བརྙན་འཕྲིན། སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་གསང་སྔགས་བསྟན་འཛིན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། འཇིག་རྟེན་པའི་འཚོ་བ་དང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉམས་ལེན།

So, first of all, I welcome you all.

[Tibetan teaching] So, today our main theme is how we can join our ordinary worldly, everyday life with the practice of Dharma in the form of some teaching.

This is in fact very important.

It is because we live our everyday life. And in this life we want to be happy.

[Tibetan teaching] But this a boo chakra. It has the Hamakuaina, Ingranso La Chin Dobati, and the Chis had the country in Ranzo July Bobs is the boycha in my that they are forest. So what do we need to do in order to be happy in life? Wishing alone is not enough; we need to find out what we should undertake, what we need to accomplish in order to attain happiness in our life.

And here we can speak of two kinds of happiness. This is temporary, worldly happiness and absolute happiness.

If we think only of temporary happiness, but do not think about what we need for happiness in the future — and that is the thought of absolute happiness — this is wrong. [Tibetan teaching] Ntipa And so in our life there is the past, the present, and the future. Oh yeah.

As for the past, it has already passed, that is, it is no longer.

And so, if we think too much about what happened in the past, what we did in the past, that is not so important. The future is far more important. That is, the future is what is yet to come to us, and so it is more important.

So, what do we need in the future? Happiness, again.

And what does happiness in the future depend on? It depends on the present.

So, the past has passed, the future has not yet come. And what we have is this — the present. Here you are listening to what I say, and I am sitting here and explaining something to you. This is the most precious of all. [Tibetan teaching] Tatavat Nagarasul Tatageti Suldenatin Samloya Potan, Kenichiva Nakar Senatan, Lika Yapoli, Samlo Yapotanva, Tendriga Sana Samlotha Yapuhakova. And this by nothing around Mahumba say at the riva chimbuyos, rivah, rivahapason, rivayapuyorva, riva chimbuyarwa.

And so now, in the present, we need to think everything through well, to carry out all our affairs well. And in that case we can hope that in the future we will have happiness. We should have a certain idea of how we want to build our future, a full plan. If there is no such idea, no such plan, then it is hard to hope for anything in the future.

[Tibetan teaching] Ньомбосы на куслов.

And so we need to understand the essence, to understand the meaning of our life today. And in that case we can hope that tomorrow too we will understand the essence of what is happening. .

That is, we will understand the essence of what awaits us tomorrow.

If we do not now understand the essence of what is happening, then we will not understand it tomorrow either, or the day after, and the future will be difficult for us.

[Tibetan teaching] Charge the Rasulatila Tadrichy, Tradrichura, Chilua Synchit Dalpa, Tadrichi, Tendriching Rasuki, Singhanala, then then go grace, tenrich, you by nausagu. Mahomba, Mahombadi, Nara Karachi Windu, Narausal Lafagna Laias.

Tatal, tatala ralligrawa, tatala mahumbachede, kadichi chata, macha yapu chata, kandichapate, tatala rali, rasu lala yris. And so everything depends on the present. That is, whether we attain what we want in the future or not — everything depends on the present. We need to have a good idea of what we want in the future. We need to prepare to attain it, that is, to carry out the preparation, to prepare our mind. And if we do all this in the right way, then it will, as it were, fall into our hands by itself.

[Tibetan teaching] And as for understanding the meaning of our life now: according to the Buddhist teaching, we have obtained the so-called precious human body, which is so called because it is endowed with the seven freedoms and ten endowments. And so we need to make use of it now. All its useful qualities we need to use now, because we cannot do it in the past, we cannot do it in the future — it has not yet come. From this very present moment we must use, apply all its good qualities.

[Tibetan teaching] And so, for example, now I am giving you an explanation, you came here in order to listen to it. You have interest, you came here and you are listening to me.

My words, that is, what I say, when it touches you, your ears, reaches you, will then help your life to change, and you will benefit from it.

And now I am giving you an explanation in accordance with the Dharma, the Buddhist Dharma, and you listen; for my part I try to convey as well as possible the meaning of what I want to say. And then there is no doubt that we will gain benefit from these two hours that we will spend here together.

[Tibetan teaching] Cachesha gupa mierda sea gupa muir sana chipad.

