And in this life, all kinds of suffering
Will adventitiously occur.In general, obtaining human birth in the human realm is very rare, and it is
even more unusual to find a human birth with the possibility of hearing the
buddha-dharma. In this human body it is possible to obtain liberation and
buddhahood. As Shantideva said in Entering the Way of the Bodhisattva,
Rely upon this human body as a boat
To cross the great river of suffering;
Such a boat will be difficult to find in the future.To escape from the great ocean of birth, old age, sickness, and death, there is no
better way than dependence upon the great boat of the human body. The act of
putting an end to the precious human body due to adverse circumstances is very
stupid. People who can satisfy their desires are very few in this world. Even people
who have acquired name and fame have to protect their interests constantly, and
they, least of all, attain peace. Actually no person like that is ever contented—it is
much better to be satisfied and contented with just what we have.
3.17 WITH DETACHMENT, THE MERE POSSESSION OF WEALTH AND FAME DOES NO HARM
If we are famous or rich and yet have no attachment to anything, we will suffer
neither physically nor mentally. At the beginning, suffering arises from the
manner in which the wealth was accumulated, or from the way in which the
fame was attained; in the middle, suffering arises from how these were protected
and sustained; and at the end, suffering arises from ongoing attachment to them.
Even if we possess universal wealth or fame, we will be free of suffering if we can
practice nonattachment. If we are free of the root cause of suffering, which is
attachment, then we can be like Indrabhuti, Dzogchen yogin and king, for whom it
was possible to possess a vast kingdom full of innumerable subjects, enjoy
constant sensual pleasure, and become buddha in one lifetime.
This depends on the praxis of Dzogchen and nonattachment to view and
conduct. If we can sustain whatever appears as reflexive release, then we will not
suffer in the process of accumulating and protecting wealth or fame. The root of
this praxis is the nonattachment of pure presence to an object. If we possess such a
technique, then we will have a happy family, harmony with friends, a liberal
mind for every kind of situation, and intelligence enough for any task. Altruistic
motivation and compassion for all beings arises in us naturally. This is reality. The
sole cause of all the skillful means of the bodhisattva’s way of life—the primal
awareness of the nature and diversity of emanation, and the nature and manner of
being of all of our experience—is the strong reflexively liberating conduct that is
free of attachment and clinging.
Strong reflexively liberating conduct is the performance of the six perfections of
wisdom by body, speech, and mind for the benefit of all sentient beings, with