The first teaching of Gampopa
How does it happen that someone turns their mind toward the dharma, and of what use is the dharma? Our first realization of the meaning of the dharma is the impermanence of all that happens to us. For that reason, Buddha’s first teaching was about impermanence. When he taught about the Four Noble Truths in his first cycle of teachings, he taught that everything composite would fall apart again. This is the first of the Four Seals, the four basic Buddhist teachings.
Impermanence
When Buddha taught about impermanence, he applied it both to the outer world and to each individual. A house, for example, seems to be quite solid to us; we normally think of it as stable. But this is a deception because as it was once put together, it will fall apart again one day. This is true for all phenomena in the universe, from the smallest particles to the most vast. If the universe and everything around us is impermanent, then we are of course also impermanent. This is why Buddha pointed out that only spiritual values are of true significance for us. Similarly, Gampopa says that we should become aware of impermanence in order to turn our mind toward the dharma. We should contemplate this at a very deep level, so that the idea of impermanence becomes self-evident and natural.
For this, we have to consider the different kinds of impermanence. On the one hand, we observe the outer impermanence over the course of the years and days, and after that we become aware of the sequence of the seasons. We reflect that everything was obviously put together and will fall apart one day. In order to really grasp impermanence, we also ponder the certainty of our own death. We realize that we ourselves, just like everybody else, will die one day. There are many circumstances that may lead to our sudden death, and there are rather few that keep us alive. Then we also think about how we will experience the moment of dying. All outer things that are now so precious to us will have no value any more. When dying, different things will become important.
Let us now look at those various points more closely.
We usually think that a year lasts very long. But if we look at it more closely, we will realize that it goes by very fast. The months follow one after another quickly. Sometimes, we may have the feeling that one month in particular lasted a very long time. But it also only consisted of single days, and we know how fast a day goes by; time runs through our hands like water. From the moment of birth, one day follows another, and this is what composes the years. The course of our life is a very short and continuous process.
The whole environment changes from spring to summer, to fall and winter. In springtime we can observe how it gets warmer, how trees and flowers start blooming, how insects wake up and become active, etc. In summer it becomes hot, the crops grow tall and the harvest abounds. In autumn, the trees lose their leaves; in winter, the soil is hard and frozen, and it snows. Nothing stays the same; everything changes in the various phases. Impermanence makes things appear in different ways. The fact that everything changes and that the seasons follow one another is only possible because of impermanence.
- Everything that was built up will fall apart again.
- Human beings or certain circumstances will come together, then they will be lost, and the situation will be gone again.
- Everything that we accumulate will be given up or lost; we will be separated from it.
- Whatever was born will die someday.
With the help of these four descriptions, we will get a good understanding of the meaning of impermanence, and we should especially reflect on the fourth point.
Death
Everybody who was born will surely die; there is no way around it. It is certain that death follows birth. We should make this very clear to ourselves. Buddha Shakyamuni himself is the best example for this. A long time ago, he lived here on earth, achieved buddhahood and died. This is definite—none of us can say that we will meet the Buddha in this life, because he died. We can also think of other great spiritual teachers whom we knew personally and from whom we may have gotten teachings. We can think of other human beings who we were close to, perhaps parents, brothers or sisters, friends we liked and were close to. We know enough people who died already. For example, we can recall that within the last year alone, someone we were close to died. Upon these reflections, we will understand that we ourselves will have to die one day.
Everybody has to die, regardless of his or her level of realization. For instance, think of Milarepa; he was a highly accomplished being and could do all kinds of things independently of outer conditions. He could fly, go through walls, etc., but even he died. Take Marpa, Gampopa or Karmapa, whom we consider to be buddhas with great abilities; they were all born, lived as human beings, and they also died naturally, because it is inevitable that death follows birth. It is the logical consequence of birth.
When considering the fact that even the greatest bodhisattvas and the highest realized masters could not escape death—what about us who have no deep realization? How can we then succeed in escaping death? If we have understood that death awaits us at the end of our life, we should learn how to deal with it. We often think that we will certainly die, but at some undetermined time in the future. We think that we still have a lot of time and that death will come much later, not tomorrow. But this is a wrong view, because we do not have any control about the timing of our death. It may come at any moment, any time, very quickly. We should be aware of this. Imagine that you stand on a steep hill and let a big stone roll down the hill. The stone will roll faster and faster, and at one point will hit the ground below. It is exactly the same with our life.
