My dear friends,
The fourth verse of Geshe Langri Tangpa's Eight Verses for Training the Mind reads:
Who is overwhelmed by negative energy and intense suffering
I will hold such a rare one dear
As if I had found a precious treasure.
This verse can be seen as a practical application of several precepts from Geshe Chekawa's Mind Training in Seven Points, especially those that deal with transforming adversity into the path of awakening and changing one’s perspective toward others.
This practice involves recognizing the kindness of others, even those who appear to be difficult or unkind, since they provide us with opportunities to practice patience, tolerance, and forgiveness. Hence, they should be seen as precious treasures.
change this adverse circumstance into the path to full awakening.
Encountering a person of bad nature or intense suffering could be considered an adverse circumstance, but with the application of appropriate means, we can transform this difficulty into an opportunity for spiritual growth.
This speaks to cherishing a person who provides us with the opportunity to exercise patience, compassion and kindness.
This refers to seeing all beings with an equal mind, avoiding attachment or aversion, and is reflected in treating a person of bad nature as a rare treasure.
Thus, these precepts encourage the cultivation of compassion, patience, and equanimity, turning difficult relationships into opportunities for deep spiritual practice. The most compassionate practice in this situation could be the one prescribed by Atisha:
- Atisha Dipamkara Srijñana (982 - 1054),
in Wisdom of the Kadam Masters
When encountering a person of bad nature, overwhelmed by negativity and suffering, instead of reacting with frustration or avoidance, we can offer a different kind of help—turning their mind toward the Dharma. This doesn’t necessarily mean overt preaching or instruction, but rather embodying the qualities of the Dharma—compassion, patience, and equanimity—in our interactions with them. By holding them dear, as if they were a "precious treasure," we create a space where they might feel seen, understood, and met with unconditional kindness.
Through our own example of living the Dharma, we subtly encourage them to reflect on
their own suffering and perhaps inspire them to seek a path of wisdom and compassion.
This approach transforms an ordinary encounter with someone who may be difficult into a
spiritual opportunity, helping them (and ourselves) connect more deeply with the
teachings of the Dharma.
Atisha's advice enhances our practice by emphasizing that the ultimate form of compassion is not just to alleviate immediate suffering, but to inspire a deeper transformation through Dharma realization. By turning their thoughts toward the Dharma, we offer them the tools for lasting peace and wisdom.
As Shantideva has said:
Without any effort on my behalf to obtain it,
I should be happy to have an enemy
For he assists me in my conduct of Awakening.
And because I am able to practise (patience) with him,
He is worthy of being given
The very first fruits of my patience,
For in this way he is the cause of it.
- Shantideva, Bodhisattvacharyavatara, VI(107-108)
Walk With Me
Drawn by ChatGPT-4o/DALL-E3, 2024-09-12.