Bodhichitta

The Determination to Be Free, the First of the Three Principal Aspects of the Path   In Buddhism, we speak of three principal aspects of the path: the determination to be free, usually translated as “renunciation,” a vast enlightening aim of bodhichitta, and a...

(11) Teaching Voidness to Those Whose Minds Are Untrained We’ve been going through the bodhisattva vows. We have covered ten of the 18 vows and we’re up to number 11. What we want to avoid with this vow is teaching voidness to those whose minds are untrained. This is talking...

Verses 22 through 25 We have been going through the 37 Bodhisattva Practices by the great teacher, Togme Zangpo. We reached verse 22. Verse 22 to 24 talk about the cessation or stopping of suffering, and about deepest truth.  Developing Deepest Bodhichitta, the...

Foundation for Development of Equanimity In order to generate the enlightening aim of bodhichitta with which we wish to attain enlightenment in order to benefit all living beings, it is first necessary to develop a sense of equanimity and an equal attitude toward everyone. If...

The Great Benefits of Bodhichitta There are great benefits to be derived from the development of an enlightening aim of bodhichitta. The positive force built up by it of are discussed in twelve lines from a sutra of the Buddha which was requested by the householder Viradatta....

A Person of Advanced Spiritual Scope Atisha continues: (5) Anyone who fully wishes to eliminate completely all the sufferings of others as (he or she would) the sufferings included in his or her own mental continuum is someone of supreme motivation. This introduces...

Exceptional Resolve  The next step after tonglen (giving and taking) is developing the exceptional resolve (lhag-bsam), which is the even stronger wish to be able to eliminate all the suffering of others and bring them the happiness of liberation and enlightenment. What...

[The recording of the session on verse 10, which preceded this session, has been lost.] (10) Next, with a mind of love toward all limited beings, as a start, look to all wandering beings, barring none, suffering from birth and so forth in the three worse realms, and...

In the seven-part cause and effect meditation for generating bodhichitta, we go through a sequence of factors, such as remembering the motherly love we have received, that lead us to it.

The development of bodhichitta progresses through various stages leading to the five types of trainings that prevent our development of bodhichitta from weakening in this life or in future lives.