Look Who it Was Random video

EXTRACT Thinking of the Shortcomings of Self-Cherishing Cracks Your Heart SCRIPTED 15-Apr-2018

110 views · Published 5 October 2018 · 32:22 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: FPMT · 2018 · Nonprofits & Activism

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"In the following video excerpt Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains the advantages of cherishing others over cherishing oneself. Here’s a summary:
Rinpoche begins by sharing a story he heard from Gelek Rinpoche during a teaching many years ago in Delhi. The story was about how poor workers building roads out in the hot sun would see wealthy people in their nice houses and be attracted to their lives. But the rich people, thinking of their problems, would look at the workers and think, “I wish I could be like those people working on the road; they don’t have all these problems.” Rinpoche continues, describing how when we see a bird or a monkey or a mouse, we get attracted to them because we think that we have so many problems and that the animals have none. But we don’t know the suffering of the animals.
Rinpoche then explains that whatever we do, even studying the Dharma, reciting prayers, meditating, eating, or sleeping, if we do these things with the self-cherishing thought, they become obstacles to achieve enlightenment.
“Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, like the numberless buddhas, was in the beginning like us. But they all gave up the self-cherishing thought, the greatest obstacle to achieving enlightenment, the root of suffering, obstacles, all the obstacles to practicing Dharma, even the black magic, everything. So they changed their minds; they gave up the self-cherishing thought. Their minds changed into bodhichitta, cherishing the numberless sentient beings. For us, we cherish I, they cherish the numberless sentient beings and most happily let go of I. They let go of cherishing I, most happily, kind of with force,” Rinpoche says.
If you realize the benefits of cherishing others over yourself and you meditate and analyzed these two things you come to see that the unbelievable benefits of cherishing others are limitless like the sky. Rinpoche explains that the self-cherishing mind doesn’t allow you to achieve enlightenment, Buddhahood for sentient beings. It keeps you in the suffering of samsara.
So while we have received this perfect human rebirth, which is quickly coming to an end, we should put our efforts toward transforming our minds in order to actualize bodhichitta. Rinpoche explains that by thinking of the benefits of cherishing others and the shortcomings of the self-cherishing thought, and of the kindness of other sentient beings, and on the basis of loving kindness and great compassion, we should be moving our minds as much as we can to bodhichitta. So that with every activity we are remembering bodhichitta, dedicating for sentient beings. “So each time when you dedicate the activity for sentient beings, you collect merits, unbelievable [the number of merits, like] the number of [specks of] dust of this earth, the limitless sky, or more than that, depending on the attitude,” Rinpoche explains.
 This video was extracted from a teaching that was recorded in Bendigo, Australia on April 15, 2018.
Find out more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche at http://www.fpmt.org"

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