The New Eight Steps to Happiness. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
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If we have to walk across rough and thorny ground, one way of protecting our feet is to cover the whole ground with leather, but this is not very practical. We can achieve the same result in a much simpler way—by covering our feet. Similarly, if we wish to protect ourself from suffering we can either try to change external conditions to make them conform to our wishes, or we can change our mind. Until now we have been trying to change the external conditions, but this clearly has not worked. Now we need to change our mind.
The first step toward changing our mind is to identify which states of mind produce happiness and which produce suffering. States of mind that are conducive to peace of mind and happiness are called “virtuous minds,” whereas those that destroy our peace of mind and cause us suffering are called “delusions.” We have many different types of delusion, such as uncontrolled desire, also known as desirous attachment, anger, jealousy, pride, laziness and ignorance. These are known as “inner enemies” because they are continually destroying our inner peace, our happiness, from within. Their only function is to cause us harm.
Delusions are distorted ways of looking at ourself, other people and the world around us. The way a deluded mind views these phenomena does not accord with reality. The deluded mind of hatred, for example, views another person as intrinsically bad, but there is no such thing as an intrinsically bad person. Desirous attachment, on the other hand, sees its object of desire as intrinsically good and as a true source of happiness. If we have a strong craving to eat chocolate, chocolate appears to us to be an intrinsically desirable object. However, once we have eaten too much of it and start to feel sick, it no longer seems so desirable and may even appear repulsive. This shows that in itself chocolate is neither desirable nor repulsive. It is the mind of attachment that projects onto it all kinds of desirable qualities and then relates to it as if it really did possess those qualities.
All delusions function like this, projecting onto the world their own distorted version of reality and then relating to this projection as if it were true. When our mind is under the influence of delusions we are out of touch with reality and are, in a sense, hallucinating. Since our mind is under the influence of at least subtle forms of delusion all the time, it is not surprising that our lives are so often filled with frustration. It is as if we are continually chasing mirages, only to be disappointed when they do not give us the satisfaction for which we had hoped.
The source of all delusions is a distorted awareness called “self-grasping ignorance,” which grasps phenomena as inherently, or independently, existent. In reality all phenomena are dependent arisings, which means that their existence is utterly dependent upon other phenomena, such as their causes, their parts and the minds that apprehend them. Objects do not exist from their own side, in and of themselves; what they are depends upon how they are viewed. Our failure to realize this is the source of all our problems.
The type of self-grasping that harms us most is grasping our own self, or I, as inherently or independently existent. We instinctively feel that we possess a completely real and objective self or I that exists independently of all other phenomena, even our body and mind. One consequence of grasping at our self as an independent entity separate from the world and other people is that we develop self-cherishing, a mind that regards ourself as supremely important. Because we cherish ourself so strongly, we are drawn to the people and things we find attractive, we want to separate ourself from the people and things we find unattractive and we are uninterested in the people and things we find neither attractive nor unattractive. In this way attachment, anger and indifference are born. Because we have an exaggerated sense of our own importance we feel that others’ interests are in conflict with our own, and this in turn gives rise to competitiveness, jealousy, arrogance and lack of consideration for others. By acting under the influence of these and other delusions we engage in destructive behavior, such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and hurtful speech. The result of these negative actions is suffering for both ourself and others.
Even though our delusions are deeply ingrained, they are not an intrinsic part of our mind and so they can definitely be removed. Delusions are just bad mental habits, and like all habits they can be broken. Through making a sincere and consistent effort to become familiar with constructive states of mind, we can eliminate even the most stubborn delusions and replace them with the opposite virtues. For example, we can weaken our anger by familiarizing our mind with patience and love, our attachment by familiarizing our mind with non-attachment and our jealousy by rejoicing in others’ good fortune.
To eradicate delusions completely, however, we must destroy their root—the mind of self-grasping. To do this we need to familiarize our mind with the true nature of reality, or ultimate truth. This is explained in detail in the chapter on training in ultimate bodhichitta. If we destroy self-grasping, all other delusions cease naturally, just as the leaves and branches of a tree die if we destroy its roots. Once we have completely eradicated our delusions it will be utterly impossible for us to experience unpeaceful states of mind. As we will no longer have the internal causes of suffering, external causes of suffering, such as sickness or death, will have no power to disturb our mind. This permanent cessation of delusion and suffering is known as “liberation,” or “nirvana” in Sanskrit.
Although attaining our own liberation from suffering is a wonderful achievement, it is not enough. We are not isolated individuals but part of the family of all living beings. Everything we own, everything we enjoy, all our opportunities for spiritual development and even our very body come from the kindness of others. Are we to make our own escape from suffering and then abandon everyone else to their fate? This would be like a young man imprisoned together with his aged parents who makes his own escape but leaves his parents behind. We would not admire such a person. We definitely need to make an effort to liberate ourself from the mental prison of our deluded minds, but our ultimate aim must be to help everyone else do the same.
Thus our final goal is the attainment of full enlightenment, or Buddhahood. The Sanskrit term “Buddha” means “Awakened One,” and refers to anyone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and is free from the dream of mistaken appearance. Because ordinary beings like us have not yet awakened from the sleep of ignorance, we continue to live in a dream-like world of mistaken appearances and do not see the true nature of things. This is the fundamental reason why we experience suffering and are of limited benefit to others. Through completely removing all traces of the darkness of ignorance from their minds, Buddhas attained omniscient wisdom and the limitless ability to help all living beings.
Their boundless and all-encompassing compassion gives Buddhas the energy to work without interruption for the sake of others. They understand the real causes of happiness and suffering, and they know exactly how to help living beings in accordance with their individual needs and inclinations. Buddhas have the power to bless the minds of all living beings, causing them to experience inner peace and they also have the ability to emanate innumerable forms for the benefit of others. Of all the ways in which Buddhas help living beings, the most effective is to teach them how to control their minds and follow the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment.
The founder of Buddhism in this world was Buddha Shakyamuni. After attaining enlightenment, Buddha gave eighty-four thousand teachings, all of which are advice on how to subdue and overcome delusions by cultivating virtuous states of mind. Buddha’s teachings, as well as the inner realizations achieved through putting these teachings into practice, are known as “Dharma.”
In the text on which this book is based, Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa has condensed the very essence of Buddhadharma into eight short verses. Through contemplating the meaning of these verses we will see that they contain a step-by-step path to complete inner peace and happiness. If we sincerely put these teachings into practice we will gradually subdue our destructive and self-centered habits of mind and replace them with the positive minds of unconditional love and compassion. In particular, by practicing the instructions given in the chapter on training in ultimate bodhichitta, we will be able to overcome the fundamental delusion of self-grasping ignorance, together with its imprints, and thereby experience the bliss of full enlightenment. Through putting the instructions given in this book into practice, we will develop and maintain a peaceful mind all the time so that we will be happy all the time. This is the real meaning of seeking happiness from a different source.
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