine that oneself is like a rescuer and all sentient beings are sinking in the ocean. If we save one life, imagine how much joy this would bring to oneself and others. So, in this way, just imagine oneself is a rescuer, rescuing all beings from the samsaric ocean.
April 2001
