Compassion in Action

May You Be Well And Happy

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Summary

This talk was given by His Eminence Kyabje Dorje Chang Luding Khenchen Rinpoche in Camberwell, Victoria on the 6th April 2004. His Eminence is one of the highest and most realised masters in the Sakya Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

His Eminence Luding Khenchen Rinpoche is the 75th Head of the Ngorpa subsect who was enthroned in 1954. His Eminence has contributed greatly to the dharma by giving continuous teachings, empowerments, oral transmissions and re-establishing summer retreats in Sakya Monasteries worldwide. His Eminence has bestowed the precious Lamdre 15 times, given initiations and instructions on the 13 Golden Dharmas of Sakya Tradition, the 7 Mandalas of Ngor Tradition and other deities and has ordained over 10,000 monks.

This visit marks the first and only visit of His Eminence to Australia, as he intends to enter life-retreat after these final teachings in Australia.

His Eminence was introduced as a renowned Yogi in the Tibetan tradition.
All in attendance were blessed by his presence.

Lama Choedak Rinpoche was translator.

These notes were taken at the “Compassion in Action” public talk by Lenore Hamilton.

Content

Compassion in Action

How do we implement compassion in action?

Generally all living beings have one common goal, to seek happiness.

Help to find happiness – enhance, to know what is right and wrong.
Find the suffering and pain not wished for, this is a problem all beings find themselves in, and seek an answer.

There are two things:

  1. To practice.
  2. To exercise restraint.

Restrain selfishness, we become overpowered by this selfishness and renounce cherishing of self.

With a lack of spirituality we go off the track, causing unhappiness so there is a need to be restrained.

Fully enlightened Buddhas teachings, and there are 84,000 of these teachings can be explained in a nutshell as practice of compassion and causes for enlightenment.

Attempt to give rise to the thought of enlightenment, to bring self and others to happiness.

As long as we are accustomed to being selfish, the wish to be enlightened to benefit others is rare, with only an occasional wish to help others.

Self-clinging and other like behaviours continue as sources of our suffering.

There is the need to generate altruism for the sake of others and it is a daunting task to realise this.

Precious Bodhicitta are the basic ingredients: Loving kindness and compassion, these are necessary for enlightenment.

The meaning of loving kindness is to make a solemn and strong wish to create happiness and the causes for happiness. This can be difficult to sustain as we are so used to only looking after ourselves.

Compassion as a result of giving and generating loving kindness, being more engaged in the wellbeing of others.

Have a strong commitment to generate, a sincere yearning and empathy to eradicate, to action compassion.

How do we do this? By training the mind. Having a loving kindness filled heart.
To think of someone such as your mother, thinking about positive past relationships to help make the causes for happiness and then we can become the recipient of the causes for happiness.

How do we repay such kindness?

With a sense of gratitude and unfabricated feelings of loving kindness. The willingness to enhance happiness of others and to train ourselves to increase these feelings – finally this will give rise to feelings of loving kindness to self and others. A great conviction is needed as it is important to repay this kindness, to cultivate unshakable loving kindness so that we are not changed by circumstances.

We need confidence to not change or alter this view, then loving kindness can be generated for your father, brother, loved ones and then can be extended to opponents, difficulties, anger and enmity. Our opponents, embodied living beings, people seen as obstacles and including not living beings, our negative feelings, dysfunctional, invisible demonic feelings. These we have failed to recognise from past lives. They were at one time dear to us as mothers and fathers. Do not harbour negatives, forgive as it is due to ignorance we perceive them incorrectly creating the cause for enmity. Change the thoughts from enmity to loving kindness and create causes for happiness for all beings, as we are so accustomed to doing the opposite. Learn new ways, think of the wellbeing of others, practice, and become sane by adopting these ideas. Conviction of oneself to change. Devote your whole practice to loving kindness, the basis of compassion. Eradicate conditions and circumstances that beings do not want at all.

When there is a degree of success in practising loving kindness then we can practice compassion.

Compassion: understand the causes of suffering, altar beings cause of suffering, not aware of causes of suffering, help them to be free from the causes of suffering.

When we understand the concept of compassion you need strong will to train yourself. Understand difficulties, see pain and hurt, feel their suffering is hurting you as much as them. Be committed to alleviating suffering – one suffering being is one too much.

Your whole energy comes to eliminate the suffering of others, you become involved in the act of compassion.

Extend compassion to opponents and enemies, see and view suffering of others hurts and pains as hurting you too.

Feel sad for those who are suffering – King of Heart yearns to alleviate anyone suffering. Then extend to all beings with unfortunate rebirths, think of all suffering as a concern to you, the suffering as unbearable pain. Do something to reduce, eliminate, to have an uncontrollable commitment to alleviate suffering of others. Not to stay idle, feel the pain of others, become committed and engaged as this is the very act of compassion.

