Which One Is You?
This is a real interesting illustration. Study it carefully for a while. Take a good look.
If you have a task, goal or job how do you perform? What is your attitude? What is your way of doing things? Where has your way gotten you? If not far, then you have to look at other ways to do it. If you have gotten someplace, good for you! Success is not going to be handed to you as all hard workers know. Having things like money and house just handed to you for free will eventually get you nowhere. Your fears will not dissipate without work or effort. Your fears will only increase and lead to huge regrets. No one can take away your fears but you have to just work on it NOW. You have to be honest with yourself and realize what has been your attitude. You have to face how your attitude has been. That is most important to be honest with yourself as the first step but don’t stop there please. Where has your attitude led you? Are you succeeding? Don’t blame others anymore if you did when you don’t succeed. It is you because you can succeed anywhere. It’s what you make of the place you are at now. The space you are at. No one or place is to be blamed. To blame others is the ingredient for so far not succeeding. So we have to stop that. It’s for our own good.
From left to right:
The man on the far left just sleeps. Indicating laziness, procrastination, unmotivated, no drive and just does nothing. Just takes everything too easy. Easy to a fault. Doesn’t care much. Whatever may come attitude. Good and bad perhaps. Depends on circumstances.
The next man digs, finds something. Is happy with what he finds. Is content. Doesn’t go any further. He is fine with just enough. That is ok too for some.
The third man from the left keeps digging for the biggie! The big fortune. Where all the big ‘diamonds’ lie. He is a hard worker. He dug the deepest and he is focused on success. He is driven, motivated, inspirational, works hard, doesn’t give up and doesn’t take obstacles as a brick wall. He does not give up. He is focused. He knows he has to work and he will work and make it big. And he will make it.
The last man on the far right just gives up. He tried but not very hard. He dug little. Cannot tolerate or accept the difficult conditions. Doesn’t continue. He wants to run. To escape. To leave. Doesn’t try and just wants to exit. He lets his fear, insecurities, and lack of effort catch up and just gives up. This type of person is difficult to work with and perhaps ends up bitter, angry and blaming others.
Which one fits you at this point in life you think? Of course over the years we can change. How were you last time? Change for better or worse is the key. But this illustration I found randomly on the net is a good indicator of our attitude in life at this moment. I don’t know who did this illustration but I found it powerful.
Is our attitude serving us well? That is the point of this whole exercise. Nothing is set in stone, our attitude can change. Just change it and be consistent and then you will find your diamonds! I want you to find your success and it starts with attitude.
I wish you luck. Do something now!
Tsem Rinpoche
*********************
In conclusion, this sculpture says it all. You create who you want to be. You are in control as much as you choose to be. Don’t be stagnant. Don’t use your fears as an excuse to fail, run or don’t do. In the end our life will flash past us real quick, make sure it’s good flashes you see. Don’t be afraid to create you. You are worth it.
P.S. This can be applied to the spiritual goals, secular goals, relationships, work, friendships, loyalty and so many other facets of our lives.
Never give up. You might be very near your goal or something very good. Tsem Rinpoche
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Our attitude towards life determines life’s attitude towards us. Well said….. doing what we supposed to do trains us to be a better person. Never give up even its a tough journey. In every journey there seem to be tough but at the end is happiness and success. Its our mind set attitude that determine our success. A positive mind-set brings positive things and positivity always wins. When things go wrong, take it as a lesson, learning from there, never give up. It is our mental attitude that sees the good and the accomplishments in our life, rather failure.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this teachings that had changed my life .
Looking at my past, honestly, I have interchangeably be the 1st, 2nd or 3rd man depending on the subject matter and I wouldn’t have pegged myself to have it in me to be last man on the far right. But in recent trying times, I find myself thinking more like the last man with my fears and insecurities going into overdrive. At times, it has even rendered me feeling extremely small in an unhealthy way and washed up by the crashing wave of thoughts as well as emotions. Ironically, I was actually attempting to let go of my fears and insecurities. Hence, the quandary.
Upon closer examination, I find that even as I am learning to let go of the fear, instinctively my reaction to fear is to get away from what is causing the fear, whether it is logical or not. So, essentially, fear itself isn’t a problem. My reaction to my own fears is the issue. If you really look at it fear often points us to areas we need to investigate more closely. In making fear an adversary, not only am I missing out on the lessons I am supposed to learn but have also been paralyzed into inaction by it. Makes more sense to turn fear into an ally to identify the areas which needed to be worked on and deal with them accordingly.
Thus, the following really stood out for me, “You create who you want to be. You are in control as much as you choose to be. Don’t be stagnant. Don’t use your fears as an excuse to fail, run or don’t do. In the end our life will flash past us real quick, make sure it’s good flashes you see. Don’t be afraid to create you. You are worth it. Never give up. You might be very near your goal or something very good.”.
