There are many excellent texts on mind training in the Gelug tradition, and we should read them often and study them carefully. Do not assume that the Gelug view is somehow less profound, thinking that an explanation such as “the pillar is not empty of its appearance, but is empty of inherent existence” is inferior to teachings on “freedom from the four extremes” or “great equality”. Nor should such assumptions discourage you from studying its teachings.
In fact, the writings on mind training by great Gelug masters such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Gyaltsab Je, Khedrup Je, and many lineage gurus are deeply moving. These instructions—as well as teachings on bodhicitta given by our Khenpo—should be read repeatedly and listened to again and again. In this way, we gradually saturate our minds with them, allowing genuine bodhicitta to take root and grow.
The mind works in precisely this way: whatever it is immersed in, it gradually becomes. If you spend every day in a mahjong parlor, after years of conditioning you will surely become a skilled mahjong player. As the saying goes, “After staying long in a room of fragrant orchids, one no longer notices their scent; after staying long in a fish market, one no longer notices the smell.” Habit gradually becomes second nature.
First, listen to these teachings repeatedly. Then contemplate them deeply. Practice them again and again. Allow yourself to be moved by them, and take them to heart as something real. There is nothing wrong with shedding tears. It is said that a geshe who cultivated bodhicitta for nine years wept several large teapots full of tears out of compassion for sentient beings. And if you feel embarrassed to cry in front of others, then cry as much as you like when no one is around.
The purpose of completing the Five Preliminary Practices (Ngöndro) is to make our bodhicitta increasingly genuine. Once bodhicitta has become truly authentic, realizing emptiness will no longer be so difficult.
Many people say that realizing emptiness is extremely difficult. In reality, the difficulty lies simply in our attachment. The realization of emptiness requires eliminating two forms of grasping: grasping at a self of the person and grasping at a self of phenomena. If self-grasping with regard to the person is still powerful, then naturally realizing emptiness will seem very difficult. Bodhicitta weakens and ultimately overcomes self-grasping, while the correct view of emptiness removes grasping at phenomena. When both have been abandoned, realization naturally arises.
Emptiness is not some object that can be grasped. The table in front of us is emptiness. Apart from appearances, where could another emptiness be found? Yet because of our attachment, we fail to see it as such. Once attachment is removed, that very appearance is recognized as emptiness.
Our greatest attachment is self-grasping. The moment we open our eyes—even while we are dreaming—the sense of “I” relentlessly dominates and manipulates our minds, though we seldom recognize it. Once bodhicitta genuinely arises, it begins to dissolve this deeply rooted attachment.
Therefore, we must contemplate these teachings carefully and profoundly, continually familiarize ourselves with them, and constantly compare bodhicitta with the state of our own mental continuum. We should ask ourselves: Have I truly put it into practice? Am I deceiving myself? Or is my bodhicitta still nothing more than a conceptual understanding?
—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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