The Very Venerable Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

The Seven Points Of Mind Training

Birmingham Karma Ling, December 2002

II. The Main Practice of Bodhicitta Training

Relative Bodhichitta: 2

The Preliminary Practice

Now we are going to look at the main practice of the training in Bodhicitta. Concerning the Bodhicitta there are two, the Ultimate and the Relative. I have explained the Ultimate Bodhicitta yesterday. Today I will explain about the Relative Bodhicitta.

In general when we are practising for the benefit of sentient beings we need three things. Compassion, limitless compassion and bodhicitta mind. With these three we can accomplish the benefit of sentient beings.

In the beginning when we are trying to benefit sentient beings we need to train in the compassion. Based on the compassion we train in limitless compassion. and based on the limitless compassion we train in bodhicitta.

At first we train in Compassion. Generally all of us have compassion. If we have this compassion and loving-kindness then we experience few problems in life and people around us will not have problems either. On the other hand if we do not have much compassion and loving kindness in us then we will always have problems and anger can arise very easily for us. We won't experience much peace and happiness

The opposite of loving kindness and compassion is anger, jealousy and so on.

The person who is under the influence of disturbing emotions such as anger, pride and jealousy are generally driven by the idea that they have to make themselves victorious and defeat those who they perceive as their enemies. The person with an angry, proud mind thinks I have to accomplish my wishes and be victorious and be above others.

But if the person with an angry mind truly wants to have peace and to accomplish his wishes, as long as he follows what the angry mind tells him he will only have suffering, defeat and problems.

If we follow what the angry mind says we will experience suffering. From beginningless time until now through the power of anger we have wandered in Samsara. We will have suffering, in future lives and in this life, and we will have many problems and will not be in harmony with others.

If one's mind is full of anger then you will think that others have a mind of anger and they have the wish to harm you. For example, if you look at a person you will think "that man is giving me a funny look and he must be planning to do me harm".

But the man is not really looking at you he's just thinking his own thoughts, nothing to do with you. So you feel anger towards this person and you stare at him angrily. Then the other man thinks why is that man looking at me funnily? This continues for some time, each person looking at the other one and in the end they argue with each other and maybe come to blows. Many problems come from this and it happens a lot.

Another example is when you are driving a car. One moment you are in front then someone passes you and gets in your way. You shout at the driver who has cut in front of you and he shouts back. You have an argument with the other driver and if you get very angry you might hit the other driver. Both drivers end up fighting with each other and they both fail to accomplish their wishes.

Another example is if one is a thief and steals others belongings you will think that other people also wish to steal your belongings. Whatever mind poison one has, anger jealousy and so on, whatever one is the strongest in one's mind will influence one's perceptions of people and appearances. I'll give an example using anger. One starts off with one enemy and this becomes worse and one ends up thinking everybody is your enemy. The worst harm you could do to your enemy is to kill them. If you kill one then another arises. If you kill two then four will arise and so on. In the end the whole world will seem like your enemy. Hitler killed many of his enemies but he couldn't kill them all and in the end he killed himself. He didn't have any happiness and he didn't accomplish his wishes.

Now I want to ask you a question. Using an example as a question. There is a man who doesn't like to walk on the ground as the stones and dirt harms his feet. He covers the ground wherever he walks with carpet. One day the carpet runs out, what can he do now?

The audience answer: Get a pair of shoes, stick carpet on the soles of the shoes.

Ok, if one puts carpet on the soles of one 's shoes then that is the same as carpeting the whole world. Our anger is the biggest enemy we have and if we can defeat that then it's the same as defeating all our enemies. If we can defeat the enemy of anger in our own mind then we will obtain a supreme happiness and joy. If we try to defeat external enemies then we will never obtain lasting peace and happiness.

Some people have a lot of wealth but it doesn't bring them happiness. Some people who have a lot of wealth and possessions still end up committing suicide, as they are not happy.The cause of real peace and happiness lies within one's own mind not in external objects. For example Milarepa had no possessions but he was a very happy person.

Compassion and loving-kindness are very important. If I have a mind of compassion and loving-kindness then I will be compassionate and loving to my parents and family and people I meet and I can bring happiness to lots of people. A person who has this compassionate and loving nature will make people happy when they see him and also people will naturally have trust and confidence in them. People will listen to what they have to say. This type of person would receive help from others and have no enemies. They would be victorious and all enemies would be defeated. If our mind is filled with mind poisons then it is difficult to sleep at night and we wouldn't be able to have any peace in our mind.

