We Have To Do Our Homework
Jun 04, 2011
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
Dearest Rinpoche, wish you well and in good health always. I am so happy and grateful that i am able to take refuge under Your Eminence during wesak, thank you for your kindness dearest Rinpoche. Rinpoche, in practicing dharma such as in doing dharma work, involving in any dharma activity and doing puja, it helps us to be a better person, to transform ourself, but in the process obstacles or negative karma manifest to hinder our practice of dharma to transform ourself, sometimes it is very tough to overcome such obstacles and emotion sometimes overwhelms. How can we practice it well and with result to transform ourself and serve others and benefit others sentient being? with folded hands. Om Ah Guru Kirti Daza Shasen Dara Kyandi Siddhi Hung Hung
From Frederick Law
Dear Frederick,
Whether you practice dharma or not you will get obtacles, problems and difficulties. It is part and parcel of ordinary life. It will come to you again and again like the summer rains. Why? We have all created causes for these problems in a previous times. Multitude of causes all dormant and waiting to be triggered.. Nothing comes without a cause. Nothing arises without an action. Nothing can be experienced without giving the experience.
I have had tremendous obstacles in my short life for the Dharma. From the time of my teenage years I experienced non-stop physical, mental and financial hardships. But I know, it was not created by the Dharma or an external force per se, but I knew it arose from me. If we cannot bear the problems we experience now, how can we progress in anything in life.
For money, food, relationships, fun we can bear so much difficulties automatically because we have been imprinted by society those are good and worth it.. To overcome obstacles, we must realize we have to change our attitude. Doing true spiritual practice is not overcoming obstacles, but accepting them as they come and not being hung up on them and letting them pass.
Be patient, learn more Dharma, apply the Dharma. If you do that sincerely, you will see a veil lift off your mind. Promise.
Don’t be afraid of obstacles, be afraid of obstacles when you don’t have a solution (Dharma).
I wish you luck and prayers, TR
From: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/questions#comment-18414
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We have to do our homework……yes I agree with what Rinpoche had said. We can’t go back and change the beginning but we can start where we are and change the present. We have to work it out somehow even there is a hurdle or obstacles to go. In life we bond to have obstacles to clear along the path of life. Accepting those obstacles as they come , learn from there and let it be. Choosing to learn, practice Dharma and putting it into action is the best choice. Doing Dharma I have chosen have make my life filled with happiness.
Thank you Rinpoche for these teachings.
Thanks Pinpoche for sharing this. Yes, regardless we practise Dharma or not, the obstacles still come, what we done in our previous lifes follow us like our shadow, we need to bear it. Practising Dharma is the solution, from that we know what we are facing now is not coincidence or bad luck or happen without reason all are because of Karma, we must accept and do more Dharma work to purify our Karma and create the Merits for our future.
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing. “Doing true spiritual practice is not overcoming obstacles, but accepting them as they come and not being hung up on them and letting them pass. Be patient, learn more Dharma, apply the Dharma. If you do that sincerely, you will see a veil lift off your mind” This is my goal and I hope I can achieve my goal.
I really like how Rinpoche’s puts in whether or not you’re in dharma u will have problems.
That is the nature of samsara. The only way we can be rid of problems once and for all is if we truly see things as they really are. and stop operating from false and deluded views.
Dearest Rinpoche,
Thank you with folded hands for this post. The 2 things that resonates most to me are:-
1) Doing true spiritual practice is not overcoming obstacles, but accepting them as they come and not being hung up on them and letting them pass.
2) Don’t be afraid of obstacles, be afraid of obstacles when you don’t have a solution (Dharma).
I used to think that things will get smoother when we embark on our Dharma practice. Naive me thinks that everything will be nice and rosy. Man, was I so wrong! I realised that with acceptance, any problems or challenges become easier to handle. And obstacles aren’t always a bad thing. For me, once I manage to overcome an obstacle, I become stronger and wiser. I used to tell my siblings, “What doesn’t kill us will only make us stronger.”
Dear Rinpoche,
I understand now that in order to overcome our obstacles, we must first change our attitude and mindset.
Not to be afraid of obstacles as they come, accept them, and learn how to prevent them in future, through constant learning of Dharma and overcoming the karmic actions that will become our obstacles in future.
Thank you Rinpoche.
Frederick is also lucky to have Rinpoche watch over him and keep him in Rinpoche’s prayers.
Thank you.
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing. Everyone of us have our own obstacle. It’s better for us to face and deal it instead of running away from our problem. With Dharma knowledge, it enable us to have better comprehension on the “cause” and “factor” of our trouble. Thus, it makes us to have positive thinking and confident to deal with those obstacles.
Obstacles always hinder us from moving forward. When one face with obstacles confront it and never surrender to it or blame others! Living in the present moment has never been easy for me. With every bits of dharma that I have learnt, has gradually allowed me to have more acceptance to my current situation and to be able to analyze it rationally and put into action any remedy within my capability to lessen the effect. Thank you Rinpoche for opening the door leading to the dharma for me.
As Rinpoche has put it in this blog to Federick, “Don’t be afraid of obstacles, be afraid of obstacles when you don,t have Dharma. Be patient, learn more dharma, apply dharma. Doing spiritual practice is not overcoming obstacles, but accepting them as they come and letting pass. If you do that sincerely, you will see a veil lift off your mind, Promise. The main thing is to have motivation!” By practising this, we can gain benefit and happiness that remain longer. Using our whole life this way, each day will become useful and more meaningful! Many deep hearted thanks to you, Rinpoche for the beautiful teachings!
Dear Rinpoche,
When the obstacles come ups and my mind are out of control, i always wonder how Rinpoche can stand the problems, it is so true that Rinpoche have suffered so much just for Dharma.
Even sometimes , currently, Rinpoche bear so much pain just to get students to lean Dharma.
From this short answer, it reminded me on
– Dharma is a cure, a medicine to our negative karma
– If i can’t stand the problems now, when i get older, i can’t stand more problems
– To be able to learn Dharma now, and have chances to learn the problems , it means we have opportunity to eliminate the negative karma.
I sincerely thanks Rinpoche for this wisdom
Rinpoche is so wise. Frederick is so lucky to have such an amazing guru such as Rinpoche. I hope that Rinpoche continues to help more and more people in the future and i hope that Rinpoche is makking himself happy by doing this.
I like what Rinpoche explained here, its very clear and straightforward, Rinpoche’s answer has also helped to clear my mind. If we can spend so much time making money, solving the puzzles in relationship, why cant we do that while we’re practising Dharma? Especially Dharma is the only thing that will affect where we go after we passed away, none of the money, relationship, big house nor expensive car will lead us to have a good rebirth.
Dharma taught me to take personal responsibility for all the obstacles that came or coming my way. Because of Dharma knowledge and practice, I m gradually becoming less disturbed by the obstacles as i understand they arose from my own previous actions in the first place.
Thank you Rinpoche for giving us the solution. We are now more well-equipped to deal with the obstacles.
If obstacle is a mountain in front of me, my first thought was to climb over the mountain to reach the other side of the landscape. How to climb over, to overcome the mountain, to prepare what gears to go to mountain, what problems I will be facing and etc, always occupied my mind.
To get rid of the mountain by leveling it? What if I will be faced with another, bigger mountain after overcome the mountain in front? To take another route to avoid the mountain? But mountains are everywhere. It’s better just climb up, with the motivation accepting the mountain is there, and I need to climb over, no matter what, without much worry. Then only I keep the energy and time to climb over, and continue my journey. Thank you Rinpoche, I just faced one of the many hills in front of me. No matter what will be in front of me, I have faced it.
Thank you, Rinpoche for reminding me of preconceived ideas, perceptions & to step back to find the true nature of the obstacles/problems.
Thank you Rinpoche for those words of wisdom. We are all so fortunate to have Rinpoche as our Guru and his blessings. I agree that I obstacles are part of life, and that with practice and change of attitude, obstacles don’t become so bad. It’s not the obstacle that’s the problem, it our minds and how we perceive it.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for keep on reminding us to accept the obstacles and problems due to our causes created from previous lifetimes. All the problems and challenges arise during our Dharma work will only makes us stronger in both physically and mentally if we take them positively. We have stay on course and move on while we still can as in human form for this lifetime. Human life is fragile and we need to take this golden opportunity to practise Dharma.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this with us again 3 years later. Yes we do everything to build our relationship, we spent all our time and scarified our family building our sky high career to secure a good life. We continue to do that until the last breath we take. There will be no ending for this kind of like because just like Rinpoche said, it’s the imprint that we had for lives and this is what we were taught by the society that those are good and worth it. We are fortunate to meet Rinpoche in this life and having Dharma along the path, by knowing the truth, we make this life more meaningful and beneficial.
Dear Rinpoche, thank you for this post and what Rinpoche had taught, i keep in mind and applying in my daily life, although some how emotion is comes in, but it will dissipate fast and i not hold on it long.
Trully, if without Dharma and understanding the law of Karma, whatever obstacles i am facing now, i will be blaming others for it, yet it is through Rinpoche explanation and teaching, i see every obstacles as my own doing previously. With Dharma, it helps us to overcome and face problem heads on, and seeking solution to deal with it. Its not easy, but because i trust in 3 Jewels and Rinpoche, things and conditions manifest for me to overcome it.
Even if the results turns out not the way i expected, i see it as a blessing and not hung up and being dissapointed with it, as i believe things happen for a reason, and there are better way or different way to deal with.
“Don’t be afraid of obstacles, be afraid of obstacles when you don’t have a solution (Dharma).” rings true and applicable to everyone, Obstacles will remain and a stumblling block if we do not have solution and keep dwelling in the problem and hoping it will go off itself, rather then finding solution or applying Dharma to it.
Thank You Rinpoche once again, i am grateful for the kindness and care given to me and the teaching that Rinpoche gave. I wish Rinpoche good health and long life, and may Rinpoche Dharma activity spreads to the Ten direction.
