The Natural Bardo of this Life

Depending upon the context and the rec1p1ent there are many ways to expound the Dharma. The main reason to explain the Dharma is to help the practitioner actually practice. There is a certain way of teaching for simple practitioners and meditators. One style is called the 'old lady's pointing-out instruction,' which uses simple words as well as hand and facial expressions to point directly to the heart of the matter. Traditionally, certain methods of teaching existed in India. For example the Buddha himself taught within the context of the five perfections as well as by means of his miraculous powers

of body, speech and mind. A bodhisattva's way of teaching is through the six paramitas and a shravaka's or arhant's way of teaching is called the three aspects of purity. In the great monastery of Nalanda, the pandita's way of teaching treatises was through what is called the five major indices of exposition. In other monasteries such as Vikramashila, panditas would traditionally teach in accordance with the three aspects of purity. But here in this book, I am mainly concerned with teaching directly, in order to immediately benefit the reader's mind. This benefit does not depend so much

on eloquent expressions and poetic analogies, but on communicating in a straightforward way what is important. The first of the four bardos explained in The Mirror of Mindfulness is called the bardo of this life, which in Tibetan literally means the bardo of taking birth and remaining alive. Regarding

taking rebirth, there are traditionally four types of birth: one may be born from a womb, from an egg, from heat and moisture, or instantaneously born. With a few exceptions, people in this world are born from the womb of their mother. The bardo of this life lasts from the moment we are born until we meet with one of the 404 types of illness or 80,000 negative influences that are the causes of death. The period from birth until one meets the circumstances for death defines the bardo of this life. How people experience and spend their time in the bardo of this life depends upon their different ways of experiencing what they consider to be reality. We all have various ideas of what things are, how we experience them, and who we are as the perceiver. In Buddhism there are several levels of schools of thought. The four Buddhist philosophical schools have specific ways of defining the two truths, subject,

object and reality. According to their individual systems, different things are accepted as real and true. Each school examines viewpoints inferior to its own, finds and rejects faults and then establishes certain statements which that school claims to be true. Since all the phenomena of samsara, nirvana and the path is included within the categories of the two truths, relative truth and ultimate truth, the distinctions between the schools are merely how they define the two truths. A person who has not adopted a philo

sophical view does not think too much about the difference between the two levels of truth. As soon as we start to study philosophy, we gain some idea of what is not just apparent reality, how things seem, but of the real situation, of what is really true. Depending upon the degree to which we understand ultimate truth, there are different kinds of experience and different levels of realization. Let us examine the experience of the bardo of this life for

the person of the highest caliber, with the greatest degree of intelligence. A person who has spent much time studying, contemplating and practicing the unity of the two truths can rapidly progress on the path of gathering the two accumulations. Therefore, realization will be attained more swiftly and this person will quickly realize things as they are. For the most fortunate, meaning the person of the greatest capacity, the world and its inhabitants are seen

as a spontaneously perfect mandala. What does that mean? According to the general Mahayana teachings all sentient beings have buddha nature, sugatagarbha, and everything is pervaded by the nature of the three kayas. According to the Vajrayana system, all that appears and exists is of a divine nature, all sounds are mantra and all thought occurrences are the display or expression of innate wakefulness. The person of the highest intelligence realizes that this is how it is. It is not that he must create the mandala of deities, mantra and wisdom through some mental construct or visualization practice. On the contrary, he realizes the all-encompassing purity. The realization of the superior type of person is simply a matter of understanding things as they truly are.

Take the example of Milarepa. He said, "When ordinary people look at me they feel pity, but when the enlightened masters regard me, they are overjoyed." Such a person who has reached a high level of realization through practice may look like an ordinary human being but his mind is not different from the mind of the buddhas. Tsele Rinpoche describes realized beings by saying, "their thoughts manifest as the play of dharmata, everything is the nature of the

three kayas" (Mirror ofMind/Ulness, page 19). Milarepa had realized that. According to Dzogchen, this state of realization is called the all-encompassing purity of appearance and existence. Another term used is the 'wisdom continuity of individual experience.' From birth until death an ordinary person is

continuously under the power of ignorance, negative tendencies, deluded experiences and solid fixations. What does that mean? Before birth one already had inherent ego-clinging. Holding tightly to the idea 'I am,' ego-clinging creates a solid fixation on reality, on oneself as the perceiver and other things

as the perceived. This becomes a chain reaction which draws one through life after life, birth after birth in the six realms of samsara: through the hell realms, through the realms of hungry ghosts, animals, humans, gods and demi-gods. This vicious circle goes on endlessly. That is how the bardo of this life

