Sharmar
Rinpoche
In general when we practice the dharma and we commit
ourselves to accomplishing positive actions we encounter obstacles
and difficulties. This is due to the fact that our minds are laden
with emotions. Of these negative emotions, the main one is pride
which leads us to feel contempt for others (due to an
over-estimation of oneself: I am the best, the strongest, etc). The
existence of pride automatically gives rise to jealousy, hatred, or
anger. With pride as its underlying cause, the emotion of anger
creates the most powerful effects. This is because it leads us to
carry out all kinds of seriously negative actions that will bring
about future rebirths in the lower realms.
In Western societies, the distinction between pride and
firmness of mind is often confused. A lack of pride is construed to
be a weakness. Pride is a built-up and concentrated form of ego
grasping. So in this respect, it is a weakness. A person can have
great strength of character, and a strong resolve to achieve a
goal, such as enlightenment, for example, without pride ever
manifesting.
We need to dissociate pride -- the affirmation of our
own supremacy over others which suggests a certain blindness --
from firmness of mind that is a quality free of all the negative
aspects of pride. In the same way we often have a distorted view
which equates humility with a weakness of character. What we really
need is courage and strength of character, without developing
pride.
The meditation on love and compassion goes hand in hand
with the cultivation of mental stability. Indeed, with respect to
pride and anger, it is difficult for the beginner to give up these
emotions straight away. Until we are able to do this we need to
practice mental calm in conjunction with the meditation on love and
compassion. This is the very essence of Shi'nay
meditation.
For example we can examine the mental image or concept
of anger. Think of a person who appears unpleasant to you, someone
whom you regard as your enemy. If you do not have an enemy, try to
think of a person who can make you angry. Once you actually feel
the anger, do not act it out, as you may end up hurting someone.
Instead, try to relate to the anger as a type of thought and try to
see what it looks like and where it comes from? Does it come from
the person or from yourself? If you think it comes from the mind,
where does it arise from, how does it remain, and where does it go
when it disappears? In this way one takes the anger itself as the
object of meditation and reflection.
From time to time, you can practice a method of
exchanging roles. Once you feel really angry with someone, you can
put yourself in that person's place. For example, I am Shamar
Rimpoche. I am angry with you. Then I imagine that I am you. In
this way, I adopt a different viewpoint, your viewpoint. The same
exchange can be applied to the emotions of jealousy and pride. This
is a form of Shi'nay (the pacification of the mind). By
observing the strong emotional state of anger and then a peaceful
state of mind, you will come to observe the nature of mind itself.
This is the superior form of insight which we call
Lhaktong. If you can apply this method for all of the
disturbing emotions, then it will be extremely beneficial for
you.
If there are many thoughts in the mind and you manage
to pacify them with this method, this is excellent. However when
the emotions are so strong that we cannot control them, we need to
stabilize the mind by focusing on our breathing. Concentrating on
the in-and- out breaths in this case is more effective.
Many people often take this meditation to be a
breathing exercise. In fact, the important point here is not in the
breathing but in composing the mind, through being constantly aware
of the in-and-out breaths without being distracted. The main point
is really this concentration itself, this mental stability. Some
people think that the physical aspect of the practice is
significant, but this is not the case. What is essential is our
familiarity with the practice. The success of meditations such as
Shi'nay and Lhaktong does not depend on the
conceptualization of these meditative states. Rather, the essence
of these practices is in our becoming accustomed to the meditation
process itself. We have to differentiate between Gompa
which means to conceive and Sgompa which means to
meditate, to train oneself or to become familiar.
The correct conception and understanding arises from
meditation and familiarization with the practice. Therefore, the
meditation itself must be established on very precise foundations.
In order to obtain the state of a Buddha, we have to turn away
radically from becoming, in other words from all the forms of
worldly happiness associated with the different realms. One might,
for example, aim to achieve a relative happiness in a higher state
of existence, or to be free from the sufferings of the lower
realms. One might aspire to acquire the peaceful state of the
Shravakas where there is no possibility of benefiting others.
However it is only in the ultimate state of enlightenment that the
real power and capacity to act for the benefit of others can be
found.
The remedy for an attachment to the happiness of
becoming is to reflect on impermanence and the "four fundamental
thoughts which turn the mind away from the cycle of existences." As
our attachments start to weaken, we may experience a certain peace
in our mind. Grasping, or clinging to this mental state of calm may
then arise. The remedy for grasping on to this peaceful state is to
meditate on altruistic love and compassion. We should develop love
and compassion within us until they have become completely natural
attitudes for us. Love and compassion are qualities that will
accompany us throughout our entire spiritual progression: from the
moment we first give rise to the enlightened attitude right up
until we achieve Buddhahood itself. This enlightenment will then be
endowed with the body, speech, mind and qualities of a
Buddha.
Through the power of love and compassion, all unfavourable
conditions, the disturbing emotions, samsara and its
causes will be destroyed and completely annihilated. Without love
and compassion, we simply do not have enough energy. Even while we
remain trapped in this prison of samsara, subjected to the
influences of the emotions and karma, the qualities of love and
compassion allow us to be guided in the right direction.
