Dear Team,
It is wonderful that all of you got together on cyberspace to do Dharma work. Dharma practice and Dharma work go hand in hand. What we do in front of our altars, with our mantras and prayers just takes up maybe a half hour of the day. But the other 23.5 hours of the day is even MORE IMPORTANT. Why? Because the time we spend away from the altar is where our mind really shows its true nature and true colors if you observe carefully. So if we occupy that time and space, it would be further training for our mind. Training for what? To develop an altruistic attitude where others come first. To do work for others. When this type of mind is starting to blossom, we have to nurture it.
Again, Dharma work is best to nurture this state of mind.
Reasons we don’t do dharma work:
1. We have family commitments
2. We have to make money
3. We aren’t healthy
4. Our spouses/partners don’t allow it or create obstacles to it
5. Kids
6. Not enough money
7. No time
8. I am not qualified
9. I don’t know what to do
10. I am not recognized or thanked
11. People don’t understand me
12. I don’t like certain people
13. There is no updates and it is disorganised
14. I am too exhausted
15. Parents
16. Focus on career
17. I have done enough and let others do it
18. Let others have a chance
19. I am too far
20. I don’t know how to do the work well
21. People criticize me
22. The work assigned to me is below me
23. I am too old
24. I am too young
25. I can’t change my ways
26. I don’t know enough dharma
27. I’ll do it later when my commitments are finished
28. People said bad things about the centre
30. Heard bad things regarding the decision makers at the centre
31. Someone was rude to me
32. I feel unappreciated
33. I am not treated special
34. I am not rich
35. I don’t like to commit
36. I like to practice dharma anywhere and everywhere
37. I want to experience life first
38. I am not healthy
39. I don’t have a special name or position
40. I don’t know the people well
41. People in the centre don’t listen to me or my ideas
42. I have to tend to the needs of relatives and family
43. No car or transport
44. Doing dharma work doesn’t have to be physical
45. Rinpoche’s advice doesn’t apply to me
46. I want freedom
47. How much do I get paid
48. Not enough pay
49. Too much timing clashes
50. My family don’t approve
The above 50 are some of the reasonings I have been given by people over the last 17 years that I have been here. I have a good answer for each of the above. And I have good solutions for the above also.
Where there is a will there is a way.
Everyone working for the Dharma now all around the world and in our centre have the same obstacles as you if not more, and they can overcome, deal with it or just work with it. You can too.
Those are obstacles that we encounter not just for Dharma but for many things we want to do in life. When we know the value of what we want to do, then WE WILL FIND A WAY TO OVERCOME THE OBSTACLES. OBSTACLES ONLY STOP US because most of the time, it is convenient to cover our laziness, deep-seated self absorption, lack of self worth and fear of rejection. That is normal. Hence Dharma work itself is a wonderful and superior way to counter the root of the problems. Just think, Dharma work is applying the antidote. Who wouldn’t want an antidote if we truly trust Buddha’s teachings of cause and effect?
By avoiding Dharma work, we stay where we are.
And where we are will not last. Even if we maintain how we are, the environment, people and situation around us change, so we cannot maintain how we are. If we accept that impermanence makes us own nothing, then we don’t focus on anything else that has no value anymore. Everything in life has no value, except the pure development of the mind and institutions that support that. That is the only value in our short uncontrolled lives.
We also reject the requests of our teachers that we respect, love, value and care for so much when we do not do much or nothing to help him. When we withdraw our Dharma work, we are sending a message maybe conscious or subconscious, that our teachers should bear all the burdens with the rest of the group. That is the ultimate show of the state of our mind and how it thinks. It is definitely not positive.
So we should counter it immediately with Dharma work. If our state of mind is like that, how can that attract ultimate happiness, respect, security or any spiritual growth? That is why we should not leave it and counter it all the way. It is nobody’s fault that our minds cannot tolerate difficulty. It is our minds habit of not tolerating from previous times. Unfortunately, future times may not hold the same easy way out for us due to the ripening of karmas. So we must be prepared and train our minds with the current situation by Dharma work.
Not agreeing to Dharma work, we slow down the growth of Dharma and we set such a bad example to others. Setting bad examples to others doesn’t arise from a kind mind because we don’t take responsibility for others nor do we care. When we set bad examples to others, we damage their will power. If they don’t do dharma work, everyone waits for everyone else, then nothing grows. Doing Dharma work continuously irregardless of the 50 reasons we give, will help us to grow.
Not doing Dharma work will slow us down tremendously. It slows others down. Why? Because everyone affects everyone directly and indirectly. Don’t go back to your comfort zone and let everyone else do all the work and you just enjoy their fruits. How long do you think your karma will allow you to remain in your comfort zone? And ultimately deep within yourself, you won’t respect yourself if you remain in your comfort zone. Because you know that you can do something and you are not doing it.
Now is the time to start. Immediately. Once you do it, you continuously do it.
This advice is for everyone. I would request everyone to look over it, contemplate and start something within our centre immediately. Everyone needs everyone. I need your help. You need to help. You need to help yourself. Dharma needs to grow. You need to grow by doing Dharma work.
Tsem Tulku Rinpoche