is experienced by an ordinary person. In this way, through the force of karma, one continues until attaining liberation through practice. Tsele states that "Ordinary, ignorant people ... regard the unreal to be real and expect the impermanent to be permanent" (Mirror of Mind/Ulness, page 20). There is a lot one can say about this state

ment. Most people do not pay attention to anything other than what is superficially real, such as what we perceive with our eyes, ears, nose and tongue. Since we are caught up in the web· of what is apparently so and do not think much about what is true and real, we rarely perceive the ultimate truth. Our

scope is limited to superficial reality. But by examining things using reason and quotations from the scriptures, and by analyzing the perceived objects

and the perceiving mind, we can arrive at the understanding that all things are without true existence. The main difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that a buddha has realized that all phenomena are totally devoid of arising, dwelling and ceasing and have no true existence, whereas sentient beings believe everything to be real and solid. Another difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas understand that things are nonexistent whereas sentient beings believe things exist. Through understanding the two truths, we understand the nature of both the outer perceived objects and the inner perceiving mind. We understand that everything in the world is without substance and lacks true self-existence. Things do not exist

concretely and independently. There is no external creator who created them. In short, examining things more closely, we can discover that outer phenomena lack true existence. Even the old culprit of ego-clinging, holding on to the thought 'I am,' can be found to have no real basis. We can gain some understanding of the nature of things, but such understanding is nevertheless still theoretical. It is not sufficient to just have the idea that all things, including oneself, are empty. We must experience it directly. To gain real experience, we

must go to a teacher who has this experience himself and knows how to simply rest in the natural state without forming mistaken mental constructs; someone who perceives things as they are - empty and without solid reality. Moreover, we need to combine our own reasoning with the statements of the enlightened ones and with the oral instructions of a qualified teacher. A qualified teacher is one who has compassion, understanding and experience. When receiving the

oral instructions, we should be open-minded, have faith and devotion, and also be intelligent and industrious in applying these teachings afterward. Through personal experience we will discover what is called egolessness according to the general teachings, innate wakefulness according to Mahamudra, or in Dzogchen terms, the single sphere of dharmakaya. Let's examine more closely this statement that we as ordinary people expect the impermanent to be permanent. Everybody has some coarse understanding of impermanence, but seldom is it on a subtle level. We regard a thing as permanent until it is destroyed. For example, a person is permanent until he or she dies; a cup is permanent until it falls and breaks. That is a coarse understanding of impermanence. Through understanding subtle impermanence we realize that everything changes from instant to instant, moment to moment. Every micro-second a person is changing. We can give aging a pleasant gloss by saying that a child is growing up and getting bigger, but actually, from the moment he was born, the child ages every day and grows closer to death. The same pertains to the seasons and all other things. We say, "Now it is summer", and we have the idea that al

though summer is impermanent it seems uninterrupted. Summertime is suddenly gone and we call it autumn. Actually things change with every instant; even the most subtle particles in concrete matter change continuously. Nothing remains stable from one moment to the next. That is subtle impermanence. Impermanence

is a fact we should become accustomed to and not forget. Let us make the understanding of impermanence grow in our minds. By so doing we will have less attachment to the things of this life, and our ability to understand the teachings, to put them into practice, and to rest in the equanimity of meditation will increase. Training Ute mind in understanding impermanence will make it easier to practice meditation. It is said, "If you cling to this life, you are

not a practitioner."1 By being attached to the things of this life and feeling that what we have is not enough, we waste our time and slowly our life runs out. There are four main aspects to impermanence. The first is that everybody who is born will die. It is one hundred percent certain that one who has taken birth will die. There is no question about this; it is just a matter of time. Second, people who come together will separate. Consider the yearly

seminar at my monastery in Nepal. It is a group of eighty or ninety people. After a few weeks they separate. After a few months everyone leaves the place and several years in the future they all will be living in different places in the world. I. This quotation is the first of four lines of teaching given to Sakya Pandita in a vision of Manjushri. The others are: "If you cling to samsaric existence, you have no renunciation. If you cling to self-interest, you have no bodhichitta. If you have any clinging, you don't have the view."

Some of them will have already died and most of them may never meet again. After one hundred years, everyone will be dead, some cremated and some buried under the ground. After one thousand years their names and all trace of their existence will have completely disappeared. That is a fuct of impermanence.

