Dear Sangha,
I would like to share some points that came up in a talk I gave at Rigdzin Ling during the Essence of Siddhi drubchen in October. To ensure that the authentic traditions upheld by our root teacher, His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, continue to flourish, I encourage you all to reflect regularly on the Four Thoughts, remembering as always to first establish pure bodhichitta intention. With every teaching we listen to, every action we take, every practice we do, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we should constantly refresh our bodhichitta.
Each of the Four Thoughts can stand independently, but they are also interconnected in a profound and beautiful manner. (Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Gates to Buddhist Practice, by Chagdud Rinpoche, and the Ngondro Commentary, by Chagdud Khadro, are books that I recommend to students interested in working with the Four Thoughts.) Understanding the preciousness of our human birth inspires us to make greater use of this life; we apply ourselves properly and with great joy, moment by moment. Contemplating impermanence helps us to appreciate the preciousness of our life, while helping to break down our belief in the solidity of things. When we reflect on the ever-changing quality of phenomena, we no longer cling so intensely to everything. Our understanding of emptiness deepens. Contemplating karma prompts us to urgently reconsider how we think and behave, and motivates us to become better, more honest people. And finally, by contemplating and truly comprehending suffering, we give rise to compassion for other beings and see how meaningless samsara is. With this understanding, we develop to some extent the desire to abandon samsaric thoughts and actions.That is what we mean by renunciation. But as I look around at others and at myself, I see somewhat “symbolic” Vajrayana or Mahayana practitioners. When we look at ourselves and examine our own practice, we see quite clearly how much we cherish samsaric things, how much we embrace and pursue them.
Practice takes root in the mind only when one has developed a certain degree of renunciation. Contemplating the Four Thoughts helps us to understand samsara. Without contemplating them in great depth, we go on and on living in a fantasy. We think we are practitioners of Vajrayana, we think we have finished ngondro and moved to some higher level, but in fact we are not even close.
Once in a blue moon we actually do contemplate the Four Thoughts, but we don’t even consider some points, like death and impermanence, because we can’t bear to apply them to our own lives. This shows how little we have really grasped the nature of samsara.
We are all quite attracted to Dzogchen practice, but many of us rush through the ngondro teachings just to get these higher teachings. Our intention is completely wrong. If we have that kind of motivation, what can we expect from the ngondro? Just accumulating the numbers. Without contemplation of the Four Thoughts, our ngondro and our path thereafter will not be any different from ordinary worldly activities. But we cannot be freed from samsara with samsaric methods. They won’t bring us true freedom
or happiness, and have never taken us to a higher place, and yet we have been avidly pursuing samsaric ways for lifetimes. We are experts at engaging in them. We don’t have to make much effort to think of samsaric things to do; we are naturally drawn to them. We talk about Dzogchen as effortless practice, but for us samsaric practice is effortless. Even when we are practicing, our mind goes off effortlessly. When we are supposed to be doing deity practice, our samsaric concepts come to us naturally, without any effort. See? We are that enmeshed in samsara; we have deeply imprinted habit patterns. If they were useful, we would have been freed a long time ago. But we are not yet free, and we sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of
samsara by continuing as we are. This is why we need to practice dharma purely and precisely, step by step, free of hopes and fears.
When people request teachings from me and ask to become my students, I teach them the Four Thoughts and let them work on contemplating them for a long time. After practicing in this way for eighteen months, someone said to me, “Rinpoche, if you give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy; if you don’t give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy. There is a lifetime of practice in the contemplations you gave me. I’m completely happy to just do this practice and support your activity.” That was the biggest and best news I had received since arriving in America. Mostly I hear, “I’m doing ngondro, I’ve almost finished half of it—can I attend the Dzogchen retreat?” That one person’s understanding of the dharma fulfilled the purpose of my being here. For our lineage in the future, if we have two or three people like that, it will be like the sun and moon appearing together in the sky.
The point is, in approaching these contemplations, we cannot apply Western models of education, where everything is scheduled year by year, from kindergarten to graduation: “This year I’ll do this, next year I’ll do that.” It doesn’t work that way with dharma. You need to practice the Four Thoughts until you get the Four Thoughts—not just for one or two months, but until you get them.
