Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Mingyur Rinpoche - 16/11/2025 (3/3)

Transforming thru awareness

If we are new to meditation, we need first to train on how to rest awareness in an object (5 min a day) at least for one month.  Then we must train to rest with pain.  We can train with pain using the acupressure point in the hand [between the thumb and index].

Meditation

• Let the mind in its natural state
• Press your hand and feel the pain
• The pain is now your support
• We don’t fight with nor run away from pain, just feel it.
• Now rest your mind in open awareness again.

Now we made friends with pain, because we used as support for our meditation.  When you look at pain, there are four possible expereinces:

• Pain disappears
• Pain remains but changed, transformed, moved from one place to another
• Pain stays equal and you can watch it
• Pain become bigger, stronger

All the experiences are good, only if the pain becomes really big you’d better stop.

Poison becomes medicine

This practice shows the way to deal with any disturbing experience: anger, sadness, dullness, sleepiness.  All become support for our meditation.  They become friends, and help us to develop awareness.  When we feel a disturbing emotion and we don’t fight it, we develop compassion.  We feel it as they are, without changing, reacting or removing, and that’s the wisdom, seeing the reality as it is.

Sometimes when we look at the disturbance it will be still too much.  Then we must turn our attention to something easy.  For example, change focus to another emotion less intense.  At the beginning we may struggle welcoming disturbing emotions. We may approach them with a fake welcome, but even a fake welcome is useful because we start dissolving our aversion.

Therefore, the practice of watching the emotion has as first benefit that you make friends with it.  Secondly, when you see the river, you are out of the river.  When you see the emotion, you are automatically creating a gap, and you are not carried by it.  If the emotion disappears it is also great, because then you experience a non-conceptual state.  When you see the emotion, your awareness becomes bigger than the emotion.

Wisdom

If we start looking closely, feeling it, not staying with our assumptions about the kleshas or suffering, we connect with our wisdom.

Meditation

• Rest your mind in open awareness
• Look at the disturbing emotion. If you can’t find it, rest in the gap.  If there is a very strong emotion, first look a weaker emotion.
• Watch closely it, and ask, “Where is my emotion?” Maybe you will cry, or laugh.  If your emotion disappear it is also very good.
• Rest your mind again in open awareness

When you look where the emotion is, you may not find it.  That means that you already begun wisdom.  Wisdom is the opposite of ignorance, that is the landmark of the unhealthy sense of self, the perception of things as permanent, singular and independent, perceiving the emotion as one thing and being part of us.  In reality, it is made of pieces: sensation, thought, label, object, beliefs.  Although we perceive the emotion as having an entity, in fact is all the pieces linked.  For example, if we hate something and we remove the object, does the hate hold? Therefore, emotion is interdependent and changing all the time, impermanent.

How to transcend the emotion?

We look at the pieces, at the changes, and we discover we cannot find anything, yet we can still feel something, but the emotion is not solid, it’s not real.

We can experience it by looking at my face.  Look at it closer.  Maybe you are looking at my eyes.  Without changing the direction of your eyes, can you see my chin clearly? No, you can’t.  You only see clearly the eyes.  We can continue the process: narrowing down to one eye, then the eyeball, next only the iris, etc.  Although we think we see the full face clearly, it is just a mental reconstruction of my face.

We can also experience with sounds.  My name is Mingyur Rinpoche, but to pronounce it, we extend over time.  When you hear “Rin”, “gyur” is already gone, and “po” has not arrived yet. Therefore, we cannot pinpoint the moment where the name is pronounced.  This is emptiness.  Although something appears, we cannot pinpoint.  Realizing that is the wisdom.  When we see, hear, or think we experience the wisdom, but we don’t recognize it.  That summarizes the practice of wisdom.  We don’t do anything.  We just experience and recognize that we cannot grasp it, and we rest with that.  This wisdom is already present and free.  Actually, nothing can bind us.  What bind us is our own concept, made by our fixation mind.

Meditation

• Rest your mind in open awareness, just be.
• Whatever comes to your mind, be with it, vividly present, but noticing that you cannot really grasp them.  Rest with it, as it is.
• That’s it.

You can also apply reasoning asking, “Who hates whom?” It is emptiness, just like a dream.  The person is also empty, and the hatred is just like a dream.  The hatred maybe disappears a few seconds, and then comes back again, maybe stronger than before.

We can mistake this view if we just pretend, by intellectual understanding that things are empty, but they appear vividly.  That would be nihilism.  For example, if someone hits me it is not enough to say, “The person is empty” and “The pain is empty.”

In the end, all the emotions become wisdom (the five kleshas become the five wisdoms), the positive aspect of the emotion remains, while the ignorant (permanent, singular, independent) aspect disappears.  Like the gold mixed with mud, by refining it, its qualities become clearer.

Next time you get angry ask, “Who is angry?” and the anger maybe will disappear a few seconds.  Or just be with the anger, seeing its impermanence, yet you can see it.  These are the methods: by questioning, and by seeing and resting as it is.

In summary we have explained three methods and we can choose which one seems appropriate.  Using always the same method will not work.  Even if we are using transcending or transforming a lot, sometimes abandoning can be more effective.  Whatever method we use their essence is awareness, loving-kindness, wisdom, and all the three qualities in union.

Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Khenpo Kunga - 7/12/2025 (3/3)

 [Teaching translated by Adam Kane] This is the continuation of my notes of the Tergar webinar teachings.

Knowing the essence [of kleshas].

We have five sense consciousness that are always oriented outwardly and are supported by the mind consciousness (6th) that is behind them.  Then there is the 7th consciousness, the afflicted mind, that we cannot get rid of easily, because it takes the 8th consciousness, the storage consciousness, as an object, and clings to it as a sense of identity.  Due to that, kleshas are ready to arise in all of us.  They will arise when causes and conditions met, but the readiness to arise is what allows it to happen.

We must not blame ourselves or put us down, because it is our condition.  Not only that, kleshas are cause of we continue accumulating karma, and perpetuate our samsaric existence.  Fortunately, kleshas can transform because their nature is impermanent.  Moreover, the external phenomena that trigger them, look solid, but their nature is like a bubble.

First, the klesha arises (triggered by something), but immediately after, we can acknowledge its arising through awareness and vigilance.  Thanks to that we can take control and apply any method that we are using.  With wisdom we stop accumulating karmic imprints, that hold us wandering in samsara.  After realizing the arising, we can apply the antidote: abandoning, transforming, or knowing its essence.

