God forbade...must reading!

Open Heart




The Dalia Lama





  Real spiritual change comes about not by merely praying or wishing that all negative aspects of our minds disappear and all positive aspects blossom. It is only by our concerted effort, an effort based on an understanding of how the mind and its various emotional and psychological states interact, that we bring about true spiritual progress.



   It is important that we reflect upon the kindness of others. This realization is also a fruit of cultivating empathy. We must realize how our fortune is really dependent upon the cooperation and contributions of others. Every aspect of our present well-being is due to hard work on the part of others. As we look around us at the buildings we live and work in, the roads we travel on, the clothes we wear or the food we eat, we must acknowledge that all are provided by others. None of these would exist for us to enjoy and make use of were it not for the kindness of so many people unknown to us. As we contemplate in this manner, our appreciation for others grows, as does our empathy and closeness to them.



   As human beings, our well-being very much depends upon that of others, and our very survival is a result of contributions made by many, many beings. Our birth is dependent on our parents. We then need their care and affections for a number of years. Our livelihood, our dwelling, our sustenance, even our success and fame are the result of contributions made by innumerable fellow human beings.





   Exchanging Self for Others- recognition of all the help received from others. So much work has gone into providing us with the shirt we are wearing, from planting the cottonseed to weaving the fabric and sewing the garment. The slice of bread we eat had to be baked by someone. The wheat had to be planted by someone else and, after irrigation and fertilization, had to be harvested and then milled into flour. This had to be kneaded into dough and then baked appropriately. It would be impossible to count all the people involved in providing us with a simple slice of bread. In many cases machines do a lot of the work; however they had to be invented and produced, and must be supervised. Even our own personal virtues, such as our patience and ethical sense are all developed in dependence upon others. We can even come to appreciate that those who cause us difficulty are providing us with the opportunity to develop tolerance. Through this train of thought we come to recognize how dependent we are on others for all we enjoy in life.





   Afflictions such as attachment, hatred. pride, greed and so forth are mental states that cause us to behave in ways that bring about all our unhappiness and suffering. While working to achieve inner peace and happiness, its helpful to think of them as our inner demons, for like demons, they can haunt us causing nothing but misery. The state beyond such negative emotions and thoughts, beyond all sorrow, is called nirvana.



   In calm abiding, the mind should not be directed back into the past, nor influenced by hope or fears about the future. Once you prevent such thoughts from interfering with your focus, what is left is the interval between the recollections of past experiences and your anticipation and projections of the future. This interval is a vacuum we work from to maintain our focus on.