Appreciating how meaningless samsara is and having genuine compassion for all beings are the most crucial points for a practitioner. Understanding samsara will give us strong compassion for others. Then, when we do practice, our body, speech, and mind will become very happy because we understand the power of that dharma environment. Recognizing the blessings of the dharma environment helps to completely loosen our body, relax our mind, and soften our speech. When we practice, there is the joy of practicing; when we sit, there is the joy of sitting; when we meditate, there is the joy of meditating.
As we move along the path of dharma, we have to remember to keep a balance between study and practice. Study is extremely important and meditation is also extremely important, but the two have to be integrated. Some people go to one extreme, focusing only on the intellectual or academic approach. They get so caught up in this that they don’t like to meditate or do group practices. They believe that academic brilliance makes a great practitioner. But they simply don’t understand the meaning of dharma. Some people go to the other extreme. They fail to see that studying texts gives them all the information and methods they need for approaching practice. Or it may be sheer laziness that prevents them from studying: memorizing a text is a very effective way of reinforcing and expanding our comprehension of the dharma, but perhaps we think it is too much hard work. This is unfortunate.
Ideally, we first read or listen to teachings. Next, we meditate in order to perceive the oneness of phenomena, to move beyond an intellectual understanding of their nature. We don’t see all phenomena, the whole of samsara and nirvana, as one. Instead, we see samsara as samsara and nirvana as nirvana. We see a demon as a demon, a deity as a deity. We don’t see the equalness of the nature of the deity and the nature of the demon—we don’t see their oneness. Until we go beyond this limited understanding, we need to train carefully in how we perceive things.
When we combine study and meditation, our meditation will take a leap. But if study only generates more arrogance, it’s better to stick with meditation. We want to make sure that we don’t get stuck in the intellectual. If a scholar hasn’t tamed his mind, when obstacles arise, he won’t recognize or know how to deal with them properly. So if you don’t know how to integrate study and practice, just practice simply.
Our teacher Chagdud Rinpoche, a highly realized master, a mahasiddha, gave us many instructions on how to practice. We should take advantage of what we received from him. Even those of you who did not meet him have his blessings and his teachings, which are carried by his senior students. And hopefully all of us will see him again soon! When I was in Tibet this year, I went to see Khenpo Ngaga, whom I had previously asked to help find Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Khenpo was in strict retreat, so we could not meet but I made the request again, and he indicated that he will look for signs. In the meantime, let us continue to pray for Rinpoche’s swift rebirth under the most auspicious conditions, while maintaining whatever practices he blessed us with. Along with that, to keep our foundation and path pure, let us return again and again to the Four Thoughts, just as Rinpoche and all great masters have always done.
With very best wishes to you all,
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche
Dear Sangha,
I would like to share some points that came up in a talk I gave at Rigdzin Ling during the Essence of Siddhi drubchen in October. To ensure that the authentic traditions upheld by our root teacher, His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, continue to flourish, I encourage you all to reflect regularly on the Four Thoughts, remembering as always to first establish pure bodhichitta intention. With every teaching we listen to, every action we take, every practice we do, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we should constantly refresh our bodhichitta.
Each of the Four Thoughts can stand independently, but they are also interconnected in a profound and beautiful manner. (Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Gates to Buddhist Practice, by Chagdud Rinpoche, and the Ngondro Commentary, by Chagdud Khadro, are books that I recommend to students interested in working with the Four Thoughts.) Understanding the preciousness of our human birth inspires us to make greater use of this life; we apply ourselves properly and with great joy, moment by moment. Contemplating impermanence helps us to appreciate the preciousness of our life, while helping to break down our belief in the solidity of things. When we reflect on the ever-changing quality of phenomena, we no longer cling so intensely to everything. Our understanding of emptiness deepens. Contemplating karma prompts us to urgently reconsider how we think and behave, and motivates us to become better, more honest people. And finally, by contemplating and truly comprehending suffering, we give rise to compassion for other beings and see how meaningless samsara is. With this understanding, we develop to some extent the desire to abandon samsaric thoughts and actions.That is what we mean by renunciation. But as I look around at others and at myself, I see somewhat “symbolic” Vajrayana or Mahayana practitioners. When we look at ourselves and examine our own practice, we see quite clearly how much we cherish samsaric things, how much we embrace and pursue them.