Thank you Rinpoche for conveying such powerful thoughts with such interesting illustration.
My question is would there be an end to procrastination? I don’t think that my attitude serve me well at all and in fact I want to change that, yet I’m too lazy to do that…The worst feeling ever is that we know what we are suppose to do and yet we are not doing it…and then we keep on being frustrated with our own laziness… I have the solution to my own problem but I’m not doing it and the monkey mind is encouraging procrastination…Anyway thank you Rinpoche for sharing this teaching.
i am now the one who digs until i find the diamonds, i used to settle for okay but now i go for the gold. all these pictures are so true. everybody is either like that or like this. thank you for sharing Rinpoche
We are exactly where we have brought ourselves to. There is no one we can blame for being where we are, if we don’t want to move to achieve our goals or accomplish better things, then if we are left behind we have only ourselves to look at.
Hi Rinpoche, Thanks for sharing this with us. If referring diagram from left to right, I was the fourth one (almost to give up due to difficult circumstance). It was fortunate to get the guidance from Rinpoche and advice from Patsy to move me from fourth one to thrid one (who is digging hard). I know I am still far away from the “diamond well” but I have confidence that I will get there eventually with Rinpoche’s advice and our Kechara Dharma bro & sister’s encouragement. Thanks Rinpoche for forming Kechara group to help us in Dharma path.
其實，在幾個星期前，已經閱讀和看了這張有趣的圖片。今天再從新仔細看看，心里問了自己，圖片里那個是代表現在的我。思考了許久，應該是左側第二吧。在還沒有認識和學習佛法之前，心態應該會好像圖文里的人。會選擇性滿足於現有的物質生活。不會去想如何改變。但是，在接觸上師和克切拉佛教團體之後，才明白人在改變自己的態度和採取積極學習佛法及幫助有需要的人。會讓自己的人生更加充實同時还可利益他人。在佛法的心态，我会选择持续不斷挖掘直到明了佛法的真諦。感謝上師的教誨。
Basically I dig for diamonds as I am greedy and in materialistic 21st century, it looks like having a lot is happiness. Very often though when faced with a lot of obstacles I become figure 4 from left, screaming to get out of any difficult situation out of self pity. Funny though as I reflect on my previous experiences, after screaming which is the result of anger, I go back to digging for diamonds.
On wonderful evening in KFR, I had the most profound teaching from Rinpoche and I realised that whatever we are or thought of to be, is all false. We need to develop a relationship with our body, speech and thoughts to be whatever we want to be. As such the man carving out to be what he is to be is a powerful illustration of our mind taking over and be controlled by it to do our best in this short precious human life. Not easy but then WINNING in life is never easy but sure is satisfying.
I’m the one who will did and dig and dig until I find the pot of gold and I don’t gove up so easily. When I find that pot of gold, I will go searching for more holes to dig. I will strive to be the best.This is what;s happening to me now in my Samsara world.
In my dharma path which I have just started, with the motivation and strong will , I will dig and dig for my pot of gold, praying that Lord Setrap will help me clear the obstacles that come my way.
Having Rinpoche spreading the dharma in the virtual world, it helps me get connected and help me find my pot of gold and diamonds.
Your Attitude I believe is really what makes a person successful, in our lives we meet all different kinds of people. There are many people who put others down from reaching their dreams and goals because they themselves could not achieve it. There are the ones who blame others for their failures and cannot accept the fact that they were their own result and dwindle on it for a long time. There are those who are lazy and give the excuse that they are content with their current position when in truth they are not. It is really true you are what you think you are and you create who you want to be.
I really like what Rinpoche said “Your fears will not dissipate without work or effort. Your fears will only increase and lead to huge regrets. No one can take away your fears but you have to just work on it NOW.” Many of us fear the journey to success because they may have to face failure and it takes courage in order to face that fear and push through that brick wall, not realising that it takes effort to conquer those fears. When we fail and fear to continue then we start to regret, when we start to regret it only continues to eat through us until we do something about it.
I still suffer a majority of the bad habits depicted in this illustration but like everyone I want to succed in my dreams and goals and want to push forward till i reach it. I think i fair to be the second hole, i push for my dream and reach a stage where I am satisfied but not realising the ultimate goal that could have been reach to my potential. I would be easily content with my earnings and results. We all need a change of attitute to create who we are to our utmost potential. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing with this illustration together with teaching us.
This is very simple and interesting illustration , very clear to show human’s attitude and the result from our attitude. Of course , lazy guy or living in comfort zone guy cannot achieve final goal. Thank you Rinpoche sharing to us.
Dear Rinpoche,
It’s amazing how just 1 picture can describe so much about a person’s personalty and attitude.
Right now I think I am sometimes Digger 1 or sometimes Digger 3 because sometimes I am just lazy and unmotivated but sometimes i just tend to be over motivated and even though I have already hit the gold but yet I will still dig and dig to find the diamonds.
