Phakchok Rinpoche

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Teaching from Phakchok Rinpoche

November of 2003 during the Fall Seminar given at Ka Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery.

Please set the mind on supreme enlightenment. Thinking that all sentient beings are my mothers as vast space pervades, I shall establish them to the supreme achievement, the level of complete enlightenment. In order to accomplish this, I will receive these teachings of the sacred Dharma and put them into practice in the authentic way. In this way, set the mind on enlightenment and so listen.

What we will be talking about here today is a set of teachings called "Parting from the Four Attachments."

Sometimes, Buddha's teachings and Buddhism are easy to understand but very difficult to practice. That's why in the history of the Dharma there weren't many practitioners that were very successful. Why? Because we are habituated to our attachments; we are used to thinking "me first." We are very habituated to them. Because of this, we can't get free from our habitual patterns which are like a shadow. Wherever you go, your shadow follows you. That's it; that is attachment- wherever you go, it goes with you. Whether you think that you are a good practitioner or not, it doesn't matter. Your attachment is there, with you.

In the Buddhist tradition the most important things that you need to know are what ignorance, obstacles, and hindrances are. After this, you need to know what makes the path; what kind of antidote you need to eat. In other words, you need to know how to practice.

In my experience, Buddhist teachings are not that easy. First, they are quite difficult to understand, believe, and trust. Why? Sometimes they are beyond what we think, so they are very difficult to trust. Secondly, they are very difficult to practice. Why? The practices are the opposite of what we usually do. That is the Buddha-Dharma in a very short form. This is why I say that in my experience Buddhist teachings are, in general, very difficult to combine with our general life style. That's why many teachers and many good practitioners say that if you really want to become a good practitioner, you must abandon cities and shouldn't talk with people. One of my root gurus used to say that he was afraid of people; that he didn't want to meet anyone. He was very realized.