・ W HAVE SPOKEN of the afflictive emotlons and the harm they wreak upon our spiritual practice. lt is, I must admit, natural for us tO experience emotlons such as anger desire. HO 、 Mever, this does not mean that we needn't do anything about them. I am aware that in Western psychol- expressing feelings and emotlons, even anger, iS Often encouraged. Certainly many people have endured trau- mat1C experiences in their past, and if these れ Ot10ns are suppressed, they may indeed cause lasting psychological harm. ln such cases, as 、 say in Tibet, 。・ Then the conch shell is blocked, the best way to clear it is to blow into it. Having said this, I do feel that it is important for spiri- tual practitloners tO adopt a stance against strong emotlons such as anger, attachment, and jealousy and devote them- selves [ 0 developing restraint. lnstead Of allowing ourselves 7 5

F O R E W O に D and enlightenment, so he left his companions behind. Hav- ing broken with their severe 、 vays, he now decided to devote himself tO a search for ultimate truth. He sat beneath the Bodhi Tree, vowing not [ 0 move until he had attained this goal Of final realization. After much perseverance, prince Shakyamuni was successful. He saw the true way all phe- nomena exrst and thereby attained the fully enlightened and omnlscrent state Of a Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha rose 仔 om his meditation and wan- dered through northern lndia until he once agaln encoun- tered his five ascet1C companions. They 、 vere initially determined not to acknowledge his presence, as they be- lieved that he had renounced their true spiritual way. How- ever, the glow of his enlightened state so affected them that they beseeched him to share his discovery. The Buddha then propounded the Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, its origin, the possibility of its cessatron, and the path lead- ing [ 0 that cessation. The Buddha showed the true nature of our miserable state. He taught the causes that bring about this situatlon. He established the existence Of a state in WhiCh our suffering and itS causes C01 れ e tO end, then taughtthe method by which [ 0 achieve this state. X Ⅱ

A N O P E N H EA RT they will gro 、 stronger, exerting greater and greater influ- ence over us. Spiritual practice, then, is a process Of taming these er れ Ot10ns and diminishing their force. For ultimate happiness to be attained, they must be removed totally. ・み also possess a 、 veb of mental response patterns that have been cultivated deliberately, established by means of reason or as a result Of cultural conditioning. Ethics, la 、 and religious beliefs are all examples of how our behavior can be channeled by external strictures. lnitially, the positive emotions derived れ cultivating our higher natures 1 a メ be weak, but 、 ve can enhance them through constant 信 1 il ー iarity, making our expenence Of happiness inner tentment far more powerfulthan a life abandoned t0 purely lmpulsive emotlons. ETHICAL DISCIPLINE AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE WAYTHINGS ARE AS 、 further examlne our more impulsive emotlons thoughts, we find that on top of disturbing our mental peace, they tend tO involve "mental pr0Jections. '' What does this mean, exactly? projections bring about the PO 、 ful emotional interaction bet 、 ourselVeS and external 3 2

T H E D E Ⅵ RE F O R H A P 円 N E S S pleasure at the level Of our thoughts and emotlons are 1 れ ore powerfulthan those felt on a physicallevel. AS 、 analyze our mental experiences, 、 recognize that the powerful emotions 、 possess (such as desire, hatred, and anger) tend not to bring us very profound or long- lasting happiness. Fulfilled desire may provide a sense of temporary satisfaction; however, the pleasure 、 experience upon acquiring a new car or home, for example, iS usually short-lived. When we indulge our desires, they tend to increase ln intensity and multiply in number.We become 1 れ ore demanding and less content, finding it more difficult tO satisfy our needs. ln the Buddhist vie 、 v, hatred, anger, and desire are afflictive er れ Ot10ns , which simply means they tend tO cause us discomfort. The discomfort arises 仔 0n1 the mental unease that f0Ⅱ0 、 the expression ofthese emotlons. ノ A. constant state Of mental unsettledness can even cause us physical harm. Where do these otlons come from?According to the Buddhist worldview, they have their roots in habits culti- vated in the past. shey are said tO have accompanied us intO this 1 飛伝 om pastlives, when we experienced and indulged ln similar emotlons. If 、 contlnue tO accommodate them,

A N O P E N H E A RT its forests, hills, pralries, and fields of flowers. Regardless of whether these belong to us, we can 0 飛 r them mentally. THE THIRD LIMB C 〇 N お S 引〇Ⅳ The third limb is that of confession. The key element of confession IS ackno 、 our negative actl()ns, the wrongdoings that we have engaged in. We should cul- tivate a deep sense Of regret and then form a strong resolu- tion not tO indulge in such unvrrtuous behavior in the future. THE FOURTH LIMB R り〇 / 0 Ⅳ G The fourth limb is the practice ofrejoicing. By focusing on our past V1rtuous actlons, 、 develop great JOY accomplishments. We should ensure that 、 never regret any POS1tive actl()ns that 、 have committed but rather that we derive a joyful sense of fulfillment from them. Even more important, Ⅵ℃ should reJOice in the POS1t1Ve Of others, be they sentient beings 、 MhO are inferior tO us, 1 7 4

