HEREIN IS Eight Verses on Mind Training together with the story of its origin.
I pay homage to the sublime teachers!
Geshe Chekawa once remarked, “My admiration for the Kadampas first arose when I heard the eight verses from Chakshingwa.87 Thereafter I studied the verses and meticulously memorized the words, repeating them until I arrived at Lungshö Gegong, yet I failed to realize their meaning in my heart. For if these verses had entered my heart, things would have been quite different by then. Nonetheless, whenever the fear of being attacked [by bandits and such] appeared in my mind during my journey, I reflected upon these verses and this helped. Also I was often in situations where I had to seek shelter with strangers when my mind turned wild and untamed. During times when I was confronted with seemingly unbearable situations, such as failing to secure a suitable shelter, or when I became the target of others’ disparagement, these verses helped me.”
What verses are these? They are the following eight verses:
With the wish to achieve the highest aim,
which surpasses even a wish-fulfilling gem,
I will train myself to at all times
cherish every sentient being as supreme.
In general, in order to train yourself to view each sentient being as a wish-fulfilling gem, recall two similarities shared by sentient beings and the precious gem. First if you submerge the wish-fulfilling gem in a muddy mire, the gem cannot cleanse itself of the mud; however, if you wash it with scented water on a full-moon day, adorn the tip of a victory banner with it, and make offerings to it, the gem can then become a source of all earthly wishes. In the same way, sentient beings afflicted with the various defects of cyclic existence cannot free themselves from the mire of this unenlightened state, nor can they wash away their sufferings and the origins of these sufferings. However, with our help, all the benefits, both immediate and ultimate, can issue from them. Without sentient beings, how would you obtain even the immediate benefits—these would cease immediately; even ultimate happiness arises in relation to sentient beings. It is on the basis of sentient beings that you attain the unsurpassable state of buddhahood.
Second, in particular:
Whenever I interact with others,
I will view myself as inferior to all,
and I will train myself
to hold others as superior from the depths of my heart.
As stated here, wherever we are and whomever we interact with, we should train to view ourselves, in all possible ways, as lower and to respect others from the depths of our heart. “Others” encompasses those who are higher than us, such as our spiritual teachers; those who are equal to us, such as our fellow monks; and those who are inferior to us, such as beggars. “In all respects” refers to our family ancestry, cognitive ability, and similar factors. We should reflect upon our own shortcomings in relation to these factors and avoid becoming proud. Thinking, “They all belong to the lowly class of butchers,” we tend to generate pride on the basis of our physical appearance and walk as if we possess a skin akin to the color of rusted gold. So we are not even worthy of a sentient being’s gaze!
With respect to our cognitive abilities, if we feel proud despite our commonplace lack of distinction, reflect, “I am ignorant of every one of the five fields of knowledge. Even in those fields where I have listened with care and attention, I fail to discern when I miss certain words and their explanations. In my behavior, too, though I am known to be a monk, there are hardly any negative deeds I have not committed. Even at this very moment, my thoughts embody the three poisons, and my actions of body, speech, and mind remain mostly impure. Therefore, in the future, it will be difficult to attain birth in the higher realms, let alone liberation.”
Śāntideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life states:
By this type of behavior,
even the human form will not be obtained;
if I fail to achieve human existence,
there is only evil and no virtue.88
In this manner we should contemplate all our shortcomings and reflect, “Nothing falls beneath me but this river,” and diminish our conceit and learn to respect others. This suggests that whenever we perceive positive qualities in others, or perceive qualities pertaining to family ancestry, physical appearance, material resources, or spiritual realizations such as the six perfections, we should think, “How wondrous indeed that they possess these qualities despite their flawed natures!” If, instead, they lack these qualities, we should reflect, “Who knows what higher qualities they may actually possess?” Here the story of the ugly mendicant is told.89
“From the depths” or the very bone “of my heart” indicates that our thoughts should not remain in our mouth as mere words. Instead, if we have the intention “I will regard all beings as my family without discriminating on the basis of their family background,” even the noble Avalokiteśvara will applaud us with the statement, “O child of noble family, this is excellent!” Just as, when the earth is leveled, oceans form upon it and draw forth the waters, the supramundane qualities flourish in the hearts of those free of pride. Therefore the Condensed Perfection of Wisdom states:
Abide as if you were a servant of all beings.90
In essence, the three scriptural collections are a means to vanquish conceit. When we think we are exceptional, we are unable to live in harmony with others even in this present life. As for its detrimental consequences in the next life, it is said:
Some ignorant ones, due to the force of their conceit,
take birth in the lower realms and in places bereft of leisure;
they take birth as paupers or among the lowly castes;
and they become blind, weak, or possessed of a vile demeanor.
