So, this is a very worthwhile pursuit as regards making the best use of the working basis that we have. That will benefit not only this life, but also future lives as well. If, on top of that, we were to study and practice, training in the various methods of Dharma, there would be an even stronger benefit and building up of positive force from being a kind and helpful person. If we are refined and considerate of others, we build up positive force (merit) in any case. If someone is basically a happy person, polite, considerate to others – a cultivated, good type of person – then whether or not they actually believe in religion or Dharma doesn’t make any difference. If a person’s mind is happy, then whatever his or her external circumstances may be, this person continues to be happy. Happiness depends primarily on the state of mind. In order for our happiness to come about, it must have some prior cause. When we are aware that there are a lot of wealthy people with many material possessions, who are miserable and have severe mental suffering, we can’t say that the sole cause of happiness is material possessions. Furthermore, money and material objects are not the sole cause for happiness. But we cannot place the main emphasis on acquiring money and material objects. Of course, in order to live we need to earn a living and do the various things that are necessary for our daily life. In order to be able to pursue the spiritual path, we must take advantage of the precious human life that we have. So we need to think very deeply about the causes that bring about our happiness and eliminate our problems. The happiness that we wish for doesn’t come from out of nowhere – it comes from causes. Now that we have all achieved the working basis of a precious human body, we all wish to be happy none of us wishes to have any suffering or problems. the points to train in for mind training.the close-bonding practices for mind training,.the measure of having trained our attitudes,.condensation of the practice in one lifetime,.transforming adverse circumstances into a path to enlightenment,.the method of training in the two bodhichittas – relative and deepest,.The seven points for attitude-training are: Still, the particular points that we’re discussing apply to a specific line of teachings called “lojong,” “mind training,” “attitude-training.” They are condensed into The Seven Point Mind Training, as presented in the text by Geshe Chekawa, and in the commentary called The Rays of the Sun, by Namkapel, a disciple of Tsongkhapa. There is nothing in these graded paths that couldn’t be considered training of our attitudes. Shantideva’s presentation, in turn, encompasses all the points found in the lam-rim teachings of the graded path, meaning all the graded pathway minds leading to enlightenment. The various Tibetan traditions coming from the Buddha – Kadam, Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma – all follow a presentation of ways to train our attitudes that comes from a common source: Shantideva’s Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior.
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