A verse says, “One never knows which comes faster: the next day or death.” This is exactly so. Today we listen to teachings and think that we will listen to them again tomorrow. But who knows whether we will still be alive tomorrow. This is something that is uncertain. Therefore, we should be very clearly aware of this constant possible presence of death. This understanding will then motivate us to practice the dharma.
Especially today we can observe how many conditions may lead to a sudden death. For instance, cars are a convenient means to move fast, but at the same time they bear a possible danger. Wherever we look, we find examples. With regard to medicine, it happens that some people cannot take a certain combination of medicine and may therefore die. With regard to nourishment, it happens that some people, because of their constitution, cannot eat certain kinds of food; they might be poisoned by them and die. We should be aware of the fact that there are many ways to die, and that it is always possible. Therefore we should practice the dharma.
When dying, we can only rely on ourselves. If we know influential people and ask them for help while dying, they will not be able to do anything for us, even if they want to. Neither are big possessions of any help. Even when the richest man in the world dies, all his money cannot help him. We may have many friends and human beings close to us, but no matter what, they cannot avert our death. Death is like a big falling rock, like a big waterfall; it cannot be stopped.
In the process of dying, the body loses its strength; for example, we cannot eat anymore. We have no strength to perceive taste. Even if we can get a bite down, the body cannot digest the eaten food. We cannot see clearly; the strength for the basic bodily functions is missing. This is quite a natural process because the body is composed of the four elements and naturally dissolves into them again. We do not have the strength to breathe in after having breathed out; and when we have breathed out, we have no real strength to properly breathe in again. We lose control over these functions. If we have not learned to work with the mind, we will experience a very difficult psychological state. Normally, we will be very frightened when realizing that our consciousness leaves the body. There is nothing to hold on to; we do not know what is going on. If we have not learned how to deal with our mind, this is a very difficult situation. It is said in another verse: “If we have not accomplished an action, its result will not ripen. But each accomplished action will have a result.” This is especially important in the process of dying.
In our life, we are closest and most important to ourselves, and we pay most attention to ourselves. Our own person, our ego, our identification with our body is the center of all our actions. Whatever happens is related to us and experienced in regard to us. We also act from this perspective—we do positive things leading to happiness, and negative things resulting in suffering. The impressions of these actions automatically accompany us while dying. All the positive and negative tendencies from our actions and way of living are present in our mind and accompany us. We do not have to carry them along or pull them behind us with a rope. Neither can we tell them, “I don’t want you, go away.” It is guaranteed that they will always be with us, like the shadow that accompanies our body in this life.
Once there was a Geshe (a Buddhist academic) from the Kadampa lineage who thought a lot about impermanence and death. He practiced in retreat in a small cave high in the mountains. In front of the cave was a thorny bush, and whenever the Geshe went out in order to relieve himself or get some water, he had to squeeze past this thorny bush. It was very uncomfortable for him; he hurt himself several times, and the bush tore his clothes. When he went out the first few times he thought, “I have to tear this bush out; I have to do something about it.” But then he decided to leave it there, to squeeze past it, and rather use his time for meditation.
With regard to death and impermanence, it is most important to understand that in the moment of death, there is only one thing of true value: namely, how much we are able to master our mind through the practice of the dharma. We think about this in order to constantly remember to use the dharma, to practice and not to be distracted by things of superfluous value. The best, of course, is to practice so intensively that we will attain buddhahood in this very life, like Milarepa. Only a few will accomplish this. It is also very good to practice in such a way that we could say to ourselves: “If I die right in this very moment, I have nothing to regret. I have done what I could.” It is important always to have the feeling that one has done everything possible in regard to one’s practice.
Karma
If we never do certain actions, we will not experience their results, but every action we do will have a result; this is for sure. Basically, actions are divided into those resulting in happiness and those resulting in suffering. In general, it is a mixture of both, but nevertheless, one or the other tendency often predominates, and we can strive to strengthen a certain tendency.
