30/04/2026
๐ชท๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐
๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌโ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐ค๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ (๐๐๐๐ ๐)๐ชท
Before leaving Bodh Gaya, our Guru gave a teaching at the Tara Temple.
If you recall, earlier in the journey, we were reminded that the life of the Buddha is not to be seen in an ordinary or linear way. From the Vajrayana perspective, the Buddha was already fully awakened even before appearing in this world, and what we see as his life is a manifestation, skillfully displayed for the benefit of beings.
This time, our Guru brought us even further back.
His teaching was not only about the Buddha as we know him, but of the long journey that came before โ across vast stretches of time, long before his final awakening.
There were lifetimes in which he was still on the path, just as we are. Lifetimes in which he was born into different realms, even lower ones, experiencing the full range of conditions that sentient beings encounter: The first moment of turning toward others, the moment he took the bodhisattva vow โฆ
And from those points onward, everything became a path of transformation.
๐ฟOur Guru reminded us that what the Buddha accomplished was not separate from what we are practicing now: ๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฆ, in each moment of our lives.
This is how the mind is trained โ Every act of goodness, every effort to practice the six paramitas.
โช๏ธWhen we engage in practices such as smoke offering, and sincerely pray for the well-being of all sentient beings, we are not only making offerings outwardly โ we are training the mind by cultivating compassionate intention.
โช๏ธAnd when we sit in meditation, as we did after our Tara practice here in Bodh Gaya, allowing the mind to settle, something else begins to reveal itself. In that stillness, we may begin to glimpse a deeper question โ who is sitting here, who is experiencing all of this? To recognize the nature of mind, even in this small way, is the beginning of wisdom.
How fortunate we are to be born in this time. In the vast cycles of existence, there are said to be great eons in which one thousand Buddhas appear. In this present eon, Buddha Shakyamuni is one among them โ and yet, his appearance in this particular time carries a special significance.
He explained that human life moves in cycles. There are times when lifespan extends to even eighty thousand years. And there are times when it gradually declines. In this current phase, it is said to be decreasing โ now around one hundred years, and continuing to shorten.
But more than lifespan, it is the condition of the mind that defines this age. This is a time where confusion arises quickly, where emotions easily overwhelm, and where clarity is often obscured.
It is precisely in such a time that the Buddha chose to appear.
Our Guru described this with a simple example: like a doctor who goes to where there is a pandemic, where beings are going through the greatest suffering. Even knowing it will be difficult, one still chooses to come.
๐ฟContemplating about this, we began to sense that the teachings we receive, the practices we engage in, and even the opportunity to walk this path are part of something far greater โ shaped over countless lifetimes of intention and aspiration.
Through this sharing, may a great confidence in the Dharma grow within us โ a trust in the path far greater than what we can consciously grasp.
Continuing the teaching at the Tara Temple, our Guru will guide us to look more closely at the life of the Buddha in this world, and what his manifestations reveal.
Stay tune ^^ more reflections will follow ๐ฟ
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ข ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ:
๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ช ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ช, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ก๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฑ๐ฐ, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ป๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฐ, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฐ, ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ช ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ฆ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ.
Gyalwa Dokhampa ๐๐
