08. Week 1 - Teaching 6 – Kadampa Festival Notes

2025 Summer Festival

08. Week 1 - Teaching 6

2025.07.29

Atisha said:

If from your heart you practise in accordance with Dharma, both food and resources will come naturally to hand.

VGKG:

  You can ask me, can you give me a guarantee of this? You can ask Atisha and you can ask me. This is also the truth. You don’t need to worry. When we practise Dharma purely and sincerely, all necessary things - food, and so forth - will naturally come. This is because Buddha promised that pure Dharma practitioners will never suffer from famine. This never happened in history, even in countries suffering from famine. Pure Dharma practitioners will never suffer from hunger. We have never heard of a pure Dharma practitioner dying from hunger. This is because of Buddha’s promise.

In JPGF, when Buddha was a Bodhisattva he accumulated a vast amount of merit. His SG predicted that due to this he would enjoy the wealth of a chakravatin king for many aeons. Instead, he dedicated all this merit so that in the future when he was a Buddha, all his pure followers wouldn’t have to worry about dying from hunger. We’re still benefiting from that dedication today.

  Practitioners such as Milarepa never suffered from famine or poverty. He was very happy and enjoyed his nettles. He didn’t need anything else. For him nettles were like nectar. His body was made strong and his mind was very happy. He didn’t need normal food. But still people brought him food. Normally Milarepa spent his life in poverty compared with other practitioners. But he didn’t experience poverty. His nettle food was like nectar and was very delicious. So gradually through pure practice, wealth and resources will rain down. The more renounced we are and the more concentrated we are in the practice of Dharma, the more wealth comes.

Geshe Langri Tangpa made 2 promises to Geshe Potowa before he passed away - that he would give away all his possessions, and that he wouldn’t stay in one place for very long. Then whenever he moved to another place he would first give away all his possessions, and then travel empty-handed. Through Langri Tangpa happily accepting poverty and continuously practising giving, he accumulated a vast amount of merit. Due to his great collection of merit, later in his life he received so many offerings from people. He was able to support a monastery of 2000 monks and many other people. Every month he’d give everything away, and the next month he’d receive even more.

  We can have great confidence in this. Of course normally we need contentment. But generally if we make the determination to practise pure Dharma we will never need to worry about who will give us food. It will come naturally. In one Sutra Buddha said, even in a society where people are suffering from famine, my followers who are sincerely practising Dharma, will never go hungry. Because we are very good examples, practising Dharma sincerely and purely, other people will appreciate us and want to help. Everybody will love us because we love them. This is natural. Then, in times where there is no normal food, other things will satisfy us, like Milarepa’s nettles.

Friends, the things you desire give no more satisfaction than drinking sea water; therefore practise contentment.

What is contentment? In our NKT glossary, Geshe-la explains:

  “Contentment means being satisfied with one’s inner and outer conditions motivated by a virtuous intention.”

The truth is, in this impure world it is extremely rare to find anyone who is completely content. We try to find happiness in worldly pleasures, samsaric enjoyment, following our attachment. But as JT said, “samsara’s pleasures are deceptive, give no contentment, only torment.” Do I believe that? Instead of finding true happiness we just experience suffering, including the suffering of never finding satisfaction.

Reading from the chapter “Having No Satisfaction” in JPGF:

📖

Most of the problems we experience come from our seeking satisfaction in the pleasures of samsara when no real satisfaction can be derived from them. For instance, if we seek satisfaction from drinking alcohol we will keep drinking and drinking without ever finding what we seek. Similarly, if we try to find contentment by smoking or taking drugs we will never find the satisfaction we desire.

If we continue to seek satisfaction in such limited pleasures without realizing that these things can never give us what we want, we will create many compulsive bad habits and cause problems for ourself and others. We may destroy our health, hurt and deceive other people, and even break the law and find ourself in prison. We will create unhappy relationships with other people and influence others to act in ways that are harmful to their health and peace of mind.

All the difficulties we have in our relationships with others come because we do not know how to be content. When marriages break up it is because people cannot completely satisfy one another. If we have very strong desirous attachment we will never be content with another person because no one will ever be able to give us all we desire. Sometimes people are torn apart by their desirous attachment. It prevents them from leaving their partner, and it prevents them from feeling happy with that relationship alone.

If we consider why nations go to war we will find that the basic reason is very simple. Human beings cannot be content with their own wealth and resources but must appropriate more and more. Millions of people have died in warfare as a result of humankind’s collective discontent.

Even people who appear to have everything do not have satisfaction. In fact, the wealthiest people are often the most dissatisfied. As their wealth increases, so does their discontent. It is extremely rare to find anyone who can say with complete sincerity ‘I do not need anything. I am completely content.’