The result of the actions will certainly come sooner or later, and whether they bring happiness or suffering depends on which kind of tendency predominates. For example, if someone acts very positively and practices the dharma in this life but also does some negative actions, then in the next life, the result of the positive actions will be more dominant since this tendency now prevails. The result of positive tendencies will give so much free space that he or she, for example, will find good living conditions and be able to practice the dharma again, but difficulties will also arise because of the former negative actions.
However, if the negative tendencies outweigh the positive ones, the effects of the negative actions will be strongest and suffering will be experienced. For instance, this could manifest as paranoia states. If these negative impressions are very strong in our mind, we will not even have the freedom to think of positive behavior. We are so caught up in our negativity that it is very difficult to find positive things to do. In this way, our actions determine our future.
There is a difference between the experience of a buddha and that of ordinary beings. With respect to mind’s absolute nature, there is no difference. However, all actions of a non-enlightened being stem from focusing on a self. Whatever we do is centered around a self, and therefore we often act negatively. Then a chain of conditions emerges that always results in suffering and difficult situations. In contrast, the Buddha is someone who concentrated on positive actions and developed the attitude to become enlightened for the benefit of others. Due to his constant accumulation of merit, more and more freedom emerged, and he developed his mind and achieved buddhahood. This is the only difference between an ordinary being and a buddha.
Samsara—Conditioned Existence
As a consequence of former actions, we experience the six different realms of existence. Extremely negative actions lead to states of paranoia where nothing but extreme pain is experienced, like unbearable heat and cold. No words dealing with happiness or pleasant things can be heard. Another very painful realm of existence is the realm of pretas, the hungry ghosts. The experience caused by former actions is described in the way that one suffers from extreme hunger and thirst, and no word about food can be heard. If there is something to eat or drink, then one suffers from not being able to take it in because the beings in this realm have huge stomachs and very thin and long esophagi. Therefore, even if they get something to eat, they never have enough. In one text it is said that some beings have seven knots in their esophagus so that nothing can get through.
It is always said that the most painful experiences occur in the paranoia realms, but the experience of the hungry ghosts are not much better. It is just extreme suffering. The animal realms are less painful, but beings in those realms also suffer a lot. We know this from our own experience; for instance, animals are overworked and maltreated in Asia for profit. In the West, domestic animals are treated quite well, however, if we consider animals in the wild, we can see how much they suffer; they hunt and eat one another in turn. Bigger animals eat the smaller and it is a never-ending stream of suffering.
Compared to the suffering in these three lower realms, the experience of the three higher realms is, of course, pleasant—but only in comparison. If we consider everybody’s individual situation, we see something totally different. Let’s take our human experience as an example. We are born, then we become old, get ill and die—this is all painful.
Already in the womb of the mother, as an embryo, we experience a lot of suffering. There are descriptions saying that if the mother eats too little, the embryo has the experience of falling between ravines. If she eats too much, it feels like being squashed between rocks. For the child, birth is also very unpleasant. First, the child is in amniotic fluid and thus in a light environment pleasant for the skin. Then, while being born, it feels like being pushed through a tight iron pipe. After birth, every contact is extremely unpleasant, regardless of how soft the cloth the child lies on or how soft the hands are touching it; it feels like being pricked by thorns—completely opposite of how it felt in the mother’s womb. It is quite clear that the child cries to express its pain.
Later on in life, we also experience unpleasant things. If we are poor, we desperately try to get money; in general, people always try to get more and more, which also is a kind of suffering. Those who have a lot have to work hard to keep their possessions, take care of them and not to lose them. Everybody also knows the feeling of separation from those close to us, like family or friends. If one has spent some time together and then separates, one suffers. Another kind of suffering is when one is also in contact with people one cannot stand, or considers enemies. These are the various kinds of suffering that strongly influence our lives.
In youth and early middle age, we may enjoy life to some extent, but then we become older and suffering increases. We become inflexible, we have problems sitting down and standing up. We were possibly active before, but now we are too frail. Younger people do not take us seriously anymore. If we want to tell them something, communication is blocked. They disapprove of us, and only give us bad reactions that hurt an elderly person very much.
Not much needs to be said about illness. Everybody who has been ill knows how unpleasant it is, and we have already talked about the suffering of death before. We just lose control, and we are helplessly at the mercy of death. If we consider all this, we can see that not much true happiness can actually be found in the human realm. It is only very pleasant when compared to the paranoia and hungry ghost realms.
The life of the asuras, the demi-gods, is determined by envy and jealousy. It is true that they have accumulated much positive karma, but not enough to experience the actual god realms. They see this and thus envy the gods for their heavenly state. Their life is filled with envy and jealousy all the time, and this is their suffering.
The gods experience a state of paradise as the fruit of positive actions. They have all they need and want, and everything manifests immediately. They do not have to make an effort to get anything, be it food or a nice environment. Everything is very pleasant. But this state only lasts as long as there is positive karma. By experiencing these pleasant situations, the positive karma is used up. Then, there comes the time when the positive impressions in their mind are exhausted and the gods start to suffer terribly. The suffering of death is experienced very intensely by the gods, because they are very conscious about it. We, in general, do not suffer as much as long as death is not close—it is something abstract for us. However, the gods realize all too well that they will soon die, and what this means for them. They know that they have used up all the good impressions in their mind and that much suffering is approaching. They see this very clearly, and thus suffer terribly. During the gods’ death there are unusual and unpleasant bodily smells; their clothes and their bodies decay. They are also left alone by the other gods, and know perfectly well what is coming. This is very painful.
In this way, we see that there is nothing worthwhile achieved in samsara. Wherever we are born within samsara, there is no true or lasting joy or happiness; there are fleeting pleasant states at best. It is as if we were sitting on the tip of a needle; it does not feel good.
The Precious Human Body
Whichever realm we experience in samsara only depends on ourselves. It is always the result of our own actions, which are reflected in the outer world. It depends on the amount of positive and negative actions that we perform. As human beings, we have the space to decide whether we want to act positively or negatively. In the other realms of existence, there is no such freedom to choose how to act. Beings in the other realms are so restricted by their karma or the outer conditions that they have no choice. This is why the human state is considered especially precious. We have the will to decide to do one thing and refrain from another. In the human realm we have the possibility to accumulate a lot of positive karma, and through this create the conditions to achieve liberation and buddhahood in the future. This opportunity is the result of our own former actions, and we should be aware of that. We should really make full use of this chance and not waste our life by only enjoying the fruit of former actions and not being conscious about further development.
In our human state, the most important thing is to realize how precious it is. It is precious, because we have the future in our hands. If we do not take care, there is the possibility of being reborn in the lower realms of existence. If we decide to strive for the state of buddhahood, as human beings we will have the ability to act accordingly and to accumulate merit and wisdom. Because of this, we should take care of how we live. For instance, we should not think, “This is only slightly negative, it does not matter whether I do it or not.” Instead, we should refrain from any kind of negative action, even those actions that seem to be very minor, since their result could be painful. We should instead make efforts to do everything positive, even the seemingly minor things. There are many possibilities to do positive things, like being generous, practicing the dharma consistently, meditating, using mantras, doing prostrations, doing all kinds of practices. The point is to realize one’s chance and to decide to use it fully.
Buddha attained enlightenment because he decided to follow a path. He achieved the state of omniscience, which enabled him to see and know all things, therefore he was able to teach and describe which states of samsara exist. We do not have this capability and cannot tell what other beings experience. I, for example, do not know first-hand what is experienced in the paranoia realms. Surely, I had been in these states before, but I cannot remember. Neither do we know from our own experience what the state of buddhahood actually means. I cannot teach about this state, because I do not experience it, but Buddha, from his state of realization and omniscience, was able to show and explain it. For example, he himself did not give birth to a child, so when he taught about what a child experiences when being born, and the pain experienced by the mother, it was from his state of omniscience. However, today we cannot meet him personally, and this is why the lama is so important. The lama is our first refuge because he is the one who gives us Buddha’s teachings today.
If we now have the opportunity of a human life with all its possibilities, we should use it in all situations and not waste it. If we have not really understood death and impermanence, we will not be able to truly turn our minds toward the dharma. We will not be able to practice the dharma in earnest because we will not really understand the meaning of it. This is why Gampopa says in the text that the understanding of death and impermanence is the necessary basis for serious practice. We should think about this again and again, until it has become an inner certainty and a self-evident truth.