There are two ways of knowing the kleshas: knowing the essence and knowing its nature.  The essence of kleshas is emptiness and its nature is luminosity or clarity.  Knowing emptiness by concept is not enough.  We must experience it, and the best method is analytical meditation.  In the other hand, resting meditation allows us to see their luminous nature.  Seeing both empty essence and luminous nature, the klesha can dawn as wisdom.

Three ways to engage in investigation

1. Look at the shape of the emotion. When an emotion arises, we ask, “What is its shape, color, form?” When we do that, we can’t find it.  From the point of view of form, we must admit that the emotion is empty.
2. Look at the location. “Where does it arise? Where is it abiding? Where does it go when it goes?” We can’t find it either. This is another piece of evidence of the emptiness of the emotion.
3. Look at its relationship with the mind. “Is the mind and the afflictive emotion the same?” It can’t be the same because wherever the mind was manifesting the afflictive emotion would also be present.  We can’t say that they are separated either.  If it was the case, it will be possible to find the klesha independently from the mind, but this doesn’t happen.  We can only conclude that the klesha arises when the causes and conditions are present.

Although this method has been very useful to me, I learnt that for many people it is not, because they prefer to just rest.  Fortunately, there is another way based on the luminosity of the emotion. Whatever method we use, the result of manifesting the beneficial qualities of the emotion and dawn the emotion as wisdom is the same.

The resting practice

There are three steps:

1. Look at the afflictive emotion.
2. Recognize how we reacted to it.  Maybe we don’t like it, or we hold to it (i.e. for desire).  We may experience attachment or aversion.
3. Look at the experience-er.  Who is actually knowing the emotion?

Usually, we don’t or can’t rest our awareness in our afflictive emotion, as we experience the relaxed open awareness and the emotion as opposites.  That is not the case with a positive emotion like loving-kindness and compassion.  Just by resting, the afflictive emotion becomes weaker. It may happen that by resting, the afflictive emotion vanishes and we enter in a calm abiding experience (objectless shamata).  If that happens, we just rest in that state.  If the emotion remains, that becomes shamatha with object.  Both are fine to practice.

Kleshas are strengthened by our mental imprints (secondary forces): attachment, aversion, fear, doubt… For example, if we experience anger, maybe on top we generate aversion because we don’t like anger, which boosts and increases it.  When that happens, we rest our awareness in those secondary reactions and prevent the boost of anger.

The third technique is to look at the know-er, at the experience-er, that is the luminosity or clarity of the mind, the awareness itself.  When we look at the know-er we find the mind, the rigpa.  We see that by looking to us, by looking in.  When we do that we don’t need to examine, or debate, “Is it good? Is it bad?” We don’t need to follow our emotions.  We just relax looking at the experience-er. Doing like this the klesha cannot take any action, it naturally liberates by itself.

The two first techniques are shamatha practices.  Just by resting the emotion liberates by itself, as in the classical example of snowflakes falling over a hot stone that melt immediately.  With the third technique, looking at the knower, the emotion often vanishes without allowing its push to operate, and is usually called self-liberation.

All three stop the emotion to operate and can be described as liberation beyond harm.  The classical example is a thief entering in an empty house.  If a klesha arises, it doesn’t matter because it cannot harm.  All comes down to the wisdom of empty luminosity.  All the emotions become our friends, supports for our practice.

Question: Why don’t we work with positive emotions?  Is it because we are attached to them or because they don’t generate karma?

Answer: Positive emotions don’t disturb our mind, they allow to rest our mind.  These qualities are present naturally in our mind, and that is why they don’t disturb.  Instead, afflictive emotions are temporary and disturb the mind, we can’t rest the mind when they are present. However, when we experience compassion, we can feel upset because we connect with the aspect of seeing the suffering (empathy) more than the alleviating the suffering (compassion). Being that the case, we must intentionally focus on the aspect of alleviating the suffering.

Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Khenpo Kunga - 28/11/2025 (2/3)

[Teaching translated by Adam Kane] This is the continuation of my notes of the Tergar webinar teachings.

Transforming

We’ve seen that concerning abandoning, being aware of the klesha was the most important method.  This applies also to transforming and transcending.

We can ask: when the kleshas are transformed, how or where are they transformed?  There are three ways:

•  Bodhicitta that belongs to lojong
•  The form of the deity, that belongs to development stage practice
•  Yeshe, wisdom, that belongs to the completion stage of the path of liberation

Lojong style

The best way is using the Joy of living 2 methods, applying compassion.  When we have a klesha, is like our mind becomes sullied, contaminated.  We feel ill and this is cause we accumulate karma in the future.

First, we need to raise awareness, “I have this klesha in my mind.” Then we reflect, “Not only me have this klesha, but also many others have it. When they have it, it can be a cause to accumulate karma.”    That leads us to wish, “May my klesha prevent other beings from having it. May this klesha ripen in me instead of other beings. May them be cleared from it.”

There method has five steps:

1. Activate awareness, and see the klesha as a fault.
2. Having seen it, recognize that other beings can also experience this klesha.
3. Consider the suffering the klesha provokes in other beings when they experience it.  That activates our compassion, to take that klesha into us.
4. Appreciate to have developed compassion for other beings. Out of the klesha we made something useful.
5. Reflect on the process and acknowledge that doing the previous steps are causes to attain buddhahood.

Development stage style: transforming the klesha in the deity

In my mind stream I have the kleshas that can be transformed in the Buddhas (of the five families). The reason is the essence of the kleshas is wisdom, and the root of the five buddha families.

This is based in the recognition of the most subtle aspect of the mind, the 8th consciousness, the alaya-vijnana.  The undeluded aspect can be called rigpa or pure awareness.  In the alaya-vijnana there is also one aspect without recognition, the deluded aspect, that can be called alaya itself.  The deluded aspect is the basis for the 7th consciousness, the self-grasping, mainly to the sense of self, that is the reason that the five poisons manifest. Otherwise, when the 8th consciousness is not deluded, there is rigpa (recognition) and the five wisdoms manifest as the five Buddha families.

For example, when desire arises, its nature is Buddha Amitabha, so we can bring to mind his image and rest the mind on it.  This is the traditional way to act.  But we can generalize and see any emotion (anger, delusion, desire…) in the form of the same deity (e.g. Tara) or the form of the lama.  The key point is that we don’t try to stop or block the thought.  We see the klesha in the form of the deity.  That is the key of transformation.

