Two Simple Tips from Phakchok RInpoche

Four Simple Tips for Living a Buddhist Life

A Tibetan teacher shares his advice for achieving mental strength in the 21st century. Kyabgön Phakchok Rinpoche

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•  Phakchok RInpoche Tips

1. Gather Merit
Whatever the circumstance may be, there is a difference between people who gather merit (or positivity) and those who do not. What do I mean by gathering merit? First, it is to be able to cultivate compassion; to have an altruistic motivation and to do things to benefit others. It is to help people in an appropriate way, such as giving advice, and likewise to be generous and disciplined and to develop patience—to develop these kinds of qualities and do things with a pure, sincere wish to help.

Moreover, someone who regards themselves as a Buddhist should “make offerings upward” and “practice generosity downward,” meaning that one should make offerings “upwardly”—to our objects of refuge, the buddhas, our spiritual teachers; and to the sangha, the community of practitioners—and give “downwardly” to sentient beings. Make offerings and practice generosity like this on a regular basis.

It is through these kinds of actions, done with a pure motivation, that you gather merit, and the result of this is that you will encounter fewer obstacles and hindrances in this life, your aims will be fulfilled, and things will go smoothly for you.

2. Seek Out Good Role Models
In addition to gathering merit, we also need good role models to follow. It has been more than 2,500 years since Buddha Shakyamuni passed into parinirvana, yet the transmission of his teachings remains embodied and upheld in today’s genuine and qualified dharma teachers. These teachers are excellent role models for us, and to follow their example and teachings is excellent too.

In my case, my role models are my meditation teachers, Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and Kyabje Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. Both of these teachers were extraordinarily kindhearted, generous, caring, and patient, and both were outstanding meditators. They were amazing people. So you likewise need to find this kind of role model, someone with truly excellent qualities to look up to and try to emulate. For us Buddhists, our shared role model is of course Buddha Shakyamuni himself.

By relying on such role models, we will be able to mold and transform our character and behavior into something much more positive, and as a result we will encounter fewer difficulties.

This is particularly important for dharma practitioners, since as practitioners we need to unravel the true intent and meaning of Buddha’s teaching: the innate, natural state. We need to understand this and know how to train in it. Taking a genuine dharma teacher as your example and following their teachings will boost and enhance your understanding and practice of the natural state...