Third, everything that has been gathered will be dispersed or depleted. No matter how much wealth and material possessions we may amass, it will all be used up sooner or later. Finally, everything that is constructed will be destroyed. No matter how solid the material, be it steel, iron or whatever, sooner or later the object will full apart and disintegrate. Those are the four fucts of impermanence. Just as it is the nature of fire to be hot and of water to

be wet, all phenomena are by nature impermanent. In addition to mistaking the impermanent as permanent, we also confuse the painful and pleasant. We persistently create the causes of suffering and completely waste our lives with the futile, deluded and attached activities of the eight worldly concerns, such as subduing enemies and protecting friends. Ego-clinging, this delusion that we are born with, the concept of a truly existent 'I,' creates the

disturbing emotions of pride, jealousy, aggression and attachment. We instinctively feel that our opinion is quite important, while the opinions of other people have less value. Due to this habitual tendency we do not attach much importance to what other people feel or say. We try to override them and gain the upper hand through our words, attitudes and physical actions. This is called the 'activity of subduing enemies.'

There are many ways we can subdue enemies or people we dislike. We can physically kill them. We can undermine them by slander or criticism, trying to turn others against them. We can show an angry face or glare in an unkind way. We can feel irritated when other people have a good time or things go well for

them. All this comes from attachment and aggression in our own mind. These disturbing emotions arising from ego-clinging are the root cause of disagreement between people, and on a larger scale between countries. Someone skilled in politics never subdues the opposition directly, but rather works behind the scel\1es, having other people say to them what he would not say directly. When meeting face to face with his opponents he will shake their hands, smile and

speak of friendship and co-operation while plotting strategies to undermine them. There are many ways to subdue enemies, either directly, indirectly or in a concealed manner. In any case, our main obstacle is ego-clinging, the tendency to think that what 'I' feel and need is extremely important. Because this ego-clinging holds such a persistent, tight grip on our minds, we are never really satisfied. Whatever situation we find oursel.ves in, it is never perfect. There is always something missing, something extra that we need. If we get what we want, we find that we need twice as much. If we have one dollar, we need two; if we get two, we need one hundred or one thousand. Sometimes even that is not enough. We need ten thousand or one hundred thousand dollars. The same applies to .other possessions. At first it is difficult to obtain our heart's desire but once we acquire this treasured object, it is difficult to keep it.

Maybe it breaks, maybe it is stolen, maybe it wears out. Next it is difficult to increase what we have. And finally, the more possessions we have, the greater our anxiety. A poor person doesn't worry about losing things he does not possess. In the old days one worried about cattle and servants because they had to be fed and cared for. These days we worry more about our technical gadgets and household utilities. It is annoying when our things break down

and have to be repaired. As ordinary people, our minds are preoccupied by the eight worldly concerns: attachment to pleasure, praise, good reputation, material gain, and aversion to their opposites. As well, we have the pain and worry of losing what we have and not getting what we want. In short, most people who are not practitioners spend their lives concerned with mundane aims, thinking of themselves, helping their friends and subduing their enemies. They waste the bardo of this life immersed in the eight worldly concerns. That is quite sad. At night during our sleep we are unconscious, like someone drunk or drugged. Unless this state is embraced by the key points of meditative practice, we are not much different from a breathing corpse. Someone very drunk or drugged may become extremely unpleasant and obnoxious although when sober he may act dignified. In the same way, someone sleeping deeply appears very dull and stupid and we don't recognize the intelligent person he usually is. During the dream state, most of the time is spent reacting to our experiences with either attachment, aversion or indifference. Sometimes dreams are very unpleasant, we may have nightmares and try to run

away. In this way, the bardo state of dream and that of meditation are also included within the bardo of this life. Tsele quotes the Sutra of the Noble Source of the Precious Ones, in which the Buddha said, "By the power of attachment to wrong thinking, all beings are completely tossed about in this

[[[samsara]]]" (p. 20). Wrong thinking refers to our way of perceiving things - to perceive without the understanding that everything is unreal and lacks concrete substance. One way to understand this is through a type of logic called the reasoning of interdependence. Understanding this reasoning, we understand that things ar¢ unreal, that they only have dependent existence. Without that understanding our thinking is incorrect and in contradiction with

the way things are. Attachment to that kind of wrong thinking, and attachment and aversion in general, are what cause beings to be completely tossed about in the six realms of samsara. Conversely, the sutra continues, the person who understands the equal nature of things sees the selfexisting tathagata, the true buddha. He will attain the supreme qualities of peace which means he will attain realization of the way things are. Understanding and not

understanding the nature of things is the difference between buddhas and beings. Now I have discussed the bardo of this life both for people who are realized and those who are not realized. However, hearing such a description is not sufficient. We need to know what to do ourselves. If we think of our lives, what have we done up to now? Think ahead; what we will do in the future? What would be the most valuable and important way to spend the rest of our lives? At this point Tsele Rin

