We are lucky to be humans (in contrast with animals for example). We can reach enlightenment through meditation. Don't waste you life. You can benefit other. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself. To expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get hangry, or think badly about others. I am going to benefits others as much as I can.

Death and impermancy

Death is certain: death cannot be avoided, life cannot be extended and constantly diminishes, little time for Dharma practice. Time of death is uncertain - life span is unvertain, cause of death are many and causes of life are few, one's body is fragile. At time of death, nothing helps except Dharma.

The danger of lower rebirth

Throughout this and all our countless previous lives, we have committed many heavy negative actions. Unless we have already purified these actions by practicing sincere confession, their potentialities remain in our mental continuum, and any one of these negative potentialities could ripen when we die. Bearing this in mind, we should ask ourself: If I die today, where shall I be tomorrow? It is quite possible that I shall find myself in the animal realm, among the hungry spirits, or in hell. If someone were to call me a stupid cow today, I would find it difficult to bear, but what shall I do if I actually become a cow? Having repeatedly contemplated these points, and understood how beings in the lower realms experience suffering, we generate a strong fear of taking rebirth in the lower realms. This feeling is the object of our meditation.

Actions and their effects

Developing renunciation for samsara

Developing renunciation for samsara

Developing equanimity

There is no sense in feeling attached to someone who appears attractive, feeling aversion towards someone who appears unattractive, or feeling indifferent towards someone who is neither attractive nor unattractive. Someone who appears attractive to me can be an object of aversion to others; someone who appears unattractive to me can be an object of attachment to others; and someone to whom I feel indifferent can be on object of attachment or aversion to others. There is no certainty. The appearances of attractiveness, unattractiveness, and indifference are only my own mistaken projections; and they make my mind unbalanced and unpeaceful, and destroy my happiness. Having repeatedly contemplated these points, make the determination: I must stop these unbalanced minds, and develop and maintain equanimity - an equally warm and friendly attitude towards all living beings. With this determination, generate a warm and friendly feeling towards all living beings without exception. This feeling of equanimity is the object of meditation.

Recognizing that all living beings are our mothers

All beings have mothers. Since we have been reincarnating since the beginning of time at some point all livings beings are been our mother. Not only our mother, but friends, son, daughter, wife...

Remembering the kindness of living beings

Everything that we use come from the kindness of another living been. Our clothes, food, teaching, the language, the culture, the electricity...

The disadvantages of self-cherishing

Nothing causes me greater harm than the demon of my self-cherishing. It is the source of all my negativity, misfortune, problems and suffering.

The advantages of cherishing others

The precious mind that cherishes all living beings protects both myself and others from suffering, brings pure and everlasting happiness and fulfils the wishes of both myself and others.

Exchanging self with others

Exchanging self with others

Since beginningless time, in life after life, I have been a slave to my self-cherishing mind. I have trusted it implicitly and obeyed its every command, believing that the way to solve my problems and find happiness is to put myself vefore everyone else. I have worked so hard and for so long for my own sake, but what do I have to show for it? Have I solved all my problems and found the lasting happiness I desire? No. It is clear that pursing my own selfish interests has deceived me. After hving indulged my self-cherishing for so many lives, now is the time to realise that it simply does not work. No it is time to switch the object of my cherishing from myself to all living beens.

Great Compassion

I cannot bear the suffering of these countless mother beings. Drowning in the vast and deep ocean of samsara, the cycle of contaminated rebirth, the have to experience unbearable physical suffering and mental pain in this life and in countless future lives. I must permanently liberate all these living beings from their suffering.

Taking

We begin by generating the superior intention: "I myself will liberate all living beings from their suffering." Motivated by this superior intention, we pray: "May all the suffering, fears and obstacles of every living being ripen upon me, and may they thereby be freed from all problems." We then strongly believe that the suffering, fears and obstacles of all living beings gather in the aspect of black smoke, which dissolves into our heart, destroying our self-cherishing mind and freeing all living beings from their suffering.

These living beings wish to be happy all the time, but they do not know how to full fill this wish. The happiness they enjoy from worldly enjoyments in not pure happiness - it is just changing suffering, a temporary reduction of previous manifest suffering. None of these countless living beings experiences pure an everlasting happiness.

Giving