B. Alan Wallace, 21 Aug 2015

Skillful means divorced from wisdom is bondage and wisdom divorced from skillful means is bondage. Skillful means is the cultivation of relative Bodhicitta. For Bodhicitta to be meaningful it must be rooted in the four greats - loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity. The four greats are rooted in the four immeasurables but surpass them as they contain an intention which is more than an aspiration.

To cultivate loving kindness, contemplate: Why couldn’t all sentient beings be endowed with happiness and the causes of happiness? Since all sentient beings have Buddha nature, they have the potential to be enlightened. Since it is possible, may it be so. I shall do it. May I be blessed by the Guru and the Yidam (the one that most speaks to your heart) to enable me to do so. The meditation starts with this contemplation and then moves on to receiving the five colored lights of all the Buddhas and sending out white light from the white pearl of pristine awareness at your heart.

Aspiring bodhicitta develops into engaged bodhicitta. How would we know if the practice is working? Are we poised to act benevolently? Are we aware of the sentient beings around us in need of help and with no resistance, we offer, what can I do to help?

The meditation starts at 31:29.


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