Buddhist” in Tibetan language is (nang-pa), meaning a person looking “inside” our own mind. This word is very meaningful as it is what literally Lord Buddha taught us – to examine our defilement, transform our mind and have a pure mind perception. Why looking inwards? Because each of us possesses Buddha Nature, but right now due to our defilement, ignorance, obscuration etc. we don’t see it. Hence we need to examine ourselves (body, speech and mind), practice virtuous, transform our mind etc. Today we share an excerpt taken from a very beautiful teaching about this to remind about not finding fault on others instead looking inwards our mind.
Simdha Getul Rinpoche
“Even though we are ordinary people, trying to practice on the spiritual path just doing Dharma practice but then arguing and bickering with loved ones; this is really not the way. Bring your mind to virtue and Dharma and learn to be patient, and get along with your family members of course, with your neighborhood, with your community, these are all very important things to watch closely. With mindfulness to never waste this human life, to always remember death, to always remember the Bardo, to make prayers to never take lower rebirth again and in the best scenario to ensure that you will be reborn in the Sukhavati Pure Land of Dewachen, when you pass from this life, meddling to ensure that you will have a precious human rebirth again and pick up where you left off your next life. Or at least to make sure that somehow you are able to continue to bring virtues to your mind stream to carry that on to your next life.
And so it’s very undermining to fight with loved ones or in your family. This is something you simply must not do and you simply must get along peacefully so that you can die peacefully, in a peaceful state of mind, without worries.
It’s not okay to be full of opinions and always having all of these opinions and concepts because those would just be carried on with you. And so rather than that, you should make sure your mind turns to Dharma rather than worrying about what other people are doing, forming all these opinions about that. You should be thinking and reminding yourself, “Is my mind turning to Dharma with each passing day? Have I improved myself? Is my path turning to virtues? How much negative Karma am I accumulating? What are my faults?” Check out on yourself. Don’t check the faults of others. Don’t spend your time checking and faulting others but fault yourself. Examine yourself continuously and self-adjust. Self-adjust with each and every passing day because you are an ordinary person. This is something you have to do in order to break free from this cycle. So please take this to heart.”
by Kyabje Domang Yangthang Rinpoche