Seven points of Mind Training - Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje

1. The Preliminaries

First, train in the preliminaries.

2. The Main Practice

Consider all things and events as dreamlike.
Examine the nature of unborn awareness.
Let even the antidote be freed in its own place.
Rest in the ālaya, the essence.
Between sessions, be a conjurer of illusions.
Train in the two—giving and taking—alternately.
These two are to be mounted on the breath.
Three objects, three poisons and three sources of virtue.
In all activities, train by applying slogans.
Begin the process of taking with yourself.

3. Transforming Adversity into the Path of Enlightenment

When all the world is filled with evil,
transform adversity into the path of enlightenment.
Drive all blames into one.
Meditate on the great kindness of all.
Meditating on delusory perceptions as the four kāyas
Is the unsurpassable śūnyatā protection.
The fourfold practice is the best of methods.
Whatever you encounter, apply the practice.

4. Applying the Practice throughout the Whole of Life

The essence of the instruction, briefly stated,
is to apply yourself to the five strengths.
The mahāyāna advice for transference
Involves the same five strengths. Conduct is important.

5. The Measure of Mind Training

All teachings share a single purpose.
Of the two witnesses, rely upon the principal one.
Always maintain only a joyful attitude.
If this can be done even when distracted, you are proficient.

6. The Commitments of Mind Training

Train constantly in three basic principles.
Change your attitude, but remain natural.
Don’t speak of injured limbs.
Don’t ponder others’ flaws.
Train first with the strongest destructive emotions.
Abandon any expectations of results.
Give up poisonous food.
Don’t be so loyal to the cause.
Don’t lash out in retaliation.
Don’t lie in ambush.
Don’t strike a vulnerable point.
Don’t transfer the ox’s burden to the cow.
Don’t be competitive.
Don’t misperform the rites.
Don’t reduce gods to demons.
Don’t seek others’ misery as crutches of your own happiness.

7. The Precepts of Mind Training

Do everything with a single intention.
Counter all adversity with a single remedy.
Two tasks: one at the beginning and one at the end.
Whichever of the two occurs, be patient.
Keep the two, even at your life’s expense.
Train in the three difficulties.
Acquire the three main provisions.
Cultivate the three that must not decline.
Keep the three from which you must not separate.
Apply the training impartially to all.
It is vital that it be deep and all-pervasive.
Meditate constantly on those who’ve been set apart.
Don’t be dependent on external conditions.
This time, practise what’s most important.
Don’t misunderstand.
Don’t be inconsistent.
Train wholeheartedly.
Gain freedom through discernment and analysis.
Don’t be boastful.
Don’t be irritable.
Don’t be temperamental.
Don’t seek acknowledgement.

The essence of the nectar-like instructions for transforming into the path of awakening the five prevalent signs of degeneration was passed down from the one from Golden Isle. When karmic seeds left over from former trainings were aroused in me, I felt great interest, and so, without regard for suffering or disparagement, I sought instructions on subduing ego-clinging. Now, even in death, I shall have no regrets.

Translated by Adam Pearcey - Source Lotsawa house

The four reminders (the four ordinary preliminaries)

(1) This human existence with all its freedoms and endowments is extremely difficult to attain.
It enables one to accomplish the meaning of one’s being.
Having attained such a precious existence,
If one does not accomplish benefit at this time,
How could one achieve this perfect treasure in the future?

(2) The three realms are as impermanent as autumn clouds.
The births and deaths of beings are like a dance performance.
Flashing by like lightning in the sky, the life span of beings
Races swiftly like a waterfall over a steep mountain.

(3) When the time comes for even a king to depart,
Neither his riches nor loved ones, relatives, and friends will follow.
Wherever beings abide, wherever they go,
Karma alone follows them like a shadow.

(4) Overpowered by existence, craving, and ignorance,
All beings—humans, gods, and beings of the three lower realms—
Circle unwittingly in the five realms of existence
Like the spinning of a potter’s wheel.
The three realms blaze with the sufferings of old age and sickness,
And there is no protector from the raging flames of death.
Born into cyclic existence, beings dwell continually in ignorance,
Circling like bees trapped in a jar.

Translated by Jetsün Dechen Paldrön and edited by the Dharmasri Translation Group, Baltimore, 2001

Source: Khandro Rinpoche. This Precious Life: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on the Path to Enlightenment. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, 2003.

The four pillars of wellbeing by Mingyur Rinpoche (May 6th 2021)

Awareness

Awareness is fundamental for the meditation practice and for wellbeing.  It is the fundamental essence of the mind because it is always there, present, free, pure, calm.  But we have problems due to our thoughts, emotions, memories...  Awareness is like sky, but we don't see it, instead we see thoughts that are like clouds.  But we can see the sky noticing the clouds.

Practice: Connect with the awareness using the body practice

Keep your back loosely straight.  Raise your hand and feel your hand.  Keeping the arm raised, relax your hand and feel it again: relaxing, tingling, hot, cold, gravity, no special feeling  Be with that.

Put your hand down and close your eyes.  Feel the forehead and relax it.  It doesn't matter if you cannot, allow you cannot relax it.  Move your awareness to the top of your head, relax muscles, relax the tension, be with your body [go down, being, feeling every part of your body, not trying to change anything or to feel anything in particular, just be as it is]

If there is tension, let the tension be.  Finally, feel your entire body, any sensation: relax, tension, pain... let everything come an go, also thoughts, sensations, memories.

