The Meditations
When you have finished reading this chapter and watching the videos, do the following meditations by reflecting on the quotes drawn from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings. During the meditation session, you can re-read the related section of the chapter to refresh your memory. Try to make the meditations as personal and meaningful as possible.
To qualify for the Certificate of Achievement, each meditation session should last a minimum of half an hour. Start the session with a short bodhichitta motivation and, if you like, do some preliminary prayers. End the session with some dedication prayers. Spend at least 20 minutes of the session doing the actual meditation.
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To qualify for the Certificate of Achievement, keep track of the meditations you do using the Personal Log. Then, when you finish the entire module, tick them off in the Checklist for the Certificate of Achievement.
Meditation 5: Everything Becomes an Enemy
NANG DZE THAM CHÄ DRA RU SHAR
Everything that appears around you becomes an enemy.
When your self-cherishing thought is too strong, when you have a very strong selfish mind, even if small birds outside make a chee-chee-chee noise, you get angry. You get angry that they don’t let you be quiet and think, “I want to get rid of these birds.” Then, you chase them away or something. Or even if a dog barks, you get angry at it, thinking, “It doesn’t let me be quiet.” If somebody brings you bread or something else that is cold instead of hot, you get angry at the cook. Or if there’s one flea in your bed while you are sleeping, waaaah! You get angry and move from that hotel to another hotel because one flea bit you. Then you say that the hotel is so bad. You do things like that.
When the mind is so selfish, so strong, everything turns negative. Everything, whatever happens, makes you get angry and complain. Then, it is very difficult for things to fit your desire, what you like. It is so hard to satisfy your mind, so difficult to satisfy your mind. (Lama Zopa Rinpoche)
Meditate remembering small unpleasant experiences that made you angry because of selfishness.
(To qualify for the Certificate of Achievement do this meditation at least one time.)
Meditation 6: Learning to Like Suffering
You abandon the thought that dislikes the discomfort, the suffering, or the problem and establish the thought that likes the suffering, by thinking of the benefits of the suffering. You train your mind beginning with a small discomfort, a small suffering. You try to practice like this with the small ones, and then gradually you can do it even with the great pains and great obstacles. You can utilize them or transform them into pleasure. As your mind gets trained and develops, you can use even great problems to achieve peerless happiness, enlightenment, for sentient beings. You can utilize obstacles to practicing Dharma to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. You can do that. (Lama Zopa Rinpoche)
Meditate on small problems and suffering that you have experienced or are experiencing, think about their benefits, and try to change your mind into liking them.