The Heroic Heart by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

Author:Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo [Palmo, Jetsunma Tenzin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 2022-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

18

Being Compassionate When Things Are Difficult

Even when utterly destitute and constantly maligned by others,

Afflicted by terrible illness and prey to evil forces,

To still draw upon myself the suffering and wrongdoing of all beings

And not lose heart is the practice of a bodhisattva.

SO THIS VERSE, TOO, EMPHASIZES the practice of tonglen toward someone who is suffering or who is ill or who has any problems. We visualize taking on their suffering. However, we can also practice for ourselves, if we are suffering or ill or maligned or when something difficult is happening to us or we are completely destitute. Instead of just despairing, we can practice tonglen and think of all those beings in the world who are suffering what we are experiencing right now. We can say, “May all their suffering ripen in me and may they be free of their suffering. May all my inherent good qualities, the endless potential of my Buddha-nature, along with whatever good karma I may have, may all of that be given to them. May they be free of suffering, may all their suffering ripen upon me.”

In that way, surprisingly enough, we do not end up feeling totally despairing and suicidal. Actually, what happens is that we feel a kind of inner empowerment and a meaning and purpose to our suffering. We are not just thinking poor me. As Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche suggests:

Suffering, in fact, can be helpful in many ways. It spurs your motivation, and, as many teachings point out, without suffering there would be no determination to be free of samsara. Sadness is an effective antidote to arrogance.[36]

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