And these two hours that you will spend here, listening to what I say, listening to the teaching of the Dharma, they will allow you to gain benefit. That is, it is not that these two hours will simply pass in vain, but you will gain, draw benefit from them. [Tibetan teaching] Amjoyaponien, the Nikarsana, I'm joked in Yunangana, Panto Gure, the Panto Maris, the Numaris, the Nikarzana Then, I Ninyan, Yunangazawa, Mayambarwa, the Amjob Yaponyan, the Nikkawala and Zebgur.

And so when you listen to a teaching, that is, when it reaches your ears, if it goes in one ear and out the other, will there be any benefit from that? No, there will be no benefit from that, so one should listen attentively. That is the first thing. Secondly, what you hear should then sink into the mind, penetrate the mind. [Tibetan teaching] And yet, Sengunazik Buggya Tikamaris.

So, first of all one must listen. This alone is not enough. It must also penetrate the mind, that is, settle in the mind. But even this is not enough. Then one must apply it in one's everyday life. [Tibetan teaching] That's him at the barba.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] How then can this be? Then it can appear in our everyday life — it can appear in such a way that we apply it in practice, we practice it. That is, we should not think that we have just listened to something — that is one thing, and our ordinary life is another. We need to put everything that concerns the Dharma, all these instructions received, into, . to bring into our everyday life. [Tibetan teaching] Чуза это семь на лепать бунты к массе.

So, it is not enough that this only penetrates our mind; we must also apply it in everyday life. [Tibetan teaching] And so if we think that our everyday affairs are one thing, and the Dharma is something far removed from it, then difficulties will arise in our life. Yeah.

[Tibetan teaching] In fact all our everyday affairs are in no way separate, in no way different from the Dharma. This is, in essence, the Dharma, because it is our mind: just as it engages in practice, so it engages in all everyday affairs. [Tibetan teaching] Get chimbo, get chimbuy emba.

And so when something seems difficult or easy to us, it is our mind that decides, our mind that determines that it perceives this in such a way that this is hard, and this is easy. The most important thing is for us to develop within ourselves such an inner confidence of view.

[Tibetan teaching] And two in Yam Nan Chiva in the Yam, and also same deal and the same.

So, first of all we need to understand that we have a mind, and it is the most important of all; that is, just as it engages in ordinary worldly affairs, so it is also the basis for the practice of Dharma. It is the basis of everything.

[Tibetan teaching] Созовый семь коранга рамжинчирован, семь коранга, рамзин, детный карза на тене, ниси неси упайна, хакуватнди, савоча пайна, чаца хаквая, чацау, сарвочапага, не пайорст. And so as for the Dharma, as for the practice of Dharma, one must also understand that the most important thing in the practice of Dharma is the mind. The mind has a nature endowed with all kinds of good qualities. And first of all we need to develop confidence that the mind possesses all these good qualities. Then they will truly manifest, and we will truly see them, understand them, and everything will become clear.

[Tibetan teaching] And so we must look at what we have, yes, what we possess, and then find out, examine what the nature of this is. Examine what we have. [Tibetan teaching] And when we have examined what we have, its nature, we will also understand the needs that correspond to this in us, and then we can well plan our future. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] So, we have a body and we have a mind. And it is not the case that we have only a body. Body and consciousness. And it is not the case that we have only a body, and it is not the case that we have only consciousness.

We have both, and they have various needs. What needs the mind has, and consciousness, and the body — this is what we need to examine.

And you probably can imagine what needs the body has.

[Tibetan teaching] Perhaps you do understand and can imagine this, but maybe not very well.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And of course we know that we need to feed our body, that when the weather is bad we need to dress it more warmly. And so on. Well, for the most part we understand what the body needs in order to be healthy, but we do not understand everything.

That is, when we are hungry, we understand that we need to eat. [Tibetan teaching] And we also understand that when it is cold one must dress. That is, in many circumstances we understand what to do.

However, if we look into this more closely, examine it more attentively, then there is much we do not understand.

If we truly understand what this body needs in all its details, then we will be able to live quite long.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And of course this body has many needs, and we can meet them through external interaction with the outer world, but besides that there are also many factors that harm it. And we often do not understand what is harmful for it. That is, there are things that it either does not need at all, or that are harmful. Often we do not understand this.

