The Very Venerable Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

The Seven Points Of Mind Training

Birmingham Karma Ling, December 2002

VII. Guidelines of Mind Training

A. What to Eliminate: 4-6

4. Be patient, whatever happens.

Whichever of the two happens be patient. The two things are the suffering and the happiness. If one has some kind of suffering or obstacle arise then one supplicates the Three Jewels thinking may all the suffering and obstacles of sentient beings be brought into my suffering and may they be free of suffering If it is due to one's previous karma one might not be able to change the circumstance and the obstacle and suffering might still be there. But one might have the wish that it will be changed and one feels well, if it's due to my karma then I accept it. Generally if we say may I take on the suffering of sentient beings onto my suffering, even if your suffering is from previous karma it will be somewhat lightened.

If a problem arises and we can find a remedy then there is no need to worry. If we cannot find a remedy to the situation then there is still no need to worry. Worry itself will not make the situation better. If one has this feeling that one has got a lot of virtue, a lot of bliss and happiness arising or one achieves a lot of wealth or fame then one might forget ones practise you might abandon your practise. That is not a good situation to have.

You may cut your Bodhicitta when you have suffering and throw away the idea of having the Bodhicitta mind. Then because one is having a lot of happiness and good circumstances one thinks why do I have to meditate on emptiness and why do I have to have this Bodhicitta mind? I don't need it anymore I will throw it away.

For example in Tibet there are some places which are very scary for travellers to go to and there is this one very well known road but a lot of robbers and thieves will lie in wait for you. So knowing that, a person will go along and pray to Guru Rinpoche, Orgyen Pema please look at me, save me from the bandits but if its just a normal road with no problem he will just go along singing. He has forgotten about Guru Rinpoche. It should not be like that; one should practise all of the time whether one has good or bad circumstance.

If you have a good accumulation of virtue and karma then one dedicates that to the benefit of all sentient beings and feels that they obtain all of that and you make a good dedication prayer. You feel that like the good thing I am experiencing at the moment, may all sentient beings experience that.

5. Maintain and guard your vows.

One has to protect ones vows like one protects ones own life. Regarding ones taking refuge and the Bodhisattva vows or any vows that one has and practising the mind training there are certain commitments that go along with that so as much as one is able to one protects and safeguards that.

6. Learn the three difficult things.

The first difficult thing is recognising the mind defilements. The second difficult thing is to reject them, and the third thing is cutting off the cause completely.

In the beginning one doesn't recognise that the mind defilements are arising or where they come from, one doesn't recognise that. So if one has jealousy one doesn't recognise where it comes from and doesn't really recognise that jealousy. So if one has a jealous mind state, even if you see a good person you will perceive them as bad.

The reason you see this person is because of your jealousy, but one doesn't recognise that at the time. The jealousy will make one think that the person has many faults and he could be harmful.

If one is jealous one doesn't really have any benefit, for oneself or for others. This jealous mind state cause's harm to oneself and to others. If one has a jealous mind state one can't accomplish everything that one wants to. One doesn't have happiness in the mind other people will dislike you and you will not be happy with other people so it is suffering all round. You cause harm to this other person you perceive as bad and in return they will cause harm to you. Then if you are blaming the other person then the other person will blame you and it goes backwards and forwards so the whole thing is meaningless.

You will blame the other person for not accomplishing your wishes and desires and the other person will do likewise for you. On the other hand, if you had the mind of benefiting others and you two became quite friendly, then together you would increase and grow in a beneficial way that would be good for both parties. You think I can accomplish this other person's wishes and he can help me accomplish mine so together we can grow and become better.

One can apply this thinking to all the other kind of mind poisons, the anger the desire and so on. When anger arises in the mind it is normally a small thing that sets it off. For example two people are talking together then if the person says something slightly off to you think I don't like that, I don't like this person. Then you say something slightly bad back to the person then the other person thinks he is talking to me in a very strange way, I don't like what's going on. Then he talks to you in a stronger way, then you reply even more strongly then eventually you are arguing and fighting and you say "its not me, its you" and the other says "no its not me, its you", so that's how people behave when they fight isn't it?

Now the meaning is very small, there is no point to it, then what happens is you have more and more arguments and conflict with people. But if one recognises or has mindfulness in the beginning of the conversation, if they say something slightly off to you or slightly strange, if you recognise at that moment you have this feeling of anger and dislike just recognise that, just be neutral. Don't give any answer back don't start the whole thing off. Then you don't give rise to the feeling that this person has the intention to harm you, and the other person also doesn't have the feeling that you have the intention to harm him so then there is no anger, it is controlled.

In the forest there is a big dry tree and one has lots of matches and starts a small fire at the bottom of the tree. Whilst it is still small then you can immediately put it out but if you leave the fire and it grows up a taller tree you can't do anything about it, it is very hard to put out. It's more difficult to put out so, going back to recognising the anger; one has to recognise it in the beginning stage when it is still quite small. At the beginning if one recognises the anger when it is still in a very small stage one can have more control over it and then one can pacify the anger.

Even though the fire gets higher up the tree there is still a method one can apply to that. Likewise, though the anger has become quite large in one's mind there are still a number of methods one can apply to it the Bodhisattva training, the mind training, and emptiness, so there are many methods one can apply. Finally one thinks may this mind state not arise again in my mind. May I never give rise to these negative thoughts and may I be free from them. One prays like that.

This is an example, set in China. In China there was a pig. Now if there is a farm and the pig sees the nice lucious vegetables he will want to eat them. One day he comes along and sticks his nose through the fence and immediately he eats these nice luscious vegetables and he thinks oh I will come here again. So even if you try to block the hole off he will come around another way grunting and come into the other part and make a big hole in the fence and you will not be around to see it. Then it will roll around in the vegetables and make everything dirty and eat as much as it can. But there is another thing that could happen, at the very moment that the pig puts its nose through the fence and you can see its nose you take a stick and whack it on the nose then that pig will never come back to the same place. So this is the story Chinese people tell. If we recognise our mind poisons immediately at the beginning it's like hitting the pig on the nose and you will able to stop them.