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and develop a true aspiration for enlightenment.
It is not so hard to aspire to be liberated from the problems of
cyclic existence, but we need also to have the same wish in reference
to samsara s prosperity and happiness. Pain in cyclic existence does
not last but neither does pleasure, so we should not cling to samsara s
temporary marvels. To be true Dharma practitioners, we must consid-
er our future lives to be more important than the present one. We
should consider others to be more important than ourselves and spiri-
tual activity to be more important than worldly activity. Of course, all
these things will come to us gradually. We need to train our mind in
stages before we can experience this kind of change in attitude.
Remember that all good things happen to us through the kindness
of others. It is only in relation to other sentient beings that we can do
our practice. If sentient beings didn t exist, we couldn t practice at all
or create the positive energy and positive actions through which we
receive peace and happiness. Thinking in this way, we can see the
kindness of all sentient beings.
As Dharma practitioners, our practice involves two things
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MIRROR OF WISDOM
purifying our negativities and accumulating positive energy and wis-
dom. You can do these things in relation to the Three Jewels, sentient
beings or both. Therefore, experienced lineage masters who have deep
spiritual understanding tell us that sentient beings are as kind to us as
Buddha himself. This might seem inconceivable at first, but in terms
of the inspiration for our practice there is little difference between
them. Normally, although we may accept certain sentient beings as
being kind to us, we also become selective. We exclude those who have
been bad to us and include only those whom we consider worthy. But
if we exclude some beings, then logically all others should be excluded
as well. We must create a sense of equanimity, a balanced attitude, in
relation to all sentient beings friends, adversaries and strangers.
If we really want to work for the benefit of others, it is essential to
cultivate great compassion. For those who wish to pursue the path of
the bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism, it is as important to culti-
vate great compassion and altruism as it is to cultivate the perfection
of wisdom. It is not very difficult to generate compassion for our-
selves, but it is a great deal harder to cultivate the same compassion
for others. Yet this should be our goal, however hard it may be.
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FOUR
DEDICATION
Let us dedicate our positive energy to the flourishing of Buddha-
dharma throughout the world.
Let us dedicate our positive energy to the long life of His Holiness
the Dalai Lama. May his sacred mandalas of body, speech and mind
be unharmed by negative intentions and actions. May he and other
great masters be successful in fulfilling their dreams and visions for
benefiting all sentient beings.
Let us dedicate our positive energy to all spiritual communities
throughout the world, so that they may flourish in their study, con-
templation and meditation.
Let us dedicate our positive energy to the elimination of the prob-
lems in our world, such as famine and war. May everyone in this and
other world systems experience peace, happiness and harmony.
Let us dedicate our positive energy to ourselves and to other
Dharma practitioners, so that we may overcome all obstacles to spiri-
tual development.
Let us dedicate our positive energy to ourselves and to all sentient
beings, so that we can purify the obscurations to liberation and
omniscience and quickly reach enlightenment.
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GLOSSARY
(Skt = Sanskrit; Tib = Tibetan)
aggregates (Skt: skandha). The psycho-physical constituents that make up
a sentient being: form, feeling, discriminative awareness, compositional
factors and consciousness.
Ajatashatru (Skt). Early Indian king who imprisoned and killed his
father, Bimbisara. Realizing the enormity of this sin and guided by
Buddha, he purified this negativity and became an arhat.
arhat (Skt). Literally, foe destroyer. A person who has destroyed his or her
inner enemy, the delusions, and attained liberation from cyclic existence.
arya (Skt). Literally, noble. One who has realized the wisdom of emptiness.
Avalokiteshvara (Skt; Tib: Chenrezig). The buddha of compassion. A male
meditational deity embodying fully enlightened compassion.
bodhicitta (Skt). The altruistic determination to reach enlightenment for
the sole purpose of enlightening all sentient beings.
bodhisattva (Skt). Someone whose spiritual practice is directed towards
the achievement of enlightenment. One who possesses the compassion-
ate motivation of bodhicitta.
buddha (Skt). A fully enlightened being. One who has removed all ob-
scurations veiling the mind and has developed all good qualities to per-
fection. The first of the Three Jewels of Refuge. See also enlightenment.
Buddhadharma (Skt). The teachings of the Buddha. See also Dharma.
buddha nature. The clear light nature of mind possessed by all sentient
beings; the potential for all sentient beings to become enlightened by
removing the two obscurations, the obscurations to liberation (see also
delusion) and the obscurations to omniscience.
Buddhist (Tib: nang-pa). One who has taken refuge in the Three Jewels
of Refuge: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and who accepts the philo -
sophical world view of the four seals : that all conditioned things are
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impermanent, all contaminated things are dissatisfactory in nature, all
phenomena are empty and nirvana is true peace.
Chandrakirti (Skt). The sixth century AD Indian Buddhist philosopher
who wrote commentaries on Nagarjuna s philosophy. His best known
work is A Supplement to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara).
compassion (Skt: karuna). The wish for all sentient beings to be separated
from their mental and physical suffering. A prerequisite for the develop-
ment of bodhicitta. Compassion is symbolized by the meditational deity
Avalokiteshvara.
consciousness. See mind.
cyclic existence (Skt: samsara; Tib: khor-wa). The six realms of conditioned
existence, three lower hell, hungry ghost (Skt: preta) and animal and
three upper human, demigod (Skt: asura) and god (Skt: sura). It is the
beginningless, recurring cycle of death and rebirth under the control of
delusion and karma and fraught with suffering. It also refers to the con-
taminated aggregates of a sentient being.
delusion (Skt: klesha; Tib: nyön-mong). An obscuration covering the essen-
tially pure nature of mind, being thereby responsible for suffering and
dissatisfaction; the main delusion is ignorance, out of which grow
desirous attachment, hatred, jealousy and all the other delusions.
Dharma (Skt). Spiritual teachings, particularly those of Shakyamuni
Buddha. Literally, that which holds one back from suffering. The second
of the Three Jewels of Refuge.
dharmakaya (Skt). The truth body. The omniscient mind of a fully
enlightened being, which, free of all coverings, remains meditatively
absorbed in the direct perception of emptiness while simultaneously cog-
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