Gyalsey_Laglen_v2_24092014_e-book

A Commentary on the “Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas”
heart give yourself to it, so as to live life to the fullest. This requires courage,
honour and discipline. Whatever we do and whatever we say must come out
of compassion and love, without selfish attitude. This is the authentic Buddhist
approach.
Although we use words such as “achieving”, “wishing” and “praying” for
enlightenment, it is also very important to understand that ultimately we do not
acquire enlightenment from external sources. A more honest way to put it is to
discover that enlightenment has always been a part of our true nature. It is not an
exclusive club. It is within us all. This is both heartening and challenging.
Even though the Buddha could not remove suffering by waving a magical
wand with his divine power, he skilfully lit the lamp within us by laying out
many methods for us to discover the universal truth, such as offering incense,
sitting straight, watching our breaths and engaging in complex visualisation and
meditation techniques.
In fact, there are 84,000 different teachings enabling the transformation of
one’s own mind. The path of Mahayana (meaning “Greater Vehicle”) concentrates
on Bodhicitta (Tib. jangchub sem), which is the wish to liberate all sentient beings
(who have at least once been our mother in our past lives) from the state of
suffering to the state of enlightenment. This is considered to be the highest form
of mental attitude (Tib. sem kyed) that can be developed and is the only way to
become a fully enlightened Buddha.
Among the many teachings of Mahayana currently available, the “Thirty-
Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas” by Ngulchu Thogme Zangpo, one of the
greatest Tibetan Bodhisattvas of the 12th century, is considered to be the most
comprehensive and yet easy to understand among many other similar teachings.
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