Application
What is interesting is when we learn the dharma and we don’t consistently apply it we wonder why we don’t change and after a few years feel disheartened? Change is what will motivate us to reach higher achievements within dharma. It empowers us to want to achieve more as we can see results within our mind. But if we never apply consistently, contrary to feeling motivated, we will be demotivated to see our minds still the same or sometimes even creeping backwards. Blaming others for our state of mind might seem plausible in the beginning, but to a senior seasoned practitioner it does not make sense. From the side of Dharma it is totally illogical to blame others as that would negate the existence of self created karma, results and imprints. Then everything in samsara is not one’s fault would be the illogical conclusion. Therefore we will again eventually falsely conclude there is no need for enlightenment and hence there are no Buddhas to even begin with. That is the wrong path to stray towards. Taking responsibility and especially applying the teachings of Buddha to ourselves is extremely important from the beginning, middle and end. ~Tsem Rinpoche
(Photo: Jogfalls in South India which is one of the 24 sacred spots of Heruka and Vajra Yogini)
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Whatever we have learned, we should always apply them in life & share the experiences appropriately with other individuals who would find the sharing helpful.
The mind is the most difficult and unique element in our body. The mind is the one that control our feelings, thoughts, emotions and consciousness. So therefore, we should rule our mind else it will rule us back. Hence we should always cultivate ourselves with positive thoughts and eventually persistence thoughts and action will turn to habits.
Learning from spiritual masters and applying it to change for the better may be daunting and a huge challenge for our comfort zone. The great masters of the past and present have applied and practiced mind transformation, they have realised it and continue to share and teach what they have attained. So too will the future masters.
We all are familiar with this~ “You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone” We all know everything is impermanent and our comfort zone is also impermanent. Knowing is one thing but how much our realization of it is the most important . I think we should contemplate everyday on “everything is impermanent” and this may help us to change. What do you think?
Nobody will be receptive to change. It is no doubt hard and for some it’s almost like moving a mountain. Some might feel they did not do anything wrong and the reason of changing while some will just drop back into their habitual self. What Rinpoche has taught in the past was to start small, if you can’t change 100%, maybe you can change 10% and gradual. Of course if we are able to grasp better advises given to us and more receptive, then we stand a chance to really change for the better.
When we learn Dharma but don’t apply in our daily life, it equals to zero. Why don’t apply Dharma that we’ve learnt? If we don’t apply in daily life, how is it called practice Dharma? Of course, in order to apply Dharma in our life, the first thing we face is changes. If a person so reluctant to change, everything he/she learn is wasted, as he/she stays in their comfort zone daily and reluctant to move on.
Process of learning is never ending. Everyday there is something for us to learn and make use of. It’s whether we want to use that knowledge and turn it into something good for us. Giving excuses to why something can’t be done just turn it into a habit of negative thinking. We should always learn and try new ways to improve ourselves.
Whether it is corporate or spiritual , if we’ve learn something and don’t apply it at all then it becomes useless. Yes, this is always easier said than done but at least we give it a try and if it does not work, then perhaps we need another method or ways to work on something.
There is no one that can help us, but us. Methods are given, but whether we grasp, apply and practise it is entirely up to oneself. If we don’t change then there is no point in learning the Dharma.
A transformed mind is our own best protection. That mind can only come from consistent practice over time.When we see results, we will be encouraged to push ourselves more to practice well.Thank you very much for sharing a good article.
Picture of holy place and holy words – how blessed.
謝謝仁波切提醒我們有關，心識轉變的重要性。重点是了解其教言，應加於实践於生活中，要修持。不然便枉费仁波切的苦心了。
Tq Rinpoche for remind us what is the right attitude for learning Dharma – apply and change .
This blogpost of Rinpoche is so apt. Training for any purpose, including to become a world renown pianist, is so necessary to ensure that one succeeds. Similarly, it is important to train the mind to habituate it in dharma, via consistent daily practice, if one wishes to succeed and advance in Dharma practice and become attained spiritually.
Not taking responsibility, and instead always blaming others for our failure to progress spiritually, shows, we don’t understand the basics of Dharma. If we understand cause-and-effect, if we understand karma, we will not hesitate, but instead will persistently and constantly practice and train our minds.