Though it may just be a picture of 4 diggers it truly speaks a lot about people.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this picture!
Love
Jutika
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this illustration. I think I am the combination of all. I am the gold digger most of the time, happy and comfortable with what I found. Sometimes i slept in the hole and relax, sometimes I gave up half way and run because i refuse to face the problems. I am now at the third hole looking for diamonds but very slow. My problem is I am easily distracted. Hence I need to work on my own weekness in order to focus and dig faster to reach the diamond.
It is simple yet powerful to understand ourselves. Life naturally simple and still like the roses in the nursery. if we keep ourselves away from storm and wind, we will never know that after the storm and wind the sky is brighter, clean and more beautiful. Being born as a woman, so precious, we deserved the best. Hence go for it before it’s too late. As what Rinpoche always says: what do we have to loose?
Thank you, Rinpoche, for sharing this interesting post. At certain point of my life I was digger 1,2 and 4. I am not embarrassed to say that before I met Rinpoche I was #1.
In the spiritual aspect, the diamond represents/signifies indestructible dharma which eventually leads to the ultimate goal, Enlightenment. I think I am now #2 but I will strive to work harder so that I can achieve my goal and be #3.
If we want success and achievements we have to put in a lot of effort to make it happen.
I agree fully to the conclusion. You are who you make yourself be. But i am not too sure which man i actually am, i would say that i am a person who will dig and once he gets what he wants, he stops. I realised that i am like this, and i want to make myself into a person that will push on to receive better even though i have reached my limit. Thank you for sharing.
This is really something to contemplate! I believe all these 4 stages indicates different mindset of the different stages in life. Of course, not everyone will go through all 4 stages which will lead you to success in the end. What we are today is what we created yesterday. Sometimes we may dream and think big, but what’s more important is the actions that will lead us to where we want.
Like what Rinpoche has said before, the best offering to Rinpoche is not monetary or physical gifts, but apply dharma teachings in your life and transform. Similarly, if right now we are the last man on far right, tried but not very hard and cannot tolerate little difficulties, just like after we receive a teaching, we find it hard to practice and transform because kicking bad habituations is always painful, hence we press the pause/skip/stop buttons along the way. I think the diamonds symbolize attainments, nothing is impossible if we just go all the way.
我以前是理智型的人，做什么事情都好，都是靠分析，一旦觉得外在因素不行了，就放弃，然后又在选择其他的东西来做，从不坚持到底，所以都是失败收场。一直活在失败的轮回之中。后来，接触到了仁波切了以后，才知道坚持到底，才是成功的首要条件。我知道，有很多人都把成功归咎在很多的外在因素，从来都没有做自我检讨，其实有很多时候是自己随波逐流，人云亦云，并没有认真的检查清楚自己要的是什么，就鲁莽行事，导致最后失败收场。。
I think currently my situation is simillar to 2nd man.satisfy currant situation,just comfortable and reluctant to change.I wishing that I will focus on my Spiritual path with persistent,,determination like. the 3rd guy until find the diamond ie Enlightenment .
This is a simple and yet very powerful illustration . If look at the past i think i would be the second one , who always stay stagnant after dig for some times and get little ‘gold’ and be satisfy with it . Well , now i prefer to invest more on ‘equipment’ with the gold i get and hire peoples to dig and get the diamonds for me 😛
I’m always digging hard for gold & diamond, very simple logic because i greedy for bigger house, bigger car & money. I don’t believe good things will fall from sky for free unless working hard & be smart.
Once met with Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, changed my perspective of life. It’s always depends on our mind set. Now my diamond known as Dharma instead of materialistic world. I’m working hard to purify my karma & learn dharma from rinpoche and i will continue to work hard to achieve something higher in my spiritual path.
It’s really up to us to choose what we want to be, i would say currently I was the stage 4, which i gave up easily if things doesn’t go my way, or i can’t get what I want.
But I’m on stage 3 now, although i have not found my diamond or gold yet, but I know i can get it one day, because of the life example from my teacher, Tsem Rinpoche.
Rinpoche came to Malaysia with nothing but because of his determination and strong dedication about Dharma and his guru, it makes us to have what we have today. All the facilities, teaching, benefit that we are able to enjoy today, are due to determination from Rinpoche. If quite amazing because of one determination, one can benefit many others.
We have full control over what we want to be, and I want to be success, hence it will not stop.
I guess I have been all 4 at one point or another and now that I have to reflect on it, much depends on how badly I had wanted to achieve my goal(s). For things that I have desired and are ultimately worthless, I have been the third man digging all the way till I got to what I want and yet for other things worth much more such as to develop a better character of tolerance, integrity and kindness I have invariably been the remaining three at one point or another. For me this is a clear indication of selfishness because subconsciously the mind thinks that if there is no instant gratification, then we won’t put in the effort. Also if it is not for our personal gain, we may only out in half effort. Its good that the illustration has made me reflect and think.