[Because of conceit] our tendency for afflictions will deepen, and we will generate intense afflictions relative to those we deem below us. There is even a consequence more serious than this: we will fail to attain enlightenment. For it is written:
The bodhisattva who is conceited
remains far away from enlightenment.91
So all the states of inferiority, degeneration, and suffering within the bounds of mundane existence arise from grasping at our own self as most precious. In contrast, all the joys—both mundane and supramundane—originate from sentient beings. We should therefore perceive all sentient beings as embodiments of higher qualities and vanquish our pride.
Third, since the afflictions impede us from proceeding in the above manner, eliminate them as follows:
In all my activities I will probe my mind,
and as soon as an affliction arises—
since it endangers myself and others—
I will train myself to confront it directly and avert it.
Training ourselves to examine our mental continuum in all our activities and averting the afflictions as soon as they arise is as follows: Whichever of the four everyday activities we engage in,92 with mindfulness and vigilance, we should analyze whether thoughts such as attachment arise in our mind. With the thought “I will relinquish them the instant they arise,” we should level them flat by observing them in this manner. Instead, if we act like an elderly couple being robbed by a thief, we procrastinate and then nothing happens. If afflictions proliferate in our mental continuum, emotions like anger will also increase exponentially. A sutra states:
Likewise, those who place their faith in sleep
will procrastinate and fall further into slumber.
This is true also of those who are lustful
Our tendency for afflictions will deepen, and we will experience intense afflictions toward all we deem below us. A more serious consequence is that we ourselves will experience acute suffering. If we relinquish the afflictions, their propensities too will become lighter. The past propensities will weaken, and only subtle propensities will be created anew toward desirable objects. Since the law of cause and effect is subtle, the effects will definitely be realized in our experience. So we should view the afflictions as our enemies and enhance the power of their antidotes.
Śāntideva states:
I may be slain or burned alive;
likewise I may be decapitated;
under no circumstance will I
bow before my enemy, the afflictions.93
As stated here, the conventional enemy can harm us only in this world and not beyond, but the enemy that is our afflictions can injure us throughout all our lives. As it is said:
This enemy of mine, the afflictions,
is long-lived, with neither beginning nor end;
no other enemies can endure
in this manner for so long.94
Furthermore, when we surrender to our conventional enemies, they no longer harm us and may actually benefit us. If we give in to the afflictions in the same manner, however, they become even more destructive. As it is said:
If you relate to your enemies with friendship and gifts,
these bring benefit and happiness.
However, if you appease the afflictions,
it brings ever more suffering and injury.95
Furthermore, conventional enemies harm only our body, life, and wealth, whereas the afflictions create immeasurable suffering in this cycle of existence. As it is said:
Even were all the gods and demigods
to rise up against me as my enemies,
they could not drag me and cast me
into the blazing fire of the eternal hells.
Yet this powerful enemy, my afflictions,
can fling me instantly
where even mighty Mount Meru
would be crushed to dust on contact.96
So view the afflictions as our enemy and discard them. While conventional enemies can return and cause harm even after they have been banished, the afflictions enemy cannot resurface once it has been eradicated. It is like burnt seeds. The method for eliminating them is through conduct, meditation, and view.97
For beginners, given the weakness of their antidotes and their difficulty in countering afflictions that have already arisen, they must relinquish them first through their conduct. As for meditation, it is said that each affliction has a corresponding antidote. Since whatever meditative practice we undertake from among the three scopes becomes a remedy against all the afflictions, it is appropriate to engage in this practice. As our mental level advances, since afflictions are devoid of objects, it is sufficient simply to recognize that this is so. Thus there remains nothing to eliminate. Śāntideva states:
Afflictions! Afflictions! Relinquish them with your eyes of insight.98
Fourth, training ourselves to regard beings of unpleasant character and those oppressed by powerful negative karma and suffering with special care and as something rarely found is presented in the following:
When I encounter beings of unpleasant character
and those oppressed by intense negative karma and suffering,
as though finding a treasure of precious jewels,
I will train myself to cherish them, for they are so rarely found.
“Beings of unpleasant character” refers to those like the king Asaṅga,99 who, not having accumulated merit in the past, experience the arising of afflictions without even a trace of control. It also refers to beings such as the person who, while crossing a mountain pass, was given a plate of meat stew: When the food burned his lips, he tossed the full plate away along with the pan and bellowed, “You dare burn me!” “Intense negative karma” refers to the five heinous crimes, degeneration of the vows, and misappropriation of offerings made to the Three Jewels. “Those oppressed by intense . . . suffering” refers to those who are afflicted by leprosy, other serious illnesses, and so on.