And nevertheless, even if we understand all the needs of the body, this will not let us become happy. [Tibetan teaching] Some people think that it is enough simply to be rich, enough to be well-off, and then one will be happy.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so we were speaking of how there is the past, the present, and the future. And of course in the past people have accumulated much experience regarding this. And especially in Western society there is much understanding of how one can provide for one's life materially.

And we all know that it happens that a person is rich, but nevertheless he has difficulties and suffers.

[Tibetan teaching] And thus, why is this so — because we have not only a body, we have also a mind. And we need to understand what needs the mind has and how to satisfy its needs.

And so we all understand that we have a mind. But do we understand what needs it has, how to make it so that all the needs of the mind are satisfied? Do we understand or not? [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Most people agree that they have a mind. It is easier to agree that they have a mind, right?

[Tibetan teaching] And to truly understand the nature of the mind, and accordingly its needs — that is difficult.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And as for the nature of the mind, we say that it is perfect in the absolute sense, it is perfect, but we do not understand this 100%. It is good if we understand it 20–30%.

And if we understand the nature of the mind 100%, that will mean the absolute state of happiness.

However, we have no experience of the nature of the mind, perhaps there is some 20–30% of it.

And because of this we cannot attain real happiness.

And this is what the Buddhist Dharma speaks of. It says that we have a whole mind. And we have temporary kinds of happiness and absolute happiness. And so how are we to attain temporary and absolute happiness — this is the only thing the Buddhist Dharma speaks of. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so according to the Buddhist Dharma, what we need to do is to understand how to deal with our body and mind in everyday life. And for this we need to try to see the essence, to see the inner essence of body and mind, and then we will be able to understand how to deal with them rightly in our everyday life.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And perhaps someone thinks that the Buddhist Dharma is not concerned with such trifles, such everyday affairs, but this is wrong. The Buddhist Dharma is concerned precisely with what we have today, with what we have tomorrow, with what will happen in the next life. This is what the Buddhist Dharma is concerned with, nothing else.

And this is what is spoken of in the Buddhist Dharma — how we are to draw meaning from our life today. Today, tomorrow. [Tibetan teaching] And so in this sense, if we manage to extract the essence, to understand the essence, to extract the essence of our life today, for example, and in everyday life, then our life does not pass in vain, it is filled with meaning. [Tibetan teaching] And so we need to clarify with what we are to fill our life today. And if we speak of the Buddhist Dharma, then how are we to practice the Buddhist Dharma today?

And we need not think too much about tomorrow or the day after. We need to draw the meaning of our life today — this is, as it were, the foundation, the foundation for everything else.

And if we cannot see and extract the essence of our life today, then we will not be able to do so tomorrow either, or the day after, and then our life will be meaningless. Okay.

But if we understand the essence and meaning of our life today, then we will understand it tomorrow too, and the day after. And thus our life, on the contrary, becomes meaningful. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so it is very important for us to understand what the essence is, what the meaning of life is, to find them and to understand them. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Why? Because it is hard for us to know whether in the future we will again obtain such a support as the human body that we have now. We cannot know this.

And in principle it is not the case that it is altogether ruled out that we will no longer obtain a human body. Such a possibility exists, but when — we cannot know for certain.

And for this very reason, because we have no such certainty, we cannot know for certain when such a possibility will arise again, we need to make use of our human life right now.

If we think that someday in the future I too will have a body, and someday in the future I too will be able to practice the Dharma, then when will that future come?

[Tibetan teaching] That is, we have no certainty whatsoever regarding the future.

Therefore it is very important now to prepare and, as it were, to plan well, to imagine our future well. And then in our future there will be more light. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so it depends on the present time what our future will look like, how much it will be filled with light, how much light there will be in it.

And so if we clearly understand what needs our body and our mind have — that is, we have a body and a mind — and how to provide the conditions, how to manage to satisfy these needs, that will be very good, that will be very useful. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so first of all, relying on our present life, in the present time we need first of all to develop in ourselves such a good character. And then that will be a good foundation for everything else. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so we are human beings, and we need, as it were, to make good people of ourselves. To understand how to achieve this, how to make good people of ourselves.

