Bodhicharyavatara Chapter 6, Stanzas 87-89

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Teachings on Bodhicharyavatara
Session 24
Chapter 6: Patience
Stanzas 87-89

Cultivating Patience Through Obstacles

Rinpoche has now completed his synopsis of the first volumes of the text and in this Session returns to the actual verses, beginning with verse 87, which examines the pitfalls of rejoicing when unhappiness befalls ones’ enemies or when someone gives help or is of benefit to those people we consider our enemy.

This hostile way of thinking, he says, causes harm and creates a tendency to become joyless and entrenched in negative thinking. This flies in the face of the basic aspiration and ethos of the practice, which is for all beings to be happy, including our enemies.

In this negative way of thinking, we are creating our own hell realm and so by changing our way of seeing things we are giving rise to transformation. In the short term, a change of thinking is relatively easy and can bring about positive impact to our relationships, in the longer term, with more deeply rooted problematic relationships it is more difficult, but a simple change of ones own mind can bring a positive result.

Thus the practice of patience in this type of situation is a very powerful purification.

You can also view the teaching on the Chapter 6 page along with the other teachings on this chapter. All previous sessions on Chapters 1–6 are available in the Courses section of the Teachings Archive.

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