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The purpose of this meditation is to develop the wish to completely abandon self-cherishing and to only cherish others, and then to meditate on this wish in light of equalising self and others.
I began as usual with some breathing meditation and kept my jumpy mind in one place until it started behaving itself and I started to feel a very light and tranquil feeling.
I then moved on to the main meditation. I recalled my feeling of equanimity towards all living beings, and the fact that all living beings have been my kind mother in the past. I felt a deep affection for all living beings, and then I thought about the disadvantages of self-cherishing. It is like a running sore in my mind that I keep scratching and opening up again so it can never heal. I thought about how cherishing others will divert my attention away from this sore, and give it time to heal completely.
I focused on this idea that by keeping my attention on others, my self-cherishing will diminish and finally fade into the past. I developed the sincere wish for this to happen and I focused on it for the rest of this stage of the meditation.
I then thought about what this means in light of equalising self and others.
Equalising self and others is the half way stage to completing the achievement of exchanging self and others. I thought about how this stage informs and ‘fits into’ exchanging self and others and then returned to my focus on the wish to abandon self-cherishing and cherishing only others.
Dedication
May all living beings exchange self with others – may happiness and world peace spread throughout the world, and may everyone quickly attain attain pure inner peace for the benefit of all.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will cherish others and try to do everything for their sake.
The purpose of this meditation is to meditate on the advantages of cherishing others, and then to meditate on this in light of equalising self and others.
I began with some breathing meditation until my mind was nicely settled.
I then started thinking about how true happiness comes from cherishing others. It is not an obvious thing to think, but it is true. I remember when I was in school and our English teacher asked what is the difference between happiness and pleasure. I told him that I thought happiness is when you give something and pleasure is when you get something. He agreed and explained that pleasure was more of a passing thing whereas happiness is a more profound, deep seated emotion.
I thought about how all the happiness in the world comes from wishing others to be happy. I need to trust the Buddhas when they tell me this. Everything I believe instinctively tells me that happiness lies in looking after myself, but I know from my own experience that the few times I put others before myself I am at my happiest. I need to trust the Buddhas completely.
I focused on the need for me to trust Geshe-la and make the leap of faith that I now need to cherish only others. I felt like my cherishing was reaching out to others – cherishing only others.
After focusing on this for a while I moved on to think about what this means in light of equalising self and others.
It seemed to me that increasing my cherishing for others was part of equalising my cherishing of self and others – they fitted on inside the other. Once again I focused on the leap of faith I need to make – to overcome my self cherishing instincts and to cherish others.
Dedication
May all living beings make the leap of faith of cherishing others, and come to enjoy the perfect happiness of true inner peace.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will try to cherish only others, and make a special note of how it feels to hold others to be important, and to care deeply about their happiness and freedom.
The purpose of this meditation is to generate a strong wish to free our mind of self-cherishing by contemplating it’s disadvantages, and then to meditate on this in light of equalising self and others.
I began with a very long session of just breathing and letting my mind settle. I let my attention move from gross to subtle signs of breathing, and then to a space like emptiness centred in my heart. After a while of really enjoying this lovely sense of peace and tranquillity, I moved on to the main meditation.
I began by thinking about how my self-cherishing mind contaminates all my thoughts and actions. An image came to mind of a very bad sore, slowly dribbling out puss. This disgusting image seemed to sum it up pretty well. My mind is wounded by this sore of self-cherishing. The sore causes pain and, because it is tender, wants to protect itself from harm. This is like our self-cherishing mind which cares so deeply about itself that it cannot bear criticism or any kind of disadvantage.
I wished I could heal my mind – heal up this painful sore, and leave my mind healthy and strong again. I wished for this to happen, so that my mind could be healed and free from the pain self-cherishing causes myself and others. I let my attention focus on this thought and I stayed with it for a while.
I then thought about what this means in the light of equalising self and others. This practice involves equalising our love for ourself with our love for others. In light of this, contemplating the disadvantages of self-cherishing will make it easier to equalise myself and others, because I will reduce my self-cherishing and create space for cherishing others. With this in mind I returned to my wish to free my wounded mind of self-cherishing completely.
