Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey)
Ltd.
Compassion in Action
John
D. Hughes
Recorded Teachings
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey)
Ltd.
33 Brooking St
Upwey, Victoria
Australia 3158
A.C.N. 005 701 806
A.B.N. 42 611 496
488
Phone: (03) 9754
3334
Fax: (03) 9754 3334
email: wbu@bdcu.org.au
Disclaimer and Copyright
Public
Talk: His Eminence Luding Khenchen
Rinpoche
Venue:
Camberwell Civic Centre, Melbourne, Australia, 6 April 2004
Notes
Taken: Lenore
Hamilton
Editor:
Evelin Halls
Attended by: Anita
Hughes, Julie O'Donnell, Leanne Eames and Lenore Hamilton
This talk was
given by His Eminence Kyabje Dorje Chang Luding Khenchen Rinpoche, one of
the highest and most realised masters in the Sakya Tradition of Tibetan
Buddhism. One of the greatest Buddhist Masters and The Holder of the Three
Vows.
His Eminence Luding Khenchen Rinpoche is the 75th Head of the
Ngorpa subsect who was enthroned in 1954. His Eminence has contributed
greatly to the dharma by giving continuous teachings, empowerments, oral
transmissions and re-establishing summer retreats in Sakya Monastries
world wide. His Eminence has bestowed the precious Lamdre 15 times, given
initiations and instructions on the 13 Golden Dharmas of Sakya Tradition,
the 7 Mandalas of Ngor Tradition and other deities and has ordained over
10,000 monks.
This visit marks the first and only visit of His
Eminence to Australia, as he intends to enter life- retreat after these
final teachings in Australia.
His Eminence was introduced as a
renowned Yogi in the Tibetan tradition.
All in attendance were blessed
by his presence.
Lama Choedak Rinpoche was translator.
How do we
implement compassion in action?
Generally all living beings have one
common goal, to seek happiness.
Help to find happiness - enhance, to
know what is right and wrong.
Find the suffering and pain not wished
for, this is a problem all beings find themselves in, and seek an
answer.
There are two things:
1. To practice.
2. To exNaropa
restraint.
Restrain selfishness, we become overpowered by this
selfishness, and renounce cherishing of self.
With a lack of
spirituality we go off the track, causing unhappiness so there is a need
to be restrained.
Fully enlightened Buddha's teachings, and
there are 84,000 of tDhammaeachings can be explained in a nutshell as practice
of compassion and causes for enlightenment.
Attempt to give rise to
the thought of enlightenment, to bring self and others to happiness.
As
long as we are accustomed to being selfish, the wish to be enlightened to
benefit others is rare, with only an occasional wish to help
others.
Self clinging and other like behaviours continue as sources
of our suffering.
There is the need to generate altruism for the
sake of others and it is a daunting task to realise this.
Precious
Bodhicitta are the basic ingredients: Loving kindness and compassion,
these are necessary for enlightenment.
The meaning of loving
kindness is to make a solemn and strong wish to create happiness and the
causes for happiness. This can be difficult to sustain as we are so used
to only looking after ourselves.
Compassion as a result of giving
and generating loving kindness, being more engaged in the well being of
others.
Have a strong commitment to generate, a sincere yearning
and empathy to eradicate selfishness, to action compassion.
How do
we do this? By training the mind. Having a loving kindness filled
heart.
To think of someone such as your mother, thinking about positive
past relationships to help make the causes for happiness and then we can
become the recipient of the causes for happiness.
How do we repay
such kindness? With a sense of gratitude and unfabricated feelings of
loving kindness. The willingness to enhance happiness of others and to
train ourselves to increase these feelings - finally this will give rise
to feelings of loving kindness to self and others. A great conviction is
needed as it is important to repay this kindness, to cultivate unshakable
loving kindness so that we are not changed by circumstances. Confidence to
not change or alter this view then loving kindness can be generated for
your father, brother, loved ones and then can be extended to opponents,
difficulties, anger and enmity.
Our opponents, embodied living
beings, people seen as obstacles including not living beings, our negative
feelings, dysfunctional, invisible demonic feelings, these we have failed
to recognise from past lives, they were at one time dear to us as mothers
and fathers, we experience a big gap from our own defilements. Do not
harbour negatives, forgive as it is due to ignorance, we perceive them
incorrectly creating the cause for enmity.
Change the thoughts from
enmity to loving kindness and create causes for happiness for all beings,
as we are so accustomed to doing the opposite. Learn new ways, think of
the well being of others, practice, become sane by adopting these ideas.
Conviction of oneself to change. Devote your whole practice to loving
kindness, the basis of compassion. Eradicate conditions and circumstances
that beings do not want at all.
When there is a degree of success
in practising loving kindness then we can practice
compassion.
Compassion: understand the causes of suffering, alter
beings' causes of suffering, those that are not aware of causes of
suffering, help them to be free from the causes of suffering.
When
we understand the concept of compassion you need strong will to train
yourself. Understand difficulties, see pain and hurt, feel their suffering
is hurting you as much as them. Be committed to alleviating suffering -
one suffering being is one too much.
Your whole energy comes to
eliminate the suffering of others, you become involved in the act of
compassion.
Extend compassion to opponents and enemies, see and
view suffering of others hurts and pains as hurting you too.