Practice takes root in the mind only when one has developed a certain degree of renunciation. Contemplating the Four Thoughts helps us to understand samsara. Without contemplating them in great depth, we go on and on living in a fantasy. We think we are practitioners of Vajrayana, we think we have finished ngondro and moved to some higher level, but in fact we are not even close.
Once in a blue moon we actually do contemplate the Four Thoughts, but we don’t even consider some points, like death and impermanence, because we can’t bear to apply them to our own lives. This shows how little we have really grasped the nature of samsara.
We are all quite attracted to Dzogchen practice, but many of us rush through the ngondro teachings just to get these higher teachings. Our intention is completely wrong. If we have that kind of motivation, what can we expect from the ngondro? Just accumulating the numbers. Without contemplation of the Four Thoughts, our ngondro and our path thereafter will not be any different from ordinary worldly activities. But we cannot be freed from samsara with samsaric methods. They won’t bring us true freedom
or happiness, and have never taken us to a higher place, and yet we have been avidly pursuing samsaric ways for lifetimes. We are experts at engaging in them. We don’t have to make much effort to think of samsaric things to do; we are naturally drawn to them. We talk about Dzogchen as effortless practice, but for us samsaric practice is effortless. Even when we are practicing, our mind goes off effortlessly. When we are supposed to be doing deity practice, our samsaric concepts come to us naturally, without any effort. See? We are that enmeshed in samsara; we have deeply imprinted habit patterns. If they were useful, we would have been freed a long time ago. But we are not yet free, and we sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of
samsara by continuing as we are. This is why we need to practice dharma purely and precisely, step by step, free of hopes and fears.
When people request teachings from me and ask to become my students, I teach them the Four Thoughts and let them work on contemplating them for a long time. After practicing in this way for eighteen months, someone said to me, “Rinpoche, if you give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy; if you don’t give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy. There is a lifetime of practice in the contemplations you gave me. I’m completely happy to just do this practice and support your activity.” That was the biggest and best news I had received since arriving in America. Mostly I hear, “I’m doing ngondro, I’ve almost finished half of it—can I attend the Dzogchen retreat?” That one person’s understanding of the dharma fulfilled the purpose of my being here. For our lineage in the future, if we have two or three people like that, it will be like the sun and moon appearing together in the sky.
The point is, in approaching these contemplations, we cannot apply Western models of education, where everything is scheduled year by year, from kindergarten to graduation: “This year I’ll do this, next year I’ll do that.” It doesn’t work that way with dharma. You need to practice the Four Thoughts until you get the Four Thoughts—not just for one or two months, but until you get them.
Appreciating how meaningless samsara is and having genuine compassion for all beings are the most crucial points for a practitioner. Understanding samsara will give us strong compassion for others. Then, when we do practice, our body, speech, and mind will become very happy because we understand the power of that dharma environment. Recognizing the blessings of the dharma environment helps to completely loosen our body, relax our mind, and soften our speech. When we practice, there is the joy of practicing; when we sit, there is the joy of sitting; when we meditate, there is the joy of meditating.
As we move along the path of dharma, we have to remember to keep a balance between study and practice. Study is extremely important and meditation is also extremely important, but the two have to be integrated. Some people go to one extreme, focusing only on the intellectual or academic approach. They get so caught up in this that they don’t like to meditate or do group practices. They believe that academic brilliance makes a great practitioner. But they simply don’t understand the meaning of dharma. Some people go to the other extreme. They fail to see that studying texts gives them all the information and methods they need for approaching practice. Or it may be sheer laziness that prevents them from studying: memorizing a text is a very effective way of reinforcing and expanding our comprehension of the dharma, but perhaps we think it is too much hard work. This is unfortunate.
Ideally, we first read or listen to teachings. Next, we meditate in order to perceive the oneness of phenomena, to move beyond an intellectual understanding of their nature. We don’t see all phenomena, the whole of samsara and nirvana, as one. Instead, we see samsara as samsara and nirvana as nirvana. We see a demon as a demon, a deity as a deity. We don’t see the equalness of the nature of the deity and the nature of the demon—we don’t see their oneness. Until we go beyond this limited understanding, we need to train carefully in how we perceive things.
When we combine study and meditation, our meditation will take a leap. But if study only generates more arrogance, it’s better to stick with meditation. We want to make sure that we don’t get stuck in the intellectual. If a scholar hasn’t tamed his mind, when obstacles arise, he won’t recognize or know how to deal with them properly. So if you don’t know how to integrate study and practice, just practice simply.