Clearly the mind is selective but what stands out most is that I, like virtually all people, in fact do have the capacity to go all the way. As applied to Dharma and Dharma practice, we need to recognize that it is the ultimate treasure and it is the only one “wealth” or goal worth pursuing all the way.
PS: There is a FIFTH MAN as well i.e. one who does not even try just watches the rest do it and he is the biggest loser of all!
As stated in this blog, “In conclusion, this sculpture says it all. You create who you want to be. You are in control as much as you choose to be. Don’t be stagnant”. But, when I reflected on the life story od Buddha Shakyamuni, I have a sense of great unease. From historical account of Buddha Shakyamuni, He evidently underwent six years of pure hard work of practice! At that time, he was not a Buddha from the beginning. He was just like us, an ordinary being, though a prince. He saw the same sufferings like we do; birth, old age, sickness and death. He also had various thoughts and feelings – happy feelings and feelings of pain,just like we do. But as a result of his stong and integrated spiritual practice, He was able to achieve the various levels of spiritual path to enlightenment. This shows us that only through working hard one-pointedly and undergoing hardship over a long period of time, we will be able to achieve success! It is not easy to attain successes without making any hard efforts, especially “Enlightenment”. So were all the great spiritual teachers of the past, we find that they have attained spiritual realisation through a great deal of hardships, hardwork, solitude and practice. None took any shortcuts, I believe.
I think whatever we must do materially or spiritually we must do it with our whole heart. We get a good use every minute in our life. Every minute we must take a good look deep inside our heart to see who we are, how to do it better. We are learning and don’t forget we always be humble in any circumstance.
This is a interesting illustration. It is simple and yet so meaningful. It shows that we create who we want to be and we are in control as much as we choose to be. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this and always remind us.
Very interesting image…
Applied to me, I would think that I am the guy that digs for gold, finds the gold, is satisfied for a bit, then leaves that hole un exploited, out of boredom…
I could also be the guy finding the diamonds but then thinking “oh no, I was actually looking for gold, not diamonds” and then leave the diamonds where they are.
I could also very well be digging for gold or diamond, finding it but then thinking that it was more pleasant to “look fir it” than to “find it”, and I’d just go by pretending that I have not found anything, and then we get about searching again…
… My mind is not very logical after all…
[…] Which <b>One</b> Is You? | Tsem Rinpoche […]
I am at the crossroad in my life and now in 4 . I am tired of the politics in the corporate world and plan to retire and giving up . It is the Dharma that keeps me from being bitter . Of course I often ask why for more than 10 years i had been passionate in my work and yet get me nowwhere, no regontion and stagnant . I am still trying to be positive and look forward to divine guidance.
honestly, i think i am the man with the gold because i only get enough but sometimes when i am very motivated i go for the “diamonds”. i will now only go for the diamonds because i would like success and i will be focused for it.
Diamonds signifies goals (can be material or spiritual) in our life and the digging represent how much effort we are putting into action achieving the goals.
Rinpoche has lay out the scenario in a very easy understand manner for us to learn, do we need to further elaborate on this?
We should definitely go for the Diamond, yeah!
A very simple, but direct illustration of 4 different types of human characters and attitudes in life. I may associate myself as the second digger. Being brought up in a poor family, I have learned to work hard since very young. But when I have achieved a little success, I slowed down and felt contented of what I possessed. I was too self-centered and lost my motivation of moving further, just like the digger 2.
I am so fortunate to have met Rinpoche who made me realized that great achievement is not just for myself, but is to benefit others. I have then changed to the third man’s attitude. Move on, work harder despite obstacles and hurdles on the way.
The sculpture implied clearly that we are in control of what we want to be. There should not be excuses, fears or blaming others for failures or not achieving our goal. We reap what we sow. This gave me the motivation to change my attitude in life.
Thank you Rinpoche for the great post and guidance.
Dear Rinpoche this article show peoples character in a simple picture…
I think i m the 1st person before i meet Rinpoche and Dharma, but right now i feel a little bit transform after practice Dharma.
I believe that i m on my way to be the 2nd then 3rd person with keep on practicing Dharma in my daily life…
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this! I find it very interesting! The first question comes into my mind is, how do we know we can there are diamonds/golds in the ground? And how do we want to believe there are diamonds/golds under the ground(which we cannot see) is very important too! Some see hope so they keep doing it even they cry and shout in the process. Some can’t see any hope or they don’t believe at all so they just give up or just try a little then give up. But again, there’s another question, if we don’t believe, then why we want to try even from the start? If we think we are doing something crazy/meaningless, then why we want to start it at first? Then we may say oh we are not wise enough to see during the beginning now I am wiser to see the problems within? Then I would tell myself maybe I am not wise at this moment therefore I can’t see any hope.
