Some random thoughts of mine..
The best thing we can do for others is when we see so much suffering and feel compassion for them and want to do something is:
Be an excellent nun or a monk. If cannot, then next best thing, practice the 8 verses combined with Lord Tsongkapa’s practice and dedicate to them. If we still choose to believe it’s hard, then take vegetarian vows and dedicate to the suffering beings you feel pain for… that should be easy… everyday you generate merits for others….. if our compassion and pain for them is real, then we can surmount any obstacles to benefit them…. If that is still too hard, then you suggest. Tsem Rinpoche
When I teach and I see people transform then this motivates me to stay, do more and work much more. This brings me closer to that person and I want to get to know them. Otherwise think? Why am I here? I would love to be in retreat, stay in the mountains and practice. No fundraising, no hundreds of personalities to deal with, no paperwork, no permits, no physical expansions, not being in the spotli…ght and accused of things I’ve never heard of (LOL), no huge bills, no politics and the likes. I would love to be a hermit monk and that has been my wish since I was a child. Since I am here, I might as well do my best and give it my all although I am not the best of teachers. But seeing people improve and therefore knowing I am benefitting them somewhat would be a lovely sign I am not wasting my time and this IS BETTER than the mountains for me. Tsem Rinpoche
Never promise me anything. Promise yourself. You coming to a centre does not benefit me at all. It benefits you. The more you are involved and learn, the more you benefit. It is all for yourselves. Promise yourselves love, wisdom, learning, growth, commitment and awakening. How you keep your promise to yourself is how sincere and real you are to yourself. If you are real to yourself. You will be real to everyone around you. You are important too. But your self importance must manifest in learning, growth and kindness.. Self respect arises first before respect from others…Tsem Rinpoche
Everything is in our control. It’s how much control we wish to take..How much responsibility we wish to take. The more we learn dharma, the more knowledge we have to take control and make good things happen because we learn how to do so with dharma wisdom… Playing victim and always blaming others and wanting others to solve our problems show tremendous immaturity both in life and spiritually. But there are solutions. Nothing is permanent. It can be changed one day at a time when we apply dharma knowledge. Our job now is get involved in our centre and do dharma. Learn dharma. Take responsibility. Don’t blame, just learn and move on. Tsem Rinpoche
None of us including me are innocent. We have hurt many in the past. The guilt is strong. But let the guilt inspire us to learn dharma, apply it and change it. Change ourselves in the future. Change that we don’t burden, hurt or damage others in the future. Bad situations must serve to inspire and motivate us to change. It motivates me because I know I need to be a better person. Tsem Rinpoche
Remember no one owes us anything otherwise there is no karma. Since there is karma, it all stems from ourselves. So let’s take responsibility. Let’s not be mean, hard, cold, sneaky, irresponsible in any way. Let’s not buy time with learning, but apply immediately what we learn…Let’s stop our negative qualities and increase our good qualities. We all have good qualities..but don’t rest nor relax and make our good qualities increase like the waxing moon. Make it happen with dharma knowledge. Attend classes, activities and never miss…then you will see your knowledge grow and your actions blossom for the better. Tsem Rinpoche
I like when people do not always use future tense like I will get better. I WILL improve. I WILL make time. I WILL change. I WILL do more. Future tenses sometimes are methods to buy time wrongly with others and with ourselves. If you see a car speeding towards you, WILL YOU move or you move immediately?? If you are taking toxic foods, WILL YOU STOP TAKING or stop immediately. Realizing how our actions truly bring karmic results shows how sincere we are in changing. How much merits we collect to realize more is up to us. How much demerits we purify to stop oncoming obstacles is up to us. It’s how much time we allocate..Basically we all do how little and how much we want to do. Tsem Rinpoche
When we take small works and don’t do well, but we want big work doesn’t make sense. All work should not be segregated to be big or small or important and not important. All work should be treated with respect and be done well equally. Then no one suffers and everyone benefits. That is such a better atmosphere to live in. That is the environment we should live in. From that arises self respect which attracts respect from others. Feeling useful and having self respect are key components to happiness and contentment. Tsem Rinpoche
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Rinpoche chose the perfect picture for this post. Justin giving me an example of sot saying “I WILL”. Saying I WILL CHANGE is truly buying time. Why some people can transform over night but i can’t. Because I do not care enough or see the urgent to change. I took mistakes easily and having the attitude of “what’s the big deal?”. That’s a good sign of me being no care to the people around me. A simple report I cannot do it without mistake. I have disappointed Rinpoche and many people. I asked myself many times if I do not care then why am I here for? I am wasting other people’s time. But I believe I must have done some good deed and very strong prayers in my past life to meet my Lama again in this life to continue my spiritual path. Hence I am here.