poche says that one can use different frames of reference: either the teachings of an enlightened buddha or one's own intelligence. We should not blindly believe what others say, not even the Buddha, but personally examine the teachings. Only then can we discover the truth of how things seem and how they really are. Gaining confidence in that truth, we should receive oral instructions from a teacher and learn how to put his teachings into practice. In Tibetan Buddhism there are four different schools or lineages, each with particular qualities and different emphases. There is a saying that the Gelug School inherited the Sutra teachings, the Sakya School inherited composition, the Kagyii School inherited practice and the N yingma School inherited Mantra, meaning the Vajrayana teachings. The Gelug and to some extent the Sakya schools emphasize study and reflection on the teachings. They consider it

very important to gain a complete comprehension of the Buddhist teachings, mainly of what is called the Five Great Treatises, five major scholastic works. They spend a great deal of time studying these. After gaining a clear understanding of these teachings they go on to actual meditation practice. In the Kagyii and Nyingma traditions the emphasis is a little different; they stress immediate application of whatever teachings one has received. Of course we

should study and reflect on the teachings, but not for too long because life is short. We must gain some degree of intellectual understanding, but it also must be put into practice. Personal application is the focal point. Unless we wish to become a teacher, someone who benefits beings in a vast way, we need not acquire detailed intellectual understanding of the teachings.

The Mirror of Mindfulness mentions that, according to the N yingma system, we should be like a swallow entering its nest. To enter its nest a swallow first makes sure that the position of the nest is safe and secure. Being free of all doubts, it enters directly and without hesitation. This refers to the

approach in the Kagyii and Nyingma Schools. We must gain sufficient conviction in the main point, the empty nature of things. To do that, one must first find and study with a qualified teacher. Traditionally it is said that, at first, one should be skilled in examining the teacher, next one should be skilled in foll~ing the teacher, and finally one should be skilled in absorbing his understanding, assimilating his wisdom. To do that one must first seek

out a genuine teacher. Finding a charlatan, following him blindly, taking perverted teachings and then becoming a charlatan oneself would be disastrous. It is important to find a qualified master and receive the teachings in a proper way, following them correctly oneself. We should follow the teacher sincerely, please him in many ways and be free from deceit in thought, word and deed. We also should receive the three sets of precepts: the Hinayana vows of Individual Liberation, the Mahayana training according to the bodhisattva path, and the Vajrayana samayas. Regarding the vows of Individual Liberation,

the highest degree means full ordination as a monk or nun, next best as a novice, or at least, as a male or female lay person, someone who has taken refuge. Moreover, corresponding to the level of vows we have taken, we should keep the precepts of Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana. As Tsele mentions about these vows, "One should observe them without being tainted by even the tiniest

stain of violation, breach, fault or downfall" (p. 21). If the vows and samayas are broken, mend them immediately. "Studying and reflecting upon all the stages of the Sutra and Tantra vehicles without prejudice, one should cast away any partiality and clinging to a certain school of thought." (p. 21). This

means that while engaging in Dharma practice, do not hold onto any idea such as "I am a Gelugpa," "I am a Kagyiipa," "I do not lik~ other teachings." It is very important to be free from such prejudice. Learning and studying should be unbiased because we need to understand what is what, both in the Buddhist and the non-Buddhist teachings. Understand the different views taught, and then you will know what is correct or incorrect. Without having studied, how can

one recognize correct teaching from wrong view, true from untrue? The same applies to the non-Buddhist philosophies and schools: we need a thorough knowledge of them to understand whether they are right. It is not valid to say that everything non-Buddhist is wrong. It is quite foolish to hold such an attitude, even though according to Buddhism all 360 nonB uddhist schools of philosophy are said to hold incorrect views. Why is that? It is not because

they are non-Buddhist but because their tenets cannot ultimately withstand the scrutiny of reasoning and logic. Wrong views are incorrect in the sense of not being in accord with the nature of things. Only for that reason are the non-Buddhist schools of thought called wrong views. This is important to know. Avoid sectarianism. A good example of someone possessing learning free from prejudice is the present Dalai Lama, who studied and received teachings from masters of all

the different lineages, not just from his school. In Tibet, the non-sectarian Rimey tradition was promoted by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo the First and such lineage-holders as Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. The present Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche has studied all the teachings of the different traditions and is respected by

all schools as an incomparable master in expounding teachings and practices. His is a good example to follow. "If one goes astray, becoming attached to great learning, one will merely pursue words of sophistry without understanding the actual meaning. One should, therefore take to heart and apply to oneself whatever one has learned" (p. 21). Our studies of the Dharma have become perverted once we deem it sufficient to be able to explain to others the