But in Dharma, I don’t really have this kind of dilemma as Rinpoche shows me how to believe and actually shows me what to believe, a greater goal in life that is to put others as priority and work towards to benefit others with our little own way. There is nothing to say oh I don’t believe there are diamonds/golds under the ground because with my every act, I create the causes for me to get the diamonds/golds. I guess this is the belief that people who are successful will have. No matter what they see with their eyes at every stage, they believe their act would make them success no matter they will get the diamonds/golds or not. The focus is not so much on the diamonds/golds, but what they can build up in the process.
I am the one who will keep shouting get me out and then go back to work to do it again until I push myself to believe more and just do it. It is such a loooong way. Haha! Very interesting! I enjoy reading it.
Love,
Abby
This is an interesting illustration. I have never really thought about it until I see this picture. However, I think most of us have each different man in our lives at the same time, depends on what we are working on.
As for me, the level of interest plays a big part in which category I fall into. For daily life, especially in pursuing of material possesion, I am easily contented with what I have, just like the first man. Not wanting to do more to achieve anything more than average need.
For certain things that I find attractive, perhaps something new to me or certain entertainment, I can be the second man. Digging for a while, have a brief idea of what it is, happy with what I found and just stop there.
However, for those things that I am interested in, I can be the third man. Keep trying and trying. I enjoy the process of finding way to improve whatever I have achieved so far and can never feel bored of the repeated action.
I can be the last man too especially when facing things that I don’t fully understand the significance of yet others keep telling me it’s important. I will try but tend to give up or progress very slowly until I realize the importance of it.
Over the years, things have changed gradually especially after I met Dharma. For certain things that can be explained logically to me, even though I may not understand it fully, I start to move myself from the attitude of the last man to the third man. Of course it doesn’t come naturally, but by faking or forcing it, it’s still doable. After a certain period of time, once I have developed a sense of familiarity with it, I will normally start enjoy doing it, then I am officially moved to third category. It is interchangeable.
Thanks for the blog post. It makes me understand myself better.
I agree with you Pastor Lanse. I also thought there are things that I feel ‘worth pursuing’ (very subjective) that I was/will be person 3, whereas sometimes for certain things, I was/could be 1, 2, or 4.
I guess in general, I ‘play safe’ by being no. 2 guy.
What I learnt from this illustration is that the best attitude is to always have the mindset of no. 3 guy, because that’s the only way that one achieve real success – success that challenges us to be better than before or pass our quota or target towards excellence, not just succeed in completing one’s task (gold).
Definitely if one adopts the attitude of no. 1 or no. 4, there is no chance of success, not even achieving the ‘quota’ so to speak.
Also,there is always a better ‘diamond’ level to get to. Lets say the task maybe a simple one – to clean the altar. If the altar is wiped/ cleaned well, does that mean it’s ‘diamond’ standard? Perhaps it’s good to reorganise the altar, perhaps it’s time to upgrade the offerings etc; that to me is the diamond. And what is encouraging is that there is always a higher level to get to!
Hehehe Rinpoche gave us this teaching before using a blog competition (http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/etc/a-game-or-is-it.html). I had always thought I was the third person, but during the game realised I was more of the second. Why? As one of the three winners during the blog competition, I had won a Yamantaka statue. Rinpoche gave me the option of swapping the statue for a potentially bigger prize, and I declined. Rinpoche said that this reflects our minds which should sometimes just be happy with what we have.
I think I have elements of both the second and third person. There are some things that I really cannot stand and I have to do something about, and there are some things that I’m just happy to leave as they are. More often than not, it is my competitiveness that gets the better of me, which pushes me towards exhibiting more of the third person’s. As I grow older, I know I have to develop the third person’s traits in me, such that it is no longer dependent on an external catalyst.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing such powerful illustration and thoughts. If I watch my mind, I can see all four interchanging moment by moment, especially when doing prostration retreat! For eg. I can set my number of prostrations to 350 for 2 weeks, every day I do it, I’ll have thoughts that say just forget about it and rest, thoughts that give excuses as to why it is ok not to get to the set daily quota, thoughts that are happy to be at 350 as well as thoughts that will go for 400 and above.
In this case, I’ve mostly been the second guy in the illustration who is contented with hitting the daily quota. Lately, I’ve thought about how most members in the prostration retreat are working hard and are tired from lots of physical works in KFR resulting in them not being able to do even 1% of the daily quota, so I’ve choose to push myself to do more than the set daily quota to cover for them.
We have a deadline for the retreat to be completed and it will be very fulfilling and content once that is done. By taking up more number of prostrations doesn’t mean that I’m better in any way, but I get to overcome the 3 men’s mentality and be the third man from the left. There are lots of joy and light feelings in the mind for doing more.
