A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN FPMT LAMA

I’ve been teaching Dharma at Buddha House since 1988. Why have I been doing all of this? It is so you will practice well. We go through a great deal of hardship in coming together like this, and it’s all meant to help us eliminate suffering and find final happiness.

Within the Buddhadharma there is both sutra and secret mantra, and I’ve given extensive teachings on both. Through having listened to these teachings you have implanted many latencies on your mindstream. But mere latencies are not completely beneficial. What you have to do is practice; you have to go on and meditate on what is taught.

How are we to proceed in our practice? We have to start practicing today. We develop a determination that “I am going to put these teachings into practice today,” and then we develop a determination that “just as I practice today, I am going to do the same tomorrow, and for the next week in a consistent way, and for the next month, the next year. I am going to practice in this way until my death.” If we proceed in this way, then tomorrow that meditation will be that much easier, an understanding will arise that much more readily, and our abilities will increase that much more.

Then we proceed to the next day, and again, it becomes easier and easier in these various ways. If we start to make a fire and then set it aside, then take it up again – it it’s intermittent like this is can never ignite. Likewise, if we continually set our practice aside there will be no power and we will gain no real realizations. We can’t make a great effort one day, then set it aside for the next few days – we won’t develop any potency in our practice. We should make a moderate effort, not a great burst of effort. But having made that effort, we should not leave it aside. Continue with that moderate effort steadily over a period of time and our practice will definitely develop. This way, whatever abilities, whatever powers we may be developing will not be lost in the process.

So how are we to actually proceed for that one day? When we wake up in the morning we should be mindful that we didn’t die during the night, and that we have an opportunity to continue our practice, and that this is due to the kindness of our spiritual teacher. In general, we want to make our life meaningful, but especially be determined to make this day meaningful in our practice of Dharma.

After washing yourself, make offerings of incense, flowers or water to representations of the Buddha, the Dharma and our lama. If you wish, you can have a cup of tea, and then you should do some meditation. You should have a meditation seat that is raised at the rear and lower at the front. First make three prostrations, then comfortably seat oneself on the cushion.

Set the motivation of the awakening heart, bodhichitta: this practice is not for oneself alone, but understand that all sentient beings are alike – none want to suffer and all want to experience happiness. “Therefore, in order to free all sentient beings from suffering and lead them to happiness, I must attain buddhahood.” If you have the time you could do the practice of the Hundred Deities of the Land of Bliss, Ganden Lha Gyema, then offer a mandala, and then do the actual meditation. You can meditate on the lam-rim, for example.

If you don’t have much time, practice as follows: Understand that you yourself fear suffering, not only over this life but in all future lives; understand that all sentient beings feel the same anxiety. Then recall the excellent qualities of the Buddha who can protect us from this fear of future suffering. Next, go for refuge to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. You could recite the formula “Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Sanghaya,” or the verse we often recite here, “I go for refuge to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Spiritual Community. Through the merit of practicing generosity and the other perfections, may I achieve the state of buddhahood for the sake of all living beings.” This is the open-hearted attitude of bodhichitta.

If you work, develop an altruistic attitude and think that you will do your work well for the sake of all beings. Determine to do the best you can to abandon negative ways of thinking, speaking and acting, and try to implement skillful ways of acting over the course of the day, for the sake of others.

When we come home in the evening, we much check to see if we acted in accordance with the intention we set in the morning. Did you actually practice Dharma throughout the day, or did you harm others? If you acted in accordance with your previous good intention, then rejoice in what you did; determine to again implement those skillful ways of acting. If you habituate your mind to this way of thinking, gradually your mind will develop. But if you caused people problems and accumulated negativities, develop a sense of regret. Implement some kind of antidote to the negativity, like Vajrasattva or Confession to the Thirty-five Buddhas practice, and apply the four opponent powers. Develop the determination to restrain yourself from acting in these negative ways.

We must have some discipline to make our practice a priority in our lives. We have to ensure that we ourselves create time for our practice; it doesn’t come from the outside. It would be very sad if we allowed our life to pass in a meaningless fashion. Upon our death we do not simply become non-existent. Our mental continuum will take rebirth, and if we have created skillful actions over the course of this life, we can be assured that we will experience a happy rebirth. If we act negatively, we will experience the opposite. Try to cultivate love and compassion as much as possible. We don’t know when death will come, therefore we must ensure that our life is meaningful.