Tag Archives: 37 Practices

37 practices: verses 8-10, the path begins

Click on the link for discussion and audio of the preliminary practices all together: verses 1-7.

8. To refrain from harm at all costs

The suf-fer-ings of the three lower realms, / These states of mind so difficult to bear,

According to the teachings of the Sage / Are the result of actions that do harm.

Therefore, even with my own life at stake, / From harmful actions always to refrain:

This is the way a bodhisattva trains.

9. To strive for unchanging freedom

Like drops of dew upon each blade of grass / The three realms’ happiness evaporates.

In contrast, the supreme and highest state / Of liberation doesn’t ever change.

To strive in all our efforts just for that: / This is the way a bodhisattva trains.

10. To liberate all beings

My mothers, each and every sentient being, / Since time without beginning cared for me.

How can I be happy while they’re suf-fering? / I must get to work and set them free.

To cultivate the mind of full awake-ning: / This is the way a bodhisattva trains.

Audio for verses 8-10.

We have completed the preliminaries for traveling the path, verses 1-7. Well, not completed them, but we now know what they all are. As we continue to engage in these practices of disentanglement from samsaric habits and gathering of resources for the path, with verse 8 we now take the first step onto it.

Verses 8-10 are considered in Dilgo Khyentse’s commentary to be part of the main practice. But they may appear to operate as a separate unit: the three motivations or types of practitioners. This is resolved when we realize that these three motivations can also be considered cumulative stages of the path. We’ll discuss each of the verses individually in separate posts, but here we’ll look briefly at how they are connected.

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37 practices: verse 7

7. To seek refuge in the Three Jewels

Who can the worldly deities protect, / Themselves imprisoned in samsara’s jail?

The Three Jewels, which embody freedom’s path: / Reliable protection without fail.

To seek refuge in Buddha, dharma, sangha: / This is the way a bodhisattva trains.

Verse 7 audio

According to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, “People naturally search for refuge, for someone or something to protect them from sorrow and torment.” He suggests we may typically seek protection and comfort from a variety of worldly sources, such as wealth, pleasure, and influence. In Ornament of Precious Liberation, Gampopa cites worldly deities, local nature spirits, parents and loved ones among the refuges we may habitually turn to. Ken McLeod adds knowledge, community, health, fitness, and transcendent experiences to the list.

Contemplation: What refuge(s) do you turn to when you get bad news or are ill, anxious, facing a challenge, or under stress? Might “worldly deities” include such refuges within samsaric experience as TV, video games, phone surfing, ice cream, shopping, substance abuse, gossip or venting? What is the outcome of relying on these sources of temporary relief? If, on the other hand, we feel we already rely on the Buddha, dharma, and sangha as our refuges, in what way do we do that in our daily life, and what is the outcome? Let’s take a few moments to reflect on this before going on.

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37 practices: verse 6, part 2 of 2

The translation of verse 6, to rely on spiritual friends, may be found in part 1 of the class notes, which touches on the definition of spiritual friends; how to identify an authentic teacher; and, once you have found one, how to be an authentic student.

This part of the class notes will include why we are encouraged to view our authentic teacher as the Buddha, how to do that, and how to respond if we feel the teacher has not lived up to our expectations.

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37 practices: verse 6, part 1 of 2

6. To rely on spiritual friends

When I rely on spiritual friends, / My faults and negative behaviors wane,

Constructive qualities and skills expand / Just like the brilliance of the waxing moon.

To hold authentic friends like this more dear / Than even my own physical welfare:

This is the way a bodhisattva trains.

Audio verse 6

Audio verses 1-6

The commentaries make it clear that in the Tibetan Buddhist literature “spiritual friend” (literally, friend of virtue) mainly refers to an authentic teacher, but both Dilgo Khyentse and Geshe Jampa Tekchok also include our spiritual community under this umbrella.

Dilgo Khyentse says, “Authentic spiritual friends are those who have received teachings from the same teacher as yourself and, detached from worldly concerns, are devoting themselves to practice in secluded places.” Geshe Jampa Tegchok says, “Good companions also include our fellow Dharma students at our Dharma center or monastery…. Even if they do not have great positive influence over us such that they cause our faults to decrease and our qualities to increase greatly, we are still inspired by seeing them study and practice to the best of their ability. ” Our spiritual community can also offer support and help us bridge the gap in the event that confidence in a spiritual teacher is shaken at some point.

