13 Teachings for Life and Death

T

he five strengthsare the subject of two of
the slogans: “Practice the five strengths, / The
condensed heart instructions” and “The mahayana
instruction for ejection of consciousness at death / Is
the five strengths: how you conduct yourself is im-
portant.”
The underlying point of all our study and practice
is that the happiness we seek is here to connect with
at any time. The happiness we seek is our birthright.
To discover it we need to be more gentle with our-
selves, more compassionate toward ourselves and
our universe. The happiness we seek cannot be
found through grasping, trying to hold on to things. It
cannot be found through getting serious and uptight
about wanting things to go in the direction that we
think will bring happiness. We are always taking hold
of the wrong end of the stick. The point is that the
happiness we seek is already here and it will be found
through relaxation and letting go rather than through
struggle.
Does that mean you can just sleep all day? Does
that mean there’s nothing you need to do? The an-
swer is no. There does seem to be something that we

115