The more money we have, the more things we can buy. We have many choices. Generally we want to buy the best things we can afford. We are always comparing. Soon we need to rent a self-storage unit to store all these things that give us no satisfaction and disappear when we die. Also when we do get something that we want, we don’t get it in the way we want. The more we indulge worldly pleasures the stronger our attachment becomes, and the greater our discontent.

📖

We who take rebirth in samsara are like moths who are not satisfied merely to behold the beauty of a candle flame but must leap into it. We are like flies who cannot be content with merely the smell of food but must land on it only to be caught and killed. All the lethal situations we find ourself in are created by our own dissatisfaction.`

In Friendly Letter Nagarjuna says:

‘Always be content. If you practise contentment, even though you have no wealth, you are rich.’

Without contentment we are spiritually impoverished even if we possess a great amount of wealth. A poor person who is satisfied with what he or she has and who has no strong craving to amass wealth is inwardly a rich person. Such a person has less misery, fewer problems and greater peace of mind.

1994:

  Without contentment even if we try to get more and more, it will get more difficult, and samsaric enjoyment will never give us satisfaction. We need contentment. Try to be satisfied with whatever we have and whatever conditions we meet. If we are not satisfied but want more and more, we will never find true satisfaction. It’s like alcohol and drugs. Possibly a little bit can help make us happy, but then we want more and more. We are never satisfied. It is difficult to stop, and then it becomes extreme suffering. Instead of giving satisfaction it brings greater suffering by destroying our lives. Other enjoyments are the same. If we have no contentment we try to do more and more and we are never satisfied, and we suffer more. Atisha therefore says, “Therefore practise contentment.”

The analogy of drinking seawater is very powerful.

  We have many desires arising so we need to control them. We think we need many different things and when our wishes are not fulfilled we are disappointed. We need to control our desires. We should keep positive or correct desires or intentions. And we should remove wrong desires and intentions from our mind. And always practise contentment. Without contentment even rich people will think they are poor. They never think they have everything to their satisfaction. Still they want more and more.

“The wealth we seek is unfindable. Because we are seeking an amount that will satiate our desires, but no amount of wealth can do that.”

  The object of desire is like a poisonous flower - it looks very beautiful but if we are too much attached it brings us much suffering. It destroys our spiritual life.

By indulging again and again in worldly pleasures we become very attached to those activities. And then what happens - when our attachment to those activities increase, our wish to practise Dharma decreases. If we continue in this way, eventually we will have much more interest in worldly activity than in spiritual practice. We may lose all our joy in Dharma study and practice.

Therefore we should practise contentment. People who are ordained should make contentment their main practice. Practitioners who have a family need many things because they have responsibility to their children. But they also need some contentment.

“Understanding that samsaric enjoyment can never give me satisfaction, I must always practise contentment.”

In our daily life, when attachment arises and we find ourselves wanting more and more, we should try to control our desire. Think, “I don’t need this. I am satisfied.” Our attachment will protest. But we’re telling it, “NO.” We’ll need to do this many times. If we do, something so important and meaningful will happen - instead of being under our mind, controlled by it, we will get above our mind. With our Guru’s blessings, and our determination, we are learning to control our attachment. Our experience is that our mind becomes more and more peaceful. We are finding happiness from a different source. We realise that what we really need is inner peace. Control means not allow.

In HTUTM Geshe-la says, “While we are enjoying internal peace and happiness our craving for external sources of pleasure naturally declines and it is easy for us to remain content.”

Venerable Geshe-la has shown this example perfectly. Once an RT went to see Geshe-la. He gave so much help and support. She asked him, “but Geshe-la, what can I give you?” And he said, “I don’t need anything. I have everything.” His contentment was blissful. Then he said, “When you return home to your centre, please help the people there find happiness in their heart. You can give me this.”

Just trust our SG more than our attachment. If we follow him, one day we will be able to say, “I don’t need anything. I have everything.”

Avoid all haughty, conceited, proud and arrogant minds, and remain peaceful and subdued.

Atisha here is referring to deluded pride, which arises when we feel ‘puffed up’, and we have an exaggerated sense of our own importance.

1994:

  We should avoid these minds. All haughty, conceited, proud, and arrogant minds, are minds to avoid. And maintaining a peaceful and subdued mind means that we need a mind that is controlled. This means that we should always remain as a humble practitioner. As long as pride remains within us it is very difficult to develop a positive mind and spiritual realisations.

Pride is an obstacle to listening to Dharma teachings because we think we don’t need it. It looks like we are filled. Our whole mind thinks, “I am a higher being and know such things.” With this mind it is very difficult to develop minds like compassion, love, and renunciation. It is a serious obstacle.

In HTUTM:

📖

If we have been studying Dharma for a long time we may, when listening to teachings or reading a book, feel that we already know the subject and so pay only superficial attention to it. This is also a type of pride that prevents us from gaining deep experiences of Dharma. The only way to avoid such pride is to put the teachings into practice and thereby to gain some experience of their meaning. If we have a ‘taste’ of Dharma we will find all teachings inspiring, no matter how many times we have heard them. As the Tibetans say: “An evil person can be tamed by Dharma, but a proud person cannot.”

  Understanding the many disadvantages of deluded pride, we think, ‘I must always remain as a humble practitioner’.

NESTH:

📖

Just as water cannot collect on mountain peaks, so good qualities and blessings cannot gather on the rocky peaks of pride. However if instead, we maintain a humble and respectful attitude to everyone, good qualities and inspiration will continually flow into our mind like streams flowing into a valley.

Avoid activities that are said to be meritorious, but which in fact are obstacles to Dharma.

  If we are determined to practise Dharma purely but we attain a high position or work and activities increase, unless we can control our mind and practise patience and compassion, these activities will be an obstacle to our Dharma practice. If we can control our mind, we will have no problem. Otherwise it is better not to achieve such a position. For example, if I had great political knowledge and education instead of Dharma education, then because of this I can get many good jobs. People would give me a high position and my whole life would be a distraction. I may help in some areas, but I would harm and disturb other areas, and it would be as a whole, a meaningless activity. People believe that having a job and a high position is very lucky. But in reality everything is meaningless. Although many people would say you are very lucky and fortunate, in reality you would be unlucky. You will be wasting your human life and creating many negative actions. From a worldly development point of view it is fortunate. But for spiritual development these kind of things are not lucky.

Profit and respect are nooses of the maras, so brush them aside like stones on the path.

If we are attached to wealth and the respect of others this is a serious obstacle to the development of realisations. It becomes a mara’s noose. Buddhas and our SG lead us along the spiritual path, but maras such as Devaputra use nooses to drag us away from the spiritual path. These nooses can sometimes be in the aspect of our friends. In appearance they look like they’re helping us but in reality they’re turning us away from the spiritual path. This is a mara’s noose which we should brush away. This means that profit and respect should never be allowed to interfere with our practice of Dharma.

“I must never allow attachment to profit and respect to interfere with my Dharma practice.”

Words of praise and fame serve only to beguile us; therefore blow them away as you would blow your nose.

We understand the meaning.

For faithful Kadampa practitioners who are sincerely practising Guru yoga, they mentally offer any words of praise or respect to their Guru at their heart. Why? Because they feel that their SG is the proper recipient of that praise. This is very skilful method to remain as a humble practitioner, devoted to fulfilling our SG’s wishes. Outwardly we accept kindly, but inwardly we offer to our Guru at our heart. This is explained in Heart Jewel on the section on practising in the meditation break.

Since the happiness, pleasure and friends you gather in this life last only for a moment, put them all behind you.

1994:

We cannot accept this as written. Of course we need friends. But the real meaning is not to be attached. When we are doing retreat in a certain area or we want to be isolated we should happily leave them and not be attached. Also sometimes it is important to experience being alone without others. Through learning about being alone as a spiritual practice, being alone can make us more happy. We are not abandoning our friends, but we are trying to remain alone. We understand that when we are old people leave us. So now we need to learn to be happy while we are alone. This is meaningful for people like me. The more I experience being alone, the happier I am. I am completely free from the suffering of loneliness. I am happier in my room or in my bed. But it doesn’t mean I have abandoned all my friends. People who learn like this have no basis for suffering when they become old. Being alone helps you to be less distracted, less busy, and it is easier to concentrate on the Dharma. In particular ordained people need to learn how to transform being alone into the spiritual path.

Atisha said, “put them all behind you.” This means that we should remain alone. In this way our mind will be less busy, we can relax peacefully, and there are no conflicts. Otherwise we will hear many things and our mind will change. When we are talking to people we can also interfere with them unless we are both very pure practitioners.

Since future lives last for a very long time, gather up riches to provide for the future.

Geshe-la didn’t give commentary to this. In the Introduction to LMDJ, Geshe-la says:

📖

The fact of the matter is that this world is not our home. We are travellers, passing through. We came from our previous life, and in a few years, or a few days, we will move on to our next life. We entered this world empty-handed and alone, and we shall leave empty-handed and alone. Everything we have accumulated in this life, including our very body, will be left behind. All that we can take with us from one life to the next are the imprints of the positive and negative actions we have created. If we ignore death we will waste our life working for things that we will only have to leave behind, creating many negative actions in the process and having to travel to our next life with nothing but a heavy burden of negative karma.

On the other hand, if we base our life on a realistic awareness of our mortality we will regard our spiritual development as far more important than the attainments of this world, and we will view our time in this world principally as an opportunity to cultivate positive minds, such as patience, love, compassion, and wisdom. Motivated by these virtuous minds we will perform many positive actions, thereby creating the cause for future happiness. When the time of our death comes we will be able to pass away without fear or regret, our mind empowered by the virtuous karma we have created.

07. Week 1 - Teaching 5 09. Week 1 - Teaching 7