Our teacher Chagdud Rinpoche, a highly realized master, a mahasiddha, gave us many instructions on how to practice. We should take advantage of what we received from him. Even those of you who did not meet him have his blessings and his teachings, which are carried by his senior students. And hopefully all of us will see him again soon! When I was in Tibet this year, I went to see Khenpo Ngaga, whom I had previously asked to help find Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Khenpo was in strict retreat, so we could not meet but I made the request again, and he indicated that he will look for signs. In the meantime, let us continue to pray for Rinpoche’s swift rebirth under the most auspicious conditions, while maintaining whatever practices he blessed us with. Along with that, to keep our foundation and path pure, let us return again and again to the Four Thoughts, just as Rinpoche and all great masters have always done.
With very best wishes to you all,
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche
Dear Sangha,
I would like to share some points that came up in a talk I gave at Rigdzin Ling during the Essence of Siddhi drubchen in October. To ensure that the authentic traditions upheld by our root teacher, His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, continue to flourish, I encourage you all to reflect regularly on the Four Thoughts, remembering as always to first establish pure bodhichitta intention. With every teaching we listen to, every action we take, every practice we do, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we should constantly refresh our bodhichitta.
Each of the Four Thoughts can stand independently, but they are also interconnected in a profound and beautiful manner. (Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Gates to Buddhist Practice, by Chagdud Rinpoche, and the Ngondro Commentary, by Chagdud Khadro, are books that I recommend to students interested in working with the Four Thoughts.) Understanding the preciousness of our human birth inspires us to make greater use of this life; we apply ourselves properly and with great joy, moment by moment. Contemplating impermanence helps us to appreciate the preciousness of our life, while helping to break down our belief in the solidity of things. When we reflect on the ever-changing quality of phenomena, we no longer cling so intensely to everything. Our understanding of emptiness deepens. Contemplating karma prompts us to urgently reconsider how we think and behave, and motivates us to become better, more honest people. And finally, by contemplating and truly comprehending suffering, we give rise to compassion for other beings and see how meaningless samsara is. With this understanding, we develop to some extent the desire to abandon samsaric thoughts and actions.That is what we mean by renunciation. But as I look around at others and at myself, I see somewhat “symbolic” Vajrayana or Mahayana practitioners. When we look at ourselves and examine our own practice, we see quite clearly how much we cherish samsaric things, how much we embrace and pursue them.
Practice takes root in the mind only when one has developed a certain degree of renunciation. Contemplating the Four Thoughts helps us to understand samsara. Without contemplating them in great depth, we go on and on living in a fantasy. We think we are practitioners of Vajrayana, we think we have finished ngondro and moved to some higher level, but in fact we are not even close.
Once in a blue moon we actually do contemplate the Four Thoughts, but we don’t even consider some points, like death and impermanence, because we can’t bear to apply them to our own lives. This shows how little we have really grasped the nature of samsara.
We are all quite attracted to Dzogchen practice, but many of us rush through the ngondro teachings just to get these higher teachings. Our intention is completely wrong. If we have that kind of motivation, what can we expect from the ngondro? Just accumulating the numbers. Without contemplation of the Four Thoughts, our ngondro and our path thereafter will not be any different from ordinary worldly activities. But we cannot be freed from samsara with samsaric methods. They won’t bring us true freedom
or happiness, and have never taken us to a higher place, and yet we have been avidly pursuing samsaric ways for lifetimes. We are experts at engaging in them. We don’t have to make much effort to think of samsaric things to do; we are naturally drawn to them. We talk about Dzogchen as effortless practice, but for us samsaric practice is effortless. Even when we are practicing, our mind goes off effortlessly. When we are supposed to be doing deity practice, our samsaric concepts come to us naturally, without any effort. See? We are that enmeshed in samsara; we have deeply imprinted habit patterns. If they were useful, we would have been freed a long time ago. But we are not yet free, and we sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of
samsara by continuing as we are. This is why we need to practice dharma purely and precisely, step by step, free of hopes and fears.
