All quotes from
The Dalai Lama's book
It is very important
that we do not waste the great opportunity afforded by our being human, because
time is a phenomenon that is momentary and does not wait.
All living beings
survive in dependence upon others; even one's experiences of happiness and
suffering come about in relation to one's interaction with others.
Any practice that
can give you more courage when you are undergoing a very difficult time and
that can provide you with some kind of solace and calmness of mind is a true
practice of the dharma.
What you know should
be put into practice immediately; you can thus derive the benefit of having
some transformation within your mind.
Even though it may be a very minor effort, a very small practice just
leaving imprints within your mind, still you must think that it was worthwhile
to do. Otherwise, your knowledge of
dharma will be quite fruitless, and like merely playing something on a tape.
Initially it is very
important to end the session when you are not tired, so that your practice of
dharma will be steady like a stream, not momentary like water gushing out of a
broken tank, emptying the tank in a few minutes.
Request the
spiritual master at your crown to grant you the inspiration to overcome the
obstacles to your realization.
Some people, when
they subdue the active forces of the gross levels of mind as a result of their
meditations, are able to increase the force of the subtle levels of
consciousness through the experience of Clear Light. As a result of such experiences, they are
able to recall their past lives vividly.
What is meant by
dharma is the spiritual realization that you can achieve as a result of your
practice. Any factor that can enable you
to achieve total liberation from delusions and sufferings and bring about the
realization of a true cessation is the true dharma.
The presentation of
the law of causality is the presentation of a natural fact. It can be explained briefly in this way: if
you do positive actions, you will face desirable consequences and if you engage
in negative actions, you will have to face undesirable consequences. There is a connection of commensuration
between cause and effect. Any action
that produces happiness is positive. The distinction between negative and
positive can be made only by judging the fruits.
It is in fact the
delusions within the enemies and not the enemies themselves that actually cause
harm.
When you are able to
perceive enemies as being kind to you, you will have overcome a great stumbling
block, because the enemy is the greatest stumbling block for the cultivation of
the thought cherishing the welfare of others.
It is the
self-cherishing attitude that is the source of all miseries and therefore is
the only object to be blamed for all misfortune.
The practice of
generosity should be undertaken by giving away what you can afford. You should enhance and develop your thought
of generosity to such an extent that eventually you will be able to part with
even your own body.