Love and care,
Frederick Law
Glad to hear that! …and nice to meet you here!
Thank you very much for this sharing. It is very interesting and I cannot agree with you more. When we do Dharma, it may seem hard at first as obstacles arise. Just allow yourself to overcome by practicing more Dharma.
If Frederick were to see this again, I think he’ll be very pleased with himself by now! By the way, in my own opinion, there is none other suffering greater than Rinpoche’s.
Dear Jacinta, i am really touched and grateful to have met Tsem Rinpoche and Kechara, and the question answered and taught by Rinpoche really made me think and contemplate, and applying it in my daily life, and now i don’t see obstacle as a hindrance or a burden, but i see obstacle that comes as a learning curve for me to learn to overcome and applying Dharma and trust in the 3 Jewels, had really help me through every situation. 🙂
“Whether you practice dharma or not you will get obstacles, problems and difficulties. It is part and parcel of ordinary life. ”
This is so true. Obstacles are part and parcel of ordinary life as it is created from our own karma but if we have dharma we will be in a better position to understand, accept and deal with those obstacles. All sufferings are self inflicted and if we can let go of our attachments than our sufferings can be lessened.
“Whether you practice dharma or not you will get obtacles, problems and difficulties. It is part and parcel of ordinary life. It will come to you again and again like the summer rains. Why? We have all created causes for these problems in a previous times. Multitude of causes all dormant and waiting to be triggered.. Nothing comes without a cause. Nothing arises without an action. Nothing can be experienced without giving the experience.
…..
To overcome obstacles, we must realize we have to change our attitude. Doing true spiritual practice is not overcoming obstacles, but accepting them as they come and not being hung up on them and letting them pass.”
–>
I like the above phrases. Whether we practice dharma or not we will still get obstacles as it is created from our Karma, but it is better we face it now and handle it since we are practicing Dharma know and we are aware of it. i’m contemplating on “Doing true spiritual practice is not overcoming obstacles, but accepting them as they come and not being hung up on them and letting them pass.” this is truly equanimity and seeing things as it is and not to be attached or afraid of it…
Thank you Rinpoche for your teaching.
Dear Rinpoche
I read about “My Short Bio in Pictures”(Mr Childhood in Taiwan)
Actually it’s a very painful & sads childhood Rinpoche is having.
I consider myself very lucky even though i was adopted, my parents, sisters & brothers, all treated me as a family, i was very lucky(i was the only adopted one among all sisters & brothers). I once blame my bio parents why they given me up & not my other sisters.
I always contemplate on the following messages from Rinpoche:
Whether you practice dharma or not you will get obtacles, problems and difficulties. It is part and parcel of ordinary life. ”
So so true, wheather you are in dharma or not, you definitely have loads of obstacles, hideen or obvious problems and difficulties….this is part of our life.
I’ve always liked Rinpoche’s example that we push ourselves to the limit no matter to achieve worldly goals that only lasts one life. But for dharma or true happiness we are not willing to put in the effort or we are lazy to make the real difference for our lives. As always I am in gratitude of Rinpoche’s great examples.
Dear James, Thank You. we are truly fortunate to have Rinpoche close to us. it goes to show how Rinpoche is compassionate to all of us and using every way possible to reach out to many of us, to teach us, to guide us on our path of Dharma until enlightenment, which is one of the most greatest thing in the world for many of us. thank you for your wishes, hopefully one day i will be part of Kechara team working hand in hand to reach out to more. 🙂
Dear Rinpoche, thanks you very much for the sharing, i will do more Dharma and apply it into my life, and face up to whatever obstacle which comes to me and take it as a experience and lesson for what i’ve created no matter in this life or in previous life, and able to apply it to help others as well. I am trully grateful that i have met Kechara and also Rinpoche, definitely has provided me a venue for me to understand Dharma to apply in life, i don’t know where will i be now if i have not met Rinpoche and Kechara. i trully appreciate that Rinpoche share’s the question in the blog, which will able to allow others to understand more and help them in their journey in practicing Dharma better. I thank you Rinpoche on behalf of all other who read this blog. With folded hands.
Dear Frederick, Send a picture of yourself. I will place it on my altar so you are blessed and protected daily. TR
Thank you very much Rinpoche for the the blessing, i will send in my picture to Rinpoche. i will do more for Kechara and the Dharma and other sentient being. with folded hands.
Dear Frederick,
I rejoice for you!! How fortunate we have our Lama close to us, and Rinpoche made himself available online for everyone eventhough Rinpoche was not so good in IT, internet in the begining, look at now how this Blog benefiting people. Wish you all the best to your spiritual growth.
Cheers,
James Long
Shelly Tai on5June 2011 At 10:53am
Dear Rinpoche I can’t agree more,because I have same experience when I first started my practice. When I have problem I always blame others for this problem, after learning more about dharma I have understand that the law of Karma, all the negativity that we have is created by ourselves no one to be blame face it and solved the problem. By accepting it you will be more happy and lived with peace.
Thanks Rinpoche for all your effect to impart dharma in us, it do make our life more meaningful.