When people request teachings from me and ask to become my students, I teach them the Four Thoughts and let them work on contemplating them for a long time. After practicing in this way for eighteen months, someone said to me, “Rinpoche, if you give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy; if you don’t give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy. There is a lifetime of practice in the contemplations you gave me. I’m completely happy to just do this practice and support your activity.” That was the biggest and best news I had received since arriving in America. Mostly I hear, “I’m doing ngondro, I’ve almost finished half of it—can I attend the Dzogchen retreat?” That one person’s understanding of the dharma fulfilled the purpose of my being here. For our lineage in the future, if we have two or three people like that, it will be like the sun and moon appearing together in the sky.
The point is, in approaching these contemplations, we cannot apply Western models of education, where everything is scheduled year by year, from kindergarten to graduation: “This year I’ll do this, next year I’ll do that.” It doesn’t work that way with dharma. You need to practice the Four Thoughts until you get the Four Thoughts—not just for one or two months, but until you get them.
Appreciating how meaningless samsara is and having genuine compassion for all beings are the most crucial points for a practitioner. Understanding samsara will give us strong compassion for others. Then, when we do practice, our body, speech, and mind will become very happy because we understand the power of that dharma environment. Recognizing the blessings of the dharma environment helps to completely loosen our body, relax our mind, and soften our speech. When we practice, there is the joy of practicing; when we sit, there is the joy of sitting; when we meditate, there is the joy of meditating.
As we move along the path of dharma, we have to remember to keep a balance between study and practice. Study is extremely important and meditation is also extremely important, but the two have to be integrated. Some people go to one extreme, focusing only on the intellectual or academic approach. They get so caught up in this that they don’t like to meditate or do group practices. They believe that academic brilliance makes a great practitioner. But they simply don’t understand the meaning of dharma. Some people go to the other extreme. They fail to see that studying texts gives them all the information and methods they need for approaching practice. Or it may be sheer laziness that prevents them from studying: memorizing a text is a very effective way of reinforcing and expanding our comprehension of the dharma, but perhaps we think it is too much hard work. This is unfortunate.
Ideally, we first read or listen to teachings. Next, we meditate in order to perceive the oneness of phenomena, to move beyond an intellectual understanding of their nature. We don’t see all phenomena, the whole of samsara and nirvana, as one. Instead, we see samsara as samsara and nirvana as nirvana. We see a demon as a demon, a deity as a deity. We don’t see the equalness of the nature of the deity and the nature of the demon—we don’t see their oneness. Until we go beyond this limited understanding, we need to train carefully in how we perceive things.
When we combine study and meditation, our meditation will take a leap. But if study only generates more arrogance, it’s better to stick with meditation. We want to make sure that we don’t get stuck in the intellectual. If a scholar hasn’t tamed his mind, when obstacles arise, he won’t recognize or know how to deal with them properly. So if you don’t know how to integrate study and practice, just practice simply.
Our teacher Chagdud Rinpoche, a highly realized master, a mahasiddha, gave us many instructions on how to practice. We should take advantage of what we received from him. Even those of you who did not meet him have his blessings and his teachings, which are carried by his senior students. And hopefully all of us will see him again soon! When I was in Tibet this year, I went to see Khenpo Ngaga, whom I had previously asked to help find Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Khenpo was in strict retreat, so we could not meet but I made the request again, and he indicated that he will look for signs. In the meantime, let us continue to pray for Rinpoche’s swift rebirth under the most auspicious conditions, while maintaining whatever practices he blessed us with. Along with that, to keep our foundation and path pure, let us return again and again to the Four Thoughts, just as Rinpoche and all great masters have always done.
With very best wishes to you all,
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche
Dear Sangha,
I would like to share some points that came up in a talk I gave at Rigdzin Ling during the Essence of Siddhi drubchen in October. To ensure that the authentic traditions upheld by our root teacher, His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, continue to flourish, I encourage you all to reflect regularly on the Four Thoughts, remembering as always to first establish pure bodhichitta intention. With every teaching we listen to, every action we take, every practice we do, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we should constantly refresh our bodhichitta.
