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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 11

misuse it. Making our lives meaningful and worthwhile “A short while ago I spoke of the different ideas people
is a key point of the Dharma. have about what saṃsāra is, and how some people
without much education think of it as family life and
The second key point is meditation on impermanence. how those with a bit more education define saṃsāra
Many people think that this means creating the fear as this mundane world. Similarly, there are different
of death by fixating on the thought “I’m going to die.” understandings about the term ngejung that we have
But impermanence is more than focusing on the fact been translating here as the desire for liberation. It can
that things pass away; it also means that everything is also be translated as “renunciation.” Sometimes this
changing moment by moment—nothing stands still— word is misunderstood as becoming disgusted with
and so impermanence brings us the opportunity to saṃsāra based on a particular situation. When we are
change at any time. We need to know the good news involved in family life, which can be problematic and
that we are not limited to just one chance; every instant disturbing to us, we could feel for a while, ‘Oh, this
opens up a new opportunity. We need to see this and is pointless.’ This is not what is meant here, because
not waste our chances in frivolous actions, but use the authentic renunciation is not just for one situation but
opportunities that are constantly unfolding before us. for saṃsāra as a whole.

The second section deals with reversing attachment to “Further, to have authentic renunciation we must know
future lives. This is contemplated through two aspects: what saṃsāra is; otherwise, how would we know what
the infallible connection between cause and result and we are renouncing? We have to know the object of our
also the faults and hence the sufferings of saṃsāra. thinking. Once we know what saṃsāra is, we have a
These two contemplations are brought together because basis for our renunciation.
virtuous and unvirtuous actions are respectively
the causes of pleasure and pain in saṃsāra. In other “The second main topic is bodhichitta, which has two
words, since karma is the cause of saṃsāric birth and parts, the reason why we should generate bodhichitta
experiences, these two are contemplated together. and the effective means for doing it.

The third section under the topic of the desire for Furthermore, if the desire for liberation
liberation is how to gauge its extent. Here the verse Is not combined with a pure generation of bodhichitta,
reads: It will not become a cause for perfect happiness.
Therefore, generate bodhichitta, the wish for supreme
By meditating on these points, if the wish for the awakening.
attractions of saṃsāra
Does not arise even for a single moment, “As practioners of the Mahāyāna, it is essential that we
And the desire for liberation arises throughout the day generate bodhichitta, which here means the intention to
and night, attain supreme awakening, (which includes the wish to
This is the time when the desire for liberation has benefit others). We could wish to attain the awakening
arisen. of the Foundational path, but here we are dealing with
the Mahāyāna path and for this, bodhichitta must arise
“Through repeatedly using these means to reverse our in our being. If our bodhichitta is uncontrived, there is
attachment to saṃsāra, we come to the point where no need to mention that this is a cause of awakening.
we do not believe in saṃsāra and no longer find it But even small virtuous actions motivated by contrived
pleasant. We could feel a flash of renunciation, but this bodhichitta, such as giving a morsel of food to an
is ephemeral, and what we need is an authentic desire animal, are definite causes of awakening. On the other
for liberation that is stable throughout the day and night hand, even the authentic contemplation of emptiness
so that the craving for saṃsāra never arises. cannot be a cause of buddhahood if it lacks bodhicitta.