obtained because of the accumulation of merit in previous lives. In this present
form, we have met with a rigzin-lama, and we can hear, reflect, and meditate
upon Dzogchen. This good fortune is greater than rebirth as Indra, king of the
gods, or as Brahma, greater than rebirth as a celebrity millionaire, or an iconic
American president, like John F. Kennedy, or a famous Nobel laureate, like Nelson
Mandela.
Compared to rebirth as a Dzogchen yogin, such destinies are nothing. Whatever
wealth we possess, however famous we may be in this world, in the end it is all
suffering because samsara is marked by change, and change implies suffering. In
this way, our every activity is suffused with it. If we but observe and consider, we
will become convinced of this. Of the sickness and disease of body and mind that
we endure—we will not speak of that. Even the fame and wealth that we take to
be happiness lasts only for a very short time. Due to strong emotional affliction,
some dominate others in competition. No matter how much wealth we possess, we
anxiously want more, worried by enemies and thieves and provoked by the
suffering of failing to reach the status of richer people. In heaven, for example,
after spending a life span of five hundred years enjoying the pleasures of the
senses in every manner possible, a god knows, through his power of
foreknowledge, a week before his death, when he will die, what manner of death
he will endure, and how he will suffer in his next life. It is said that his suffering
will be one hundred times greater than the pleasure he enjoyed in heaven. The
more possessions or fame we have, the more we will suffer. That is a fact.
To repeat what Sri Saraha sang,
Contentment is the ultimate wealth;
Detachment is the final happiness.Supreme happiness and pleasure is contentment and freedom from attachment.
Contentment is a certain degree of satisfaction. The freedom from attachment
implies knowing that whatever appears to exist is unstable, unpredictable, and
untrue and that all things are mere conceptual labels and mental delusion. To
realize these two, there is no better method than dependence upon the Dzogchen
view and meditation. To accomplish Dzogchen, in the beginning, we should
approach it through reason to attain a logical view; in the middle, we should
practice meditation; and, at the end, we accomplish the result. All three phases—
beginning, middle, and end—are important. At the beginning, even though we
cannot eliminate the inclination to gain fame, amass wealth, subdue enemies, and
care for friends, we should reject these inclinations as much as possible. In the
middle phase, in an isolated place, if at all possible, or in a quiet room without
disturbance by traffic or radio, try to meditate morning and evening. In the final
stage, we reach the level of Dzogchen called “all reality consummate.”
If we cannot attain the vision all at once, we need to familiarize ourselves
gradually with Dzogchen view and meditation. This will be beneficial in this life
and also in the next life, and we will eventually become free from samsaric
wandering.
In this present age of raw competition in business and trade, even though we