This way of doing is based on the development stage practice, therefore if we don’t have a foundation on the development stage it is very difficult to use this method of transforming the kleshas into deities.  If we lack of mastery, we can transform the klesha into bodhicitta, generating compassion and so on.  If we are familiar with the development stage, this practice is however very beneficial.

Completion stage style: transforming kleshas into yeshe, original wakefulness

There are two stages:

• Transforming into the path of wisdom
• Essence of wisdom, that is equivalent to knowing the essence

Emotions are not totally bad, as they have faults, they have also qualities.  We start by recognizing that we (ordinary samsaric beings) all have kleshas.  Any attempt to get rid of the kleshas would not help, as we can’t access the consciousness without them [We need kleshas in our path] What we do is when we recognize a klesha we separate its qualities from its faults.

For example, if we are jealous, is because we see good qualities in others, instead we wouldn’t become jealous.  When recognize jealousy, we acknowledge that we see good qualities in others, and we rejoice in that.  That makes jealousy go away, while we keep the rejoicing aspect.

In the case of pride, we see our own good qualities, which is OK, but we let go the part where we see us better than others.  Pride then can lead us to dignity and confidence.

If we look at anger, it arises when we see the fault in something or someone else.  Instead of blocking the feeling or the fault, we generate compassion.  It doesn’t matter if the fault is true or not, we generate compassion for the being may free from the fault.

In the case of attachment, we see something or someone as delightful.  We can enjoy the delightfulness and make an offering or transform it into love.

Delusion doesn’t have a particular way.  It is a foundation to other kleshas.  Therefore, when we transform the other kleshas, delusion is also transformed.  That is why it doesn’t need a specific method of transformation.

Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Khenpo Gyurme - 16/11/2025 (2/2)

 [Teaching translated by Joseph Faria] This is the continuation of my notes on the Tergar retreat teachings.

Tranforming

How to transform emotions? Like the beautiful statue in the shrine [behind Khenpo-la] made of clay, we can transform the muddy mind into the crystal mind.  Mingyur Rinpoche explained yesterday how to do it with visualization.

We explained the abandoning of emotions of the Sutra path. In the Mahayana path we move on to transform the emotions. Finally in the Vajrayana we transcend the emotions.  In the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions we do transformation with the recognition and awareness methods.  In the path of transformation, we don’t discard any emotion, but we see in them the nature of the deity through visualization.

The difference between relinquishing and transforming is that in the first path we see the emotion as flaw, as something we need to get rid of, like a poison, or a dangerous animal.  In the path of transformation we do not see it as flaw.  The third path is that of recognition.  In the recognition we do not see the emotion either as flaw, moreover we see it as something pure and wonderful, and then we try to befriend the emotion.  When we look at the emotion we don’t try to avoid or transform it, but to work directly with it to liberate us.   The goal of the three approaches is similar because is to tame or pacify our mind, and reduce the experience of suffering, transforming it into awareness, compassion, and wisdom.

For example, if I get angry at the translator, because I think he is not doing well his job, and I want to hit him, I can question “Why I am angry? Maybe he is sick, or he didn’t sleep well and that is why he do not translate well.”  I can also look at me, “Maybe I don’t speak clearly.  He tried his best.  Why am I angry?”  This is the path of relinquish.

In the path of transformation we don’t follow, react to the anger, but rather we transform it by visualizing as the deity, the yidam (Buddha, Tara, etc.).  The visualization of the deity neutralizes the emotion because we cannot hold simultaneously in mind two opposite emotions.  This connects us with the positive qualities of the deity and reduces the power of the negative emotion.  Although the deity has a human appearance, its essence is love and wisdom, so we focus mainly on its essence.

For example, if we must deal with craving, we can transform it in Amitabha.  We don’t think on Amitabha as separate, but we think of desire as a beautiful form of wisdom.  The human appearance [of the deity] helps our mind to work with it, but the transformation is thru the essence characteristics.  Instead of falling in the energy of desire, we turn our attention to the nature of Amitabha, we think we possess the qualities of Amitabha.  Even if we cannot visualize, we can think on the qualities, so we can transform the emotion that way.

Do you know Amitabha, White Tara or Buddha Shakyamuni?  Was Buddha a man? Was he compassionate? Was he a good or bad man?  When we think of Buddha there are three ways. 

• In the Vajrayana we think on Buddha as someone not afflicted by emotions, but can manifest his nature of love, compassion, and wisdom.
• In the common (Sutra) vehicle we think of the Buddha as a wise man, with a compassionate behaviour.  His love is not only for humans, but extends to all sentient beings, including bugs and mosquitoes.
• [in the Mahayana] The Buddha can explain the true nature of things, as empty of inherent existence. When we work with emotions [in the common vehicle] we think of the Buddha as a noble being endowed with love and compassion and wisdom in front of us and we wish to transform ourselves into someone similar to the Buddha.
• In the Vajrayana the Buddha is not an ordinary individual, in terms of his enlightened qualities. When visualize us as the Buddha, we think having the same nature of love and wisdom.  Working that way, as soon an emotion arises we think of us with these enlightened qualities.

Meditation

• Let’s do some practice. Would you like to visualize yourself as a Buddha or in front of you?  We will visualize us as Buddhas.  Do you think your mind has the same qualities of Buddha’s?
• Look at any emotion is present.  Maybe you think you think not having any emotion.  Whatever you think or feel recognize it as it is.
• Now visualize yourself as Buddha, whatever you think or feel.  Visualize it as a dream, although it appears, is not real, like a rainbow in the sky.
• Think about the essence of Buddha as possessing love, compassion and wisdom.
• Think that your own qualities are the same of the Buddha, that you and the Buddha are indivisible.
• Just rest your mind

No matter what emotion arises, if we follow them, we accumulate karma and we experience samsara. Now when we experience a negative emotion, not only we don’t follow, but we use them to visualize us in a pure form.  That way, the emotions become weaker and we start to purify our karma.

Let’s practice again. We will combine the three approaches of relinquish, transformation and recognition, that we can practice separately, together.