We should not treat them as our enemies, saying, “We cannot even look at them, and we must never allow them to come near us.” Rather we should feel compassion toward them, as though they were being led away by the king’s executioners. Even if some among them are morally degenerate, we should feel, “What can I do to help them?” until our tears flow freely. This means that we should first console them with words, and if this proves ineffective, we should provide for their material needs and render help to cure their illness. If this, too, is unsuccessful, we should sustain them in our thoughts, and in action we should protect them even with shelter. Some people, thinking, “This will not benefit the other, but it could harm me,” cover their noses and walk away from those oppressed by acute suffering. Even so, there is no certainty that such suffering will never befall us. Therefore, in our actions, we should provide others with food, medicine, and the like, while with our thoughts we should contemplate the following and train the mind:
Whatever sufferings beings have,
may they all ripen upon me.100
The line “I will train myself to cherish them, for they are so rarely found” is explained as follows. Since it is rare to find a precious gem, we do not discard it but rather keep it and cherish it. In the same way, beings of unpleasant character are not so easy to find; yet in dependence upon them compassion arises, and in dependence upon them the awakening mind arises. Without making deliberate efforts, it is rare to encounter such objects as these that allow us to develop the Mahayana paths. Why? Because the noble ones and those with worldly excellence do not arouse our compassion, so they cannot help us enhance the awakening mind. They cannot therefore lead us to the attainment of buddhahood. This is stated in the following:
Except for the awakening mind,
the buddhas do not uphold any means.101
Fifth, training ourselves to accept the defeat without resentment, even when faced with slander and other injustices, is presented in the following:
When others out of jealousy
treat me wrongly with abuse and slander,
I will train to take upon myself the defeat
and offer to others the victory.
Whether or not we are at fault, if others slander us or malign us out of jealousy or other motives, instead of harboring resentment, we should respond with a gentle mind. Free of resentment, we should refrain from claiming, for instance, “I am innocent. Others are to blame.” Like Langri Thangpa, we should take the defeat upon ourselves. It is said that whenever misfortunes befell another, he would say, “I too am in him.” When we engage in charity and ethical discipline at present, we do so to purify our negative karma and accumulate merit. If we recognize those who slander us as sources of kindness, although this is not a substitute for the aforementioned two activities, it nevertheless cleanses us of resentment and purifies our negative karma, the master said. Taking the defeat upon ourselves prevents us from adding to our negative karma.102
Langri Thangpa states, “When it comes to purifying negative karma and accumulating merit, it is more effective to recognize those who baselessly slander you as great sources of kindness than it is to offer buttery delicacies to every monk in Phenyül.” A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life states:
Since it is in dependence upon
his malign intention that forbearance arises,
it’s really he who is the cause of forbearance;
like the true Dharma, he is worthy of veneration.103
To substantiate this assertion, Śāntideva states in the following that forbearance is more powerful than ethical discipline:
There is no negativity like anger,
and there is no virtue like forbearance. . . .104
This presents the forbearance of being unperturbed by harms.105
Sixth is the forbearance of voluntarily accepting suffering. When someone to whom we have rendered help in the past, or in whom we have placed great hope, betrays or slanders us, we should contemplate him as our teacher with a sense of gratitude. This is presented in the following:
Even if someone I have helped
or in whom I have placed great hope
gravely mistreats me in hurtful ways,
I will train myself to view him as my sublime teacher.
As for expectation, Dromtönpa once remarked, “In Kham, I went to visit the teacher Sherap Bar, a spiritual friend close to my heart. I went knowing he had not invited me, and he took offense at this and sent me away from his presence. He ordered others to remove all my belongings, and had me locked in a dark room. That was when it became clear whether I had trained my mind in loving-kindness and compassion, and whether the lines ‘May these sufferings ripen upon me, / and may all my happiness ripen upon them’106 had remained a lie for me.” So we must never retaliate with resentment.
Furthermore, relating this to our own situation, were it not for sordid karma, such events would not befall us. As it has been said:
Previously I caused harms
such as these to other sentient beings,
so it is right that today such injuries befall me,
I who have harmed others.107
We should think that we ourselves are to blame [for whatever befalls us]; and in this manner, by maintaining a warm heart, we remain happy. And because we do not transfer the blame to others, they too remain happy. We should reflect, “This is due to my own karma. It is established that no one harms the noble ones who have eliminated their negative karma.” Even from the other’s perspective, it is our own negative karma that caused them to injure us. Reflect, “Because of me, he will have to go to the lower realms. I am to blame for this.” It has been said:
Impelled by my own karma,
others have brought this harm upon me;
because of this they’ll fall to the pits of hell.