stages of the path and all the details of the teachings. What is the whole point of study? The vital point is to gain some understanding that can give rise to direct experience. To treat the Dharma merely as intellectual theory is to waste the teachings. One of my teachers, Kunu Lama Tendzin Gyatso, was an Indian. He was born in Himachal Pradesh and learned Sanskrit and Pali. In Sikkim he started to study the Buddhist sciences and later went to Tibet where he

studied at Sera and Drepung monasteries. Finally he went to Kham. He was quite learned but also very proud and thought that no one in Kham could match him. Arriving at Katok Monastery, he met Katok Sitb Rinpoche but was not particularly impressed. He thought "How can such an ignorant lama have so many monks and be the abbot of this huge monastery? What is going on?" Kunu Rinpoche loved books and wanted to stay in the library to do what is called a 'library retreat.'

That means a scholar locks himself up for a certain time and reads all the hooks, finding out who wrote what and so forth. When he asked permission to do that, Katok Situ Rinpoche responded, "Our library is not very impressive, but we do have a few good books. To examine them all will take you a few years.

Still, you might be able to cover most in five or six months." Inside the library Kunu Rinpoche found many original Indian manuscripts in Sanskrit and Pali, written on palm leaves. He also found many books of which he had never heard. The Sanskrit spelling, he later said, was terrible but the meaning was

intact. Discussing this with Katok Situ Rinpoche, he discovered that the Rinpoche actually knew Sanskrit very well and was familiar with all the teachings and meanings contained in the books. At this point Kunu Rinpoche's faith and devotion started to take root. Because of Kunu Rinpoche's nonsectarian attitude and his all-encompassing knowledge, if you ask anybody nowadays what school Kunu Rinpoche belonged to, the Nyingma followers will say he is Nyingmapa because he received many teachings from N yingma masters; the Gelug followers will say he was Gelugpa because he followed the Gelug teachings, receiving them and passing them on to others. You can ask almost anyone from any school and receive a different answer because Kunu Rinpoche studied everywhere. But if you asked Kunu Rinpoche himself, he would say "I am just a Buddhist. I practice the unity of Sutra and Tantra." It is best if we can emulate him: study with all the schools and be completely without prejudice. If we cannot do this, at least we should refrain from disparaging other traditions.

We may not have the time or intelligence to absorb the entire body of Dharma teachings, so we should just follow the teaching we ourselves have received, put it into practice, and at the same time refrain from criticizing other traditions. The oral instructions of one's master alone embody the essence of all

learning and reflection. We should take these oral instructions to heart without any doubt. Even if we have received only four lines of teaching, it should be assimilated in our heart and put into practice. Otherwise there is no point in having received any teachings. ' The Buddha gave many teachings and the commentaries on them abound. Unless one has the highest degree of diligence and intelligence, one cannot examine them all and gain understanding.

Therefore, it is most important to put into practice the oral teachings of the master with whom we study. Our teacher can condense the body of teachings into a form we can apply. Do not stop at just having received teachings; take them to heart. The process of understanding and becoming free from doubt is like refining gold: the useless parts are filtered out and we are left with pure gold. Having received the teachings and put them into practice, we gain

some understanding but also some doubts. To increase this understanding, clarify doubts with your teacher repeatedly. By repeatedly practicing and receiving teachings, our understanding becomes more and more refined until finally, we are free from doubt. To make water drinkable in places like Nepal, we boil it for a long time to get rid of all the microbes until finally we have pure drinking water. Our understanding of the teachings should be equally refined.

When we do not abandon worldly pursuits, we squander this life. Sometimes people say, "I have no time to practice." What is the main reason for saying that? It is because they are too preoccupied with preparations for a comfortable life. Sometimes people do not even find time to eat their meals or sleep properly because they are so busy working, making arrangements, or striving for some aim. My teachers often said, "Human life is spent preparing. While

preparing for the future one's life flies by. One dies with preparations still unfinished." People pursue material things; they buy what they want to possess and enjoy. But, often it happens that they pass away before finding time to wear all their clothes, spend their savings or enjoy their gadgets. Tsele Rinpoche addresses people who consider practice the most important part of their life. Basically there are three types of practitioners: those who stay alone in secluded places, those who take ordination and live monastically, and those who try to practice within the context of ordinary life. In the

past in Tibet and India, it was impossible to count the people who made practice the most important part of their lives and eventually reached accomplishment. Many, many people, like the flow of a huge river, attained enlightenment by abandoning all worldly concerns and focusing exclusively on practice. The best known was Jetsun Milarepa, who was completely unattached to the fleeting objects of mundane pleasure. For example, if invited to a five-star hotel, he would not be fascinated but think, "How futile! How pointless to believe that these luxuries bring any lasting pleasure. They are all completely impermanent." He might even be saddened by seeing the futility of such aims.

