Chapter 1. Lojong Makes Your Mind So Happy

From the beginning of the lamrim, the root of the path to enlightenment or correctly following the virtuous friend, up to omniscient mind, it is all lojong, or thought transformation. Although the whole lamrim, the graduated path to enlightenment, is lojong, there is a particular lojong found in the lamrim that utilizes obstacles and misfortunes in the path to enlightenment. Like transforming poison into medicine or transforming kaka into gold, by transforming obstacles, they become the utmost need in your life. All the obstacles to practicing Dharma, the misfortunes, and black magic, and when nothing is working and everything is stuck, by practicing the particular lojong from the lamrim you utilize these in the path to enlightenment, in the path to the happiness of all sentient beings, not just their temporary happiness but their ultimate happiness, the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

Then, [these obstacles and misfortunes become] very important and needed because otherwise, when your life is very luxurious and comfortable, Dharma practice doesn’t happen. Or when you have too much trouble or depression, you are again unable to practice. If you have too much luxury and comfort, you don’t remember impermanence-death and so your life is totally distracted and you don’t practice Dharma. And if your life is in depression or some other obstacle, again it becomes difficult to practice Dharma because your mind is overwhelmed by problems. You understand? In that way, the time to practice Dharma becomes almost nothing, hardly anything.

You have to understand why you need lojong, thought transformation. You have to understand the need as otherwise, in the West, life is taken for granted and then it finishes. Then, one day, sooner or later, your opportunity is lost. It is gone.

All the time you see your father die, you mother die, your brothers die, your sisters die, your family and friends die, but you never think of your own death. You never think of your own death. You are going to die any second but you never think that, even though you see death around you all the time. You understand? You never think that and instead you think, “I’m going to live for a long time.” You can’t promise you will never die, but you always believe, “I’m going to live for a long time.” That concept of permanence cheats you totally! It totally cheats your life. “Before I practice Dharma, before I do retreat, I need to do this. I need to do that.” Thinking like that, your practice is delayed, suddenly death comes, and everything is finished. You have no more time left.

Usually it is like that. You never think that you are going to die any time. You don’t think that even though you see other people dying, especially nowadays from cancer. So many people are dying of cancer, however, in America these days [the leading cause of death is] not cancer. What is it? Is it high blood pressure? No, heart attacks.^[1] Maybe cancer is the third or second [leading cause of death], I’m not sure.

Anyway you never think you are going to die. You are always going to live, so much more, so much more. You are always going to live. So then you completely cheat and deceive yourself. Even if you meet Dharma, you never practice it. You never practice it. That’s how you deceive yourself. Nobody cheats you. You deceive yourself.

Even if you are very learned, you know all the Kangyur, the more than one hundred volumes of the Buddha’s teachings, [and the Tengyur], the more than two hundred volumes of commentaries on the Buddha’s teachings, those written by Nagarjuna, Asanga, Chandrakirti, all the pandits from Nalanda, and so forth, even if you know all those by heart and can explain them well, it is possible that you never think of the impermanence-death of yourself, of you. Then, you will die soon but you didn’t get to practice Dharma.

When death comes, there is so much fear and worry about separating from your family, from your wealth, and from your body, which you cherished most among the numberless sentient beings. You have to leave all these. Then there is the worry and fear of your negative karma and that you will have to experience the lower realms or even the upper realms. Can you imagine the worry and fear? It’s amazing. You die with great worry and fear, with tears falling. Even when birds, such as peacocks and pheasants, die, tears come to their eyes. I saw that this happens at their death time. They don’t speak a language, like we who can communicate, but the feeling is the same and tears come to their eyes, and then they die.