believe that suicide ends their pain are fools. Not only that but Shakyamuni
Buddha tells us that the karmic maturation of the act of suicide is suffering first
for eons in hell and then, for most suicides, rebirth as a ghost. Beyond this, they
will commit suicide in each of five hundred lifetimes. It is very important,
therefore, that we should know the results of our actions and engage in training
that gives meaning to this embodiment.
If we are convinced that mind training is not an appropriate activity to pursue
during our leisure time, when it comes to shouldering responsibility, we will have
no mental base from which to proceed. When our leaders challenge other nations,
for example, but have not confronted the deceptive nature of their own mind or
even turned within to inspect or discuss it, they will surely find themselves at a
loss. If their anger and aggression are strong, and they have the means, they may
kill their enemies; and if not, perhaps they will end their life in suicide. In brief,
the ignorant activity that follows upon our leaders’ chasing after their emotional
impulses is a disaster for everyone, including themselves. For examples of these
things, look into the history of imperial dynasties and of the Second World War.
The root cause of such delusion is belief in fame, name, wealth, and power as a
valid and substantial reality and belief that if we lose them, those virtues will be
beyond recovery. The fault lies in perceiving temporary situations as permanent,
predictable, unchangeable, and nondeceptive. When we were cast out of our
mother’s womb, we were not strong, famous, or wealthy. There was no way to
recognize our parents or relatives, as neither their bodily forms nor their names
appeared for a moment in our previous life’s dreams. “Father,” “mother,” “close
relatives,” “friends,” husband,” and “wife” are all labels. Our egos, believing them
to be real, create “my country,” “my wealth,” “my ancestral place.” In reality all
these things are without substance and without any certain extension in time.
Whom we now label as “son” may be our “wife” in the next lifetime, our present
“wife” may become our “daughter,” and our best friend our murderer. The house
or land we own at present and even our social position and reputation will have
been owned in the past by others. For these reasons, it is nonsense to believe that
nominal abstractions are valid and true. Whatever unfavorable conditions arise,
such as sickness, conflict with an enemy, loss of property, or a lawsuit, and so
forth, should be understood as illusion. With this perspective, just let go and rest in
pure presence, and all experience will become one taste in dharmakaya mind.
1.26 THE ADVANTAGE OF PERCEIVING ALL THINGS AS MERE CONCEPTUAL LABELS
Tibetans consider comets to be bad omens, whereas other peoples think that they
are auspicious signs and pray to them. “Auspicious” and “inauspicious” are labels
applied to external signs or events, but actually there is no need for any positive or
negative reaction to comets. Happiness has no essential existence; rather it is a
contingent current label. We should not miss it, therefore, when it vanishes, and
there is no need for us to suffer at its loss. Nothing can be gained through our
endeavors because nothing substantial can be achieved; by the same token,
nothing can be lost. If there is something to be gained, it will arise naturally and