ー N T RO D U C T I O N capitalist methods in order tO accumulate more and more profit. You should now use socialist methods to help provide poor people with education and health. " We must use the dynamic methods of capitalism for making money and then distribute it in a 1 ore useful, meaningful 、 vay tO Others. From a moral as 、 Mell as a practical point of view, this is a much better way of bringing about change in socrety.. ln lndia there eXISts a caste system; members of the lowest caste are sometlmes referred tO as untouchables. ln the fifties the late Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, a member of this caste and a great lawyer who was lndia's first minister 0f law and the author Ofthe lndian constitution, became a Buddhist. Hun- dreds of thousands of people followed his example. Though they no 、 consider themselves Buddhists, they continue to live in poverty. Economically, they are extremely poor. I often tell them, "You yourselves must make effort; メ ou must take the initiatlve, 、 Mith self-confidence, tO bring about changes. You cannot simply blame the members of higher castes for your S1tuat10n. So, for those of you who are poor, those who come 伝 om diffcult situations, I strongly urge メ ou to work hard, with self-confidence, to make use of your oppo rtunities. The 1 5

G E N E RAT ー N G B O D H ー C ー T TA Were the Buddha Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha 、Ⅱ、 revere, tO have remained self-centered like us, ℃ would now be treating him just the way we dO one another, saying, You keep quiet. You shut up. ' Butthis is not the case. Because Shakyamuni Buddha chose to shed his selfish ways and tO cherish Others, 、 regard him as an Object Of reverence. Shakyamuni Buddha, the illustrious lndian masters NagarJ una and Asanga, and the outstanding Tibetan mas- ters Of the past all attained their enlightened state as a result Of a fundamental reversal in attitude toward themselves and others. They sought refuge. They embraced the well- being of other sentient beings. They came to see self- cherishing and graspmg at self as t 、 and t 、 sources Of nonvirtue. They fought with these [ Ⅵ 0 and they eliminated them. AS a result Of their practice these great beings have no 、 become ObjectS Of our admiration and emulation. We must follow their example and work at seeing self-cherishing and grasping atself as enemies to be discarded. So, while bringing these thoughts to mind and reflecting upon them, 、 read the f0Ⅱ0 、 three verses three tlmes: 1 7 9

ー N T RO D U C T ー O N problems. Then your neighbor is really happy. Without having inflicted any physical harm, he has fulfilled his 圧 in spite of his i 可 ustices, you remain calm, happy, and peaceful, your health remains strong, you contlnue tO be joyful and more friends come visit you. Your li becomes more successful. This really brings about worry in your neighbor's mind. I think that this is the wise way to inflict harm upon your neighbor. I do not mean this as a joke. I have a certaln amount Of experience here. ln spite Of some very unfortunate C1rcumstances, I usually remain calm, with a settled peace of mind. I think this is very useful. You must not consider tolerance and patience tO be signs Of weakness. I consider them signs Of strength. When Ⅵ℃ are faced 、 an enemy, a person or group 0f people wishing us harm, 、 can view this as an opportunity [ 0 develop patience and tolerance. ・み need these qualities; they are useful [ 0 us. And the only occasion we have to develop them is when we are challenged by an enemy. SO, 01 れ thiS POint OfVie 、 v, our enemy iS our guru, our teacher. lrrespectlve Of their motivation, Ⅱ our point Of Vie 、 enemles are very beneficial' a blessing. 2 1

AN O P E N H EA RT Buddhist philosophical schools. However, here I am using the term 外イ 4 ん 4 ツ〃 4 in the sense Of an individual practi- t10ner S lnner aspirations. The highest motlvatlon 、 can have is to provide all sentient beings with happiness, and the greatest endeavor 、 can engage ln is helping all sen- tient beings attain that happiness. Mahayana practitloners devote themselves tO attarning the state of a Buddha. They work at removing the ignorant, afflictive, selfishly motivated thought patterns that keep them 伝 01 れ attaining the fully enlightened, omniscient state that allOWS them tO truly benefit Others. Practit10ners devote themselves tO refining virtuous qualities such as generosity, ethics, and patience to the point where they would give of themselves in any way necessary and would accept all diffi- culty and injustice in order tO serve Others. MOSt important, they develop their wisdom: their realization Of emptiness. They work at making this realization of the emptiness of inherent exrstence more and more profound. They must refine this insight and must intensify the subtlety of their mind in order tO dO SO. lt is, Of course, difficult tO describe the process Of reaching the ultimate attamment Of Buddha- h00d. Suffice it tO say that as one's realization Of the empti- ness Of inherent exrstence becomes even deeper, all vestlges 1 6 4

A N O P E N H E A RT tO indulge in occurrences Of strong emotions, 、 should work at decreasing our propensity toward them. If we ask ourselves 、 vhether 、 Me are happier 、 vhen angry or 、 Mhen calm, the ans 、 IS evident. AS ℃ discussed earlier, the troubled mental state that results 伝 0n1 afflictive emotlons lmmediately disturbs our lnner equilibrium, causlng us tO feel unsettled and unhappy ・ ln our quest for happiness, our 1 れ arn aim should be tO combat these emotlons. ・石 can achieve this only by applying deliberate and sustained effort over a long period of time - ー we Buddhists would say 1 an メ successive lifetimes. As we have seen already, mental afflictions do not disap- pear Of their 0 、 accord; they don't simply vanish over time. They C01 れ e tO an end only as the result Of COIISCIOLIS effort tO undermine them, diminish their force, and ulti- mately eliminate them altogether. If 、、 Mish tO succeed, 、 ve must kno 、 hOW tO engage in combat with our afflictive emot10ns.We begin our practice of the Buddha's Dharma by reading and listening to experi- enced teachers. ThiS is hO 、 we develop a better picture Of our predicament within the ViCIOIIS circle Of life and become familiar with the possible methods of practice to transcend it. Such study leads to what is called "under- 7 6