Bodhicharyavatara Chapter 7, Stanzas 46-49

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Teachings on Bodhicharyavatara
Chapter 7: Diligence
Session 24
Stanzas 46-49

Rinpoche talks about aspiration in terms of devotion, understanding that we will not be able to reach everyone we wish to help, as in the Avatamsaka sutra, where it is said that even when the sun is shining there will be places that remain in shadow where the suns rays cannot reach, but this must not prevent us from helping those who are open to it.

The second of the four forces is training in confidence, confidence that the task at hand can be completed and that we will not be put off by the obstacles that are bound to arise. If we continually begin a project without finishing it we will develop a karma that may continue into future lives.

Of the three types of projects we might embark on, Dharma practice is the hardest one to bring to fruition, so the tendency to begin something without the determination to complete it is the most detrimental to our spiritual progress. The three things we must apply ourselves to are: action, afflictions, and our ability to carry through, being confident before we begin anything that we are capable of completing it.

(Rinpoche then reads the stanzas 50-51 in Tibetan at the end of the video, but will explain them in the next session.)

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