Being with them is the awareness; being with whatever comes in the mind or the body is the love, the kindness.  This awareness that allows everything is your fundamental quality, it is like the sky, always present, peaceful.

Open your eyes, and let everything come and go in your mind and body.

Connection

We all have love and compassion.  They are our nature, our fundamental nature.  Love and compassion are together with awareness, and they are also like the sky.  We are doing this practice out of loving-kindness and compassion.  Love is to look for happiness, something good, genuine, meaningful.  Compassion wants to get rid of problems, obstacles, suffering for us and for others, for anybody.  Loving-kindness and compassion is not only in our mind, but also in our body.  Every moment, every eye-blink, every breath is loving-kindness and compassion.  But we must recognize it, connect with it.  Although we have loving-kindness and compassion all the time, without connecting with it, we don't see it, we don't see its benefit.

Practice: connect with our loving-kindness and compassion

Put your back loosely straight, close gently your eyes.  Feel the body.  There is a sensation in the body and the mind looking for happiness.  We don't want pain, discomfort, problems, too hot, too cold, disturbing thoughts and emotions.  Be with that fundamental feeling of looking for happiness.

If we don't like the feeling, this not liking is also loving-kindness and compassion.  If we don't find it, want to find find it is love, not finding is compassion, not finding is a problem.  Keep the back straight is also loving-kindness and compassion, listening the guided meditation, the entire feeling of the body, the entire thinking of the mind is also manifestation of the loving-kindness and compassion.

Now we can expand our loving-kindness and compassion to others: friend, family, pets, neighbours.  All them are similar to us, they also look for happiness every moment, every breath.  May they be happy, may they be free from suffering.

We expand this wish to all the city, all the persons, animals, birds, insects, all the beings share the same feeling.  May all them have happiness, and be free from suffering.  And we go further, including all the world.  We are all the same family, sharing the same fundamental feeling.  We send our loving-kindness and compassion to all them, so all can fulfil this wish.

Open gently your eyes, and now everything we see, everything we hear is infused with loving-kindness and compassion.  We recognize that and be with that.

Wisdom

We all have basic goodness, a treasure, a potential inside us: awareness, loving-kindness and compassion, and wisdom, skills talents, capacities.  We are amazing.  But we don't know.  The traditional example is having a treasure under the ground of our house, and because we do not know, we cannot benefit of it.

Discovering [the treasure] is the wisdom, recognize these qualities within us, and also in others. When we recognize it, we can connect with the goodness of others, and that helps for our wellbeing, and also for other's wellbeing.  If they also recognize these qualities, they will also benefit.

Practice

Please, keep your back loosely straight.  Close gently your eyes and fell your body and your breath.  Be aware of your breath and notice how wonderful it is.  Notice also your mind, that can be aware of the breath, of sounds, of the senses (smell, taste, etc.).  It is wonderful, amazing.  Moreover, we have this wonderful awareness, loving-kindness and compassion, great skills.  Rejoice, appreciate that.  That is wisdom.

Not only us we are endowed with these qualities, also other people everybody has awareness, loving-kindness and compassion, and wisdom.  This is the way to see the world with the eyes of wisdom.  Discovering our and others' basic inner goodness will make things change, transform.  These wonderful qualities are always there, but we are not recognizing them.  Now we understood how to connect with who we really are, and we don't need to change anything, we are complete, always great.

We can gently open the eyes and whoever we see, we can appreciate the qualities in them too.

Purpose 

We are always looking for our true nature, the basic inner goodness, within ourselves and within others.  There is a traditional example of the bird mother, that can fly far away from the nest, but she always want to return to her real home, the nest.  We all have some kind of purpose, looking for happiness, and wanting to get rid of suffering and problems.  And we don't want this only for us.  We want it also for others, helping people, the society, the world.  But there are circumstances, thoughts and emotions that prevent us to reach our purpose.  However, the very nature of our thoughts and emotions is great wisdom, loving-kindness and compassion, awareness.

We listen this teaching, I am giving this teaching, and it is very meaningful, practicing together.  Practicing meditation, changing ourselves is meaningful, great for us and for the humanity.  To change the world we must change ourselves.  If we try to change the world without changing ourselves we will make the work chaotic.  Every bit we improve ourselves will have a big impact in the world.  If everybody does it, then the world will definitively become a better place.  We can start very simple, all these are great purpose, and we can do a little every day.

Practice

Please keep your back loosely straight.  That is already a great purpose, meaningful, trying to connect with our inner purpose.  Close your eyes and relax your body.

Giving time for yourself, trying to relax your body is connecting with the purpose, looking for our true home, within ourselves and within all the beings.

With this motivation, any action we do, cleaning our room, washing the dishes, connecting with our friends and family, caring our pets, looking for a job, doing some physical exercise, all this become wonderful.

And we are not the only ones doing that.  Everybody does it. Whether they recognize it or not, whether they see it or not, everybody has awareness, loving-kindness and compassion, and wisdom.  And these qualities are all the time active, longing from home, to benefit, to be happy, to get free form suffering.

Please, gently open your your eyes, and rest for a moment, just being.