This love and compassion has an object which is all
beings. By beings, we do not simply mean those who are around us --
humans. Anything that possesses a mind is a being. And where there
is a being, there is suffering. Just as we have a mind and through
this we experience suffering, the same goes for all other types of
beings. Here, we must distinguish between that which is living and
that which has a mind. A living thing does not necessarily have a
mind. But where there is mind, there is consciousness, and there is
life. There are all kinds of beings, some which are very small like
the insects. A common misconception is to attribute consciousness
only to beings of a certain size. We often associate the existence
of consciousness first with a certain degree of intelligence and
then to a certain size. In this way, scientists and certain schools
of philosophical thought are reluctant to acknowledge that smaller
animals, insects, or tiny marine life possess a consciousness
similar to ours even though they recognize that some larger sea
dwellers such as dolphins do have consciousness.
In fact, even the tiniest and most miniscule of insects
seeks pleasure and fears suffering. If we try to touch the fin of a
small fish, its initial reaction is to move away. If it is tamed,
then it may recognize the hand that feeds it to be a source of
satisfaction. It will then approach the hand quite simply because,
in the same way as humans, it seeks a state of well being and flees
suffering.
Beings have various sizes, but the mind is not
proportional to the physical appearance. The degree of suffering or
happiness depends on individual karma. The same mind can
reincarnate in a tiny feeble body, or in the body of a whale, or as
a king endowed with a higher faculty of mind than that of an
animal. However, size does not have any bearing on the quality or
power of the mind.
Therefore, all beings, without any exception, should be the object
of our love and compassion. Cultivate the same attitude for all
beings as you would feel for your father, mother, or those whom you
love the most. In traditional cultures, particularly in the East,
family ties are extremely strong. The father and the mother are the
people whom one reveres the most, and the idea of any harm coming
to them is unbearable. For this reason, when we meditate on the
enlightened attitude, we take this example considering all beings
as our parents.
In the West, esteem for parents does not have the same intensity.
But this difference does not matter for the meditation. Simply use
someone whom you love the most and consider all beings as that
person.
Of course, it is not possible for us to develop this
love and compassion for each being individually. But we can regard
all beings collectively as one entity and meditate on the fact that
they, too, wish to have happiness with the same fervor as we do. We
develop this intense wish for their happiness by putting ourselves
in their place. However, be careful not to make the wish into a
fixation or attachment. Rather, concentrate on what beings have to
go through. We must then continue to maintain the mind in this
aspiration for their happiness while applying the same
contemplation of its essence as was previously mentioned for the
emotions such as anger, pride and jealousy.
This love for all beings is, in the beginning, an
artificial and fabricated attitude. We do not really feel it
automatically. By training ourselves, it will develop gradually,
and sooner or later this impartial love towards all beings will
become a natural feeling. Right now, when we feel love for one or
several beings, very often, this love is partial because it is
selective, and it comes from our attachment. When we talk of
spiritual love, this is not a partial and exclusive attitude, but
it is founded in the nature of mind which is emptiness. It is from
emptiness that everything manifests.
We meditate on love; its nature is emptiness,
non-existence. The object of this love (i.e. beings) is also empty
in nature from the ultimate point of view. However, its relative
nature does exist; it arises without contradicting its essence. If
it were different and the existence of an intrinsic ultimate
reality were enough in itself; it would not enable relative
phenomena to manifest. If a dream were real, it could not take
place in the space of the mind. If the dream’s essence does not
have an empty mirror-like quality, images cannot be reflected in
it. Thus, the nature of beings’ confusion is emptiness. Otherwise,
how could it appear, if it was exclusively solid, and material?
Although this contemplation of Bodhicitta’s ultimate
nature is something that one must realize; this comes later on. In
the beginning, it is advisable to cultivate mainly the relative
aspect of love and compassion, in order to progress afterwards into
a recognition of emptiness or ultimate Bodhicitta. Parallel to this
meditation on ultimate Bodhicitta, a profound understanding will
develop. If one meditates on love by means of emptiness, it becomes
a superior love. Not only that, but at the same time, while
meditating on the nature of love, we will achieve a stable
pacification of mind (Shi'nay), and simultaneously the
force of our positivity will increase. By constantly recollecting
the enlightened attitude, we will be able to create a source of
considerable benefit for others. Through the samadhi
(complete absorption) of love, we will penetrate the ultimate and
authentic benefit. Our mind will be united with the unchanging
ultimate reality so that our consciousness will no longer be
inhabited by anything other than love for all beings. It will never
be separated from this.
By the force of our meditation, our love for beings
will be like the mother hen's love for her chicks. This process
will develop itself by its own nature, until it embraces all beings
in the state of enlightenment. Gradually we will gain the capacity
to be beneficial towards an increasing number of beings. This has
nothing to do with telepathy or any particular intention, as if we
were sending energy waves to help those who are inferior to us. But
spontaneously, beneficial and positive activities will arise
through the force of virtue. The power of this meditation is so
strong that it has the ability to spread to others. This love
extends outwards and radiates, and is born in the minds of other
beings, particularly in small animals such as birds.
