News - Ratnashri Meditation Center in Sweden

I hope and pray that you are well. I think of you in my meditations. We are very fortunate having this precious human life and taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and following the path. You have been writing me off and on for the last couple of years and I'm grateful you are keeping in contact and I cherish this opportunity. Usually I can't write long letters because I don't know how to type but today I have a good secretary so I'm taking the opportunity to say a few things.

Without the Dharma our life in samsara is only suffering or a condition of suffering and we create more causes of suffering. We are also very smart creating the causes of suffering. Since we have the Dharma in our life it gives us wisdom to penetrate the reality nature of the causes of suffering and causes of peace and happiness in this life and eventually for complete enlightenment. So it is for our own benefit and for others as well that we utilize this precious human life as best as possible. This precious human life is a venue to do all the good things.

First, take a deep breath and release all the tension both physically and mentally and then contemplate all phenomena which are composite: The nature of impermanence and the nature of disintegration, including our human body. So by contemplating this, purify all attachment and anger.

Second, this samsara is a state of suffering. Either suffering of suffering, suffering of change or in the condition of suffering. So contemplate this carefully and those who are suffering in the world, physically or mentally, including our enemies. Develop sincere compassion wishing them to be free from suffering and to achieve complete enlightenment.

Third, these manifestations, happiness and suffering within impermanence, are based on causes and conditions. Nothing functions independently. All are in the constitution of causes and conditions. And all the causes and conditions are infallible. So it is to our own benefit using our empirical wisdom, avoiding and purifying all the causes of suffering and creating and accumulating all the causes of peace and happiness. As an example, avoiding the ten non virtues and practicing the ten virtues.

With this understanding, we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and keep the moral ethics. This makes the person pure and a subject of respect. And then, having kept the moral ethics well, for one’s own benefit to free from samsara, cultivate bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment for all others, based on sincere loving kindness and compassion. Remind yourself of this practice every day and every moment when you are working or sitting. This will give us wisdom and courage to do good things in our daily life and for others. This altruistic thought inspired all the Buddhas of the past and the present. They adopted this mind, the universal mind of bodhicitta, and they applied and practiced it in their lives and they attained Buddhahood and benefited countless sentient beings. We can also take that example and inspire ourselves and follow the path. So when we do these practices, our main focus is to purify all the mental afflictions. For example ignorance, anger, attachment, pride, jealousy and so forth. They are called the three poisons or five poisons and so forth.

They are the root cause of all our suffering and conflict for the individual and for society. Without touching base on this no matter how much we try, real peace and happiness is impossible to attain. This kind of experience is shared by all sentient beings. So Dharma gives us this wisdom to understand the reality nature of suffering and happiness. Dharma has also great method and skill to tackle all these causes of suffering.

To purify these obscurations and mental delusions, the Vajrayana teaching gives great skill. Through this method, one gets the opportunity to manifest into the form of the deities which is called Yidam practice, inseparable of appearance and emptiness. With this we repeatedly manifest into the Yidam deity and dissolve into emptiness based on ultimate bodhicitta that is supported by moral ethics.

Here I mention a few words of the purpose of the practice. There are many books translated as a reference on how to practice. I want you to have real peace and happiness and to be free from confusion and ignorance which are the root cause of suffering. I will say prayers for your good health and successful meditation practice. If you'd like you may place this letter on your Facebook or web page.

Sincerely,
Khenchen K. Gyaltshen