Meditation

• Sit with your back upright and release tensions in the body.
• Keep your attention to not get lost, think on any thought or emotion that arises, ‘I don’t want to follow’
• Contemplate the afflictions that disturb other beings.  Consider any emotion you are experience replaces the same emotion experienced by all other beings.  Wish that the emotion of all these beings comes to you.
• Imagine how wonderful would be that all the beings get free of this emotion, and formulate the intention to prac-tice liberating all them from this affliction.
• Imagine now the Buddha Shakyamuni in the space in front of you.  Think on his qualities: love, compassion, and wisdom.  Reflect that he looks at all us thru these qualities.
• Thinking on the qualities and the teachings of the Buddha, form the intention to bring all this into practice.
• Visualize light irradiating from the Buddha and it strikes you, filling you with blessings, and liberating you from all the disturbing emotions.  Now you are inseparable from the Buddha, you transformed into the Buddha.
• Now all your emotions has transformed in the essence of the Buddha: love, compassion, and wisdom, the same nature of the Buddha Shakyamuni.
• Visualize the light reaching all the beings, and their emotions also transform into love, compassion and wisdom.  All them also become Buddhas.
• Our mind and the minds of all beings become inseparable from the Buddha’s mind and rest with it.

Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Mingyur Rinpoche - 15/11/2025 (2/3)

Antidotes

The antidotes of ignorance are the meditations on impermanence and on the twelve links of interdependent origination.  Let’s say you never have seen a dog, and you heard different stories about them: some tell they are gentle, others that they are bad, scary, cute… but you don’t know what is the truth.   One day you visit a friend that owns a dog.  You don’t know how to react.  All a sudden the dog barks at you and that ends your relationship with the dog.  You created an imprint in your unconsciousness (alaya) [1st link, ignorance; 2nd karmic formation].  One day you hear a barking and that creates a contact [3d, consciousness; 4th name and form; 5th, sense organs; 6th, contact] with your senses.  You feel unpleasant, fear [7th, sensation].  Not only hearing, also seeing a dog now generates a similar experience. That provokes aversion [8th, craving] and you look for the causes of aversion [9th, grasping] and you decide to put barriers to not be disturbed by dogs. Then the cycle repeats [10th, becoming; 11th, birth; 12th, old age and death]

[Holding a branch from the flower bucket] Do you like it, don’t like it, or don’t know? [people vote] You replied to the question, out of a pleasant, unpleasant or neutral sensation that comes from a past imprint.  To solve our imprints, we must use analytical meditation.  Whether we find the cause of the imprint or not is fine.  All the imprints are based on ignorance, because we perceive things as single, independent and permanent.

• “My experience will be forever” (permanent)
• “This is me” (singularity)
• “This is the worst problem” We experience the emotion as if it has its own entity (independent).

For example, if you are in the queue for the bathroom and someone cuts your line, you get upset because you attribute a continuity to the line (permanent) and you think the other person is not respecting you (singularity), and you feel bad because you don’t control the situation (independent).

Meditation

• Relax your body and mind.
• Feel whatever suffering or klesha you are experiencing at this moment (attachment, aversion…).  If you don't experience anything, you can bring a memory from a past disturbing experience. 
• What belief or perspective do you have about it? “It is difficult to change.  It is a big problem. When I meditate on it, it becomes worse.  I tried some meditation, but it comes back.”
• What is the sensation in the body? Burning, hurt, pain, numb… Maybe you feel aversion.  Or you are afraid of the problem.  Or you are questioning, “How I would get out, or solve this problem?”
• And then we will restart the cycle.  To cut through, you can apply two ways :

1. Realizing the ignorance [1st link]: permanent, singular, independent
2. Being with the sensation [7th link]: we feel pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, and before the craving we rest on it so we don’t need to fight or look for anything, being with the sensation as it is.

• Relax mind and body together.

For example, if you go in a car driven by your friend and he has almost an accident you think, “If I was driving it will be safer.”  Or, if you support a sport team and it wins you would think, “We deserved to win.” But if it loose, you would think, “There was something suspect in the competition.”  This is pride arising from singularity.  It can also manifest as low self-esteem.

The antidote of this is to practice equanimity, see that others, the same as you, want to be happy and don’t want to suffer.  Therefore, we wish that all may be happy and don’t suffer (immeasurable love and compassion).  Joy practice can also help.  To deal with jealousy, we must rejoice on others’ virtue.  Being happy of whatever good others have.

Self-antidote

In this practice we will make that obstacle becomes solution, poison becomes medicine, obstacle becomes opportunity.  We call it self-antidote.  We transform the klesha using our awareness, loving-kindness and compassion, and wisdom, or visualizing a pure form.  In this approach we don’t run away from kleshas, because we need them.

Right now, you may have a problem, pain or klesha.  First, we must recognize whatever we are feeling.  For example, some of us when we are sick don’t want to go to the doctor.  That is a manifestation of some inner fear.

Second, we must practice compassion for others.  Other people when they are sick, may also be afraid or reluctant to go to the doctor.  Therefore, we can wish, “May they be free from suffering and its causes”.

Third, (putting anger or hatred as example), when we breathe in we can imagine that we are taking the anger and hatred of other people into us, and we can reflect that by doing that we are making our own anger meaningful.  Our anger becomes representative of all the anger.  Doing that, our anger becomes loving-kindness and compassion, poison becomes medicine.

Meditation

•  Sit in open awareness, letting your mind rest as it is.
• Now feel your anger (or whatever klesha you experience at this moment).  If you don’t experience any klesha now, you can remember a past event that made you angry.
• Recognize that when you experience anger you are unhappy, not in peace, like burnt by a fire, feeling hurt… The same is for other people.  Like you, they also feel unhappy, and deep on them, they want to be happy and not suffer.  When we follow our anger, we create causes of suffering.
• Wish that all beings become free of anger and hatred and its suffering.
• Now, we will take all beings’ anger into us.  Imagine that all the anger takes the form of dark smoke and as you inhale, it dissolves into your own anger.
• When you breathe out, you wish that all beings become free of anger. [repeat a few breaths]
• Rejoice that your anger today represents all beings’ anger.  We are transforming it into love and compassion without fighting nor following.
• Open your eyes and relax your mind in the natural state.

This practice is very powerful.  It can even remove your karmic imprints associated to singularity.  Usually we care about us, but not others. This practice dissolve this strong self-grasping.  Although we are taking all the negative, it will not harm us because we are transforming the negative into positive.

Can we take others’ suffering into us? We cannot remove karma from others, but the practice can help them indirectly due to our karmic links.

Visualization (practice using imagination)

We visualize the image of a Buddha in front of us in the form of light.  Now, we feel everything as solid, but the light of the deity can dissolve the imprint of solidity.  Not only dissolve it but enhances it with love and compassion.  The nature of the light is love and its radiance is the awareness of our true nature, the nature of all the enlightened beings.

