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Lama Zopa Rinpoche

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the greatest problem that affluent humans and gods face. No matter how many desirable<br />

objects we are able to acquire, we can never find satisfaction, but we try and try and try.<br />

This is not the first time we have been like this, with all these sufferings. This has been our<br />

experience for countless lifetimes and if we fail to do something about it now, while we have<br />

the opportunity to realize emptiness, we will suffer in samsara endlessly.<br />

All phenomena are empty; they do not exist from their own side, especially the I, the body,<br />

aggregates and possessions—the objects of our attachment and anger.<br />

To remind ourselves of the vital subjects of impermanence, emptiness and dependent<br />

arising, it is most worthwhile to reflect on this four-line verse from the Praise to Shakyamuni<br />

Buddha:<br />

A star, a visual aberration, a flame of a lamp,<br />

An illusion, a drop of dew or a bubble,<br />

A dream, a flash of lightning, a cloud—<br />

See conditioned things as such! 29<br />

I explained defective view before, how everything—I, action, object, everything—appears to<br />

be truly existent. The way that things appear, as truly existent, rab-rib, relates to that. Causes<br />

and conditions exist and therefore I, action, object and all other phenomena exist.<br />

This is totally the opposite of what most people in the world believe. What most people in<br />

the world believe is not according to reality, that is why they suffer so much, why they have<br />

so much emotional suffering, depression and so forth.<br />

If we can meditate on this every day, even though we might be far from attaining<br />

realizations, having a degree of familiarity will help very much; it will bring a lot of peace and<br />

happiness into our life, our mind. Then we will be able to practice Dharma more and more,<br />

and gain more and more freedom for ourselves. We will be able to attain the blissful state of<br />

peace, liberation from samsara, and enlightenment. Practicing Dharma every day means<br />

giving ourselves happiness every day. Especially by practicing lo-jong, thought transformation,<br />

any problem that we experience can bring us the best happiness.<br />

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