01 Ending Suffering Through Correct Dharma Practice 10-Apr-2004

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains how, through making requests from your heart to the root guru and the three-time buddhas and receiving the blessing of the guru, it’s possible to see the conventional nature of the mind and achieve clarity. To see the ultimate nature of the mind, it depends on collecting merits and purifying defilements. That is the only direct method to liberate oneself from the unimaginable oceans of samsaric suffering and cause, all the negative emotional thoughts, the action and karma, the very root, which is the unknowing mind.
Unable to see the I which exists and believing in the I which doesn’t exist, is the root of all our sufferings. You do not see the I which exists and its nature: experiences happiness, experiences suffering, creates the cause of happiness, creates the cause of suffering; but you believe in the I which doesn’t exist, which is not there, believing it exists. We are constantly tortured by that ignorance, from the time without beginning, from beginningless samsaric rebirth we are tortured by ignorance.
Normally people either do not know karma, do not have full knowledge, which includes karma and reincarnation, or have studied, do have an idea of karma, but in daily life don’t think about that, it’s left in the text. They don’t relate what Buddha said or what the lamrim says in their real life. Some people always practice, day and night, even sleeping becomes yoga; yoga of washing, yoga of eating. That person can practice pure Dharma. Then every day they’ll feel the courage to protect themself from delusion naturally, without difficulties.
The root of samsara is ignorance, this is the great enemy in your life and whenever you practice Dharma, whenever your mind becomes Dharma, from that you achieve only happiness, no suffering. As much as possible, strong practice of purification, collecting extensive merit and guru yoga to receive blessings can bring our gross mind closer to realising emptiness. Lama Zopa Rinpoche shares the story of Milarepa’s life to show us that by strong devotion and mind development in the path we can free ourselves from all sufferings.
Find out more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his teachings and projects at fpmt.org/