Each of the Four Thoughts can stand independently, but they are also interconnected in a profound and beautiful manner. (Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Gates to Buddhist Practice, by Chagdud Rinpoche, and the Ngondro Commentary, by Chagdud Khadro, are books that I recommend to students interested in working with the Four Thoughts.) Understanding the preciousness of our human birth inspires us to make greater use of this life; we apply ourselves properly and with great joy, moment by moment. Contemplating impermanence helps us to appreciate the preciousness of our life, while helping to break down our belief in the solidity of things. When we reflect on the ever-changing quality of phenomena, we no longer cling so intensely to everything. Our understanding of emptiness deepens. Contemplating karma prompts us to urgently reconsider how we think and behave, and motivates us to become better, more honest people. And finally, by contemplating and truly comprehending suffering, we give rise to compassion for other beings and see how meaningless samsara is. With this understanding, we develop to some extent the desire to abandon samsaric thoughts and actions.That is what we mean by renunciation. But as I look around at others and at myself, I see somewhat “symbolic” Vajrayana or Mahayana practitioners. When we look at ourselves and examine our own practice, we see quite clearly how much we cherish samsaric things, how much we embrace and pursue them.
Practice takes root in the mind only when one has developed a certain degree of renunciation. Contemplating the Four Thoughts helps us to understand samsara. Without contemplating them in great depth, we go on and on living in a fantasy. We think we are practitioners of Vajrayana, we think we have finished ngondro and moved to some higher level, but in fact we are not even close.
Once in a blue moon we actually do contemplate the Four Thoughts, but we don’t even consider some points, like death and impermanence, because we can’t bear to apply them to our own lives. This shows how little we have really grasped the nature of samsara.
We are all quite attracted to Dzogchen practice, but many of us rush through the ngondro teachings just to get these higher teachings. Our intention is completely wrong. If we have that kind of motivation, what can we expect from the ngondro? Just accumulating the numbers. Without contemplation of the Four Thoughts, our ngondro and our path thereafter will not be any different from ordinary worldly activities. But we cannot be freed from samsara with samsaric methods. They won’t bring us true freedom
or happiness, and have never taken us to a higher place, and yet we have been avidly pursuing samsaric ways for lifetimes. We are experts at engaging in them. We don’t have to make much effort to think of samsaric things to do; we are naturally drawn to them. We talk about Dzogchen as effortless practice, but for us samsaric practice is effortless. Even when we are practicing, our mind goes off effortlessly. When we are supposed to be doing deity practice, our samsaric concepts come to us naturally, without any effort. See? We are that enmeshed in samsara; we have deeply imprinted habit patterns. If they were useful, we would have been freed a long time ago. But we are not yet free, and we sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of
samsara by continuing as we are. This is why we need to practice dharma purely and precisely, step by step, free of hopes and fears.
When people request teachings from me and ask to become my students, I teach them the Four Thoughts and let them work on contemplating them for a long time. After practicing in this way for eighteen months, someone said to me, “Rinpoche, if you give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy; if you don’t give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy. There is a lifetime of practice in the contemplations you gave me. I’m completely happy to just do this practice and support your activity.” That was the biggest and best news I had received since arriving in America. Mostly I hear, “I’m doing ngondro, I’ve almost finished half of it—can I attend the Dzogchen retreat?” That one person’s understanding of the dharma fulfilled the purpose of my being here. For our lineage in the future, if we have two or three people like that, it will be like the sun and moon appearing together in the sky.
The point is, in approaching these contemplations, we cannot apply Western models of education, where everything is scheduled year by year, from kindergarten to graduation: “This year I’ll do this, next year I’ll do that.” It doesn’t work that way with dharma. You need to practice the Four Thoughts until you get the Four Thoughts—not just for one or two months, but until you get them.
Appreciating how meaningless samsara is and having genuine compassion for all beings are the most crucial points for a practitioner. Understanding samsara will give us strong compassion for others. Then, when we do practice, our body, speech, and mind will become very happy because we understand the power of that dharma environment. Recognizing the blessings of the dharma environment helps to completely loosen our body, relax our mind, and soften our speech. When we practice, there is the joy of practicing; when we sit, there is the joy of sitting; when we meditate, there is the joy of meditating.
As we move along the path of dharma, we have to remember to keep a balance between study and practice. Study is extremely important and meditation is also extremely important, but the two have to be integrated. Some people go to one extreme, focusing only on the intellectual or academic approach. They get so caught up in this that they don’t like to meditate or do group practices. They believe that academic brilliance makes a great practitioner. But they simply don’t understand the meaning of dharma. Some people go to the other extreme. They fail to see that studying texts gives them all the information and methods they need for approaching practice. Or it may be sheer laziness that prevents them from studying: memorizing a text is a very effective way of reinforcing and expanding our comprehension of the dharma, but perhaps we think it is too much hard work. This is unfortunate.
