Many of the accomplished masters of the Kadampa tradition did not study an extensive body of Buddhist philosophy. Instead, they devoted themselves to continually actualizing and integrating into their mental continuum a single instruction from The Eight Verses of Mind Training: "May I accept defeat and loss upon myself, and offer victory and gain to others."
To actualize this instruction means applying it in every situation one encounters. To integrate it into one's mental continuum means constantly examining whether one's thoughts and actions truly accord with the teachings. This is what genuine practice is. By doing so day after day, they gradually became great accomplished masters without even realizing it.
We, on the other hand, may have studied numerous philosophical treatises, such as the Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes and the Ornament of Clear Realization. In our discussions, we debate what Śāntideva said or how Longchenpa explained a particular point. Yet when we examine our own minds, we discover that there is scarcely any bodhicitta to be found.
If one speaks of the most precious teachings while our hearts remain impure, genuine accomplishment is impossible. You cannot deceive the law of karma. Even if you managed to deceive everyone else, if you truly believe in cause and effect, you would know that on the day of your death, the final account will be settled. Whatever debts you have accumulated through deception must all be repaid with interest, and by then there will no longer be any opportunity for regret.
Another reason why people fail to generate bodhicitta is that they either do not truly believe in karma, or believe in it only conceptually. Someone who genuinely believes in cause and effect will naturally exercise caution. They would not, like the practitioner mentioned earlier, remove the Yi Zi Xu before getting into a quarrel. Nor would they indulge the illusion that they can first commit negative actions and simply purify them afterward through Vajrasattva practice.
Some people even imagine that because Vajrasattva purification exists, they are free to commit harmful actions without restraint. There was once a practitioner in Chengdu who held precisely such a view. When attempting to encourage others to open a restaurant, he said, "As Vajrayāna practitioners, we can always repent afterward. Just recite more Vajrasattva mantras once the restaurant is open." Such thinking is extraordinarily foolish.
Of course, most of us would never consciously think this way. Yet deep within, is there perhaps some subtle trace of the same mentality? This, too, deserves careful examination. The human mind is extraordinarily complex, especially when it comes to examining itself. Never assume that your own mind is simple. No one is truly that simple, because self-grasping has a way of turning simplicity into complexity.
Those great accomplished masters were not what we would ordinarily call "clever." In fact, they had little interest in cleverness. They simply followed their aspiration and practiced earnestly, step by step. What lasting value does cleverness really have? At best, it brings a few temporary advantages for oneself. In the end, however, cleverness driven by self-interest can ultimately lead one toward the lower realms.
This is also one reason why so many accomplished practitioners emerged in Tibet in former times. They were single-minded in their practice, unlike the tendency among many Chinese to analyze everything from countless different angles and perspectives. From the standpoint of wisdom, examining an issue from multiple perspectives is certainly not wrong. Yet all too often, these "different perspectives" merely serve as sophisticated ways of protecting the ego.
None of what I have shared today consists of lofty theories. These are simply the kinds of issues that anyone may encounter while observing the mind. If these reflections truly resonate with you and benefit your mental continuum, then, borrowing the Karmapa's words, "Your happiness is my happiness." If they are of no help, that is perfectly fine as well, for this has simply been an exchange of ideas.
—Excerpted and adapted from Genuine Bodhicitta and Conceptual Bodhicitta.
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
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