His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that compassion is at the heart of the Buddha’s teaching. Chandrakirti indicates this when he pays homage to compassion at the opening of his ‘Entering into the Middle Way’. He compares compassion to a seed, to the moisture that allows the seed to grow and to the eventual fruit.
Addressing the Global Buddhist Summit 2023 in New Delhi, he said the heart of the Buddha’s teaching is a combination of compassion and wisdom and as Buddhists our task is cultivate these two qualities.
“One thing that defines the Buddha’s teaching,” His Holiness declared, “is his explanation of dependent arising. Of the two syllables of the Tibetan term for this, ‘ten-jung’, the first means dependent and the second, arising. This gives us an insight into reality. Everything is dependent. Nothing is independent. Things arise in dependence on other factors. Since nothing is independent, everything comes about through dependent relationships.
“The Buddha’s teaching of emptiness helps us see that what we perceive does not reflect reality. Then we can overcome our feelings of attachment and craving. And when we do that, the mind becomes pure” he said.
“As Buddhists we need to pay attention to the process by which we grasp at the reality of things. If no solution to our problems was presented, to focus only on suffering would be demoralizing. When we achieve insight into reality, we can also see that it is possible for us to attain enlightenment. So, as a result of deep reflection we gain a sense of freedom”, he added.
His Holiness mentioned that the Tibetan tradition also includes tantra and meditation on deities, but he feels that what really has an impact on the mind is the cultivation of wisdom, insight into reality, and compassion for all beings. These are the practices that have most enabled him to transform his mind.
“Rituals are not important,” he continued. “What we need is the cultivation of resting and analytical meditation, an understanding of reality and the practice of compassion. These are the sort of teachings that come alive within you, therefore they’re worth the effort.”
