The Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche - Written Teachings

I recently hosted His Holiness the Dalai Lama at The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at Shambhala Mountain Center, in Colorado. Planning the visit inspired the notion of the Living Peace Award, to be offered to people who embody the virtue of peace in the way they live their lives. We invited His Holiness to be the first recipient.

When we talked to him afterwards, His Holiness was very enthusiastic about the idea of living peace. But he also pointed out that there’s a lot of legwork involved if we are to integrate peace into our lives and our surroundings. This is the work of the bodhisattva, one who has awakened bodhichitta, the mind of enlightenment.

Within our own mind and being there is a fully awakened and completely liberated Buddha. In order to awaken the qualities of enlightenment, we use insight, aspiration, and intention. It is said that the best aspiration and intention is to take the bodhisattva vow. Taking the vow means binding our lives with a deep sense of purpose in terms of working hard to awaken bodhichitta, the mind that wants to bring peace to the world.

Everything is interdependent. If you are planting a garden, you may have the right soil, but you need a certain amount of sunshine. When all the ingredients come together, the flowers bloom. To take the bodhisattva vow, your good will, good mind, the support of a human life and sound body, and of having met a teacher who can offer the vow—all these elements come together. Under those conditions, but especially with intention, we can unlock the seed of bodhichitta so the flower can bloom.

When we start to meditate, we may have the intention of being concerned only about ourselves. We want to stop suffering; we want to become enlightened. That attitude can be very beneficial in hinayana practice. But such an intention will not ultimately lead to complete enlightenment. In order to achieve full enlightenment, we take as our intention that we will work tirelessly until all those innumerable other sentient beings are not suffering, and ultimately, until they also have attained liberation. This is the attitude of the bodhisattva, who practices the mahayana, the great vehicle.

When you meet an individual who has mastered this attitude, it’s very intimidating. The bodhisattva is not holding on to any sense of self-importance, since he or she has offered this life to others—even for lifetimes to come. There’s a sense of enormous gentleness and space. This is the mind we meet when we encounter great teachers like His Holiness the Dalai Lama or Kalu Rinpoche, who gave me the bodhisattva vow under the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya.

After taking the bodhisattva vow, we may think, “Well, I’m now a bodhisattva, so I’ll just work for others.” It’s not that simple. It’s a gradual path that involves working with that part of our own mind where we’re always hanging on or hiding out. Taking the vow is our aspiration to let all that go.

How do we do it? It is said that the bodhisattva leads others like a shepherd, a ferryman, and a king. Our inspiration and intelligence are like that of a king. We lead others by example, exerting ourselves in the discipline of meditation. Our patience and fortitude is like that of a shepherd. We’re willing to be the last person through the gate of enlightenment. At the same time, we have the intention of the ferryman, generously offering our life as a vehicle for everyone else’s passage to peace. So we need to be the leader in a sense of our own practice, but at the same time, we are willing to be the last person to achieve enlightenment. And we mean to take everyone else with us. ”I am willing to work until all sentient beings have attained complete and genuine liberation.”

If you were to look inside the bodhisattva, you would find a big, courageous mind. That’s why Shantideva refers to the bodhisattva as a warrior. When we take the bodhisattva vow, we are in a sense forsaking our own life. The power of our aspiration—through innumerable lifetimes to help all sentient beings—is said to supercharge all of our other activities by infusing them with the electricity of such a noble purpose.

There are seven signs of progress on this path. Our body, speech, and mind become more gentle. We are less likely to deceive ourselves or others, because there is less and less to hide. We are more likely to respond to a situation with kindness and compassion. We begin any activity by generating compassion for all sentient beings. We find ourselves longing for the dharma. At times we are able to bear difficulty without complaint, welcoming obstacles as part of the path. We might even feel a sense of joy at having the opportunity to generate more bodhichitta. Finally, we engage in virtue.

There are many kinds of virtue. Among them are the paramitas—generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and their binding factor, prajna. Prajna is “best knowledge,” wisdom rooted in seeing how things are: there is suffering, impermanence, and selflessness. Bodhisattva activity is prajna-infused generosity, prajna-infused discipline, prajna-infused patience, prajna-infused exertion, and prajna-infused meditation. It is not about being a doormat.

Reflecting on the qualities of a bodhisattva doesn’t mean that we will be able to engage with others this way immediately. Once we have established some kind of stability through shamatha, can raise the bodhichitta, and have a root understanding of the Buddha’s teachings, we train by means of lojong, a form of contemplation that strengthens our aspiration. Some of this mind-training takes place in our meditation session. For example, we can practice generating the four immeasurables—loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity, and joy—and extending them to others.

There are also some traditional contemplations we can bring into our day. For example, upon awakening in the morning we can think, “Just as I have awakened, may all sentient beings awaken from the sleep of ignorance.” While dressing, we can think, “May all sentient beings wear the clothing of respect for others and for themselves.” In any activity, we can consider, “If I’m not to become a buddha right away, may I please be in a situation where I can be of some benefit to sentient beings.” I often advise people to just look in the bathroom mirror every morning and repeat three times, “It's not about me.”

The bodhisattva attitude has the potential to accomplish everything we want, because it is rooted in thinking of others. In the teachings on the experiences of a bodhisattva, the language is all about bliss and joy, the result of having this bigger outlook. The kind of peace we are talking about produces richness and happiness. We’re no longer in it just for ourselves; we’re no longer looking for our work to be over. We know there’s no time off.
The great Tibetan yogi Milarepa sang that compassion is tough and strong and steady. It keeps us going. On the bodhisattva path, practice brings joy, because our compassion increases with our workload. Sharpening the sword of insight on the edge of daily experience, we keep learning. Then we go back to the cushion and contemplate what we’ve learned. This is how we deepen our aspiration to enter the world with the bodhisattva attitude, the wish-fulfilling jewel at the heart of living peace.