The Essence of Tsongkhapa's Teachings by Dalai Lama

Author:Dalai Lama
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisdom Publications

GENERATING THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT

The seventh verse, along with the first two lines of the eighth verse, presents the method for cultivating the awakening mind.

(7) Carried away by the four torrential rivers,

bound by tight bonds of actions, difficult to undo,

caught in the iron net of the conception of self,

thoroughly enveloped by the thick darkness of ignorance . . .

(8a–b) born into boundless cyclic existence,

and in rebirths unceasing tormented by the three sufferings —

contemplating the state of mother sentient beings in such conditions, generate the supreme mind.

The words “mother sentient beings” here clearly show that suffering sentient beings are not totally unrelated to you. They have acted as your mother in many previous lives and have been extremely kind to you. Therefore you should see them as very pleasing. Understanding how your mothers suffer will provoke in you a feeling of being unable to bear it. Through the mental process of recognizing how you are intimately connected to sentient beings, you will be able to generate the great compassion that gives rise to the mind of enlightenment. This verse says that sentient beings are carried away by four torrential rivers. These four could refer to the four causes that project sentient beings into birth in cyclic existence and they could also refer to their four results. Here the four rivers refer to the four unwanted sufferings that we encounter in cyclic existence: birth, aging, sickness, and death. In other words, we are completely under the control of very strong, irreversible, contaminated actions, because of which we experience these four sufferings.

Such strongly contaminated actions also arise from potent delusions like anger and attachment. These in turn arise from the powerful conception of (a truly existent) self. This phenomenon is compared to a strong iron net, due to which we are ensnared in cyclic existence. A strong conception of self means that it is stable and unchallenged. The stronger the conception of self is, the stronger delusions like anger and attachment will be. The stronger the delusions are, the stronger the actions that project us into cyclic existence will be. And the stronger the actions that project us into cyclic existence are, the more powerful our sufferings will be.

The misconception of self arises because we are obscured on all sides by the darkness of ignorance. In this context, the misconception of self that entraps us in cyclic existence refers to the misconception of self of persons, because the next line says that sentient beings are completely confused and enshrouded by the great darkness of ignorance. Usually the misconception of self itself is referred to as ignorance, but when we find two things explained, like the misconception of self and ignorance, the first, the misconception of self, refers to the misconception of self of persons, and ignorance in the next line refers to the misconception of self of phenomena, the misconception of phenomena as truly existent.

Our misconception of the true existence of phenomena, in other words, our strong grasping for the attraction of our physical body, acts as the foundation for generating too much attachment toward our own person.

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