Meditation

• Rest your mind and keep your back loosely straight.
• Imagine in front of you the light of the awareness, love and compassion and wisdom of all the enlightened beings, and our true nature (like a fire that irradiates light and warmth).
• A beam of light radiates on you, and it is like the sunlight melting the frost.  It melts our solidity imprint, it melts our anger, transform our anxiety, fear, sadness.  Our body becomes full of light of awareness, loving-kindness, and wisdom.  All our experience becomes that of light.  All our imbalances get cured, and we feel the sensation of awareness, loving-kindness, and wisdom in our body.
• Then we radiate this light into ten directions reaching our family, friends, and everybody.  All transform like us, feeling awareness, loving-kindness, and wisdom in themselves.  Everybody becomes peaceful and aware of their innate qualities.
• Open your eyes.  All you see is infused with the light of awareness, loving-kindness, and wisdom.

Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Khenpo Kunga - 21/11/2025 (1/3)

[Teaching translated by Adam Kane] This is are my notes of the Tergar webinar teachings.

Abandoning

All the teachings of the Buddha are contained in these three methods: abandoning, transforming, and knowing the essence. We can classify the teachings in three categories (or traditions): the sutras, the vajrayana and the pith instructions, that are connected to each of the methods.

In the sutra tradition we mainly use abandoning, in the vajrayana we use mainly transforming, and the pith instruction use mainly knowing the essence.

The Tibetan word nyon mongs (klesha in Sanskrit) is not easily translated in English. Nyon means “sullied”, “contaminated”, and mongs means “confused”.  Therefore, it means “contaminated due to the confusion”, although it is usually translated as “conflictive emotions”.

All the 84000 kleshas can be condensed in 20 categories, that can still be summarized in 5, to finally go down to three root kleshas: attachment, aversion and delusion, of which delusion is the ground for the other two.  Attachment and aversion contaminate our mind, that makes us generate karma and due to that we wander in samsara.

So, if samsara is due to kleshas, removing the cause will stop wandering in samsara. That is why abandoning emotions is practiced.

How to get rid of kleshas?

There are 3 steps / styles:

1. The best is to stop the cause of klesha to arise, which will keep us away from it.
2. If we are unable, the klesha arises and we need to be aware, then we need to apply an antidote, but this is more difficult.
3. The final recourse is not let the klesha engage in any action. For example, if we experience anger we could fight with someone, so we stop that from happening.

The causes of kleshas

To get rid of kleshas we need to know their three causes:

a) Being close to the object that triggers the klesha. Maybe we can remove physically from the presence of the object, but sometimes we cannot, and then we change our mental perception of the object. For example, if I get angry at someone, then we can keep distance, but if not, we can change perception: “this person has been my mother” or distinguish the person from the kleshas behind his/her behavior.

The best meditation is, however, on impermanence: the person, the situation, myself are impermanent, we don’t know what is happening in the future, maybe they or I will not be here tomorrow.

For desire, we can apply loving-kindness and unpleasantness.

• For example, depending or their age compared with ours, this lady is my mother, sister, daughter.
•  Reflect on the unclean parts of the body

We can also reflect on the lack of essence of the objects of desire/aversion.

b) Aversion and attachment happen because we hold self-grasping. Buddhas don’t experience it because they don't have self-grasping. Generate a clear understanding and no assumptions to decrease your self-grasping.

c) Lack of awareness. With awareness we can block the arising of kleshas, and therefore it is the most important to do.  We need also carefulness. Imagine a ground full of sharp rocks and walking barefoot; with carefulness we can avoid being hurt.

Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Khenpo Gyurme - 15/11/2025 (1/2)

[Teaching translated by Joseph Faria] This is the continuation of my notes on the teachings of the Tergar retreat.

Today we will discuss how we relate with thoughts and emotions.  When we talk about what exists out there, what we experience in mind, and how we like or dislike, the fundamental root of all of it is our mind.  Because the fundamental root of all joy and suffering is mind, we must tame, pacify, relax our mind, and then our experience will become also relaxed. Instead, if we have an untamed mind, all the emotions: anger, jealousy, will disturb us, and then nothing can satisfy us.

How many minds do you have: one, two…?  [people answer] Only one, OK.  And is your mind clever or stupid?  Is your mind peaceful or disturbed?  When we wake up our mind starts telling things: “What I should eat for breakfast?”, “What should I wear today?”, “Should I have a shower?”  Then, is the mind sharp or peaceful?  Maybe we have two minds? One mind inside that is clear, and one mind outside that is muddy.

We will talk today about training, taming, the mind. Which one we will train? The inner mind, that is clear like crystal and we call also Buddha nature, is peaceful, or the muddy mind that is shows anger, jealousy, depression, anxiety.  It the muddy mind also peaceful?  Can we transform the muddy mind into the crystal mind? [discussing with the public] Is the muddy mind also crystal mind?  Does it come from the crystal mind?

There is a Gampopa’s quota “The essence of thought is dharmakaya.”  It says that klesha is also wisdom, because it is empty, clear, and knowingness.

The first method to deal with emotions is abandoning or relinquish them, we don’t say that kleshas are wisdom, but in the Mahamudra teachings we refer to emotions as being also wisdom.  In the sutrayana approach we relinquish the kleshas and the wisdom manifests by itself.

Things are empty in their essence. But in this context, we don’t recognize or realize the emptiness of things.  In our distorted perspective, afflictions are afflictions.  So, we try to abandon or relinquish them.  For example, if we have attachment, we want different things.  And we want more, again and again.  That becomes a problem.

Although the essence of our mind is Buddha nature, it manifests as the muddy mind. Can we control our muddy mind? Do you follow your muddy mind or is the other way around? We only follow our muddy mind, we don’t listen our crystal mind. So, we train to not follow the muddy mind.  This is the method of relinquish.

When you experience something, you question your mind, you ask, “Why? Why do you want this?  Why don’t you like this person?” This is the training: questioning, criticizing your muddy mind.  We question all our emotions: “Why are you sad? You should love and accept them.” That may have a certain power to change the muddy mind.

Although there are a great number of afflictions, all can be summarized into three: attachment, aversion and ignorance.

The training is questioning.  For example, with attachment “Why I need to follow? Where this attachment comes from? Why I want this?” “Because it is so beautiful.” “Really?”  It can be anything: money, fame,...  And when you debate, you don’t impose, don’t force.  You don’t give answer, you just keep asking “Why?”

