A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom: Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices by Rinpoche Dudjom & Dorje Jigdrel Yeshe

Author:Rinpoche, Dudjom & Dorje, Jigdrel Yeshe [Rinpoche, Dudjom]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Published: 2011-11-08T02:00:00+00:00

II. CLARIFICATION OF THE POINTS OF THE TRAINING IN THIS CASE

Relax physically, verbally, and mentally, and reflect as follows: “Just as one could never fix the dimensions of space even if one were to take measurements in the ten directions, there is no measure to the size and dimensions of the universe. And there is nowhere in the universe, not a single interstice, that is not filled with sentient beings belonging to the six realms. Throughout our series of past lives—and there is no saying when they began—I and all those beings have been wandering in cyclic existence and have been reborn countless times. Each time we took birth, we had a body. And for each of those bodies there was a father and mother. There is not a single one of all those sentient beings who has not been my father or mother—and not only once: every one of them has been my parent an incalculable number of times. On each occasion they have shown me nothing but kindness.

“Take this present life, for example. To begin with, when my body was developing in my mother’s womb, she endured physical exhaustion, her beautiful complexion faded, it was difficult for her to stand or sit, her senses were dulled, and she could not eat and drink the things she liked. Then, when she gave birth to me at the end of all those months, all her joints except her jaws were stretched apart, and she had to take half a step into the land of the dead; yet she still unhesitatingly took me on her lap—I, who resembled a worm in a swamp of filth. Whatever the situation, whatever she did—like wiping up my excrement with her loving hand—she cherished and cared for me. She would have died rather than have her little child get sick. She gave me everything she had—all her property and possessions—but she never regretted it or held it over me. So it has been with my parents in all my past lives, who have truly cared for me, with great kindness. There is no difference between them and my present parents—they are all just as closely related to me.

“Now, all of them are groping in the gloom of ignorance, their minds crazed and deranged by afflictive emotions. Bereft of the eye of wisdom that sees what to adopt and what to avoid, they have no spiritual friend to act as a guide leading them in their blindness. Having cast aside the staff of merit, and with their legs—means and wisdom—broken, how will they ever escape from the abyss of cyclic existence? They want to be happy, but, ignorant of the means for achieving that, all they manage to accomplish are the very things that lead to suffering. What they practice runs counter to what they really want, and because of such deeds they are perpetually miserable, indulging in the causes of suffering and experiencing suffering as the result. How pitiful they are, these kind old mothers.”

Reflecting

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