On to page 2 Dear friends,
During our recent retreat on foundation practice, Rinpoche explained the importance of increasing our bodhicitta, our sense of working on behalf of all sentient beings. Bodhicitta is the engine of our practice. We all have potential bodhicitta, even if our engine needs a tune up! If we know about worldly love, that's a great place to start, and Rinpoche has given us a technique to strengthen our existing bodhicitta.
There are seven meditations or thoughts you can bring into your day to strengthen your practice of working on behalf of other beings. Rinpoche advises to use one of these per day during the week upon which to focus. Doing this on a regular basis will increase your ability to experience and generate bodhicitta. You could tack this on your mirror or refrigerator; just anywhere where you can see it early in the day for a focal point.
Equanimity: Think that all beings are the same in their desire for happiness. We all suffer equally, whether rich, poor, king or pauper. Everyone needs help and love, to be cherished, etc. Everyone has good qualities, even murderers.
One should consider all beings as your mother. Your mother, even if she was unkind to you in some ways, may have suffered too. You can think about her willingness to bring you into the world, her feeding you, sheltering you.
Consider that all beings have cared for you at some time in your existences. This can be interpreted several ways. First, because our past lives are numberless, all other beings were probably our mother at some time. Secondly, we don't know for sure that all beings were our mothers. We may feel unsure of this. What can go wrong if I accept this idea? I may say all beings are my mother because it is like the Native American view of life, that the earth is our mother, the sky is our father, like that. Third, I can think of all beings as my mother, because they are the mother of my realizations. They are the cause of my dharma practice. I can practice patience, wisdom, ethics, etc.
Remember the kindness of all beings. This is not a passive activity. Make a list of all the kindnesses done to you, even by perfect strangers. Think that you must repay these kindnesses you experience. When you do Vajrasattva practice, you can send light from his heart to all beings as a way to repay this kindness. At least stop killing animals or abstain from hurting others.
Meditate on love; seeing all others as beautiful. The way to practice love is to see all others as beautiful.
Compassion: Thinking about the person's pain, suffering, emotions and feeling sorry for the situation. What can I do to help relieve this situation?
The Supreme Wish: You take responsibility yourself for all beings, thinking to yourself, "I'll do it as much as I can, and I won't leave it to others to do the work."
By practicing these 7 simple thoughts and meditations, one each day of the
week, your bodhicitta is guaranteed to grow in strength. Since this is the
engine of your practice, your practice will also grow much stronger.
