
Guru Yoga

For the benefits of all creatures
in the unlimited universe, today I shall devote myself to the
Grand Master's Law of Association with my mind full of the
aspiration for enlightenment. There are four mental conversion
rules - perfection is a rare experience, death occurs
unexpectedly, life transmigrates without ending, and the power
of karma. We should think about these rules seriously.
Understanding the four mental conversion rules, our minds will
be free from the transmigration. Therefore, we have to study the
rules devotedly. No one can study Buddhism with a purified mind
if his mind is dominated by transmigration. Therefore, we need
to study the four conversion rules devotedly. It is a great
fortune for us to acquire human bodies in our present lives. We
have suffered from tremendous pains and engaged in all kinds of
immoralities throughout the transmigration. It is, therefore, a
great fortune for us to acquire human bodies in our present
lives. We have been converted to hells for countless
generations. We have also been converted to the ghost land and
animal land for many, many times. Similarly, we have been
converted to the god land and human land for so many times and
suffered tremendously in each land. We keep changing in the
transmigration. Our minds are full of all kinds of joys and
feelings.
I had a car long time ago when I
was new in India. The car broke. I asked a repairman to fix my
car. I sat and relaxed for a while when they were fixing my car.
Two lamas were traveling with me. I let them go away and walk
around in the city. As I was watching the repairman fixing my
car, I saw a friend. I walked around and chatted with him. We
were walking on a slope. It was raining. I fell down and my back
hit the ground. I felt dizzy after falling down. I couldn't
stand up. An Indian came and helped me to get up. He took me to
my car. I stayed in the car and rested for a while. I felt a bit
dizzy at that time. The repairman gave me a tea. I was still
unconscious when I was drinking tea. I couldn't remember what
happened. I only remembered that I was in a repair shop, bet I
had no idea about what happened to me. It was like a dream. I
tried to pick up my memory and gradually remembered why I was
here. My car was broken. I was here to have my car repaired. I
stared to remember. My body was injured. Then, I lost my
consciousness and couldn't remember what happened. Yes, that's
what happened to me.
Now I know, transmigration is
like a body injury and my memory is erased then I transmigrated
from one life to another. Ever since the beginning of
transmigration, I have gone through countless conversion and
have experienced many, many joys and pains in each and every
life. If we had known what would happen to us in our lives, we
would sit quietly at this time and nothing would have happened
at all. Why? If we had know the pain involved in transmigration,
we would do our best to eliminate the pain associated with
transmigration and, eventually, we wouldn't want to transmigrate
from one life to another. If you still remember how you suffered
from the eight coldness and heat un the hell, the hunger in the
ghost land, and the overtiredness caused by hard working in the
animal land, you will not sit back and relax at all. You have
completely forgotten how you suffered in your previous lives.
That's why you indulge yourself
in enjoyment now. You always think about your enjoyments. If you
can think about the pains associated with transmigration
seriously, you will not indulge yourself in enjoyment at all,
not even a minute or a second.
Fortunately, transmigration helps us erase the painful memories.
No one would care for his life if he still remembers the pains
he went through in the previous lives. We have gone through
transmigration ceaselessly and experienced countless joys and
pains. Fortunately, we have acquired not only human bodies, but
also Buddhism in our present lives. Therefore, we need to know
how important our bodies are and must not waste the precious
lives. Do not pursuit wealth. Do not pursuit frame. We should
get rid of all these things and pursuit enlightenment though
Buddhism. That is the foremost task for us. When does
transmigration end? No one knows. Transmigration never ends. If
there is no ending, you will always look for more and are never
satisfied even if you have acquired the wealth of a continent. A
house can be filled up with stuff now matter how big this house
is. But, you are never "satisfied" no matter how much you have
acquired. It's because you do not understand the nature of
emptiness inside your mind. So is trouble. Troubles are created
one after another in your mind. Needless to say, you will never
have enough troubles. You lose your mind constantly. You live
day after day and then you pass away. You have no choice for
passing away. You cannot do anything with your wealth and fame
when your life ends.
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