2. The Main Practice

I'll now explain how to develop compassion. There are two methods of developing compassion. The first method is based on the mother you have in this lifetime. The second method is based on somebody who is having a lot of suffering or in a bad situation. The Buddha taught these two main methods. Whichever one you like is ok.

First though we need an easy method of developing compassion. Some people have difficulties with their parents so they can use the other method. So using one's mother of this lifetime as a basis we remember her great kindness to us. Because of her we have this body, she has fed us and helped us in many ways. The main points being that she gave us life and a body. Reflecting on this great kindness shown to us by our mother we generate compassion for her. Then gradually we generate compassion for our brothers and sisters. After some time we can also generate compassion for beings we feel neutral towards and even our enemies. Finally one can train in generating compassion for all sentient beings.

The reason we do this is because all beings have at one point been our mother. The Buddha taught that Samsara is without beginning or end. So because beings go round and round in Samsara they have all, at some point, had the connection with us of being our mother. We should try to perceive all the sentient beings as being the same as our mother of this lifetime. Apart from the fact that your mothers of previous lives are far away from you and your present mother is near to you, there is no difference.

If one is able to meditate that all beings are our mothers and have compassion for them that is called immeasurable compassion. The difference is that to think one's present mother is very kind and to have compassion for her alone is limited. But to regard all sentient beings as one's mother is to have immeasurable, limitless compassion.

The other method is to generate compassion for beings that are having great suffering. This could be the suffering of thirst or hunger, or being locked up in jail due to having broken the law. These beings have various kinds of suffering over which they have no control or protection from. Because of their suffering they have become humbled and one generates compassion for them. One starts off by training in compassion for beings who are close to you, then those who you are neutral towards, then ones enemies and finally all sentient beings. The point of all this is that just as you wish to have happiness and not to have suffering, likewise all of the sentient beings have the same wish. This is very important.

We all want to have happiness and to avoid suffering. Take yourselves, for example when I said about the person who looks at you and you think they are looking at you with intention to harm you, immediately you feel upset and unhappy. Another person praises you and says you have beautiful body then yo feels happy and we like that.

If someone told you that you are fat or bald you wouldn't like it. Generally we don't realise that like ourselves all beings desire happiness and don't want suffering. If we think about this though we are able to generate compassion for these beings that wish for the same as ourselves.

When we train in compassion then we have lightness in our body and mind and our mind becomes open and spacious. Also our confidence increases .If our mind is full of anger or jealousy then it becomes smaller and the slightest thing will make us unhappy. Fear and suffering arise and in the end one becomes very lonely. If one has compassion and a mind wishing to help others then one's mind becomes vast and no matter how much things don't go well it doesn't affect or harm one.

So we have looked at training in compassion and limitless compassion. What comes next is the Bodhicitta. How do we train in the Bodhicitta? Our wish to have happiness and to avoid suffering is just one persons wish, our own. The other beings that wish for happiness and want to avoid suffering are many. Out of one single person and many beings who is more important? The many are important. If we think that all sentient beings want happiness and not suffering and we wish to bring all beings to the level of Buddhahood then that is what is meant by Bodhicitta, or Bodhicitta mind.

If one has compassion then this helps with generating limitless compassion. If one has limitless compassion then that is beneficial for generating the Bodhicitta mind. Now we'll meditate for a few moments on compassion.

1. First relax your body and mind. (short meditation)

2. Now one reflects on how one wishes for happiness and wants to avoid the suffering (short meditation)

3. Now reflect that all the limitless sentient beings have the same wish and desire as oneself to have happiness and to avoid suffering (Short meditation)

4. Now one reflects that sentient beings are ignorant of the ways to obtain happiness. Through ignorance they don't abandon the actions that lead to suffering. One generates compassion for them. Sentient beings don't understand the meaning of emptiness. Because they don't understand emptiness they have grasping for a self when there is no self and this gives rise to much suffering which is unnecessary. (Short Meditation)

Now relax again, it's like this, hold this idea of having compassion for sentient beings and thinking that I want to practise to bring all sentient beings to the level of enlightenment, to the level of Buddhahood, for this reason one will practise.