Most people are preoccupied with subduing their enemies and protecting their friends. They regard the false as true and the impermanent as permanent. They are bound by the five poisons. Through the eighty-four thousand types of disturbing emotions, they accumulate karma due to attachment, anger and delusion.

Even if they go to a secluded place, they may stay for a couple of months or a few years and then give up. Their reason for going into retreat may have been that they were tired of life's hassles. Maybe someone close to them had died, or maybe they did not get along with their spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Something had happened to make them feel tired of mundane things and want to practice. Nonetheless, not having completely cut all ties and

attachments, after some time they return to civilization and live among other people. They return to their past habits. This is not good. It is better to completely cut attachments. Why should one go to a secluded place? From solitude comes silence, and from silence comes mental quiet. Only when undisturbed by mundane concerns do we have the free time to concentrate one hundred percent on practice. The practitioner should stay in a clean, quiet, secluded

place. Many great practitioners said that the mind becomes clear and realization is easily attained in a clean place with pure water and air. In such an environment experience and realization have a chance to increase quickly, whereas progress is much slower when one is involved in many business dealings and activities. Often it is said that the foremost practitioner is someone who abandons the world and lives in secluded mountains. The Buddha abandoned his kingdom as though it were a heap of straw or a nest of

snakes. Yet unlike the birds and animals in secluded places, he exerted body, speech and mind in spiritual practice. Although it is said that the foremost practitioner gives up all worldly concerns and stays in mountain dwellings, just to physically stay in a secluded place is not enough. Our frame of mind is most important. On the other hand, if we can practice in an ordinary life situation without being carried away by the disturbing emotions that arise, we

will progress even faster than in a retreat situation. Still, there is great benefit in abandoning all worldly concerns and giving up attachment to material goods. It is difficult for us to abandon everything immediately, and even the attempt to practice in a mundane situation brings incredibly great benefits. Actually, the person with the highest intelligence and diligence can practice in any situation. Many animals and birds live in mountain caves;

there is in itself nothing special about physical seclusion. The main point of all the teachings is to understand the unity of emptiness and compassion, often called 'emptiness with a core of compassion.' Once you realize this vital point, enlightenment can be reached even without vast learning. But without realizing the unity of emptiness and compassion, to have studied a lot, to be able to expound all the teachings, or to write many books is not enough to attain enlightenment. Ultimately such activities are not sufficient and one will continue to wander in samsara. Buddhahood means that faults are exhausted and enlightened qualities perfected. The word buddha is not applied to people who have gathered a lot of information. Buddhahood is attained through meditative experience and not only through study and reflection.

One might think, "Where do wisdom, faith and devotion belong if it is only necessary to realize the unity of emptiness and compassion?" Actually, all those qualities are embodied within that unity. How are these qualities contained in emptiness with a core of compassion? In the state of having realized emptiness and compassion as inseparable, compassionate wakefulness is already present. Through recognizing that, devotion and faith become unshakable.

There is no longer any room for doubt. At present while we are not fully realized, our devotion to a teacher is shaky and fluctuates like the moon waxing and waning. When the teacher is kind and speaks pleasingly we feel tremendous devotion. But the moment he criticizes us or says something that we think is not good, then our faith immediately vanishes. We feel irritated and are ready to criticize and disparage him. We may even get angry and argue with him. That is the nature of our fickle faith. Why is this? It is because of lacking real insight into emptiness. The greater our understanding of emptiness, the

more devotion and confidence we will naturally have in realized beings and in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Right now our view of emptiness is merely a mental construct, nothing more than an idea; our compassion and devotion are also fabricated and artificial. Yet, the moment realization of emptiness with a core of compassion dawns within us, all these qualities become genuine. Just as water is naturally wet and fire is hot, true insight into emptiness is naturally compassionate. Although we may understand the nature of emptiness, we should not belittle the consequences of virtue and evil, but have firm trust in the unfailing interdependence of cause and effect. We must train

ourselves in a combined view and behavior that accords with the words of the Victorious One. Understanding the correct view of emptiness is not sufficient; it is only the starting point. We must journey along the path and progress through the bhumis. If the view of emptiness is emphasized too much at the outset of our practice, we may intellectually convince ourselves: "Everything is empty. There is no cause and effect! Reality is totally beyond these

