My dear friends,
In Point 3 of Geshe Chekawa's Mind Training in Seven Points, the second precept is:
Applying this precept on the Bodhisattva path involves transforming every situation – whether perceived as good or bad – into an opportunity for spiritual practice. This practice can be understood and applied through several key steps and principles:
Mindfulness and Awareness
- Stay Present: Develop the habit of being present in every moment. This mindfulness allows you to recognize the nature of the circumstances you find yourself in.
- Observation Without Judgment: Observe your thoughts and emotions without attaching labels of "good" or "bad". This non-judgmental awareness helps in seeing the true nature of experiences.
Transforming Adversity
- See Challenges as Opportunities: When faced with difficult situations, view them as opportunities to practice patience, compassion, and resilience. This is akin to transforming poison into medicine.
- Lojong Practices: Utilize specific lojong slogans such as "Banish the one object of every blame" and "Meditate on the great kindness of all" to shift your perspective on adverse circumstances. These practices help to cultivate humility and gratitude.
Compassion and Bodhicitta
- Generate Compassion: Use every situation to deepen your compassion for others. For example, if someone is unkind to you, recognize their suffering and use it to generate a sincere wish for their happiness and relief from suffering.
- Expand Bodhicitta: Consistently remind yourself of your commitment to the Bodhisattva path. Use each circumstance to strengthen your resolve to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
Meditative Techniques
- Analytical Meditation (Vipassana): Reflect on the nature of the circumstances and your reactions. Analyze how they arise, exist, and dissolve, reinforcing the understanding of impermanence and interdependence.
- Tonglen Practice: Use the practice of Tonglen (sending and taking) to breathe in the suffering and negativity of others and send out love, compassion, and positive energy. This practice helps to develop empathetic concern and altruism.
Practical Applications
- Daily Life: Incorporate these practices into your daily life. For example, while waiting in a long line, instead of becoming impatient, use this time to meditate on patience and the shared experience of waiting with others[1] .
- Interpersonal Relationships: In interactions with others, especially during conflicts, use these moments to practice deep listening, empathy, and the aspiration to help relieve the other person's suffering.
Embracing Emptiness and Interdependence
- Insight into Emptiness: Meditate on the emptiness of all phenomena. Understand that adverse circumstances, like all things, lack inherent existence and are an impermanent product of interdependent causes and conditions.
- Interconnectedness: Recognize that your experiences are interconnected with the lives of others. Use this understanding to cultivate a sense of universal responsibility and a commitment to the welfare of all beings.
By integrating these steps and principles into your practice, you can transform every immediate circumstance into a powerful tool for spiritual growth on the Bodhisattva path. This approach helps to dismantle self-centeredness and cultivate Bodhicitta – the mind of love, compassion, and wisdom, which are the hallmarks of a Bodhisattva's journey.
[1] I memorized Geshe Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses for Training the Mind about 30 years ago, and ever since, I have found it useful to recite and reflect on them silently while waiting in line, in doctors' offices, etc. – JHC