PMC Blog and Announcements

On this first lunar month of the water tiger year which is in Tibet called Chotrul Dawa, called the month of miracles because Buddha Shakyamuni performed miracles throughout this month, from the first day until the full moon, for the first 15 days of this first month, all meritorious acts performed are multiplied 100,000 times.   Therefore, this is a very special time to begin the new year with meritorious activities through your body, speech and mind.

I would like to say at the beginning of this new year that we need to inspire the rest of the year by focusing first with the four Outer Ngondros which are:

first, to reflect on how valuable and precious our human rebirth is;

second, to reflect that even though we have obtained this precious human rebirth, it is impermanent;

third, that the phenomenal world functions according to the nature of cause and effect; and then

fourth, to reflect that no matter where you are born in the different realms of samsara, it is simply the nature of suffering.

These four reflections become extremely important to remind us of the reality of the phenomena of life. Without these reflections, the purpose and meaning of spiritual life become vague.

I would like to request that during the first 15 days of this year, you spend morning, afternoon and evening – like 5 minutes each in the morning, afternoon and evening – meditating on these four reflections.  Particularly, meditation on impermanence is essential to progress on the spiritual path.

Our attachment from beginningless lives until now binds us to the notion of seeing things as permanent so that is the very reason why we are stuck in this phenomenal world.  It closes our minds.  There is no open-ness. There is no letting go. There is no liberation because we are attached and stuck in the notion that everything is so real.  This is called neurosis.  This is called mental affliction. It is ignorant. Primordial nature is In  reality utterly open and free. That is the state we need to recognize and realize:  the state known as wisdom mind or clear light.  Therefore, to realize our inherent primordial purity, the first step is to reflect on impermanence again and again and again. For beginners this is extremely important to cut through this deceptive mind habit.

The final beneficial act of the historical Buddha was his Parinirvana  which showed the world that whoever is born must die.  The Buddha’s display of impermanence was his final act of benevolence. So, reminding ourselves that we are subject to impermanence , we need to reflect on what is most important and precious in this life and in our future lives.  Since all beings seek happiness and freedom, where will this freedom and happiness come from? It is quite safe to say that it can only derive from positive deeds, definitely not from negative deeds. Therefore, Buddha said: ”Do no harm. Perform virtuous beneficial deeds. Subdue your mental afflictions. That is the Buddha dharma.” Therefore, in particular, the Mahayana concept of the larger awareness : since all beings have the same aspiration to be free from suffering and that all beings wish for happiness and liberation,  we need to include all beings in our dharma practice. To lead beings to the state of liberation is the supreme mind of all mind. No ordinary person can imagine such a supreme mind which is called Bodhicitta, the most precious mind. We need to engage ourselves in that mind and practice.

 I wish you all in this new year, for you and your families, happiness, prosperity and a great year of progress in your dharma practice. I wish you all long, happy and healthy lives! Tashi deleg with all my love and blessings, Chhoje Rinpoche