We do the same with anger, “Why you are angry at him?” “Is they stupid, ugly?” “Really, how is it?” You debate, and also you give love and compassion: “This person also wants to be happy, the same as you. Why are you angry at them?”  Then your angry mind becomes softer.

• Antidote to attachment is meditation on revulsion
• Antidote to aversion is meditation on love and compassion
• Antidote to ignorance is meditation on interdependence

What is ignorance? Not understanding truth.  It’s a state of dullness, doubtful, or blank, where we cannot understand.  You keep debating until your muddy mind finally replies, “I don’t know”, and then you can give an answer from wisdom.

Where this ignorance come from? From not recognizing the true nature of mind, the true nature of things.  When we look at this ground, the nature of mind, there are two qualities: emptiness and the radiance/experience, called luminosity.  These two qualities are not something different, are inseparable, they are empty luminosity.  Though we don’t realize this inseparability, and we consider emptiness and luminosity as distinct.  This is the basis for the ignorance.  That leads to experience the duality: perceiving luminosity as the object being out there and emptiness as the subject being inside.

Therefore, some things appear as attractive, other unattractive, and other as neutral, that makes us generate the afflictions of attachment, aversion and ignorance.  And lead by these afflictions we act, say and think which generates karma.

The karma then, create mental habitual imprints that, when they awaken, makes us experience (bad karma) pain and suffering, but also (good karma) happiness and joy.  This is interdependence: the three kinds of accumulated karma lead us to experience suffering, happiness or neutral.

Not realizing the inseparability of emptiness and luminosity is the root cause of accumulating karma. Therefore, realizing the inseparability leads to the cessation of accumulating karma. The antidote of ignorance is training in the understanding of interdependence.

• In the Theravada we meditate on interdependence thru impermanence, suffering, and lack of self
• In the Mahayana we meditate on emptiness, seeing all phenomena as an illusion

To practice abandoning we cultivate a counter idea.  For example, “Is this flower real or not? It’s true or not? It’s permanent or impermanent? It’s independent or interdependent?”  We do that because we cannot hold both perceptions at the same time.  Your mind thinks it is permanent, but when you see its impermanence, you cannot hold the perception of permanence.  To counteract our attachment to solidity of things, we must cultivate the view of non-solidity.  As the Indian scholar Dharmakirti said, mind cannot hold opposite views on an object, like self and selfless, good and bad, permanent and impermanent.  Therefore, making one view stronger in our mind immediately reduces the other one.

Meditation on antidote of ignorance.

• Sit with the body upright and at easy
• Start seeing all the things as unreal, or illusion.
• Although things appear as there, outside, and mind appear here or inside, start to look at them as there is no separation between the appearances and the subjective mind, and rest on it.
•  Rest your mind with no particular object

Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Mingyur Rinpoche 14/11/2025 (1/3)

This is the first post of the series on this topic, based on the teachings of Mingyur Rinpoche, Khenpo Gyurme, and Khenpo Kunga.  Rather that accurate transcription, this are my notes taking during the teachings and after, revising in detail the recordings.

There are 3 ways to deal with emotions:

i. abandoning or removing the kleshas,
ii. transforming,
iii. transcending, seeing their true nature.

In vajrayana, the view is that our true nature is always beyond, peaceful, unborn, nothing can pollute or destroy it.  It is like sky.  But we cannot recognize it.  Therefore, in the ordinary level we must practice abandoning, and in the intermediate level transforming, to ultimately be able to transcend it.  Despite we hold the ultimate, vast open view (absolute level), our behaviour is careful and humble (relative level).

I had panic attacks many years.  I even thought I had heart problems, but checking with doctors I got convinced it was the panic.  Then I asked my father how to get rid of panic and he told me, “Don’t try to get rid of panic”, and I asked, “Why?”  He said that

i. Fighting panic attacks would make them bigger [Rinpoche use the example of pizza meditation: the more we want to avoid thinking of pizza, the more pizza appears in the mind]  I discovered that one main reason of my panic was aversion to panic.
ii. There is no need of getting rid of panic, because we have wonderful qualities beyond it.

My father instructed me to watch stormy weather.  I did it, despite I was quite scared.  After he asked me if the storm changed the nature of sky, and I replied “No, it can’t change it.”  Likewise, our innate qualities [the sky] are beyond thoughts and emotions [the clouds]

Do you want I introduce you your inner sky? [people vote yes raising their hands] “Ok. The introduction is finished.”  You may ask, “Why?”  Our inner sky is awareness, compassion and wisdom. These three qualities are present 24h/24h. This is not an idea or belief.  We can experience it.  But we may have hard to recognize these qualities and sustain its recognition.

• Awareness is the knowing quality of the mind.
• Love and compassion is the feeling of not wanting to suffer and longing for happiness.
• Wisdom is discerning, identifying, detecting.

These qualities are in us 24h/24h, even when we sleep.

When you raised your hand, you did it because

• you were aware, (awareness)
• and there was discernment: “Do I want it or not?” (wisdom)
• and the purpose of raising hand was to obtain something [learn=love], or to avoid something [stay ignorant=compassion]

For example, [holding a rose] when you look at this flower, the three qualities manifest: seeing the flower is awareness, recognizing the flower as flower is wisdom, and having a reaction of liking or disliking is love and compassion.  Even while we sleep, if you have cold or a mosquito bites you, you react.  The problem is that we don’t recognize the qualities [Rinpoche use the example of recognizing a watch as watch]

One simple way to learn how to recognize our innate qualities is breath meditation.  How many of you are breathing right now? [people raise hands] Great!  The introduction is finished.  Do you understand?  When I asked you and you raised your hand, you connected awareness with the breath.  Meditation is not about having a strong concentration, but remembering the breath, although other experiences manifest.

Meditation

• Feel the body, the gravity, the contact with the sit, and relax your muscles.
• Breathe naturally and be with the breathing.
• Open your eyes, and relax the mind without any particular focus.

We call this style "abandoning", because when we experience something disturbing, we bring our mind to the breath.  Usually, when we have a disturbing emotion, our mind entangles with it or fights it, which fuels the emotion.  Now, the focus is on the breath without fighting the emotion or getting lost with it.

[The] Methods of controlling afflictive emotions can be subsumed into three: rejection, transformation, and recognition. 

Rejecting these emotions is the ordinary approach of the sutras. 

Desire is renounced though contemplation on repulsiveness, hatred through contemplation on love, 

And stupidity though meditation on interdependent relationship. 

