Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashila's Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School by Khenchen Thrangu & Jules B. Levinson

Author:Khenchen Thrangu & Jules B. Levinson
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Snow Lion
Published: 2002-11-25T00:00:00+00:00

These days, we issue visas to control the flow of people into our countries. Why? We feel that the people of our own land deserve to be comfortable and well. Were people to arrive from some other land, they would make trouble for us. Therefore, we do not permit them to come to our country. We turn them back. If they have no place to live, that's their problem. Let them suffer. The harsh treatment of others comes from restricting our compassion to some and withholding it from others.

When compassion is partial, then all that trouble will arise. For that reason, the Buddha taught that an uncommon variety of compassion is required. What is the nature of that uncommon compassion? It has two aspects. First, the compassion taught by the Buddha has no measure. That is to say, the Buddha taught that compassion is to be extended to all sentient beings. Second, compassion is a wish to free sentient beings from suffering. However, it is not possible to free others from suffering immediately. Initially, it is necessary to free others from the causes of suffering.

For example, I have diabetes. My doctor tells me that I must do something about this. What must I do? First of all, I have to avoid eating the things that cause me to feel sick: sugar and other sweet things. Why? They are the causes of my suffering. If I continue to eat sweet things, I will continue to suffer from this illness. Similarly, to overcome other types of suffering, it is necessary to stop engaging in their causes.

Given that we would like to generate a compassion that is both immeasurable and intelligent, how shall we proceed? It may surprise you to hear that we do not begin by attempting to increase compassion. Rather, we begin by cultivating equanimity. To cultivate equanimity means to consider the ways in which all sentient beings are the same. That will allow us to erase the line dividing those for whom we feel compassion from those for whom we do not feel compassion. To whatever extent we are able to see all sentient beings as similar, to that same extent we will be able gradually to generate compassion that is immeasurable. Upon what method shall we rely in order to generate compassion that excludes no one? Consider one hundred human beings.

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