Thank you Rinpoche telling us these 8 very useful and practical thoughts.
“When we take small works and don’t do well, but we want big work doesn’t make sense” This is so true. If we do not care how to carry out small little work, it means we are not ready for a bigger work.
I always remind myself to treat everybody around me nice, to listen to them, to care about their problems, and to suggest people to practice virtue action and thoughts. I am not so good yet in all these, but I want to practice more to be better, as I think if I can’t help the people around me, how could I help all sentient beings?
By understanding more problems that people face, it drives me to do my work diligently as I believe Rinpoche’s teachings can help a lot of people and can even save people’s lifes. So being in the video department, we should make Rinpoche’s teachings reaching to all sentient beings, as it has power to let people listen to the Buddha inside of them, to live a better life.
Thank you Rinpoche. _/\_
Rinpoche words really hit to the core of the issue. I especially like the part about no future tense. As if we have ingested poison we will not say I will. U just do it or do something to remedy the situation. Trangressions seem so minute to us but to spiritual people they can see small actions can lead to big results, this applies to both positive and negative actions.
In life,we tend to avoid what stresses us or make us feel inadequate or leave us feeling confused. During these times, we fall back on old habits, procastinate on moving forward and instead start backsliding. This is self-defeating. It is always our own thinking that undermines our efforts to achieve our goals. Our mind can have a powerful effect on our attitude and motivation toward the things we want to accomplish. Understanding this connection how uncontrolled thoughts can unwittingly work against us, will go a long way towards overcoming these self-defeating thoughts. It is so true that the more DHARMA knowledge we have and learned, we can easily take control of ourselves and make good things to happen with our Dharma wisdom. Thank you, Rinpoche for your great compassion in sharing all your beautiful thoughts and teachings with us!!!
thank you. 🙂
Thank you Rinpoche for your constant reminders and showing us the truth!
Yes everything is within our control.So how much we learn and how much knowledge we have is dependent on our effort. We should take full responsibility, apply what we learn into our daily lives and make our good qualities shine like the waxing moon. We should remember no one owes us anything except our karma and it is our responsibility to change our karma from negative to positive
Recently, I realized something very subtle and deeply in my heart. I thought responsibility is what I am doing now is I think I have done perfectly the fact actually not.
This post made me contemplate more….what meaning for do more and do well, what meaning for transform??? I thanked for one of my dharma sister, she told me in dharma work we cannot selective because all dharma is equally good. Do well well in your part first and show your result, be open-minded and always care about others then it is dharma work. If not whatever what we doing now, will spoiled it’s purpose. Her sharing seems like very familiar but it heat me.
WORK, WORK, WORK, NO CARE AND LOVE enough, in the end everything will be damaging.
This post is good for me to contemplate…
Yes, agree with you Pastor Yek Yee. Just doing things that we do well is not enough. That is staying within our comfort zone.
To really put dharma into practice , we have to do things that we don’t know or find it hard. The illiterates of this century are people who refuse to unlearn and relearn.
Being selective is not dharma – ” Dharma is doing things you don’t like”.
This post contains all the practical advices Rinpoche gave to his students based on the current situation and the shifts needed to move forward individually and as a group. We must read over and over again.
Thank you Rinpoche for constantly reminding us to do better.