“Creation and completion”, Jamgon Kontrul, pg.37

Kleshas (disturbing emotions) are the base of suffering.  We generate aversion towards what we don’t like and crave about what we like.  When we have aversion, we also experience craving to get rid of what we don’t want.  When we have craving, we also experience aversion of losing or not attaining the object of craving.

Therefore, we must work with the kleshas, that are usually classified in five families: craving, aversion, ignorance (i.e. not knowing and wrong perception), pride, and jealousy.

We can apply the simple style method [breathing meditation] with all the families.  But we can also apply the elaborated method of using an antidote:

• Craving → unpleasantness of the body (for physical attraction), impermanence, interdependence, and suffering
• Aversion → loving kindness and compassion
• Ignorance → impermanence (dissolves solidity), and the twelve links of interdependence

1. The antidote to craving for physical attraction is unpleasantness of the body

Meditation

• Feel the grounding sensation in the body and relax it, let mind and body sink in.
• Place your attention in the forehead, and let the skin, muscles, disappear.  Only the bone remains.
• Go down all the head and dissolve the skin, flesh, blood... until only remains the skull.
• Go down all the body and dissolve the skin, flesh, blood... until there is only a skeleton.
• Continue with your cushion, and everything around you. Extend the experience, transforming everything (people, houses, animals) into skeletons.  Include all your country and beyond until you reach the ocean.
• Come back from the ocean all the way to your place making all again normal.
• From your feet to head let your body become normal again ending with your forehead.
• Rest a few moments with your mind and body as it is.

This meditation helps to renounce to attachment.  Contemplation on suffering helps too: life is pervaded by suffering, and we cannot do anything about it.

2. The antidote of aversion is love

We look for happiness and want to get rid of suffering all the time.  Every breath, blink, body movement, are expressions of our loving-kindness and compassion.  This is also true for all the beings.  They look all the time for happiness and try to avoid suffering.

Meditation 

• Relax your body.
• You are attending the teaching because you look for happiness.  You may be liking it, which is loving-kindness, or not.  If you don’t like them is compassion.
• Recognize that every thought and emotion that arises in your mind is the manifestation of loving-kindness and compassion.
• Not only you, but all the people experience the same.  They constantly look for happiness and try to avoid suffering.
• May all of us find the causes of happiness and avoid the causes of suffering.
• Not only in this place, but in the whole world.  Not only people, also animals.  May all the beings have happiness and its causes.  May they be free from suffering and its causes.
• Open your eyes and rest your mind with the feeling of innate love and compassion with no particular object or reason.  Just feel an inner well-being and sweetness.

Path to Buddhahood - Bibliography

Path to Buddhahood: Teachings on Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Ringu tulku, ed. Shambala

The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, - translated by Khenpo Könchog Gyaltsen, ed. Shambala, text available on line

Le Précieux Ornement de la Libération, translated by Padmakara

The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, translated by Herbert V. Günther, ed. Shambala

Ornament of Precious Liberation, translated by Ken Holmes and Thubten Jinpa, Ed. Wisdom

Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche - Lesson 2. Confession

Find the teaching here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yiUOzBLs7g&t=74s

Introduction

Shakpa means to split, like doing it with a log.  In this context means to cut with the negative actions.  In chapter 1 Shantideva explained what is bodhicitta.  This chapter is about generating bodhicitta.

Aspiration bodhicitta

First, we must develop the wish that sentient beings, ideally all beings, that wants to get free of suffering, whatever the situation they are, they succeed.  Next, we want that all the beings reach the ultimate happiness, that the Buddhist call enlightenment.  This is the aspiration bodhicitta.

Action bodhicitta

It is not enough to wish, but then we must explore want we must do in order that wish happen.  First working on ourselves, and then also find how we can help others.

In some traditions we take vows on aspiration and action bodhicitta, but other traditions do not.  When taking the vows, we take at least one of the vinaya vows.  According the teachings, it is not necessary to take the vinaya vows with the bodhisattva vows.  Before taking the vow is recommended to do some purifications.  There are eight: 

• Making offerings to all the Buddhas (present, past and future):  When we give we can have some pride 'I do have, and I give' as being superior, but when offering we are acknowledging the superior qualities of the subjects of our offerings.  Traditionally, the monks doing this ceremony had nothing, being renunciants [to material wealth], so the offering can be just made in the mind. We can do it with whatever, which will reduce our attachment to anything: flowers, beautiful objects, food, clothes, incense, songs, anything that is pleasant; and also ourselves, our body, any virtue present, past, or future.
• Making prostrations: it is a form of paying respect with our body, speech, and mind.  This make us humble, reduce our arrogance and pride.  Pride and arrogance stop us from learning from others.  If we are humble, we can even learn from people with a lot of bad qualities.   Also, this will open our eyes to see all the qualities in others.  Often, we cannot see any quality.
• Taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.  The Buddha is a teacher, is the one that teach us how to get rid of suffering, that show us the highest teaching.  He is the one that know how to do it, so we want to become like him.  The buddha Sakyamuni explained that is not the only Buddha, that there were buddhas in the past and there will be in the future.  Not only that, but we all have the potential to become a Buddha. Because I do have the potential, I want to reach it, and when I get enlightened I will help others.  Second, we take refuge in the Dharma.  The Buddha only shows the way.  There are two kinds: the experience of the Buddha, and the teachings of the Buddha.  So we can study, practice and eventually experience the teachings.  This one is the most important object of refuge.  Third, we take refuge in the Sangha, those that engaged in the path, it refers to anybody that has experience in the Dharma.  We do that, because we need to learn from someone that have some experience in the Dharma.

Confession means recognizing what is an inadequate because negative actions are not beneficial for me nor for the others, either in the present or in the future.  There are four points:

• Recognize the wrong on the negative actions.
• Take a clear decision to reduce this actions
• Try to do the opposite to the negative actions
• Make a commitment to not repeat it again, and also tame the emotions that lead me to it 

Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche - Lesson 1. Bodhicitta

 Find the full talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R_nDFuvHaU

Introduction

This is a very popular text.  It already was in India, as the many commentaries in Sanskrit prove.  Also in Tibet have been largely propagated, and there are commentaries in all the schools.  One of the foremost Tibetan teachers is Patrul Rinpoche (c. XIX), that almost taught it permanently, of which one of his students received from him more than 40 times.  There are also many translations to western languages, in particular to English.  Ringu Tulku is using for this teaching, the translation to English from Padmakara.  Rinpoche has taught also many times this text, and he has been broadcasting in bodhicharya a very detailed one, that is still ongoing.  This teaching is a summary of every chapter.

