Shakyamuni | Tibetan Buddhist Altar

An excerpt from a teaching called “The Importance of Shakyamuni”

Without the teachings of Lord Buddha, there would be no perfect path by which to achieve supreme enlightenment. There have been and still are paths on this planet by which one can move forward spiritually. There are many ways in which one can accumulate merit. There are many ways in which it is possible to make some kind of spiritual progress. But the kind of spiritual progress that produces supreme enlightenment is quite different.

Lord Buddha said that all beings are suffering, and he didn’t say that to be negative. He said that because he looked around and saw that even those beings that were most happy, most beautiful, and most productive would still get old, sicken, and ultimately die. Each being of the six realms of cyclic existence ultimately gets old, gets sick, and dies.

That is why Lord Buddha said that there is no comfort and no happiness in cyclic existence. He wasn’t denying the possibility of achieving some sort of momentary happiness or fleeting joy. Everyone knows we feel really good when we can eat a piece of chocolate cake or watch our favorite TV program or go swimming or have some friendly conversation or something like that. But the kind of joy that Buddha wished for all sentient beings was long lasting, one that ultimately did not betray us. The kind of joy that is available in cyclic existence has a beginning and therefore an end.

When Lord Buddha saw that, he wished in his great kindness and great compassion to present a way by which we could overcome cyclic existence, not merely make progress. That really is the difference between the teachings of Lord Buddha and other spiritual teachings. The teachings of Lord Buddha have one goal and one goal only: supreme realization – ultimate liberation from samsaric existence and the final overcoming of the mind of duality that produces the conditions of samsara. This is the path that Lord Buddha created.

An excerpt from a teaching called “The Importance of Shakyamuni” by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

All of the blessings of the Buddhist path are available to us because of the supreme compassion of Lord Buddha. If he had not chosen to stay and forego his parinirvana for some time, forego his entry into the state of nirvana in order to teach sentient beings, it would not be possible for us to be on this path. At the time of his teaching, there was no path that could lead to supreme enlightenment. Again I say there were paths that could lead to spiritual progress, but none of them truly overcame all of the six realms.

Therefore follow this path with great enthusiasm because you have a set of fortunate circumstances that very few other beings on this planet have, very few human beings and far fewer beings of any other realm of cyclic existence. If you think about how many humans there are compared to the other five realms of beings, just having that human condition is extremely rare and is over too quickly. What proportion of those beings that have incarnated in the fortunate human condition have been offered the true path of Lord Buddha? Such a small portion.

You should think about these incredibly auspicious circumstances, and when you do your practice, think that you are doing this to achieve the ultimate goal possible for humankind. Think and believe that there is every reason that you can succeed. Think and believe that there is every reason that even if you don’t succeed now, you absolutely without fail can create the causes by which you will succeed quickly. If not immediately after this life, then you will soon, very soon.

Your moment is now. Are you creating the causes by which you yourself might someday appear as a Nirmanakaya Buddha to guide all beings? This practice that you do now creates the causes. Practice sincerely. If you practice sincerely with the intention of guiding beings, with the intention of breaking through samsaric existence as a true renunciate, if you really renounce cyclic existence with all its betrayal and take refuge sincerely, you are creating the causes, and someday your face will be known as the face of a Nirmanakaya Buddha, and your nature will be known both by you and by all sentient beings to be the Dharmakaya.

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