If we can make good people of ourselves, then we can have very good hopes, we can place good hopes on the future.

And if we cannot make a good person of ourselves, then a god cannot be born from us. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so if we cannot make a good person of ourselves, then no god will be born from us either; that is, one cannot even hope for that. And what we do in the practice of Dharma is that we, as it were, work on making gods of ourselves. This is called in Buddhism bodhisattvas and buddhas, that is, to become buddhas-bodhisattvas. In principle, in the Tibetan language this is also called a "deity," a god-deity. That is, to become a deity.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so if we can develop in ourselves such a good character, then it will subsequently be easy and simple on this basis to attain the state of a bodhisattva. To attain the state of a bodhisattva will also be easy and simple, then to attain the state of a buddha.

And all this is simple and easy. [Tibetan teaching] What is said in the Dharma? [Tibetan teaching] The most important thing in the Dharma is to create a good person.

If one makes oneself a good person, then, relying on this foundation, on the human body, one can then attain both the state of a buddha and the state of a bodhisattva.

And so, in order to make a good person of oneself, a very good method is understanding the Dharma.

That is, not to understand how to make a good person of oneself amounts to not understanding the Dharma.

[Tibetan teaching] So, what is said in the Dharma? It speaks of how we can become a good person, how to make a good person of one's very self.

That is, the practice of Dharma consists precisely in this; the practice of the Buddhist teaching consists in this. And when do we do this? We do this in everyday life, day after day. And of anything else the Buddhist Dharma does not speak.

And so, for example, when the Buddha speaks of the precious human body, he explains that it is endowed with the seven freedoms, the ten endowments, he speaks precisely of what we have; he does not speak of what we do not have.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Furthermore, further in the Buddhist Dharma the Buddha speaks of impermanence, of changeability. The past has passed; the present — right now we have the present, but nevertheless the moments of the present constantly slip away from us, everything constantly changes. And this too is what we have, what we are dealing with. And the Buddha speaks of this. But of something that does not exist, he does not speak. [Tibetan teaching] And the Buddha also speaks of what we constantly encounter: birth, then we encounter various illnesses, then someday we grow old and then die, and then the same thing again.

And so he tells us how we can, if we wish, break this circle. And this too is what we have, and here he does not speak of something else, of what we do not have.

[Tibetan teaching] And so in this way the Buddha tells us of what we encounter in our everyday life, day after day. [Tibetan teaching] And so the wrong understanding of the Dharma, the wrong understanding of the Buddhist teaching, consists precisely in that people think that it is something far removed from my everyday life. It is something quite different from my everyday life.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] So, the Buddhist Dharma speaks of the essence of our everyday life and, in principle, of what the practice of the Buddhist Dharma is. The practice of the Buddhist Dharma consists precisely in filling one's everyday life with meaning. And it is very important to remember, to understand, that the Dharma is inseparable, in no way separated from our ordinary life.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] So, it is important not to think that everyday life, our ordinary life, is some kind of obstacle to our practice of Dharma. On the contrary, one must understand that our everyday life, as it were, provides us with a foundation for the practice of Dharma. That is, on the basis of our everyday life we practice the Dharma.

[Tibetan teaching] And so one must not think that ordinary affairs hinder the Dharma, that this is not Dharma. This is a wrong view. And in general this ordinary everyday life of ours and the Dharma — they are interconnected. They are interconnected. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And in fact it depends on you yourselves whether your everyday life becomes practice or not. If you understand everything well and look at things rightly, then everything that happens in life becomes practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] If we think good thoughts, then as a result our mind will become ever broader, our mind will become ever broader, and we will be able to include everything in practice, especially if we have such a benevolent attitude toward others — then everything in our life will become practice.

So, in the practice of Dharma it is very important to understand everything rightly, to think.

In principle, when we think well, rightly, then this is the Dharma, this is practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And if our thinking is mistaken, then we make mistakes in our everyday affairs too, and then our practice is also mistaken, and in general then this is not Dharma. That is, if we think rightly, then we also act rightly. And this right action, or true thinking, true action — this is the Dharma. The Dharma is truth.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so it is said that if we have good intention, right thinking, good intention, then we will easily traverse the paths and levels of our practice. If in the Dharma there is such a concept as paths and levels, then we will easily be able to traverse them.

And so in the Buddhist Dharma there is such a concept as the practice of a bodhisattva.

If we explain simply what the practice of a bodhisattva is, then it is good thoughts, good intentions. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] For example, take Chenrezig, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

That is, the very best example of good thoughts is Avalokiteshvara.

And if we speak of a model or example of great wisdom, then that is Manjushri.

Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri — they are not somewhere else, they are fully present in your own mind.

[Tibetan teaching] And so as for practice, we should not think that when we say mantras, recite mantras, that is practice, while ordinary affairs, worldly affairs, are not practice. It is wrong to think so.

[Tibetan teaching] And also, when we recite mantras, we need to do this with good thoughts. We must think that we are doing this for the benefit of all beings, and then it is truly practice, and then it brings benefit. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And another root of practice is compassion, a benevolent attitude toward beings, toward other beings.

[Tibetan teaching] And so we have many different ways of practicing. We have the repetition of mantras, or as offerings we burn incense, we circumambulate stupas. But all this is not the root of the Dharma.

And so understanding the meaning of bodhicitta — this is the Dharma.

And so understanding the essence of bodhicitta is also the essence of practice.

[Tibetan teaching] And so when we say "compassion," "kindness," this must not be merely in words; it must penetrate our mind, and then too we must . manifest it in our everyday life, that is, use bodhicitta, use this in our everyday life.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so one of the manifestations of bodhicitta is the practice of giving, or generosity.

[Tibetan teaching] And so how can we show such generosity, for example, give time to others? We have a certain amount of time, it constantly passes, it is very precious to us — the time that we have. And so we need to give this time to those close to us, to children, to our kin, and to wish them both temporary and absolute happiness. We gave them our time so that they might attain this. This is generosity.

[Tibetan teaching] And so we have children, we have a husband or wife. And to give them our time, to help them cope with whatever difficulties arise for them — this is the practice of generosity.

And so, for example, such a readiness to give children as much time as they want, without regretting it.

One must not think that I have to raise children, and no time is left for the Dharma.

That is, one must, on the contrary, regard this as a good opportunity for the practice of Dharma — namely to show such generosity toward children. [Tibetan teaching] And so this will mean that we understand the meaning of practice not only in words, but that is, we do not only speak of practice in words, but we understand its meaning and truly carry it out, showing such generosity. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] When we develop such qualities as compassion, which are included in bodhicitta, we direct this to all beings. And in particular we show bodhicitta toward our children by the very fact that we gave them time.

And then, after generosity, what comes next is discipline, the practice of discipline.

And for the practice of discipline too, our everyday life provides us with optimal opportunities.

[Tibetan teaching] So, what is discipline? It means not .

not to have any harmful thoughts toward others and, on the contrary, to treat them well, that is, to direct good thoughts toward them. A benevolent attitude toward others. This is discipline. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And this concerns our spouses too, husband or wife, or children. Toward them we need not have any evil thoughts, and we should always maintain such a benevolent attitude. And then, in that case, however many hours we spend with the children, all of it becomes the practice of discipline.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so if for even one hour a day we remember not to have harmful thoughts toward beings and to develop a benevolent attitude toward them, then this is the practice of discipline. [Tibetan teaching] This we can do for one hour. But the thing is that within a day there are many hours, so we have many opportunities for the practice of discipline.

Patience. Next we have patience.

And as for the practice of patience, again the optimal opportunity for it arises in the family — toward husband or wife.

[Tibetan teaching] And so if we think that the children hinder us, that we have some affairs and they keep creating obstacles for us — one should not think this way.

And one should not be this way. One should, on the contrary, think that thanks to them we develop patience, we practice patience.

And so since we spend all our time with them, that is, we spend much time with them, and at any moment they may behave in such a way that it seems to us that they hinder us, there arise for us many opportunities to develop patience.

[Tibetan teaching] And so the more difficult the circumstances in which we have to show patience, the greater the benefit.

And it would be wrong to keep pointing out to children what they are doing wrong, to show toward them anger. This is not worth doing.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And of course children may do something wrong, they may make mistakes, this can happen, but it is not worth giving this too much importance and getting irritated. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] If we pay too much, too great attention to how children make noise or create some disturbance, then that will be problematic.