So is it not I who has destroyed them?108
Thus it is appropriate to protect these beings from their suffering. Again, it is said:
Those who falsely accuse me,
And others who cause me harm,
Likewise those who insult me:
May they all share in enlightenment.109
Also:
Even if others return kindness with harm,
I will practice responding with great compassion;
the most excellent beings of this world
answer injury with benevolence.110
“To view them as spiritual teachers while thinking of their great kindness” refers to the following: Our spiritual teachers are embodiments of great kindness, for they bestow on us the vows, provide us with the methods of meditative practice, and reveal to us the path to liberation. Of course, if we fail to contemplate this and fail to guard this contemplation, we will not tread the path. So reflect, “What this being has given me helps purify my negative karma and accomplish my accumulations. He has therefore benefited me. So I must view him as my spiritual teacher, no different from the one who has conferred on me the oral transmissions of the meditative practices.” In this respect, Songs of Bliss111 states:
Whether someone is foe or friend—
these objects that give rise to afflictions—
he who sees them as spiritual teachers
will be joyful wherever he resides.
When such thoughts arise spontaneously, our mind is trained; then, even if we have no other practice, whatever acts we engage in turn into the path to enlightenment. This is like the saying, “One cannot find excrement in a land of gold.”
Dharma is the transformation of your mind and not the transformation of the external world. For a trained person, even if the three worlds—of humans, celestial gods, and demons—were to rise up as his enemies, his mind would not be afflicted by nonvirtue and suffering. Since no one can vanquish him, he is called a hero.
Seventh, in brief, one must train to offer—both directly and indirectly—all the benefits and joys to our dear mother sentient beings and to take all their hurts and pains into the depths of our hearts. This is presented in the following:
In brief, I will train myself to offer benefit and joy
to all my mothers, both directly and indirectly,
and respectfully take upon myself
all the hurts and pains of my mothers.
“In brief ” refers to condensing all the preceding points. “Respectfully” suggests that we take these into the depths of our hearts while contemplating the kindness of our mothers. In other words, we should practice giving and taking not merely in words but from the depths of our hearts. In practice, if we give away such causes of well-being as food, medicine, and so on while taking upon ourselves all the hurts and pains of sentient beings, this is a cause for achieving birth in higher realms and attaining definitive goodness.112 If, however, we are not yet able to actually practice this, we should instead perform the taking mentally by engaging in the meditation of giving and taking and dedicating all our joys of this life. When making aspiration prayers, we should utter from the depth of our hearts the following lines from A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life:
My own happiness and others’ suffering—
If I do not thoroughly exchange them,
I will not become fully enlightened;
in this cyclic existence, too, I’ll find no joy.113
Eighth, since in all these practices it is possible to become defiled, we should make sure that they remain untainted by even the slightest mundane consideration of this life, and with the awareness that recognizes all phenomena as illusion-like, we should train to be utterly free of attachment. This is presented in the following:
By ensuring that all this remains unsullied
by the stains of the eight mundane concerns,
and by understanding all things as illusions,
I will train myself to be free of the bondage of clinging.
Thus the remedy—the method—is this. When tainted with mundane concerns such as the desire to be perceived by others as praiseworthy, we fall under the influence of the eight mundane concerns, and our pursuits become those of self-interest. When this occurs, then the sacred teachings have been turned into demons. If we understand these mundane concerns as akin to illusions, later we will relinquish them. Nothing within our present experience possesses substantial reality.
So among these empty phenomena,
what is there to gain or to lose?
Who provides you with what service?
And who subjects you to insults?
From whence do pleasure and pain arise?
What is there to be sad or joyful about?114
And further,
That all things are just like space,
I, for one, shall accept.115
As for supplicating all [objects of refuge] and reciting this as an aspiration, it is as follows: We should make mandala offering to the teachers and the Three Jewels and make the following supplication:
“If you—my teachers, the buddhas of the three times, and all the bodhisattvas—possess blessings and compassion; if you—the ten male and ten female wrathful deities—possess power and might; and if you—the wisdom ḍākinīs—possess strength and abilities, bless me so that the meaning of these eight verses will be realized in me. Bless me so that all the suffering and causes of suffering of all sentient beings ripens upon me and that all the fruits of my awakening mind ripen upon all beings.” We thus train by relating in this way to the four truths.116
Whatever virtuous actions, such as these mind training practices, we may perform, afterward we should recite this aspiration prayer of the eight verses. Making such an aspiration creates propensities for the awakening mind. We should recite the following aspiration prayer: “To such activities of root virtue I will dedicate all my time—all my months and all my years. In the future, too, I will make sure to encounter spiritual teachers and to associate with virtuous companions.” We should recite these prayers of aspiration regularly.
This commentary on the eight verses of the bodhisattva Langri Thangpa was composed by Chekawa Yeshé Dorjé. This commentary on the root verses constitutes a profound instruction on mind training. Please strive in this. May its realization arise in the hearts of all.