The greater the suffering the greater the compassion will be: Hell realms, Hungry Ghosts and Animal births. We do not know these sufferings directly. Bring close to one’s heart, illness, old age, natural calamity as the object of contemplation. This has the power to move us and to contribute to eliminate suffering. A mind more willing to venture into suffering of others makes the heart yearn, to bleed. The mind becomes accustomed to severity and the enormity of suffering, especially in the lower realms. We must make a sincere wish for empathy and knowledge of the suffering of others.

Manjushri said the practice of altruism is a result of generosity.

Actualise: we must act out of compassion. The Guardians of Dhamma take wrathful appearances, fierce manifestation to subdue.

Cherish other sentient beings, cherishing for the wellbeing of others, great change of heart in one’s mind, generate bodhicitta and a genuine change of heart to generate altruism.

Habits from the past means one is an ardent believer in selfishness which causes pain and difficulties. We meet difficult people and all this is a product of our selfishness. Unfavourable circumstances come from one’s own practices.

Previous suffering decreases dramatically when we function altruistically via loving kindness and compassion to facilitate happiness and causes of happiness for other beings.

Engender altruism and the thought of enlightenment, wishing for the wellbeing of others and their enlightenment.

Effortless loving kindness and compassion, not being obsessed with our own suffering. Our suffering is miniscule and immeasurable compared to the suffering of others. Become tolerant, suffering gives courage, skill to transform our own suffering.

We can tolerate distress, accept this then we can increase our compassion and reduce our own suffering, making this a catalyst to compassion. Being paranoid about our own suffering, eliminate this rather than exacerbate this like committing suicide.

Down play our own suffering and come out of the self-concerned self.

“I am not alone” attitude to suffering takes responsibility and transforms to eliminate our own suffering and help others to reduce their suffering. Practice with family, community, persons, practice loving kindness and compassion to create harmony and that will induce others to behave likewise.

Mutual respect and generosity will create harmony, not doubt, fear, suspicion and mistrust as these are all causes for suffering.

As you learn to have your mind on one meditation focus you notice your mind has more thoughts. You feel you cannot meditate or develop your meditation practice, this is not alarming as it is typical at first as we discover these discursive thoughts, they are seen and recognised.

Previously one was unconscious, meditation can increase clarity, even if thoughts seem too numerous. When we settle the frequency will change.

First recognise your thoughts and they will slow down and create greater stability. Calm Abiding – one pointed meditation, create positive minds as you need a tranquil abiding mental state for loving kindness and compassion.

Other ways are to develop other analytical meditation such as meditation on Avalokiteshvara the great compassionate one using six syllable mantra.

Meditate on Manjushri and use mantra.

Use meditation ability to discern what is proper and improper, learn to exercise restraint, reduce suffering and develop wisdom. Learn how to incorporate all aspects, the numerous ways and techniques to check these practices for yourself.

Be consistent, diligent, reliable and disciplined in your practice to gain the benefit of calm abiding.

Diligence is the main way to develop compassion.

Be slow and steady, consistent with not too much too soon.
Better to be stable and long lasting. Slow producing but stable gives better results.

Nature of existence at all times is the suffering of beings and it is incessantly like this. Futility of the world, sense of renunciation. Thinking why is there suffering and what can be done? It is only possible to eliminate if you know there is suffering.

Be encouraged to do something to alleviate suffering – Ask: What can I do? From your own initiative.

One way to overcome suffering is to look at where suffering is. Where is this mind that is sad? Inside or outside of you?

There is no inherent existence, meditate on emptiness of mind, therefor no suffering in the mind.

Increase courage when difficulty comes along and train the mind to be stable, train the mind to be exulted like a Bodhisattva and have courage when facing more difficulties.

Questions were taken from those present.

Lenore Hamilton found the following verse from the Karaniyametta Sutta to encourage the practice of calm abiding:

Aspiration.
As a mother, at the risk of her life,
Watches over her only child,
Let him cherish an unbounded mind for all living beings,
Let him have love for the whole world,
And develop an unbounded mind,
Above, below and all around, Boundless heart of goodwill, free of hatred,
Standing, walking, sitting or lying down,
So long as he be awake,
Let him cherish this thought, This is called divine abiding here.

May all beings be well and happy
May all beings in the world engender precious Bodhicitta

In this document are written the notes of Lenore Hamilton while listening to a Public talk by His Eminence Luding Khenchen 6th April 2004. The intention of this work is to help others and I apologise for any mistakes or misunderstandings.

2024-03-08T03:44:03+00:00

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