Doing more gives me an opportunity to grow out of my lazy mind, it gives me lots of energy to go forward. Yes, there are times when the body is really tired and the eyes can hardly stay open, but as the number of prostration increased the body seems to be recharged and the tiredness & sleepiness can be reduced to the minimum.
I’ve learned that by putting other’s needs first, I’m happier and lighter even though the “burden” is heavier. There is a sense of relief for freeing myself from selfish thoughts that are narrow and demand lots of good energies. It is obvious that thoughts are powerful and if I’m not mindful, I can be dragged down and be the loser I will not want to be. The body might be tired, but the mind can keep it going always. The choice is in my hand.
Dear Rinpoche,
This post is a wake up call for me. I will not be embarrassed to own up that I belong to 1, 2, and 4.I just take life easily.I was lazy,I always have reasons for everything.Somehow i just cannot be bothered right then, and then again later and then again later and somehow i never get around to doing it and i regret that because i really thought it was the right thing to do dharma. I try to work hard and give up halfway, then work hard again and I found my Golden prize,now the Diamonds are just infront of me at MBF. This time I will not let this slip away. Through Rinpoche’s Dharma Teachings these diamonds will shine and will carry it with me in my next life.
Thank You Rinpoche <3
The longer I live,the more I realize the importance of attitude in life.If we have a good one,chances are we brighten up other people’s day.If we’ve got a bad one,we may be alienating colleagues at work or even our friends.Attitudes play an important role in shaping the work environment and at home.Truly the sculptor says it all Rinpoche Create what we want to be as we are in control.
Thank you Rinpoche for this inspiring post and am working on my weaknesses.
Wow, what a simple yet powerful illustration and question to pose. Thank you Rinpoche for giving me this chance to reflect on how i operate and the results i create as a consequence.
To choose one of the attitude and mode from which I operate, I would state that I am at most times Digger #2. This explains for the results I achieve in my life: good but not great. From this post, I learn that once we achieved the goal we set at the beginning of the race, we should not stop there once we get the prize. Always ask: What is next? What can be more? This way, I will keep growing. This way, I will keep finding new and better solutions.
With the blessing to have received Dharma from the kindness of Rinpoche, I believe we are equipped to keep digging and discover the “surprises” life has to offer because, with dharma knowledge, we will always be able to make something good out of any scenario. Of course, this is on condition we make the choice to practice true dharma.
I especially love the image of the sculpture. Looking at the sculpture, i realize how unaware I have been to the fact that i have been sculpting myself everyday of my life with every action of body, speech and mind I make. I am fully responsible for me. It is a frightening thought as it scream RESPONSIBILITY. However, it can also be very empowering: If I do not like the person I am today whom I sculpted by actions in the past, I have the ability and free choice to re-sculpt myself into a person I wish to become through actions at the present.
This is a beautifully powerful post. Thank you again so much Rinpoche for sharing it!!!
Oh dear…how true this illustration is!! I can honestly admit thatin my 42 years of living I have been in each of the holes. I used to justify by saying “I am not passionate about it what…” Yes this is what spoilt, rich girls say. Being given everything in life served me well in some ways but also not so in other many ways. One way it did not serve me was sticking all the way with my career moves. I am no doubt an intelligent human species but I have a major flaw called Spoilt and Lazy. Decadent to be honest.
Today being in the dharma and making a career out of it has made me change. I have developed faith in my future because I chose to believe in Rinpoche.Success for me today is not about myself but others, and I like this. Thank you Rinpoche.
This simple funny illustration sure paints a thousand words about our attitude in life. I’d be honest I think I am the 3rd one. Once I’ve gotten what I aim for, I tend to chill. But these past few weeks, I’ve realised this is definitely not good enough. We have to keep digging, keep learning and keep going.
By challenging ourselves we become better and better and by not fearing or putting limitations in ourselves means we create more room to grow and become better! There is always room for improvements otherwise we’d all be Buddhas already and living in pure land!
And it is true when you surround yourself with go getters and people who can think big and dream big, you tend to evolve more into that type of thinking too.
我是第二个挖洞的人，一直以来都满乐的。有工作，有家庭，絶对对自己好。賺錢花錢从中取乐。現在的我会想我要成为第三个挖洞的人，畢竟試試無妨。人生几何，尽力而为吧。能做到今生無悔就不枉此生了。
I think i’m the third one, as i’m quite a stubborn person. When i’m passionate about something, I will work my way out to get it. But when I have what I want, I’ll stay stagnant. I don’t think that it’s the right attitude, I want to change it. In life, we will have to keep doing our best in order to make things happen, but if we stop at that point, things will start to fall apart again, as nothing is permanent..
It’s a very educational article, I have learnt quite a lot by looking at the picture as a picture speaks louder than words..
Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
Thank you, Rinpoche, for yet another profound post. Like Andrew, in reflection, i have found myself adopting every one of the four attitudes illustrated in the four men, at one time or another. Can we persistently be like the third man from the left? He has dug the deepest hole in a persistent effort to find the treasure. He is highly motivated and driven. He pushes himself and there is no limit to his pushing. He never gives up. He strives to outdo himself all the time. Can we be like him in attitude all the time? Yes we can.
After all, we create who we want to be. We can control the direction of our life and how far we want to go. It’s all up to us.It’s all about choices. We must make the right choice. We must let go of our fears . We must not be afraid of creating the person we want to be.
I love how one picture can be applied to ALL of us. Cool pic. Our attitude towards work, studies, and even life could be summed up in one picture. Not only is it true, it is good for us to reflect on. Educational and motivational.. This kind of motivational pictures could be viewed from. Dharmic and secular point of view.
It is true, evryone has that 4 personalities at different point of their lives. It’s up to us to let which one prevail.. it’s all abt learning and unlearning then relearning. Experiences and knowledge does help in that process.. Contemplation as well.
The diamonds here, to me, could represent enlightenment.. =) go go gold? I’d say go for diamonds instead! Hehe
Thank you for sharing, Rinpoche, am learning to go from the lazy guy to the diamond guy!!
Shelly tai on 15 July 2013 at 6pm
Thank you Rinpoche for posting this blog, is very true we need to be consistent in doing anything if we work hard we will succeed . As for spiritual journey if we don’t focus we will give up easily because this path is difficult. Thank you Rinpoche for remaining us again and again.
I think I’m most of the time like the third man. Sometimes I fall into the first and second categories but definitely I’m not in the fourth category.
Shelly tai on 15 July 2013 at 535pm
Thank you Rinpoche for posting this blog, is very true we need to be consistent in doing anything if we work hard I m sure we can make it especially our spiritual journey if we don’t focus we will give up easily because this path is difficult . Thank you Rinpoche to always remind us to keep focus and work hard.
I’m the one still digging and figuring out which of the treasures fit me. Hehe. Yeah I might be the one who found gold but life doesn’t stop there, I am still adamant in looking for what I am really meant to do in this life. So I would consider myself as being the third digger from the left. Still digging for the best out from me!
Interesting way of showing how different people’s mentality brings different results. I like the picture of the man sculpturing himself. It is true, we are the ones that craft how we are going to be. I like that fact as our fate is not dependent on anything else besides ourselves.
In different stages of life, I see myself of having different ways or attitudes of doing things. Sometimes having different attitude doing different things. Sometimes I fall to sleep and lazy, do not know what I am doing; sometimes I content with my life and stay there.
Many times I want to ran away, want to quit, leave “everything” behind – and found out I actually have not much things to leave behind, haha. Ya, I have met with my Guru and Dharma – that’s my mountain of diamonds. What I should do now is keep digging, work hard to dig and get the diamonds!
The sculpture of a man crafting his own statue sending powerful meaning. You create your own image, own success, own failure, own stories, and your own life. is all up to you. No one can force you to be successful or failure, except you yourself want it or don’t want it.
I think I am the one to second one as I would normally do what I can to achieve my goal and be content but when I am very passionate about something then I would be the third one, digging further and further.
Dear Rinpoche, I’m currently the first and fourth person. But I don’t want to be that person anymore, I want to be the third person. Just keep on digging. I find the sculpture quite interesting, is about a man trying to break out.
Its good to be a gold DIGGER???
life is simple.to be happy you should be happy with what u have and not dig dig dig till u bleed
Dear ‘God’,
I think you are missing the point. It is not about materialism but about going all the way with our passions and dreams. It is about going all the way with what we believe. The illustration shows gold and diamonds but they really represent the results of our efforts. Some people place effort in careers, relationships and jobs. If they really want it, they have to go all the way and make it to enjoy the results.
The same applies to Dharma and spirituality, one have to put in the necessary effort to realize the results. I think in Kechara, there are many people in here who keep digging till they reach the diamonds. There are a few that settle for gold and even lesser that gave up. The results of our work in Kechara is not gold and diamonds but fulfillment and benefit for others. We are really working for others. It is not work at all but a labour of love.
I love this post. It is definitely something to contemplate. i think i have been in the various 3 holes (exception being the diamond one) in different parts of my life, although even when i have been in the far right hole where i’ve wanted (and have previously) exited that particular situation, i never was angry or bitter. I had simply felt that i had outgrown that particular job and decided to move on to ‘greener’ or what i thought were ‘greener’ pastures.
