Daily Life

Point 6 The sixth point consists of 18 practices that will bond us closely to this attitude training. The seventh point contains twenty-two points for cleansing and training our attitudes. These are long lists, but they’re also wonderful guidelines for how to be less selfish...

I think it is important not to cover too much material at one time but to really chew on what we have been discussing and clear up any questions that you might have related to it. Visualizing Ourselves as a Buddha-Figure without Bodhichitta You mentioned something about not...

Point 7 Point seven, the last point, consists of 22 points to train in for cleansing our attitudes: 1. Do all yogas with one Whatever we do, we should do it in order to be able to help others. An example often used in India, where people frequently have worms, is the...

Verses 25 through 37 and Concluding Verses Togme Zangpo then discusses the six far-reaching attitudes or the so-called “perfections” or “paramitas,” which are a very important basis for our bodhisattva behavior. The bodhisattva vows, particularly the secondary vows, are a way...

Review Yesterday, we spoke about the meaning of tantra, a stream of continuity that goes on forever. There is a basis level – our mental continuum with the Buddha-nature factors. These include our networks of positive force and deep awareness, and the relative and deepest...

Verses 17 through 28 Verse 17: Living in Solitude Let me step up to living in a sequestered place, outside the limits (of any town), and, like the corpse of a dead game animal, hide myself in solitude and live without attachments. This is very similar to what Shantideva...

Brief Review The Eight Verses of Mind Training comes from a long tradition, beginning with Shantideva’s text Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior, then with Atisha, who heard of these teachings from Dharmarakshita, who wrote Wheel of Sharp Weapons, and then traveled to Sumatra to...

Verses 26 through 31 Now, we are going to continue talking about the six perfections, or the six far-reaching attitudes. You might have notice that they go in the order of generosity, ethical self-discipline, and then patience. This is because the focus of our practice should...

Verses 32 through 37 Not Speaking of the Faults of Others We’ve been going through Gyalse Togme Zangpo’s 37 Bodhisattva Practices, and we got up to verse 31. Now, we’ll go through the rest of the text. (32) A bodhisattva’s practice is not to speak about the faults of a person...

Nagarjuna wrote this poem as a letter to his friend, King Gautamiputra, as advice on the practice of the entire Buddhist path leading to liberation for both householders and monastics.