Whatever Rinpoche advise us, is always for our own benefit hence we must always remind ourselves that when we do better, it will also benefit the people around us.
Yes, Dharma is to transform our mind. Thank you Rinpoche for being here, and giving us chances for so many many times, just to see we transform to at least become a better person!
Yes, perfectly right Rinpoche. I am changing for the better now rather than I will. Thank you.
Dear Rinpoche,
You hit the nail on the head with regard to use of future tense. Especially with dharma work. We always hear people said, I will do dharma work when i retire, now I don’t have the time. I will donate money/do charity when I strike lottery or when I rich. How can we be sure that we have tomorrow that we can do all this thing. Why not start now and start small!! Is better than wait and done notur hing.
Thank you rinpoche for sharing, all your thoughts are great.
I also have some random thoughts 🙂
I got to know Buddhism since young. Before I meet Rinpoche, Buddhism is very far, very philosophical, and I don’t even dare to think about the word enlightenment. I would probably do Dharma work when I have free time, and if you ask me to do meditation, then you might as well kill me.
I have heard Rinpoche said many a times that his personal wish is to retreat to mountains and do His practice. However, Rinpoche does not live his life based on his own “wish”. He is here to bring the ultimate happiness to us.
He has helped so many purpose-less soul like me. Through Rinpoche’s “crazy” teachings, now I know what is the purpose of my life. I finally found a home where I can do my work and benefit others. I wish to acquire a lot of merits so that I can receive higher teachings (eventually Vajrayogini) so that I can benefit even more people. Now I learnt to do my work diligently and don’t give problems to others.
Rinpoche may not know, through his kindness and care has helped me tremendously. It is not so much about saving my life from an accident, instead, gave a purpose to my life (which I think is even more important), because when I have a strong imprint of my purpose, I can take it to my next lives.
I fold my hands for Rinpoche’s kindness, selflessness and great compassion…
I have lost the opportunity to be an effective nun in this life and even if I can it will only be at my death to benefit myself.
I choose to live by the 8 verses from Rinpoche, and it will not be easy, but climbing every mountain begins with the first step.
May Lord Tsongkapa grant me blessings to be a useful human being for others.
Dear Rinpoche,
I like your analogy as follows :
“If you see a car speeding towards you, WILL YOU move or you move immediately?? If you are taking toxic foods, WILL YOU STOP TAKING or stop immediately.”
Future tense is a self deception indeed.
I totally agree with what you said here :
“All work should not be segregated to be big or small or important and not important. All work should be treated with respect and be done well equally. Then no one suffers and everyone benefits. That is such a better atmosphere to live in.”
A tapestry is beautiful because it is made up of many different yarns of different colors weaved into one whole piece. All yearns are equally important. A yarn alone cannot make such great tapestry. In an organization, everyone is important as each one of us is like a yarn that helps to weave the whole piece of tapestry. So nomatter how big or small the work may seem, it must be done well.
I hate my ego because it’s nasty, ugly and very ungrateful. It makes a joke of myself and others around me. It makes me suffer yet has me trapped in its vicious games. How dreadful.
Actually, these days what I read on Rinpoche’s blog sinks into my mind, maybe because of doing Guru Yoga of Je Rinpoche. Previously I used to think ‘oh, that doesn’t apply to me. I’m not as bad as how the Lama puts it.Because I was told (by the ego) I was invincible.And that I deserve all good things because that’s how it is.’
Listening to my mind’s shenanigans makes everything I have done/thought/spoke a shamble. What a poor show I actually have been. Far from the fluffy, glittery-ness my ego wants to potray and has been deceiving me for.
Oh, yes, and the best solution is to keep beating that mind and being ethical, as the Lamrim says.
I bow to Rinpoche for showing us the truth. This time I’m not losing.
