Difficult Retreat

A woman wrote to Rinpoche saying she experienced intense pain and hardship during a Hayagriva retreat, but still managed to complete the retreat. Rinpoche sent the following reply.

Dear Deborah,

It is very good that you completed the retreat. There is no choice. No matter how sick you are, however many problems come, you cannot give up Dharma. You have to keep your mind in Dharma, in virtue. When death comes, the best thing is to die with Dharma and bodhicitta in your mind. That is the only way you can be saved and protected from the lower realms. Dharma and bodhicitta are what cause the pure land and precious human rebirth.

So, you must always keep Dharma. There is nothing worthwhile in life other than Dharma. What makes one want to live is only Dharma and the best Dharma is bodhicitta. What brings success in actualizing bodhicitta is guru devotion, which is the root of the path to enlightenment. Since we do not want suffering and we do want happiness, then whatever problems we encounter we cannot give up Dharma. Giving up Dharma means we are giving up all happiness, enlightenment, the causes of happiness, the happiness of future lives, liberating other sentient beings from samsara, our own ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara, and this life’s happiness. Even a peaceful mind comes from Dharma, through protecting the mind from delusions. So, you must have courage.

Source

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