[Tibetan teaching] And so if we think in such a way, if we keep thinking "when will they leave me in peace?" and so on, "when will they let me be alone with myself?" — then that will mean such narrow thinking, not a broad mind.

"Someone is hindering, making noise there" and so on — then it is more from us. . We are too attached, we fixate on this too much, and from that more problems arise than this actually hinders us.

[Tibetan teaching] And so of course in life some disturbances arise, things do not always happen as we would wish. It is simply better not to give it importance. That is, the problem arises more from our fixating on this too much, than that is, it is in fact not so terrible, not so hard, as we ourselves fixate on it. It is simply better to, well, how to put it, give it as little importance as possible.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And one must understand that when, as it seems to us, someone does something wrong, it is not that they do it deliberately to harm us, but rather it is we who perceive it that way.

[Tibetan teaching] And so one must try to develop such a broad mind, not to cling to all kinds of trifles. And this is the practice of patience.

And one must practice this both toward children and toward one's spouses. That is, not to give importance to some small things, not to give them importance, [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] that is, one must not quarrel, scold, point out to others their faults, because if one behaves this way, then quarrels will only become more numerous.

[Tibetan teaching] And one must remember that the nature of our mind is in itself so broad, it is not narrow, and the mind is able to contain everything within itself. And so one should not cling to certain difficulties and blow them up.

[Tibetan teaching] And so if we cannot develop patience toward those close to us, toward people we know, then how can we develop patience toward enemies?

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] One can begin with the practice of patience toward those close to us, toward children, toward spouses, and then it will come also toward enemies.

That will then be the practice of patience.

Thus the fact that you have children, that you have spouses — this provides you with an opportunity for the everyday practice of patience.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Next is the practice of diligence. And what is diligence? It means understanding precisely that the opportunities which are provided to us, for example, by children or spouses, for developing, showing generosity, or discipline, or patience — this is very good, this is a very good situation. And therefore we rejoice at any opportunity for practice. That is, since this is itself practice, we practice in this way, we joyfully take up any practice, any aspects of practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so when we can see everything as practice — for example, when we need to watch over the children, to care for the children, this is practice; when . our spouse shows dissatisfaction toward us, this too is practice. When we can see everything as practice, we see how many opportunities life provides us for practice. We simply rejoice.

[Tibetan teaching] And so when we care for the children or else work, carry out various affairs, all of it becomes practice. And so when we see this, then we rejoice at any opportunities for practice. And this is diligence, the practice of diligence, when we joyfully use any opportunities to accumulate virtue. That is, everything becomes for us opportunities to accumulate virtue. And we rejoice at this and make use of it.

Thus you now have opportunities to develop great diligence.

That is, you have the opportunity to develop great diligence, to develop a great heart.

Next is meditation. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so meditation, or meditative concentration, means that whatever we do, we do it with concentration, without being distracted.

We need every day to think of our children, to care for the children.

[Tibetan teaching] When we strive thus, with concentration, forgetting nothing, being distracted by nothing, to carry out everyday affairs, then everything that arises in our life, whatever affairs we have to carry out, all of it becomes the practice of meditation.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] If, on the other hand, we get irritated with the children and think where to how to get rid of them, or think that our husband or wife is wearying us? There arises in us the wish to go off somewhere. That then is not the practice of meditation.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] That is, instead of seeing these situations as the best opportunity for practice, of making use of them, we try to run off somewhere from this. And this, of course, does not become, is not the practice of meditation.

[Tibetan teaching] If we think that now I will go to India and there I will practice well, then there will be no good practice. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] That is, if within our own family we cannot maintain benevolent relations, bring benefit to one another, then what is the point of going to India in order to engage in practice?

That is, wherever we go, to India or to America, there will be no benefit.

And so we need not think that I must go off somewhere in order to practice well, to some other place. We need to make use of the opportunities that we have in our life, and to rejoice at these opportunities. That then is practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so if we think in this way, that we need something for practice, this is itself a consequence of discontent. We may think that I need to do nothing for a week, then I will be able to practice well.

In fact we should be content with what we have. We have a home, we have children, we have this and that. And in all these situations we can engage in practice, and we should joyfully make use of all these opportunities.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so we need not think that our children or our spouses are obstacles on our path to enlightenment. On the contrary, in our practice, the practice of Dharma, we should consider them good friends who help us on the path to liberation.

And so such a right understanding of practice in everyday life, the right view, the right outlook regarding practice — this is what is called wisdom.

In principle, wisdom is the most important thing on the path.

And as the Buddha himself said, the most important thing on the path is wisdom.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so such an ability to understand everything that happens in life as opportunities for practice, and also that quality of contentment — this is such a feature of the bodhisattva's mind, contentment with all that there is. All this means wisdom.

[Tibetan teaching] And so there is such a concept as the cultivation of bodhicitta. And so when we are engaged, for example, in raising children or carrying out our work, we need to try to think that we are doing this, we carry this out, as practice for the benefit of all beings. And this is the cultivation of bodhicitta.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] From the standpoint of bodhicitta, for example, if we take such a situation as the building of a temple, then to raise a good child, even one, is more important. That is, worldly thinking may be such that to build a temple is more important. But from the standpoint of the bodhisattva's mind, of bodhicitta, if we can... That is, a temple — because it is simply something material. But if we can raise a good child, a good person, that is more important. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Since a temple has no Buddha-nature, but a child has Buddha-nature, to raise him well is more important.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so from this same standpoint, since the precious human body is very valuable, on the basis of understanding this, if we raise three children, then that is even more valuable than building three temples.

Generally it is good to build a temple.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Thus, our family situation, when we have kin, those close to us, and we must with them live and interact together, we need to regard as an optimal opportunity for practice. In this situation we can practice all six paramitas.

We should look at everything we have in this life from the standpoint of contentment, from the standpoint of such a bodhisattva mind, and use everything there is for practice.

And so confidence that this is so means the right view, or the right outlook.

[Tibetan teaching] And so then, on the basis of such a view, on the basis of such an outlook on everything we have in our everyday life, then from this meditation arises.

And so if we maintain such a view continuously in our life, this becomes the practice of meditation. This is the practice of meditation.

If you have such a view, if you hold to it, maintain it, then this is an optimal opportunity for meditation.

That is, simply to sit like this with closed eyes is not meditation.

If we sit with closed eyes but do not understand, then it will not be meditation alone.

If we can include everything that happens in life, all its changes, can include it in practice, then this is true meditation.

And then one can say that if there is right view, then there is also meditation.

For example, if you have money, then you can open a business.

But if you have no money, then you have no basis for opening a business.

And in just the same way, if you have right view, then there are all the possibilities for meditation.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so if you can unite view and meditation — that is, it is important to unite view and meditation — then this union of view and meditation will then manifest in all your actions, in your conduct. . Usually we say that there are these three aspects: view, meditation, and action.

In principle, there is an enormous multitude of actions that bodhisattvas perform, but all of them — all of them can be reduced to the six paramitas.

[Tibetan teaching] And so if we put it simply, this means including in practice our body, speech, and mind in everyday life — this is action.

And this is what we need for practice. For the practice of Dharma this is view, meditation, and action.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And so if with such good intention, with good motivation, we include in . practice our body, speech, and mind on the basis of view, meditation, action in everyday life, then that means this.

And then thanks to this our everyday life will become ever easier and simpler. Well, so there it is. So our time has come to an end.

Perhaps you would like to ask a few questions? Yes, yes, you may.

[Name], tell me, please, Russia is a totally corrupt state. Tell me, please, is the taking of a bribe or the giving of a bribe an unwholesome act or not?

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Yes, it is not a wholesome action; it is simply, again, a consequence of mistaken thinking that leads to mistaken actions. And from this arises not benefit but harm. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] M. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] It depends on the intention. If we do this out of generosity...

That is, the action itself does not yet determine whether it is good or bad. Everything is determined by the motivation, yes, that is clear — what the motivation is. That is, precisely the perception, not the result, yes. The perception with which you do the action, not the result that comes of it.

And what if by the result... [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] The main thing is that it becomes the practice of giving, such a benevolent attitude, that is, let it bring him benefit. But if we think only of fulfilling our own aims — the main thing is for me to get my way, and what happens after that is unimportant — then this is wrong.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Good night.