Lama Zopa Rinpoche

This is the way to make our wishes, our life, successful. Without understanding Dharma,
without understanding karma, the rest of the world believes something else. They think the
cause is totally something else, but that doesn’t work because what they think of as a main
cause is only a condition. Dharma practice is the main cause.
I mentioned before how in America it is common to have a gun and how even small
children sometimes kill many people. If the gun victims had met the Buddhadharma, if they
had purified—especially with the four opponent powers—if they had accepted karma and
reincarnation and because of that purified the negative karma beforehand, they wouldn’t
have had to experience being killed like that. Similarly, if the killer could have purified his
past lives’ negative karma of killing, he wouldn’t have had to kill those people. But neither
the victims nor the killer had met the Dharma and purified their negative karma. The karma
for all of them becomes very powerful to have this experience at this time and so it happens,
where one person kills and others are killed.
Therefore, in our life, whether we believe in karma, reincarnation and so forth, we need to
help others as much as possible. As my guru, Kyabje Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, says, we
need to try to help even an insect that is suffering from having fallen into water by taking it
out and freeing it. And if two insects are fighting, killing each other, we need to separate
them. Even if we just offer to carry an older person’s heavy luggage or offer somebody a
seat on the bus or train, even if it is just a small benefit in our everyday life, we should do
whatever we can to help free others from suffering, to benefit them.
Once we have an understanding of the Dharma, especially the lam-rim, we will have many
skillful ways to help those with psychological problems. If we see somebody with suicidal
thoughts, we will have the tools to talk to her and bring her around from killing herself and
thus cause her to have a long life. Normally, we liberate lots of animals that are going to be
killed and, saving them in that way we cause them to have a long life. But there are many
human beings who want to kill themselves, so by giving them advice and guiding them,
doing whatever we can do, we give them a long life. That creates the karma for us to live
long ourselves, in this and future lives, and for all our wishes to succeed. That happens, and
we are able to help others more and more.
To practice Dharma, the real thing is to serve others, to benefit others. Sentient beings are
the objects most cherished by the buddhas. Not only Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, but the
numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas also cherish them. This tiny ant, this mosquito, this
human—whether a rich man or a beggar—is the object most cherished by the numberless
buddhas and bodhisattvas.
In whatever way we can care for them, through our education, our wealth or whatever, that
is the best offering to the numberless bodhisattvas and the numberless buddhas. That is
really the best service we can offer to the bodhisattvas and buddhas. That is the best
Dharma.
What is life? However many years, months, days and hours we have left, we must make the
most of it. We must do the best. For whom? For others. And then the best for us just
naturally happens.
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