superficial appearances!" Based on such convictions devoid of direct experience we may overlook the importance of how we treat others. Our practice becomes distorted. Intellectual conviction may be accompanied by meditation experiences such as bliss, clarity and nonthought. One may suddenly feel quite enlightened, that one has already gone through the whole path and that there is nothing more to do and develop. This kind of raise conviction becomes a strong hindrance to further progress. It is essential to respect the law of cause and effect. We must know the difference between negative and positive

actions, because everything does exist on a superficial or relative level. We do experience pleasure and pain; we have past and future lives and our negative and positive actions bear fruit. Whatever we have to go through is true on the superficial level. At the same time, on the ultimate level all phenomena, both subject and object, are only the nature of thatness, totally free from the constructs of arising, dwelling and ceasing. This is truth on the ultimate level, but the superficial is also true. Therefore, since all things do arise interdependently, as long as we are not completely enlightened we must carefully consider negative and positive deeds, and gather the conceptual accumulation of merit and the noncon

ceptual accumulation of wisdom. We do this by avoiding negative actions, especially the ten nonvirtues, and adopting positive actions, the ten virtues. Why? Just as a child is not an adult and a sprout is not a flower, intellectual understanding of the view doesn't equal enlightenment. This understanding is the seed that will grow into the fully blossomed flower, but it is not yet matured. The plant grows due to a combination of different conditions: there

must be a seed, fertile ground, moisture, light, warmth, space and fertilizer. Time must pass. When these conditions come together a plant has no choice but to grow. If one condition is lacking, the plant itself lacks the power to grow. Until a crop has fully ripened, it is essential to guard it carefully. There might be hail or severe winds; there might be too much water or too little. A skilled farmer will protect against these negative conditions. It can be quite difficult. The most crucial aspect for growth is the place of planting. The ground should be stable, not eroded or shaky. For practitioners like ourselves, this means beginning with a quality of steadiness and constancy. We also need the moisture of compassion and the warmth of devotion. When these conditions are met, there is no way to avoid the blossoming of the flower of emptiness. This is a vital point. Different religions have their own definitions of good and evil. According to Buddhism, one creates positive and negative karma through thought, word and deed. How to avoid the negative and adopt the positive is defined according to the following levels of teachings: the moral codes bf the Hinayana precepts of Individual Liberation, the Mahayana trainings of

the bodhisattvas and the Vajrayana samayas of the knowledge holders. I will now explain the basis of all vows, which is to abandon the ten unvirtuous actions. First, the negative actions of body are killing, taking what is not given and sexual misconduct. The opposite of killing is to save the lives of other beings; the opposite of stealing is being generous and the opposite of sexual misconduct is leading a decent and proper life. There is great merit in avoiding what is negative and adhering to what is right. There are four negative actions committed through speech. During a single day, we can commit the negative actions of lying, divisive talk, harsh words and idle gossip. We might not notice, but it is not difficult to twist words a little bit to become a lie. When passing on information it is very easy to add something totally pointless that disturbs others. It is common to say derisive words that separate

people. Be careful about these actions. Any attempt to avoid them brings great merit. Most destructive are the negative actions of mind: ill-will, covetousness and wrong view. All religions agree that ill-will and covetousness are misdeeds. Covetousness is to desire the possessions of others. When perceiving other people's enjoyments, merit and wealth an uncomfortable feeling arises. The opposite of covetousness is to rejoice in whatever others have.

Ill-will means the intention to harm others. This can be counteracted if we try to develop the intention to benefit others. Defining what is a wrong view causes some complication. What Buddhists consider a wrong view may be regarded as a correct view by other religions. Because this is a subtle point,

we will spend more time examining wrong view, the tenth negative action. What does wrong view actually mean? Wrong view means to misapprehend the four noble truths. By studying and understanding the four noble truths, wrong views are automatically cleared away. The four noble truths are not beyond our understanding. Anyone who contemplates these topics can understand them. One need not be a philosopher and study innumerable books to gain a comprehension of the four noble truths: suffering, origin, cessation and path. The first noble truth is to look at living beings and understand that they experience pain and suffering. The second noble truth is to search for what actually causes beings to suffer and feel misery, and to find it is the disturbing emotions and the resulting actions, called karma. The third noble truth is the fact that avoiding the causes that create suffering brings happiness. In Buddhist terms this cessation of the causes of suffering is called enlightenment, either the state of an arhant or a buddha. The fourth noble truth is the path, how to

