The following is respectfully quoted from “The Excellent Path to Enlightenment” by His Holiness Dilgo Khyenste Rinpoche:
The main source of progress on the path is devotion, so begin each session by visualizing in the sky before you, or above your head, your root teacher in the form of Guru Padmasambhava, resplendent with wisdom and smiling compassionately, seated in the midst of a mass of rainbow light. Then with fervent devotion say three times, “Lama Kyeno!” — “Guru, you know everything! I am in your hands!”–and ask him to bless you so that you achieve complete realization of the profound path this very life. Rays of light emanate from the Guru, removing the veil of ignorance and filling you with blessings.
Then reflect on the six topics that make up the outer or general part of these preliminaries. First, reflect upon the rarity of human existence; this will turn your mind towards the Dharma. Second, contemplate death and impermanence; this will make you realize how urgent it is to practice the Dharma, and will spur you to endeavor. Next, reflect on the third topic, the law of karma, of cause and effect, actions and their results, so that you understand clearly how this law works. After that, reflection on the fourth topic will help you recognize that the deluded condition of samsara is never without suffering. With the fifth, you should recognize that through receiving and practicing the teachings you can free yourself from samsara and ultimately reach the unsurpassable level of omniscience, or enlightenment. Finally, you should recognize that in order to achieve that level you have to rely on the blessings and instructions of a spiritual leader.
1. THE RARITY AND PRECIOUSNESS OF A HUMAN BIRTH
Ask yourself how many of the billions of inhabitants of this planet realize how rare it is to have been born a human being. How many of those who realize this think of using this chance to practice the Dharma? How many of these actually start to practice? How many of those who start continue to practice? How many of those who continue attain ultimate realization? The number of those who attain ultimate realization is like the number of stars you can see at daybreak compared to the number you can see on a clear night.
There are various kinds of human existence. Some are wasted in ordinary pursuits and some are used to progress towards enlightenment. Human birth can only be called precious when one is free to practice the Dharma and has met all the favorable conditions for doing so. So to have the opportunity to practice the Dharma we need to be free from the eight unfavorable conditions. These are: to be born in the hells, the realm of the pretas or hungry ghosts, the animal kingdom, among barbarians, among the long-lived gods or among those with erroneous views, or in a dark age where the Buddha has not appeared, or as someone who is mentally deficient and incapable of understanding the Dharma. But simply to be free from these is not enough. We also need ten favorable conditions, five that depend upon ourselves and five that depend upon others.
The five intrinsic conditions arising from our own situation are: to be born a human being, to be in a place where we can find the Dharma, to have all our faculties, not to live and act in a completely negative way, and to have faith in those worthy of faith.
We need to be born a human being, as this is the only state of existence in which there is enough suffering to give us an acute desire to be free from samsara, yet not so much suffering that we no longer have the opportunity to free ourselves through the practice of Dharma.
We need to be born in what is called a “central land,” meaning a place where the Buddha’s teachings exist. Otherwise, we have no chance of encountering these teachings and progressing along the path.
We need all our faculties so that we can study, reflect on, and practice the Dharma. If we were blind, for instance, we might not be able to read the teachings; if we were deaf, we would not be able to hear them.
We need to lead our lives in a positive way. If our lives are dominated by negative actions–if, for example, we are hunters or thieves, or spend our lives fighting wars–that naturally leads in the opposite direction from the positive conditions needed for Dharma.
We need to have faith and confidence in those who can guide us along the path to enlightenment, namely the Three Jewels and a spiritual teacher.
The five external conditions that depend upon others are: a Buddha must have appeared in the kalpa or aeon in which we are living; the Buddha must have taught the Dharma; the teachings must still be present; they must be practiced; and we must have a spiritual teacher to guide us.
Al this constitutes a human birth endowed with all the freedoms and favorable conditions for practicing the Dharma. That is what we call a precious human birth. Why is it precious? Because by using this human birth, enlightenment can be achieved in this very lifetime. All the great accomplished beings of the past were born ordinary beings, but, by entering the door of Dharma, following a realized teacher, and devoting their whole lives to practicing the instructions they received, they were able to display the enlightened activities of great Bodhisattvas.
If we examine the six realms of samsara one by one, we can see that, except in the human realm, the obstacles to Dharma practice are too strong. In the inferior realms such as the hells, suffering is so intense that it is impossible for the mind to contemplate and practice the teachings. In the celestial realms, where beings can fly through the sky, feed on ambrosia and enjoy all sorts of pleasures, the conditions might seem more favorable. But because the beings there are so enticed and distracted by these things, and their suffering is so minimal, they never get tired of samsara and therefore never think of practicing the Dharma. So if we do not use the precious opportunity of a human existence, we cannot but go downwards, like a stone rolling down a hill.
