Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal

Dharma Quote of the Week

Hundreds of people may be more popular, powerful, and wealthy than we are, but from the point of view of the Dharma, no one is more fortunate. We have a very precious opportunity to make the best of our lives by working toward the attainment of buddhahood. We have obtained this precious human birth and have come in contact with the teachings and spiritual friends. All the favorable conditions are available–we could not ask for more. Yet this is only for a very short period of time. Within this very short time, the best thing we can do for ourselves is commit ourselves fully and wholeheartedly to practicing the disciplines, which are an essential part of the practice of the teachings.

…The practice of discipline is very profound. In terms of the effectiveness of the practice of the Dharma, there is a hundredfold difference between someone who follows some level of discipline and someone who does not. Whether visualizing a deity, practicing basic meditation, or reciting mantras, the benefit is a hundredfold greater when we have the ground of discipline.

The teachings of the Buddha say that if we take dust from the footprint of a person who embodies discipline and put it on our heads, it is a blessing. Even the king of the devas would do that, because of the sacredness of discipline. There is a tradition, followed to this day in India, of touching the feet of a holy person or touching the doorstep before entering his or her door, and then touching our foreheads. This is not merely a cultural tradition, but is acknowledging something very profound.(p.73)

–from Dharma Paths 2nd Edition by Khenpo Karthar, translated by Ngödup Burkhar and Chöjor Radha, edited by Laura M. Roth, published by Snow Lion Publications

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