reach enlightenment. Can we reach the roof of a house in one instant or must we walk up the staircase? Obviously we must take certain steps to reach a certain point. In Buddhist terms, this is called following the path to enlightenment. Understanding the four noble truths we will be concerned about the law of cause and effect, and this concern will impel us to engage in Dharma practice. We should train ourselves in a combined view and behavior that accords with the words of the Victorious One, the fully enlightened Buddha Shakyamuni. Some people deem the view less im 5

portant, while considering one's conduct of extreme importance. To value conduct above the view is not the road to quick progress. That would be like being blind with a strong body. Walking fast but blindly, one will not reach the destination. On the other hand, having the eye of knowledge as well as a good

body, we will reach our destination very soon. Right now we are in the bardo of this life, the period between birth and death. How long will this situation last? That is uncertain; there is no guarantee how long we will remain alive. Already a good part of our life is behind us. We have grown up and we probably will not remain here much beyond the age of sixty or seventy. Therefore we should start counting our days. Once ego-clinging is exhausted, all

dualistic and confused experiences collapse and there is no need to go through any of the succeeding bardos. N evertheless, as long as we retain ego-clinging, the idea of 'I' as a self-entity, there is always the idea of 'other,' of 'them' or 'that', and confused experience is perpetuated. The most important bardo is that of this life. Everything that comes after depends on this life. The most important achievement in this life is liberation, enlightenment. If we cannot attain that, we should try to reach halfway; at the very least, we should have entered the path because then there will be more chances for liberation at the time of dying. During the bardo of dharmata and the bardo of becoming we have additional opportunities for liberation. It is like the end of a football game with five minutes left. We still can score one more goal. But when the last second is up, then that chance is gone. Life is like that. We must be very careful how we

spend the time we have left in the bardo of this life. Often people ask, "What should I do in the bardo? What practice should be done when I arrive in the state after death? The bardo of dharmata sounds especially interesting!" To pile up these teachings while not applying them in this life is totally useless. To gain some degree of mastery over our mind, some stability in practice right now is the key point for attaining liberation at the moment of death. Without having any practical experience during this life, the chances for liberation in the bardo of dharmata and especially in the bardo of becoming are very slight. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol emphasizes that what comes after death, the next three bardos, depends totally upon what one does in this life. If we attain the best results in practice right now, we will not have to worry about going through further bardos. If we have some degree of experience, we have a strong chance of becoming liberated at the moment of death or in the bardos thereafter. Therefore the bardo of this life, our present

situation, is utterly crucial. People tend to plan their Dharma practice, and especially like to dream of making a long retreat. We plan how the retreat hut should look, its shape and where it should be positioned; we plan the time to start our retreat, maybe one, two or three years from now. It is very easy to make such plans, but it is more difficult for these plans to become reality. Therefore it is more realistic to engage in Dharma practice today, right this moment, not tomorrow or next year. Practice now in whatever situation is at hand. Otherwise, your life can easily run out while planning to practice later. Do not make long-term plans.

There is a saying, "The Dharma belongs to none but the diligent." Honestly, we are never prevented from practicing the teachings. It is totally in our own hands. Any moment of the day we can embrace Dharma practice, even when eating or going to the toilet. Having spent one's life planning while never applying

the practice, it suddenly becomes too late. When the time of death comes, the one who had interest in Dharma practice but never did anything will be filled with regret. Some people on the verge of death even beat their chests in remorse. Padmasambhava once said, "Those who feel as though they have plenty of

time get busy at the time of death. They then feel strong regret, but it seems far too late" (p. 22). This means that it is futile to feel regret when it is too late. Therefore we must train ourselves in the ability to attain liberation in the bardos from this very moment. Many think that the bardo is vnly

what comes later, that it refers to the intense and terrifying experiences after death. Actually, we are already in a bardo state. Train in the practices now. It is of vital importance to study, reflect, meditate and gain direct experience. Especially, train in the awareness that recognizes emptiness. The

Buddhist teachings that were propagated in Tibet are known as the Eight Great Chariots of the Practice Lineage, each applying practices in a system that is the unity of Sutra and Tantra. These days the four schools of Kagyii, Nyingma, Sakya and Gelug still survive and flourish. The essential meditation practice is Madhyamika, Mahamudra or Dzogchen. We should apply the essential teachings before it is too late. Tsele Rinpoche says that having received the oral instructions, what

ever Dharma practice one chooses, one has entered the door in accordance with one's particular karma and potential. Our practices should therefore bring our being to maturity and liberation. The meaning is that we should practice whatever we have received teachings on; it does not matter whether it's Hinayana, Mahayana or Vajrayana. Focus on the teachings you have received and on applying them personally.