Having gained this rare ship of freedom and fortune, hear, think and meditate unwaveringly night and day in order to free yourself and others from the ocean of cyclic existence. This is the practice of Bodhisattvas. 

Our current life is precious because we have a healthy body and mind and we have encountered Buddhist teachings, Dharma friends, and Dharma texts. On our part, we also have an interest and aspiration in the Dharma, which not everybody has. Our precious human life is like a ship that takes us from where we are now — samsara — to the other shore — nirvana and Buddhahood. Recognising this, we need to consistently practise the Dharma in whatever activities we are engaged in, not just in formal practice or when we are in a Buddhist place. 

We do this by hearing, thinking, and meditating on Buddhist teachings that direct us on what to practise and what to abandon. Without hearing the teachings from a reliable guide like the Buddha, we basically form our own path to awakening, which is what we have been doing so far. We do not accept teachings on blind faith, but really examine them using logic and reasoning and then apply them to our lives to see if they explain the world around us. In other words, we integrate our minds with the teachings so that they are no longer something outside ourselves, but rather something internal in how our minds think and the way we regard life. Of course, this takes practice and time, and it does not happen quickly or easily. There is no shortcut to getting around this process. 

We practise the Dharma, not because we want to be great yogis and yoginis, famous spiritual practitioners, or even just for our own liberation. We hear, think, and meditate on the teachings with the motivation to free ourselves from cyclic existence and attain full Buddhahood so that we can lead others on the path to freeing them from cyclic existence. This big, long-term approach of working for the benefit of self and others also increases our short-term happiness, but we are not doing it with that motivation, because as soon as we do something just for our happiness right now, we are working against our long-term goal of awakening. 

This is something to keep in mind as we go about our daily activities and see if it applies to our life or not. 

“365 Gems of Wisdom” First Volume (January — March) e-book is out now!