Structure of the book

• Chapters 1-3 How to generate bodhicitta
• Chapters 4-6 How to maintain bodhicitta
• Chapters 7-9 How to increase or develop bodhicitta
• Chapter 10 Dedication

What is bodhicitta?

Bodhicitta has to part: wisdom and compassion.  Wisdom means that there is a possibility to find a way to transform ourselves and free from the suffering of samsara.  Is the development of our inner qualities that will leads us to find the true happiness.  Most of us believe that we will find happiness in the outer things; but this is not correct.  So we develop understanding, meditation even faith to transform ourselves.

But we are not transforming ourselves only for our own sake, but to help all the other beings.  Because everyone wants to be happy and get free of suffering, I must try to find a way to bring that to everybody.  And due to that I will develop all this qualities.  This is the compassion aspect.  This is the motivation [of the bodhisattva]. And having wisdom and compassion is having generated bodhicitta.

From the Buddhist point of view, the reason we do things is very important.  The positive effect of our actions depends more on the reasons , than in the action itself.  Rinpoche quote from the book, "How to become richer quicker", the hint to succeed "give more to people what they want, and give less what people don't want".  Bodhicitta is similar, but if we do that to become richer, we can become successful in business, but not a bodhisattva.  But if we do it to make people get happy and free of suffering, then we are in the bodhisattva path.

Therefore, the first step is to set the right motivation.  Shantideva points out that we do a lot of positive actions and negative actions.  And we have very difficult to diminish our negative side, so the balance is near to zero. If we have the right attitude [bodhicitta] then our negative actions can be overpowered, even if it take us a lot of time and we encounter a lot of difficulties.  Because nothing becomes more important to us than help everybody to liberate from suffering.  So bodhicitta becomes the strongest antidote to our negative emotions.  Having this intention, our actions will be good for us and for others, there will be no negative, wrong side in them.

Those who developed this intention can be called a bodhisattva, is like being a knight of compassion, a heir of Buddha, a prince Buddha.  Once we have bodhicitta, we must become enlightened.  There is nothing better to wish.   

When Rinpoche was in the school, many authorities visited and some asked me "when you grow up, what you would like to be?".  And they expected that Rinpoche replied being a doctor, engineer, but wishing this can only solve some transitory problems.  We all want to be happy and get rid of all the suffering, and similar to us anybody else. That is the motivation of a bodhisattva.  Acquiring that, we clarify our purpose, although it can take time and it is not going to be easy, because there is nothing better than that. And this make this motivation precious.  Moreover, this motivation is very rare, because many people have never even thought about it. 

Maintaining bodhicitta will help us to overcome tall our negativities, even we have done some negatives actions, it is like an strong fire that can burn anything, it becomes the strongest antidote of all the negative emotions.  Anger, hatred, greed, attachment, jealousy, envy, arrogance, self-centeredness,... compassion is their opposite.

Aspiration bodhicitta is the wish to all beings get free of suffering, and action bodhicitta is putting it into practice.  When we want something first he have a thought, but then to make it real we must take some action.  When our aspiration becomes really strong, then we go into action, and we practice bodhicitta whatever we do, even sleeping.

If we thing way people suffer, it is not because they want, but because they do not how how get free of it.  That way, we work on ourselves to be able to help others.  The method of training is the six paramitas, that we will explain in the future chapters.

Beyond religion - 5. Compassion and the question of justice

The question of justice

• It is possible to introduce compassion in justice?  For some the idea of it means allow perpetrators of offenses go unpunished.  But compassion do not involve surrender to misdeeds of others.  It requires great fortitude and strength of character, as many of the great fighter against injustice of recent times showed (Mandela, Gandhi, Mother Teresa,...)
• So face to injustice, the compassionate attitude is standing up. but non-violently, which instead of a sign of weakness is a sign of courage.  In a quarrel, people that know the rightness of their position are more prone to stay calm.
• In some contexts, doing nothing makes you partially responsible of the continuation of the destructive behavior.  But the only way to change a person's mind is with concern, not with anger or hatred.

Broad and narrow concepts of justice

• The general principle of justice is the universal precept of fairness and remedy based on recognition of human equality.  The application of justice is the exercise of the law within any legal framework.  For example in a specific time a legal framework may allow the discrimination of people (based of ethnic origin).
• "When a country's legal system enshrines national unity and social order as its highest priorities, and deems any actions construed as undermining these values as criminal offenses, that legal system will not serve genuine justice."

The role of punishment

• Some people consider that certain offenses deserve provoke suffering to the offender, including death penalty.
• Major religions have idea of remedy or of restoring the balance.  Theistic approaches is that of divine judgement, and Buddhists that the law of karma assure we will experience the result of our previous actions.  What would be the function of punishment in a secular basis?  It is about revenge or preventing future wrongdoing?
• Indeed, punishment has an inevitable and important role to regulate human affairs, to discourage actions and generate security and confidence in law.  But discouragement must be proportional.  However, this needs limits.
• If we recognize the ability of humans to change, death penalty seems unacceptable.  Reacting aggressively to an assault is common to animals and humans, but revenge looks exclusively human.
• Indulging a craving for revenge creates an atmosphere of fear, further resentment, and hatred.  By contrast, where there is forgiveness there is a change for peace.

Distinguishing the action from the actor

• All human beings are able to change.  People being reckless when young may become responsible  and caring when maturing.  This applies even for those who have committed the most terrible deeds.
• Therefore rehabilitation education, including meditation training, can help in this process as it happens in some jails.

Altruistic punishment

• Altruistic punishment is theoretical concept of economic research.
• Punishment can be applied in a way which benefits everyone, including wrongdoers themselves.  It illustrates that revenge is not necessary, but the correction of the wrongdoing, in everyone's interest.

Forgiveness

• The past is beyond our control.  The way we respond to past wrongdoing is not, however.
• Sometimes we behave in a rude or harsh way out of anger and irritation, and later we feel remorse.  We naturally forgive ourselves, so we can extend this attitude to others.
• Forgiveness is very much liberating on oneself.  Entertaining resentment towards someone destroy our peace of mind.

The scope of ethics

• Ethics as a mechanism to maintain social order will only cover the outward human behavior.
• If it relates only to the impact of actions on others, feelings and intentions behind the actions will be ignored.
• But the very notion of ethics makes no sense without a consideration of motivation.  If our motivation is pure, genuinely directed toward the benefit of others, our actions will naturally tend to be ethically sound.