I completely agree with this “Don’t blame others anymore if you did when you don’t succeed. It is you because you can succeed anywhere. It’s what you make of the place you are at now. The space you are at. No one or place is to be blamed. To blame others is the ingredient for so far not succeeding. So we have to stop that. It’s for our own good.” What is the point of blaming others. It doesn’t make you be any more successful and at every single place/job/relationship, you can find something to blame because no where is perfect. Except the Dharma. The Dharma is perfect but its practitioners are not (until they become buddhas of course!), but at least they are in the Dharma, so why find blame with people who are not perfect. I do believe that when we blame, only we suffer. The person/circumstance which is the subject of our blame is not affected at all, except of course if we decide to publicly blame the person/circumstance, then we have to look into why we would want to do that but this is a whole new issue.
I liked this illustration because it makes us think which hole we’d like to be in. Hmmm. Life is just one big hole – it just depends on which you’d like to be in!
I like the image above about the sculptor. We define and shape how we look. The amount of time and effort we put into this determines the result or quality that we get. We are personally responsible for this. No one else can do this for us. Others and our environment can affect us but we can choose not to be influenced by them.
In short, if we want something accomplished, we must personally attend to it! If we are faced with a problem, we must fix the problem. We must take the initiative and not wait for things to happen or change in order for us to experience the results that we want.
Dear Rinpoche,
Many thanks for sharing both the illustration and the photo. How simple but powerful!
I was definitely the guy on the far left early on in life, then moved on to the second one from the left. I would have stayed there if I didn’t find Dharma. Now I see the real goal, the real “diamonds”, and I’ll keep digging. I pray that I will never be the one on the far right. Nor the one still on the ground as he looks like he’s indecisive about where to start and therefore not doing anything…
The sculpture photo is brilliant too. Yes, we create who we want to be. The problem is we are sometimes delusional about who we want to be. The only way to find our true selves is to strip away the layers of bad habits and behaviours, making ourselves “smaller” by getting rid of big egos. I like this photo a lot.
Thank You, Rinpoche.
With folded hands,
Sean in Shanghai
The illustration in most interesting… If i were to be completely honest with myself, i have been all of the 4 personsat various points in my life. It is very true that nothing is set in stone and the way we perceive things and thus the way we act shift accordingly. However at which point or person we are, I believe we can change and refocus if we wanted to… That is the point. Sometimes we do not see the point or we do not eant to see it even.
This illustration for me also clearly highlights the fragility of our minds… how coming from a similar mind stream or potential but we ‘choose’ to act in such varying focuses!
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this as it is simplistic in its form.but deep in its meaning. The sculpture has in itself a most profound visual statement. We are indeed who we make ourselves to be!
I am the one going deep and doing really hard work. I am proud my two daughters are just after me
I don’t even wanna publish which is my attitude for i know its not the best and most focused one : (
But as you’ve highlighted that nothing is set in stone and I shall work on my weaknesses.
Thanks Rinpoche !
Hello Race…..Nice to see you here.
Rinpoche spent like close to 15 hours for the last 2 days updating the blog and now Rinpoche has very bad pain on his tail bone and also his neck. Rinpoche will always put aside his pain and think about benefiting others via whatever method in this case via the internet.
I have reflected at myself when I read this article and immediately I thought “what must I do to get the diamonds?” If I can reflect at this, I am sure a portion of the 2.9 million viewer on this blog will also reflect and some will find their diamonds this week. A great motivational/inspiring way to start the week.
I hope to see u soon in KFR.
Happy Monday & Happy Digging : ) . Goodnight
Being a sceptic, I will invest time and money on a ground survey (research, learning, kicking the tyres, coming up with a plan) before starting the dig. If dig goes according to expectations, continue digging. If not, start again with a new ground survey. Also talk to people who have dug the area before and learn.
Thank you Rinpoche for this timely message. I’m mostly in number 2 & 4 🙂 Glad that it motivates me to live as number 3 for all aspects of my life where spiritual growth is part and parcel of my business & daily life. Thank you.
I´m the one who digs hundreds of holes. Always starting a new one just when the old one is 50 cm from the gold because I think “there is nothing here”.
I can attest to it. I identify to the right most one digging and found nothing. I haven’t find my golds and diamonds yet even though it is right in front of my eyes. Someone else found it! 🙂 The picture depicting the person who found gold may not have thought that diamond existed, or he has found his gold not inclining to look for his diamond because the fear of not finding diamond if he abandon his gold and continues on. In a way it is related to Dharma and enlightenment. Perhaps we cannot let go and pursue Dharma all the way because the fear of losing everything, failed, and end up losing our face. But the irony is that Dharma said we cannot bring anything with us when we die, we cannot even feel comfort when we die, even if we are surrounded by physical comfort. Enlightenment is the only destination where we can find comfort in. It is not possible to ‘fail’ in Dharma from the viewpoint of progress on the path. Isn’t Dharma about unlearning and relearning. If I fail in Dharma at least I learn something plus all the benefits that come in the future. There is no better opportunity to be in Dharma and do Dharma now. How many more lives time I going to wait to begin practicing Dharma?