Dear friends near and far,
As always, I hope this message finds you well, healthy and happy, as the Western new year begins. On today’s Guru Rinpoche day, the first of 2025, I wish to speak of bodhichitta, the awakening mind, and the practices associated with it—all-important points that we forget all too often. Therefore, I would like to take this auspicious opportunity of the first Guru Rinpoche day of the Gregorian calendar to remind us all, myself included, of bodhichitta and its benefits.
The practice of bodhichitta consists in five main points: (1) not forsaking a single being; (2) recalling the benefits of bodhichitta; (3) gathering the accumulations of merit and wisdom; (4) training the mind again and again to develop bodhichitta; and (5) adopting wholesome behaviors and rejecting harmful ones. These five practices are extremely important, so I will elaborate on each of them a bit further:
(1) The Sutra requested by Anavatapta explains that the single most important quality of true bodhisattvas is that they never turn their backs or give up on a single being.
(2) The Gandavyuha Sūtra explains that the benefits of bodhichitta are limitless, but can be subsumed into four: it is the source of all benefit for oneself; it is the source of all benefit for others; it wards off all adverse circumstances; and it brings in all supportive circumstances.
(3) Gathering the accumulations of merit and wisdom causes bodhichitta to be born in the mindstreams of those who did not possess it before, and not to wane in the mindstreams where it has already taken root, but to grow further and further.
(4) Training the mind to develop bodhichitta means forming the bodhichitta in aspiration, and engaging in bodhichitta in application through such practices as tonglen (taking and giving) and the four means for benefitting beings.
(5) Finally, at all times, we must keep in mind which actions are wholesome and which are harmful. I personally always remind myself of this as well, as it is the foundation for all further practices.
It is important for us all to remember each of these key points, and not to forget the basics as we hope to progress to higher practices. For instance, there is no use trying to engage in bodhichitta in application without having first fostered bodhichitta in aspiration. Most of us don’t actually give much thought to the six perfections, but even if we did, there would be no way for bodhichitta to take root in our mindstreams without first developing the aspiration. However, once bodhichitta has taken root, whatever we do will naturally lead us to its further development.
This is my reminder to you at the start of this new year. Please keep it in mind!
With all my love and prayers for a happy new year,
Sarva Mangalam.
Phakchok Rinpoche
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