Ideally, we first read or listen to teachings. Next, we meditate in order to perceive the oneness of phenomena, to move beyond an intellectual understanding of their nature. We don’t see all phenomena, the whole of samsara and nirvana, as one. Instead, we see samsara as samsara and nirvana as nirvana. We see a demon as a demon, a deity as a deity. We don’t see the equalness of the nature of the deity and the nature of the demon—we don’t see their oneness. Until we go beyond this limited understanding, we need to train carefully in how we perceive things.
When we combine study and meditation, our meditation will take a leap. But if study only generates more arrogance, it’s better to stick with meditation. We want to make sure that we don’t get stuck in the intellectual. If a scholar hasn’t tamed his mind, when obstacles arise, he won’t recognize or know how to deal with them properly. So if you don’t know how to integrate study and practice, just practice simply.
Our teacher Chagdud Rinpoche, a highly realized master, a mahasiddha, gave us many instructions on how to practice. We should take advantage of what we received from him. Even those of you who did not meet him have his blessings and his teachings, which are carried by his senior students. And hopefully all of us will see him again soon! When I was in Tibet this year, I went to see Khenpo Ngaga, whom I had previously asked to help find Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Khenpo was in strict retreat, so we could not meet but I made the request again, and he indicated that he will look for signs. In the meantime, let us continue to pray for Rinpoche’s swift rebirth under the most auspicious conditions, while maintaining whatever practices he blessed us with. Along with that, to keep our foundation and path pure, let us return again and again to the Four Thoughts, just as Rinpoche and all great masters have always done.
With very best wishes to you all,
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche
Dear Sangha,
I would like to share some points that came up in a talk I gave at Rigdzin Ling during the Essence of Siddhi drubchen in October. To ensure that the authentic traditions upheld by our root teacher, His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, continue to flourish, I encourage you all to reflect regularly on the Four Thoughts, remembering as always to first establish pure bodhichitta intention. With every teaching we listen to, every action we take, every practice we do, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we should constantly refresh our bodhichitta.
Each of the Four Thoughts can stand independently, but they are also interconnected in a profound and beautiful manner. (Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Gates to Buddhist Practice, by Chagdud Rinpoche, and the Ngondro Commentary, by Chagdud Khadro, are books that I recommend to students interested in working with the Four Thoughts.) Understanding the preciousness of our human birth inspires us to make greater use of this life; we apply ourselves properly and with great joy, moment by moment. Contemplating impermanence helps us to appreciate the preciousness of our life, while helping to break down our belief in the solidity of things. When we reflect on the ever-changing quality of phenomena, we no longer cling so intensely to everything. Our understanding of emptiness deepens. Contemplating karma prompts us to urgently reconsider how we think and behave, and motivates us to become better, more honest people. And finally, by contemplating and truly comprehending suffering, we give rise to compassion for other beings and see how meaningless samsara is. With this understanding, we develop to some extent the desire to abandon samsaric thoughts and actions.That is what we mean by renunciation. But as I look around at others and at myself, I see somewhat “symbolic” Vajrayana or Mahayana practitioners. When we look at ourselves and examine our own practice, we see quite clearly how much we cherish samsaric things, how much we embrace and pursue them.
Practice takes root in the mind only when one has developed a certain degree of renunciation. Contemplating the Four Thoughts helps us to understand samsara. Without contemplating them in great depth, we go on and on living in a fantasy. We think we are practitioners of Vajrayana, we think we have finished ngondro and moved to some higher level, but in fact we are not even close.
Once in a blue moon we actually do contemplate the Four Thoughts, but we don’t even consider some points, like death and impermanence, because we can’t bear to apply them to our own lives. This shows how little we have really grasped the nature of samsara.
