Cherishing others

Cherishing others

Part of a series of teachings on Shantideva’s explanation of the four establishments of mindfulness in Chapter 9 of Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds. These teachings followed directly after extensive teachings on A Presentation of the Establishment of Mindfulness, a text by Gyalwa Chokyi Gyaltsen.

  • A review of quiz questions 10-11
  • How self-centeredness gets in the way of creating merit
    • Our self-centered attitude is our own enemy
    • Body and mind under influence of afflictions and karma
  • Meditation on disadvantages of self-centeredness and benefits of cherishing others
  • How we build walls with our self-centered thoughts; lies behind feelings of guilt
  • Examine how the object and sense power connect and lead to consciousness that perceives the object versus part-less particles
    • Argument against part-less particles; do not really exist
    • Consciousness has to have a cause; cause has to exist before the result
    • Cause has to cease before the result is experienced
    • Cannot establish existence of anything without the mind that perceives it

Establishment of Mindfulness 35 (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.