Hi Chandra Golay,
I couldn’t help no noticing your comment here and how similar it is to how I feel. However, sometimes self-deprecation can just be another ride and just another play of the ego. I find that I go through this cycle of love-hate with myself whenever I go through highs and lows. Rinpoche did say that the highs and lows we experience are all expressions of the ego. Hence, instead of beating ourselves, he also recommends recognizing our faults as a matter of fact, put our utmost effort to change it and built on the few good points. In that way, we lessen the ride of self-deprecation that in the end brings us no where. I hope my thoughts would be helpful to you.
Dear Rinpoche, these thoughts are very inspiring and also hit most of us in the face that all these facts that we won’t accept and never realise normally. Therefore Rinpoche’s blog are always make us think deeper and be a better person, of course if we transform ourself hehe 🙂 Thank you very much Rinpoche for always being so direct and straight forward..we need that hehe 🙂
Thank you, Rinpoche, for reminding us, in this very inspiring post, how it is that everything is in our control. It’s how much control we wish to take. If we want happiness for ourselves and others, we must begin to take charge. After all “because there is karma, we must take responsibility”.
The first thing we must do for ourselves and others is to gain more Dharma knowledge through attending classes. As our Dharma knowledge grows our good qualities in us – compassion, love, commitment and clarity – will grow and increase.
We should also get more and more involved in our Dharma center and make ourselves useful and beneficial to others. As we make ourselves more useful to benefit others via Dharma work, our merits will increase. This will enhance our mind transformation and enable us to practice the 8 Verses of Thought/Mind Transformation meaningfully.Thus will we grow in compassion and wisdom for the benefit and happiness of others and ourselves.
Procrastination is the thief of time. So don’t wait. Start taking charge NOW.
Thank you for this sharing Madam Lim. So well said. You have so much knowledge to share is because you ‘walk the talk’. May many more senior members of our society follow your footsteps and spend their remaining years cultivating their spirituality. You are a shining example to all.
Hi Rinpoche, I totally agree that everything is in our control. Everything starts with our own motivation and our promise to ourselves. I come to Kechara since Oct last year attending English Setrap puja then Chinese Dzambala puja and now Manjuhsuri class. Haha, now I am weekly puja coordinator ;p. The more I involved myself; I realized that the more I benefit myself. And like what you said the more we learn dharma, the more knowledge we have to take control and make good things happen because we learn how to do so with dharma wisdom. I felt that I have so much readings to do, so much things to do and yet so little time before this life ends. Before I come to Kechara, every time when things happen, I always ask why ..why..why..why and why. I always ask a lot of what if questions. But after I come to Kechara i learn to take things easy, I choose to accept and pick up the lessons, solve it positively and then move on and if possible change to be a better person. Rinpoche, I guess things blossom a bit because I saw changes in my marla from pure solid colour to appearance of fine nice vein lines and red lines on it. Not sure whether is this a normal sign. Rinpoche, I will continue what I am doing now and if can do more to benefit not only myself but also others. Thank you and hope you can share and inspire us more through your teaching. May all be well and happy _/\_
_/\_ thank you Rinpoche _/\_
Thank You Rinpoche for these enlightened thoughts, these 8 thoughts from Rinpoche provokes my mind to think deeply on myself, and reflect back all the actions i done in the past, all the words i say, all the thoughts that i always give excuses, it made see in myself all the shortcomings i have.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for the post, the below sentence strike and hit me the most,
Remember no one owes us anything otherwise there is no karma. Since there is karma, it all stems from ourselves. So let’s take responsibility. Tsem Rinpoche
I want to make my good qualities INCREASE LIKE A WAXING MOON, no future tense, immediately improve ….
Thank you Rinpoche
I am happy to do scanning
Hi Rinpoche, Good day to you. Thanks for your motivational verses. I can see how each of those verses can be easily relate to myself and I am using this as a guide for self improvement.
You are right, Rinpoche!
I would always make some excuse not to practice: “Oh, I’ll start next week”, or “I’ll wait until some item I’ve ordered for my shrine to come in”. But there was always something else to wait for.
Thanks to you, and your wonderful teaching style, I’ve finally stopped making excuses and just started practicing!
Thank You!