Thank you Rinpoche. Buddha taught the stages of the path to train and control our mind to achieve enlightenment just as He did. As we learn the Dharma, it is only logical and right to apply the methods to transform ourselves to creep closer to the ultimate goal. There is no one that can help us, but us. Methods are given, but whether we grasp, apply and practise it is entirely up to oneself. If we don’t change then there is no point in learning the Dharma, because it will be like having a gold mine infront of you but lacking the tools to mine the gold which can benefit you. Blaming others is easy, and yes, you can blame others for one’s own lack of improvement, but how far will blaming others get you? Eventually you are still stuck in the same state of discontentment and lack of motivation. The only way the Dharma can benefit you, and others around you, is if one applies it, just as Rinpoche clearly highlighted above.
It is so easy to fall into the trap of our deluded mind! We may know a lot of Dharma, we may be able to quote beautifully from Dharma, we may be able to present an excellent Dharma talk; but if we lack the inner transformation in our minds, we are merely an empty shell! There is no happiness that we long for let alone attainment, realisation, liberation, and enlightenment!
Buddha had pointed us to the moon. We were gifted with the truths of Dharma. And yet we refuse to accept who we are, be responsible for our karma and take the necessary actions for our own happiness!
The saying that there is no gain if there is no pain is true. In spiritual practice we really need to put in great effort to transform our minds. Why? Our habituations accumulated from countless past lives are so deeply ingrained in us! It is not so easy to remove them!
Spiritual practice is more than just knowing, it entails real, pure, sincere and consistent practice!
“Taking responsibility and especially applying the teachings of Buddha to ourselves is extremely important from the beginning, middle and end. ~ Tsem Rinpoche”
At the end of the day, liberation is in the palm of our hand. We are fully responsible for our happiness.
Thank You Rinpoche for this teaching.
Thank you Rinpoche for reminding us about mind transformation . Is very important that we learn and we apply so that we will not waste our time and also wasting our guru hard work.
Thank you Rinpoche, for this simple yet powerful teaching.
If we do not transform our mind for better, change for better, we are just slipping further into samsara and totally misunderstanding the Dharma.
This really strikes me hard at this point of time.
It is a reminder to me that I should not be blaming what is going on around me, but reflecting on myself and only blaming myself for creating negative karma to be affected now like this. It makes me think what kind of actions I should be doing now to create the merits so that things like this do not happen to me again. And the same time, it reminded me that by dwelling in blaming others, I would only create more negative karma that creates obstacles for myself in the future.
Thank you Rinpoche so much for reminding us this very important point, and also sharing with us this amazingly beautiful picture of Jogfalls.
Thank you Rinpoche. A transformed mind is our own best protection. That mind can only come from consistent practice over time. If we take responsibility, study, contemplate on the Dharma and apply it to our everyday lives all the time, surely we will see the fruits of our practice.
When we see results, we will be encouraged to push ourselves more to practice well.It is absurd to blame others because we ourselves create our problems and causes for our failing. Let us create causes for our success.
Thank you Rinpoche for your kind reminders. Without consistent effort, nothing of value can be had.
Thank you very much for this invaluable reminder. It’s very timely reminder.
Thank you Rinpoche for your kind reminders.Consistency is what keep our mind focus.We need to cultivate this practice in order to gain the precious mind transformation in the process…
This is so true. Even if we are training for a marathon we have to do it consistently and deligently before we can see any results. Once we stop training the stamina weakens and the results deteriorates. Similarly when we succeed we feel more motivated to go further.
With training of the mind; if we set the mind at “learn and practice Dharma” mode all the time we will continuously learn and contemplate and use Dharma in our daily lives. The mind may deviate once awhile but majority of the time it will try to crack through old karmas and delusions and bring us to a much better state of the mind, feeling great and wanting others to feel the same. It becomes a contagious habit of wanting to learn more and achieving higher states of mind ! This is the only way we can exhaust all the lifetimes of negativities we have accumulated and create more merits for achieving an Enlightend mind !
Thank you Rinpoche for remind me to keep consistent practice in my daily Shadhana as i know it is very important.
This article is so timely as a reminder that more consistency is needed in my practise. There is still much that I need to apply from your teachings, both towards dharma and the circular activities. With folded hands, thank you Rinpoche.