Feel
sad for those who are suffering - King of Heart yearns to alleviate anyone
suffering. Then extend to all beings with unfortunate rebirths, think of
all suffering as a concern to you, the suffering as unbearable pain. Do
something to reduce, eliminate, to have an uncontrollable commitment to
alleviate suffering of others. Not to stay idle, feel the pain of others,
become committed and engaged as this is the very act of
compassion.
The greater the suffering the greater the compassion
will be: Hell realms, Hungry Ghosts and Animal births. We do not know
these sufferings directly. Bring close to one's heart, illness, old age,
natural calamity as the object of contemplation. This has the power to
move us and to contribute to eliminate suffering. A mind more willing to
venture into suffering of others makes the heart yearn, to bleed. The mind
becomes accustomed to severity and the enormity of suffering, especially
in the lower realms. We must make a sincere wish for empathy and knowledge
of the suffering of others.
Manjushri said the practice of altruism
is a result of generosity. Actualise: we must act out of compassion. The
Guardians of Dhamma take wrathful appearances, fierce manifestation to
subdue.
Cherish other sentient beings, cherishing for the well being of
others, great change of heart in one's mind, generate bodhicitta and a
genuine change of heart to generate altruism.
Habits from the past,
one is an ardent believer in selfishness which causes pain and
difficulties. We meet difficult people and all this is a product of our
selfishness. Unfavourable circumstances come from one's own
practices.
Previous suffering decreases dramatically when we
function altruistically via loving kindness of compassion to facilitate
happiness and causes of happiness for other beings.
Engender
altruism and the thought of enlightenment, wishing for the well being of
others and their enlightenment.
Effortless loving kindness and
compassion, not being obsessed with our own suffering. Our suffering is
miniscule and immeasurable compared to the suffering of others. Become
tolerant, suffering gives courage, skill to transform our own
suffering.
"Not me alone" deluded deception, something from the
past. We can tolerate distress, accept this then we can increase our
compassion and reduce our own suffering, making this a catalyst to
compassion. Being paranoid about our own suffering, eliminate this rather
than exacerbate this like committing suicide.
Downplay our own
suffering and come out of the self concerned self.
"I am not alone"
attitude to suffering takes responsibility and transforms to eliminate our
own suffering and help others to reduce their suffering. Practise with
family, community, persons, practise loving kindness and compassion to
create harmony and that will induce others to behave
likewise.
Mutual respect and generosity will create harmony, not
doubt, fear, suspicion and mistrust, as these are all causes for
suffering.
As you learn to have your mind on one meditation focus
you notice your mind has more thoughts. You feel you cannot meditate or
develop your meditation practice, this is not alarming as it is typical at
first as we discover these discursive thoughts, they are seen and
recognised. Previously one was unconscious, meditation can increase
clarity, even if thoughts seem too numerous. When we settle the frequency
will change.
First recognise your thoughts and they will slow down
and create greater stability. Calm Abiding - one pointed meditation,
create positive minds as you need a tranquil abiding mental state for
loving kindness and compassion.
Other ways are to develop other
analytical meditation such as meditation on Avalokiteshvara the great
compassionate one using six syllable mantra.
Meditate on Manjushri
and use mantra
Use meditation ability to discern what is
proper and improper, learn to exercise restraint, reduce suffering
and develop wisdom. Learn how to incorporate all aspects, the numerous
ways and techniques to check these practicesBodhicittaelf.
Be consistent,
diligent, reliable and disciplined in your practice to gain the benefit of
calm abiding.
Diligence is the main way to develop compassion.
Be
slow and steady, consistent with not too much too soon.
Better to be
stable and long lasting. Slow producing but stable gives better
results.
Nature of existence at all times is the suffering of
beings and it is incessantly like this. Futility of the world, sense of
renunciation. Thinking why is there suffering and what can be done? It is
only possible to eliminate if you know there is suffering.
Be
encouraged to do something to eleviate suffering - Ask: What can I do?
from your own initiative.
One way to overcome suffering is to look
at where suffering is. Where is this mind that is sad? Inside or outside
of you?
There is no inherent existence, meditate on
emptiness of mind, therefore no suffering inminuscule.
Increase courage when
difficulty comes along and train the mind to be stable, train the mind to
be exulted like a Bodhisattva and have courage when facing more
difficulties.
Lenore Hamilton found the following
verse from the Karaniyametta sutta to encourage the practice of calm
abiding. ("Divine Abodes" by Sujiva, 1998)
Aspiration.
As a
mother, at the risk of her life,
Watches over her only child,
Let
him cherish an unbounded mind for all living beings,
Let him have love
for the whole world,
And develop an unbounded mind,
Above, below
and all around, Boundless heart of goodwill, free of hatred,
Standing,
walking, sitting or lDown playn,
So long as he be awake,
Let him
cherish this thought, This is called divine abiding
here.
May all beings be well and happy
May all beings in
the world generate precious Bodhicitta.
In this document
are written the notes of Lenore Hamilton while listening to the Public
talk by His Eminence Luding Khenchen on 6 April 2004. The intention
of this work is to help others and we apologise for any mistakes or
misunderstandings that may have
occurred.
References
Sujiva, Venerable, 1998, "Divine
Abodes", Buddhist Wisdom Centre, PJ.
"The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts".
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