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37 practices: a note on memorization

Memorization is a tried and true method of internalizing important information, both in Tibetan monasteries and in our own culture in the days of yore. My eighth-grade English class was assigned to memorize 135 lines of poetry over the course of the school year, and I memorized Paul Revere’s Ride just to get the assignment out of the way — not really the intention of my teacher, Mrs. Roberts. She hoped that by memorizing a series of poems that resonated with us, we would end the year with an indelible love of poetry. I disappointed her in the moment, but decades later, I can still recite parts of it: “…On the 18th of April in ’75: / Hardly a man is still alive / Who remembers that famous day and year…” (Reminders of impermanence are not exclusive to Buddhism.)

Some of us aspire to memorize all 37 verses of Togme Zangpo’s instructions, so we can have them at hand till death do us part. That doesn’t have to be everyone’s aspiration, but even if it’s beyond your scope to commit them all to memory forever, memorizing each verse as we study it (or at least chanting it a few times every day) is a very effective way to contemplate it.

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37 practices: verse 5

5. To give up negative friends

When I’m with friends who strengthen the three poisons / Reflection, study, meditation fade,

Kindness and compassion are forgotten, / And I’m caught up again in worldly aims.

Not following the friends who harm my practice: / This is the way a bodhisattva trains.

Audio verse 5

Audio verses 1-6 (hover over where the play button should be and click)

Verse 5, which advises us to refrain from following friends who impede our dharma practice, is the last of the preliminary verses about renunciation of samsara — or “disentanglement,” as Pema Chodron puts it. Verse 5 makes a pair with verse 6 (coming next week), which tells us who we should follow: authentic spiritual friends. whom we should cherish even more than our own life. This set of verses marks a turning point in our preparation for the path of awakening. With verse 5, we now have all the instructions we need for disentanglement from the ordinary worldly concerns that bind us to samsara, and with verse 6, we begin to look ahead to what will provide support for our journey.

Of course, we are not done yet with disentanglement, even though we are about to move on to the path itself. We will have to disentangle ourselves in various ways again and again as we travel the path — fortunately, we are not expected to accomplish each one before starting to work on the next. We are just gathering tools and getting practice using them. Aka, lather, rinse, repeat!

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37 practices: the first 7 verses

  1. To study, contemplate and meditate
  2. To leave your homeland
  3. To rely on solitude
  4. To let go of attachment to this lifetime
  5. To give up negative friends
  6. To rely on spiritual friends
  7. To take refuge in the Three Jewels

Audio for verses 1-7. (Click where the play button should be.)

Preparation for the path: We’re halfway through the first 7 practices of a bodhisattva, and this seems like a good time to take another look at the structure of the book.

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37 practices: verse 3, part 2

Verse 3: To rely on solitude, along with class notes for part 1, is here.

Commentary: Dilgo Khyentse advises us: “If you wish to concentrate entirely on the Dharma instead of being constantly tossed hither and thither by waves of attachment and aversion, give them up and go to a solitary place.” As we discussed last week, and as the verse states, if we simply isolate our body and mind from disturbance and distraction—if we just sit down every day in our practice space and apply ourselves to study, contemplation, and meditation for an allotted time—the rest of the path will unfold naturally. We have Togme Zangpo’s word for this, and Dilgo Khyentse’s; in fact, all our teachers tell us the same thing. Waking up is so simple. We just have to roll up our own sleeves.

But wait! Many of us find it challenging to engage in formal practice even when we have time on our hands, and for that reason I suggest we ask ourselves, honestly and without judgment: Do I wish to concentrate entirely on the dharma and disengage from the endlessly fascinating waves of emotional turbulence?

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37 practices: verse 4

4. To let go of attachment to this lifetime

Old friends I’ve known as long as I remember, / One day we’ll have to go our separate ways.

Material possessions I’ve worked hard for / Will be enjoyed by someone else one day.

This consciousness, a guest, will leave my body, / The guest house where for all my life it’s stayed.

To let go of attachment to this lifetime: / This is the way a bodhisattva trains.

verse 4 chanted 3x

verses 1-4 chanted 1x

Alternate second line, offered by Kathi Rogers:

“Material possessions I’ve worked hard for / Will end up in the dumpster anyway.” 🙂

The fourth preparation for the path of awakening is to study, contemplate, and meditate on impermanence. We are all very familiar with the idea of impermanence by now. Truly understood, it is the single most powerful motivator to seek a place of solitude and engage in practice without delay. Why it often doesn’t work that way, according to a Western teacher I studied Tibetan with in the 1980s, is that understanding impermanence intellectually isn’t enough to stop us from continuing to relate to everything in our life as solid and permanent. We still get upset over passing trivialities, and/or waste our entire precious human existence on busyness and distraction.

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