Dedication
May all living beings recognise the faults of self-cherishing and by resolving to heal their mental continuum, quickly attain enlightenment for the benefit of all.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will try to see the self-cherishing in my mind, and recognise the harm it is causing for me any those around me. In this way I will try to increase my wish to free myself from its hold.
The purpose of this meditation is to meditate on the entire Lamrim in light of equalising self and others.
I began with some breathing meditation, slowly letting my attention settle on the breath until is was calm and centred.
I then started to think about the Lamrim meditations. They are a cycle of meditations which contain the entire path to enlightenment. I imagined them like a glowing ring surrounding me. Each time I complete a cycle, they glow just a little bit brighter. I imagined them glowing brighter and brighter until my normal appearances and conceptions were completely lost in the light, and I felt completely mixed with the Lamrim and enlightenment.
I then thought about what this means in light of equalising self and others.
Equalising self and others is one of the Lamrim meditations, and a fundamental step on the path to enlightenment. Equalising self and others is a beautiful feeling – one of equality and shared love. How wonderful to be trying to build this into one’s mind and life!
I returned to the feeling of bright light surrounding and permeating me, and stayed with it for the rest of the meditation.
Dedication
May all the virtue I have accumulated here ripen upon all living beings, and may they quickly attain the supreme inner peace of full enlightenment.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will remind myself of the special virtuous qualities of the Kadam Lamrim, and of how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to mix my mind with these meditation objects – what is more meaningful in this world?
The purpose of this meditation is to generate a deep feeling of appreciation for our mother, remembering her kindness, and then to meditate on this appreciation in the light of equalising self and others.
I began with breathing mediation, letting my focus become more and more subtle until my mind was still and tranquil.
I then contemplated the kindness of my mother of this life. I thought of the many ways in which she looked after me and cherished me. I also thought of all the bad things she did, or appeared to do. How to deal with these memories?
I decided that memories are unreliable, especially those laid down as a child, with a child’s perspective. I also thought about the fact that I was comparing her performance with an unrealistic alternative – a mother who has spent her entire life only doing things that I like and approve of! How ridiculous! My mother loved me, and although she was not perfect, no-one else loved me as she did. No-one else cared for me and looked after me the way she did. And everything she did, she did because she thought it was best for me.
I thought about all these points and generated a deep appreciation for her kindness, which I focused on for a while.
I then thought about what this means in light of equalising self and others.
I should find it easy to develop love for my mother – a love as strong as I have for myself, because no-one else has loved me that completely in this life. I felt a feeling of love and gratitude towards my mother, and stayed with it for the rest of the meditation.
Dedication
May all living beings remember the kindness of their mothers, and through this rememberance quickly attain enlightenment for the benefit of all.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will try to always remember the kindness of my mother, and remember her with affection and gratitude.
The purpose of this meditation is to generate the strong recognition that all living beings are my mother, and then to meditate on this recognition in light of equalising self and others.
I began with dissolving my Guru into my heart and mind, and remaining with this recognition for a while.
I then started looking at the fact that my mind is a continuum and in my previous lives I have had mothers. All these mothers from my past lives are, in fact, the other living beings I see around me are actually my mothers. Each and every one of them has been my mother in the past, and loved my as dearly as any mother loves her only precious child.
I focused on this recognition and felt a bond with others stretching back through time. I reached a determination that I will keep this bond in mind and always recognise others as, in essence, my mother.
After keeping this determination in my mind for a while, I decided to see what this means in light of equalising self and others. There is a close relationship here, because once I am convinced that all living beings are my mother, I can generate very warm positive feelings towards them easily. This will help me equalise my love for others with my love for myself. I returned to my meditation on the recognition that all living beings are my mother, and strengthened my determination to maintain this view throughout the day.
Dedication
May all living beings recognise their true relationship with others, and through this recognition experience the true happiness of enlightenment for the benefit of all.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will maintain the view that all living beings are my kind mother.
The purpose of this meditation is to generate a lovely strong feeling of warmth and affection for all living beings, and then to meditate on this feeling in the light of equalising self and others.
I began with focusing my mind of the feeling of being mixed with my Guru, letting his stability and tranquillity spread through my mind and body for a while.
I then thought about what it means to feel warmth and affection for others. People who have started out being my friends in the past have become my enemies, and my enemies have become my friends. How should I relate them? Should I relate to them as they appear to me now? Or should I forget the friendliness they show me now and just hang onto the harm they have done?
The best way to think about this is to relate to the kindness of others rather than their harm. When others are or were kind to me, they acted out of love, free from delusion. I will relate to them when they were in their non-deluded state, rather than to them when they were under the control of anger, jealously or attachment.
I focused on trying to feel a warm and friendly feeling towards all others, and it arose quite naturally. It felt good. I also realised that I am in control of my feeling good. If I rely on others to make me feel good – like when they act in kind ways to me, then I am a hostage to others. But if I simply relate to people with warmth and friendliness I can be happy all the time, because I am in control of this feeling. I felt liberated and in control. It was wonderful and I focused on this feeling of joy for the rest of the meditation.
I then thought about what this means in light of equalising self and others. It is clear to me that the first step of equalising my love for others with my love for myself is to free myself of biased attitudes to others. Equanimity is the first step towards being able to love others, and I saw it in this context. With this in mind I returned to my feeling of warmth and friendliness, and also be being in control of my feelings.
Dedication
May all living beings feel warmth and friendliness towards others, and quickly progress along the path to full enlightenment for the benefit of all.
Practice in the Meditation Break
Keep warm and friendly!
The purpose of this meditation is to make a very firm decision to behave in virtuous ways because of our understanding of the law of karma, and then to meditate on this wish in light of equalising self and others.
I began the meditation by dissolving my Guru into my heart and letting his stability and tranquillity mix completely with my mind. I focused on the expansive feeling of emptiness and bliss, and stayed with this for a while until it was time to move on to my main meditation.
I then started by thinking about the law of karma. Every single scientific law has, as a fundamental cornerstone, the law of cause and effect. Even quantum uncertainty does not violate it, because although quantum events are unpredictable, they are not causeless. In this way, it is profoundly unscientific to say that our experiences are causeless or ‘just happen’. All our experiences have causes – this must be a scientific truth. To say otherwise is to abandon the scientific principle that is the bedrock of all rational enquiry.
What causes our experience? If we have good fortune or bad fortune, what is the cause?
Buddha said that our actions create our experiences. Every action we perform leaves a mark on our mind, and in the future this mark will form the basis for an experience. If our action was harmful, we will experience harm. If our action was helpful, we will experience help in future. Although science has yet to identify karma by direct experiment, there is overwhelming empirical evidence for its existence. Lack of direct evidence is no bar to belief: most physicists firmly believe in dark matter, although none has been found.
I was listening to the radio yesterday where a man wrongly convicted of murder was giving an interview. He said he knew when he met another man who was wrongly accused of murder, he knew instantly that he was innocent. The interviewer asking him how he knew. He said that he had been locked up with murderers when he was in prison fighting for his own release. He said that you can see in a person’s eyes that they have murdered. There is a clarity in the eyes of the innocent that is absent in the eyes of a murderer.
I thought about this in meditation. Every action leaves a mark, either overt of subtle. Every action I perform marks me.
What marks do I want to bear? I want to be a Buddha! I want to have a pure mind, a stainlessly pure mind completely mixed with virtue. How can I get that? I need to wash away my marks of non-virtue and perform only virtuous actions to leave marks of purity and goodness.
On the basis of the law of karma, I decided that I need to perform only virtuous actions and purify my negativities. I imagined taking and giving all the time. I imagined making constant offerings. I will offer my good conditions, my food and drink, my practice, my blog – everything.
I was filled with a feeling of giving, of offering and of virtue. This is the path. I focused on this feeling of giving and being on the path of virtue for the rest of the meditation.
After a while I decided to look at what this means in light of equalising self and others. I wondered: what is the karmic result of equalising self and others? The answer is that others will love me as much as they love themselves. Wow! How wonderful that would be! Imagine a world where everyone you meet instantly likes you and is caring towards you. That is the karmic result of equalising self and others. With this in mind I was even more enthusiastic to practice the path of virtue, and I returned to my meditation object, staying with it and mixing my mind with it for the rest of the meditation.
Dedication
May all living beings understand the marks they bear, and through practising the stages of the path may they purify their negative karma and accumulate the positive karma necessary to become pure enlightened beings for the benefit of all.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I have identified my actions for today. I will offer all my good conditions constantly to the three jewels, and practice only virtue with a positive mind.
The purpose of this meditation is to go completely for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and then to meditate on this wish in light of equalising self and others.
I began with dissolving my body and mind into the mind of my Guru. I mixed my mind with his stability and depth and stillness, and remained there for a while. It was very peaceful and lovely.
I then moved on to my main topic. I thought about the horrors of samsara. I thought of my mother. She is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease very badly now. Both her and my father suffer enormously in different ways, and although they are together in the same house, they are completely apart. They have both lost each other.
This will be my fate, or something like it. There are no happy endings in samsara. Normally we think that death is the worst thing that can happen to us, but a long mundane life really only gives samsara the opportunity to harm us for longer. Our experience is in the nature of suffering and there is no possibility of any true happiness in worldly things. Samsara’s pleasures are deceptive: give no contentment, only torment.
I looked hard at samsara and I was repelled.
Then I eased my mental grip on samsara, and it felt like my clenched fist was opening, and the suffering I saw was becoming less and less intense, until my grip completely loosened and I let go of samsara altogether.
I then turned to the Three Jewels and rested my mental hands on them. I turn to them for refuge from the horrors of samsara. I focused on turning to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha completely. My Guru. My Dharma. My Sangha friends. I made a determination that I would spend the rest of my life working towards enlightenment thought the Three Jewels, and I stayed with this determination for the rest of the meditation.
After a while I brought in the aspect of equalising self and others. I thought that at the moment I am obsessed with myself – my happiness and my importance. To equalise myself and others means to share this obsession equally with others. I can start by being equally obsessed with Buddha and Sangha – caring for them as much as I care for myself. They are so precious and meaningful, it will be easy to cherish them. I focused on the feeling of cherishing the Three Jewels and going for refuge to them, all the while remembering the horror of samsara. It felt precarious, but very meaningful and wonderful too.
Dedication
May all living beings find true refuge from their suffering, and establish true inner peace in their minds for the benefit of all.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will remember the horrors of samsara and repeat my refuge vows throughout the day.
The purpose of this meditation is to develop the fear of rebirth in the lower realms, and then to meditate on this fear in light of equalising self and others.
I began the meditation by doing breathing meditation and when my mind was stable, I moved on to the main topic.
I thought about how I have dreams when I go to sleep. I pass from my waking world to my dream world very easily. When I am in my dream world, I have forgotten all about my waking world, and my dream world seems absolutely real.
I thought about how both of these apparently real worlds are simply appearances arising from my karma, and that when my life is over, I will experience other worlds which arise from my karma. In these worlds I may experience awful conditions. I imagined being dressed in rags, trapped and abused by horrible men. Unable to escape – not understanding that escape was even possible – just completely trapped in a cess pit of pain and humiliation.
I stayed with this image for a while and I developed the sincere dread of this happening. But it could happen easily, the moment I die.
I stayed with this feeling of dread and the knowledge that it could start today for the rest of the meditation.
I then thought about equalising self and others, which is the practice of equalising my love of myself for my love of others. In the lower realms I won’t even hear the word ‘Dharma’ let alone understand how to practice equalising self and others. Everything will be gone – my path – everything.
I returned to the feeling of dread for the rest of the meditation.
Dedication
May all living beings develop a fear of the lower realms, and keep in theirs hearts as the motivation to enter, progress along and complete the spiritual path for the sake of all living beings.
Practice in the Meditation Break
I will try to keep this dread in mind throughout the day, and ensure I do not commit negative actions.
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