Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa
  • The Karmapa
    • A Short Biography
    • The Lineage of Karmapas
    • Activities & Projects
  • Teachings
    • YouTube Archive
    • Video Library
    • Podcast
  • News
  • Schedule
  • Buddhism
    • Shakyamuni Buddha
    • Buddhism in India
    • Buddhism in Tibet
    • Kagyu Lineage
    • The Golden Rosary
  • Centers
    • North America
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • Africa
    • South America
  • Office
    • Media
    • Contact
Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa
  • The Karmapa
    • A Short Biography
    • The Lineage of Karmapas
    • Activities & Projects
  • Teachings
    • YouTube Archive
    • Video Library
    • Podcast
  • News
  • Schedule
  • Buddhism
    • Shakyamuni Buddha
    • Buddhism in India
    • Buddhism in Tibet
    • Kagyu Lineage
    • The Golden Rosary
  • Centers
    • North America
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • Africa
    • South America
  • Office
    • Media
    • Contact
  • English
  • France
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Australia
  • Poland
Mar 17

Never Giving Up on Sentient Beings

After a day off for the holiday of Holi, the Karmapa returned to teaching chapter ten on the “Precepts for Generating Aspiring Bodhicitta” from Gampopa’s Ornament of Precious Liberation. The Karmapa focused on the five precepts of aspirational bodhichitta. One of these precepts, never mentally abandoning sentient beings, is the means of guaranteeing that our bodhicitta does not get lost. The Karmapa noted that our achieving the qualities of the Buddha comes down to whether or not we have given up on sentient beings.

This section also treats the causes for losing aspirational bodhicitta. For instance, if our aim is incompatible with the Mahayana, then we will lose aspirational bodhicitta. To counter this, we must have the wish to benefit others and the wish for great enlightenment.

The Karmapa drew parallels between the four defeats of the Pratimoksha vows and the loss of the aspirational bodhicitta vow. In the bodhisattva vow, the following are downfalls: (1) With great attachment to gain or respect, we praise ourselves and disparage others. (2) We have the power to assist a sentient being who is suffering, but fail to do so. (3) We continue to speak badly about someone who has made a mistake, and they confess but we lack forgiveness. (4) If we pretend to have a higher view, but do not. These are grave offences of the bodhisattva vow and are analogous to the four defeats.

When we have really strong negative emotions, the four grave offences are performed with great involvement. It is precisely this great involvement that makes these into the four actions analogous to defeats since (1) we do them continually while knowing they are mistakes; (2) we do them with no shame or embarrassment that they are unacceptable; (3) we enjoy doing them; and (4) we view it as being positive. Performing these actions with great involvement becomes the cause for losing the vow of engaged bodhicitta. Such defeats are committed with varying degrees of involvement related to losing the vow. Some say loss of the vow entails the presence of all four actions whereas others say only three must be present.

Other causes for losing the vow include returning the precepts of the vow and developing wrong views. However, in terms of restoring the vow, there are methods for restoration of both aspirational bodhicitta and engaged bodhicitta. The vows of bodhicitta can be restored whereas the pratimoksha vows cannot be restored. A common practice of restoring the vow is three recitations at day and three at night of the Sutra in Three Sections, also known as The Sutra of Confessing and Restoring.

The Karmapa told a humorous anecdote regarding the practice of the reciting this. He said that in the Indian tradition, reciting the Sutra in Three Sections was considered the most powerful purifier. It was only recited when there was a grave misdeed, such as a root downfall of a bodhisattva vow. When Indian people came to Tibet, however, they said Tibet must be fill of terribly wicked people since they recite the Sutra in Three Sections so often.

To further clarify the precept of not abandoning sentient beings, the Karmapa provided the following example. There was a monkey mother and her two children, a son and daughter, who would go into the fields in search of food. The owner of the field would see them there and chase them while throwing sticks and stones. The mother, who favored her son, would carry him on her chest and her daughter on her back as they escaped out of the field. Once the monkey mother reached a tree, she could not climb up with her son on her chest so she dropped him and climbed up the tree. Once she reached the top, she realized he was still at the base of the tree while her daughter was safely on her back. This is what it is like when we try to benefit beings. Just like the monkey mother, in difficult situations, we often run away and leave our bodhichitta (the son) at the base of the tree. While we may have the wish to benefit beings, some urgent situation arises and or something bad happens. At this point, we begin discriminating and forget about other sentient beings.

The Karmapa concluded with the hopeful and joyous news that if the proper signs and conditions manifest, Tenga Rinpoche would be recognized during this Arya Kshema Winter Dharma Gathering. In the case that it does happen, the Arya Kshema will be extended for a couple extra days.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • E-Mail

Related Posts

[ long read ]

MIND TRAINING TEACHING
The Gyalwang Karmapa gave an extensive teaching on the 8 Verses of Training the Mind

[ video series ]

THE PRAJNAPARAMITA
Taught over six sessions, this is a direct explanation of the Buddhist view of emptiness

[ long read ]

THE CHENREZIK PRACTICE
The Gyalwang Karmapa taught on how to practice Chenrezik and recite his mantra

[ video series ]

100 SHORT INSTRUCTIONS
Taught over nine sessions, this text by the 8th Karmapa was taught in great depth by the present Karmapa.

[ long read ]

THREE PRINCIPLE ASPECTS
A comprehensive teaching that condenses the entire Buddhist path by Tsongkhapa

 

Recent Updates

  • A Message from the Karmapa
  • The Special Kagyu Monlam Begins at Bokar Monastery: Day One
  • The Anniversaries of Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa: Kagyu Gunchoe Conference
  • Restoring Karma Kamtsang Traditions: Hayagriva
  • Ancient Translation Methods: Dynamism and Debate
  • Approaches to Understanding the Thirty Verses of the Mind Only
  • The Inauguration of the 23rd Kagyu Gunchoe

Kagyu Office Around the World

中文 // Français // Polski // Español
The Karmapa’s website is carbon neutral. //

About the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the head of the 900 year old Karma Kagyu Lineage and guide to millions of Buddhists around the world.

Born in 1985, the Karmapa resides in his temporary home at Gyuto Monastery in India after making a dramatic escape from Tibet in the year 2000.

Traveling the world, the Karmapa skillfully teaches traditional Tibetan Buddhist Dharma while also advocating topics such as environmental conservation, feminism, digitization of the Dharma, and much more.

Please use the icons below to find the Karmapa on social media maintained by his office of administration.

// // // //

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Please view our Privacy Policy. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo