The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

126 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYINGListening is a far more difficult process than most peopleimagine; really to listen in the way that is meant by the mastersis to let go utterly of ourselves, to let go of all the information,all the concepts, all the ideas, and all the prejudicesthat our heads are stuffed with. If you really listen to theteachings, those concepts that are our real hindrance, the onething that stands between us and our true nature, can slowlyand steadily be washed away.In trying to really listen, I have often been inspired by theZen master Suzuki-roshi, who said: "If your mind is empty, itis always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In thebeginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert'smind there are few." 5 The beginner's mind is an open mind,an empty mind, a ready mind, and if we really listen with abeginner's mind, we might really begin to hear. If we listenwith a silent mind, as free as possible from the clamor of preconceivedideas, a possibility will be created for the truth ofthe teachings to pierce us, and for the meaning of life anddeath to become increasingly and startlingly clear. My masterDilgo Khyentse Rinpoche said: "The more and more you listen,the more and more you hear; the more and more youhear, the deeper and deeper your understanding becomes."The deepening of understanding, then, comes through contemplationand reflection, the second tool of wisdom. As wecontemplate what we've heard, it gradually begins to permeateour mindstream and saturate our inner experience of ourlives. Everyday events start to mirror and more and more subtlyand directly to confirm the truths of the teachings, as contemplationslowly unfolds and enriches what we have begunto understand intellectually and carries that understandingdown from our head into our heart.The third tool of wisdom is meditation. After listening to theteachings and reflecting on them, we put into action theinsights we have gained and apply them directly, through theprocess of meditation, to the needs of everyday life.DOUBTS ON THE PATHOnce, it seems, there was a time when an exceptional mastercould give one teaching to an exceptional student, and thestudent could attain liberation. Dudjom Rinpoche used to tellthe story of a powerful bandit in India, who after countlesssuccessful raids, realized the terrible suffering he had beencausing. He yearned for some way of atoning for what he had