We are all quite attracted to Dzogchen practice, but many of us rush through the ngondro teachings just to get these higher teachings. Our intention is completely wrong. If we have that kind of motivation, what can we expect from the ngondro? Just accumulating the numbers. Without contemplation of the Four Thoughts, our ngondro and our path thereafter will not be any different from ordinary worldly activities. But we cannot be freed from samsara with samsaric methods. They won’t bring us true freedom
or happiness, and have never taken us to a higher place, and yet we have been avidly pursuing samsaric ways for lifetimes. We are experts at engaging in them. We don’t have to make much effort to think of samsaric things to do; we are naturally drawn to them. We talk about Dzogchen as effortless practice, but for us samsaric practice is effortless. Even when we are practicing, our mind goes off effortlessly. When we are supposed to be doing deity practice, our samsaric concepts come to us naturally, without any effort. See? We are that enmeshed in samsara; we have deeply imprinted habit patterns. If they were useful, we would have been freed a long time ago. But we are not yet free, and we sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of
samsara by continuing as we are. This is why we need to practice dharma purely and precisely, step by step, free of hopes and fears.
When people request teachings from me and ask to become my students, I teach them the Four Thoughts and let them work on contemplating them for a long time. After practicing in this way for eighteen months, someone said to me, “Rinpoche, if you give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy; if you don’t give me more teachings, I’ll be very happy. There is a lifetime of practice in the contemplations you gave me. I’m completely happy to just do this practice and support your activity.” That was the biggest and best news I had received since arriving in America. Mostly I hear, “I’m doing ngondro, I’ve almost finished half of it—can I attend the Dzogchen retreat?” That one person’s understanding of the dharma fulfilled the purpose of my being here. For our lineage in the future, if we have two or three people like that, it will be like the sun and moon appearing together in the sky.
The point is, in approaching these contemplations, we cannot apply Western models of education, where everything is scheduled year by year, from kindergarten to graduation: “This year I’ll do this, next year I’ll do that.” It doesn’t work that way with dharma. You need to practice the Four Thoughts until you get the Four Thoughts—not just for one or two months, but until you get them.
Appreciating how meaningless samsara is and having genuine compassion for all beings are the most crucial points for a practitioner. Understanding samsara will give us strong compassion for others. Then, when we do practice, our body, speech, and mind will become very happy because we understand the power of that dharma environment. Recognizing the blessings of the dharma environment helps to completely loosen our body, relax our mind, and soften our speech. When we practice, there is the joy of practicing; when we sit, there is the joy of sitting; when we meditate, there is the joy of meditating.
As we move along the path of dharma, we have to remember to keep a balance between study and practice. Study is extremely important and meditation is also extremely important, but the two have to be integrated. Some people go to one extreme, focusing only on the intellectual or academic approach. They get so caught up in this that they don’t like to meditate or do group practices. They believe that academic brilliance makes a great practitioner. But they simply don’t understand the meaning of dharma. Some people go to the other extreme. They fail to see that studying texts gives them all the information and methods they need for approaching practice. Or it may be sheer laziness that prevents them from studying: memorizing a text is a very effective way of reinforcing and expanding our comprehension of the dharma, but perhaps we think it is too much hard work. This is unfortunate.
Ideally, we first read or listen to teachings. Next, we meditate in order to perceive the oneness of phenomena, to move beyond an intellectual understanding of their nature. We don’t see all phenomena, the whole of samsara and nirvana, as one. Instead, we see samsara as samsara and nirvana as nirvana. We see a demon as a demon, a deity as a deity. We don’t see the equalness of the nature of the deity and the nature of the demon—we don’t see their oneness. Until we go beyond this limited understanding, we need to train carefully in how we perceive things.
When we combine study and meditation, our meditation will take a leap. But if study only generates more arrogance, it’s better to stick with meditation. We want to make sure that we don’t get stuck in the intellectual. If a scholar hasn’t tamed his mind, when obstacles arise, he won’t recognize or know how to deal with them properly. So if you don’t know how to integrate study and practice, just practice simply.
Our teacher Chagdud Rinpoche, a highly realized master, a mahasiddha, gave us many instructions on how to practice. We should take advantage of what we received from him. Even those of you who did not meet him have his blessings and his teachings, which are carried by his senior students. And hopefully all of us will see him again soon! When I was in Tibet this year, I went to see Khenpo Ngaga, whom I had previously asked to help find Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Khenpo was in strict retreat, so we could not meet but I made the request again, and he indicated that he will look for signs. In the meantime, let us continue to pray for Rinpoche’s swift rebirth under the most auspicious conditions, while maintaining whatever practices he blessed us with. Along with that, to keep our foundation and path pure, let us return again and again to the Four Thoughts, just as Rinpoche and all great masters have always done.
With very best wishes to you all,
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche
