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Our Precious Human Life

how to take the essence of our human life

This section is presented under the following two headings:

1 How to develop the determination to take the essence of our precious human life

2 Training the mind in the actual methods for taking the essence of our precious human life

how to develop the determination to take the essence of our precious human life

This has three parts:

1 Recognizing that we now possess a precious human life

2 Meditating on the great value of our precious human life

3 Meditating on the great rarity of our precious human life

recognizing that we now possess a precious human life

A precious human life is a life that has eight special freedoms and ten special endowments that make it an ideal opportunity for training the mind in all the stages of the path to enlightenment. Each of the eight special freedoms is freedom from one of eight conditions that either prevent or seriously impede our spiritual practice. If we have a human life with all these eight freedoms we will find it relatively easy to overcome any other unfavourable conditions that we might experience. The ten special endowments are all necessary conditions for our practice of Dharma.

By meditating on these eight freedoms and ten endowments we will recognize that we now possess a life that provides the very best opportunity for spiritual development. Such a recognition will naturally bring a feeling of joy and a deep appreciation of our human life with its great potential. By meditating on the value and rarity of our precious human life we will develop a spontaneous and continuous desire to take full advantage of it. This virtuous wish naturally leads us to correct spiritual paths and holds us back from entering wrong paths. Therefore, developing the wish to take the essence of this precious human life is said to be the key that unlocks the door of Dharma. It is also said to be our best friend because it influences us powerfully to use our life in the best way.

This section has two parts:

1 The eight freedoms

2 The ten endowments

the eight freedoms

Four of the eight freedoms are freedoms from being born in a form that is not human:

1 Freedom from being born as a hell being

2 Freedom from being born as a hungry spirit

3 Freedom from being born as an animal

4 Freedom from being born as an ordinary god

An explanation of ways to develop conviction, if we do not already have it, that past and future lives exist, and that there are other realms or conditions of existence apart from the human realm, will be given in detail below. For the purposes of this meditation it is enough to have faith, or at least to keep an open mind.

It is impossible to be born as a human being without first creating the cause, just as it is impossible to gather a good harvest without first planting the seeds. Nothing, not even an atom, arises without causes and conditions. What is the cause of being born human? The cause is to be found in our own mental actions. There is no lawgiver who exists outside ourself and decrees ‘You will be human’ or ‘You will inhabit hell.’ Furthermore, we cannot take a particular form of life merely by preferring it, for who would ever prefer to be born in hell? As explained in the Condensed Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, the main cause of a human rebirth is the practice of moral discipline. It cannot be said, therefore, that human beings will always be born again as human beings or that animals will always be born again as animals. The form of life we take depends upon the quality of our own actions.

Although it is difficult to prove by logical reasoning alone the precise relationships between particular actions and their effects, it is quite easy to understand the relationship between actions and their effects in general. The ripened effect of any action is to be born in a state of existence that is similar in nature to the action itself. The ripened effect of any virtuous action is to be born in a fortunate state, such as that of a human being or a god; and the ripened effect of any non-virtuous action is to be reborn in an unfortunate state, such as that of an animal, a hungry spirit or a hell being.

All the beings who now inhabit the lower realms of existence have at some time in their countless past lives practised moral discipline. As a result they carry within their minds the potentiality to be born human and to practise moral discipline again. Similarly, in this life and in our past lives we have committed countless destructive actions, and so we carry within our mind many potentialities to be born into a life that is not human and to repeat our destructive actions over and over again. Thus we need to meditate in order to appreciate fully the good fortune that we now enjoy and to develop a heartfelt determination to make the most of it while we can.

freedom from being born as a hell being

We meditate:

The body and environment of a hell being give rise only to intense pain and so it is impossible for such a being to listen to, contemplate, or meditate on Dharma. When I experience even slight physical pain I cannot listen to Dharma, read Dharma books, or sit down to meditate. Yet beings in hell experience much greater torment than I could ever experience as a human being, and they experience pain constantly for almost incalculably long periods of time. How fortunate I am not to have taken rebirth as a hell being.

freedom from being born as a hungry spirit

We meditate:

Beings who take rebirth as hungry spirits experience constant hunger and thirst. When I am feeling hungry I cannot give much thought to my spiritual practice and I cannot develop much interest in listening to or reading Dharma. Yet hungry spirits experience extreme hunger and thirst all the time and so they never have the freedom or the wish to practise Dharma. How fortunate I am not to have taken rebirth as a hungry spirit.

freedom from being born as an animal

We meditate:

Although some animals, like dogs, are clever at finding food and can be taught to obey our command, it is impossible for them to train their minds in the stages of the path to enlightenment because animals suffer from great confusion and stupidity. Even if we try to encourage them to meditate they are completely incapable of comprehending our advice. Our spiritual instructions are like wind in their ears. How fortunate I am not to have taken rebirth as an animal.

freedom from being born as an ordinary god

We meditate:

Long-life gods experience only two gross minds – one when they realize that they have taken heavenly rebirth and the other when they are about to die. The rest of their life is spent in a state that resembles sleep in which they become like mindless stones, perceiving nothing. Although their lives are long, these gods cannot reap any benefit from them by practising Dharma, and when they die they are born again in one of the lower realms.

Gods of the form realm other than long-life gods also lack the freedom to practise Dharma because they spend their whole life in a state of solitary tranquillity. They never experience suffering as we do, and they never see the sufferings of others, and so they have no way of developing realizations of renunciation, great compassion or bodhichitta. Some gods, such as the gods of the desire realm, spend their whole life engrossed in distractions and so they never develop an interest in Dharma, and when they die they are thrown into lower realms. Since from the point of view of Dharma, rebirth as an ordinary god is totally meaningless, how fortunate I am not to have taken such a rebirth.

There was once a doctor called Kumara who followed his Spiritual Guide, Shariputra, with great devotion. Even if Kumara was on an elephant, as soon as he saw Shariputra he would immediately dismount and pay homage. When he died he took rebirth as a god of the desire realm. Shariputra knew of this by means of his clairvoyance and he decided to visit his disciple to see if he could continue to instruct him in Dharma. When Shariputra entered the pleasure garden where this god was now playing, his former disciple merely waved at him from a distance and then withdrew into the company of the goddesses who were his playmates. Shariputra did not get the chance even to greet his former disciple, let alone to offer any spiritual advice.

The remaining four freedoms are freedoms from being born as a human being in conditions that either prevent or seriously impede spiritual practice:

5 Freedom from being born and remaining in a country where there is no religion

6 Freedom from being born and remaining in a country where there is no Buddhadharma

7 Freedom from being born and remaining with mental or physical disabilities

8 Freedom from holding wrong views denying Dharma

freedom from being born and remaining in a country where there is no religion

We meditate:

If I had been born in a savage and uncivilized place or in a country where religion is not tolerated, it would have been impossible for me to meet Dharma and put it into practice. There are many places in the world today where there is no religion or where people can be imprisoned and even tortured if they try to practise their religion; and there are many places where people have no opportunity to meet a Spiritual Guide who can show them how to train their minds. How fortunate I am not to be in such a place.

freedom from being born and remaining in a country where there is no buddhadharma

We meditate:

If I had been born in a country where religion is tolerated but where there is no one practising Dharma and no one to teach it to others, it would still have been impossible for me to develop interest in Dharma and to learn how to put it into practice. How fortunate I am not to be in such a place.

freedom from being born and remaining with mental or physical disabilities

We meditate:

If I had been mentally disabled for life I would not have been able to understand and apply Dharma, and if I had been physically disabled for life it would have been much more difficult for me to make contact with the teachings. If I had been blind I would not have been able to read many Dharma books. If I had been deaf I would not have been able to listen to teachings. If I had been physically disabled it would have been difficult for me to visit Dharma centres or temples and to learn how to meditate. How fortunate I am to be free from mental or physical disabilities.

freedom from holding wrong views denying dharma

Holding a wrong view is a state of mind that is like a door closed and locked against Dharma. It is a mind that clings stubbornly to a view that denies the existence of any object that it is necessary to understand in order to attain liberation or full enlightenment. An example is a mind clinging to the view that past and future lives do not exist, without having the openness of mind to investigate whether or not this view is correct. A wrong view may be held dogmatically or opinionatedly as a result of incorrect or imperfect reasoning, or it may be held blindly without even a pretence of reasoning. We meditate:

Holding wrong views is the main obstacle to pure Dharma practice because it prevents us from developing faith in Dharma, and faith is the basis for attaining every spiritual realization. How fortunate I am not to be holding wrong views.

the ten endowments

The first five endowments are personal endowments:

1 Being born human

2 Being born and remaining in a country where Dharma is flourishing

3 Being born and remaining with complete powers, free from mental and physical disabilities

4 Not having committed any of the five actions of immediate retribution

5 Having faith in the three sets of Buddha’s teachings

We can understand the importance of each of the five personal endowments by contemplating the following analogy. Being born human is like possessing a car. Being born and remaining in a country where Dharma is flourishing is like getting the car on the road. Being free from mental or physical disabilities is like having petrol in the car. Being free from still having to experience the results of any of the five actions of immediate retribution is like having a licence to drive. Having faith in Dharma is like having the confidence to drive. Just as when any of these five conditions of successful motoring is absent we cannot arrive at our destination, so when any of the five personal endowments is absent we cannot reach enlightenment, which is the proper destination of this precious human life.

The five actions of immediate retribution referred to in the fourth endowment are the five worst negative actions: killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing a Foe Destroyer, drawing the blood of a Buddha with harmful intention and causing division within the Sangha or Dharma community. If we commit any of these actions it is very difficult to gain realizations and when we die we go straight to hell. When that hellish life comes to an end we continue to experience the heavy results of our action as mental obstructions to our Dharma practice. There have been a few exceptions, such as King Ajatashatru who killed his father Bimbisara but later felt regret, purified and in dependence upon the instructions of Buddha became a Stream Enterer. However, in general, if we commit any of these five actions there is no way to attain liberation in this life.

The remaining five endowments are favourable characteristics of the world in which we take our human rebirth:

6 Taking human rebirth in a world where Buddha has appeared

7 Taking human rebirth in a world where Buddha has taught Dharma

8 Taking human rebirth in a world where pure Dharma is still being taught

9 Taking human rebirth in a world where there are people practising pure Dharma

10 Taking human rebirth in a world where there are benefactors and sponsors for Dharma practitioners

If Buddha had not appeared in this world and turned the Wheel of Dharma, and if pure Dharma had not remained in this world, it would have been impossible for us to receive Dharma instructions and put them into practice. If we are to practise purely and correctly we also need the help of a Spiritual Guide and spiritual friends, and we need the support of benefactors and sponsors. Therefore, all of these endowments are necessary if our spiritual practice is to succeed. We should realize how fortunate we are to have been born into such a world.

When we meditate on these eight special freedoms and ten special endowments we are doing the analytical meditation that causes us to develop joy and deep appreciation for our present human life, seeing that it is perfectly endowed with all the conditions necessary for training the mind in the stages of the path to enlightenment. What is the purpose of deliberately generating joy? It is so that we will take full advantage of our present opportunity. If a person discovers a piece of gold but does not recognize its value he may throw it away; but if he understands how precious it is he will be delighted with his discovery and he will keep the gold safely and use it meaningfully. In the same way, if we understand that our human life is now perfectly endowed we will take delight in it and use it meaningfully. This precious human life is impermanent. It may be lost tomorrow. No one can predict how long this opportunity will last. Therefore we need to appreciate our life right now.

When our meditation causes us to generate a special feeling of joy we do placement meditation, acquainting ourself with this feeling more and more closely so that we never lose it.

meditating on the great value of our precious human life

This has three parts:

1 The great value of our precious human life from the point of view of our temporary goal

2 The great value of our precious human life from the point of view of our ultimate goal

3 The great value of every moment of our precious human life

the great value of our precious human life from the point of view of our temporary goal

The goal or aspiration of every living being is to experience happiness. There are two kinds of happiness and hence two kinds of goal – temporary and ultimate. Temporary happiness is the happiness that can be experienced by humans and gods; it is the limited happiness that can be experienced while beings remain bound within samsara. Ultimate happiness is the pure, eternal happiness of liberation and full enlightenment.

If we had not been born human we would not have been able to experience all the joys and pleasures of human life. Other beings such as animals cannot enjoy the happiness we enjoy because they do not possess the appropriate bodily basis. Therefore, just to have this human body is very important from the point of view of experiencing human happiness in this lifetime. Moreover, we can use this perfectly endowed human life to create the causes for temporary happiness in future lives. We can create all the causes for many future human rebirths with all the necessary freedoms and endowments and with seven extra advantages that provide the greatest opportunity to experience the pleasures and happiness that human life can offer. These seven attributes of higher lineage are: nobility, great beauty, great resources, great power, great wisdom, good health and long life. Of these, great wisdom is the most precious because it enables us to discriminate what is to be practised and what is to be abandoned, and thus to follow correct spiritual paths.

Moral discipline and stainless prayer to gain a human rebirth are the main causes of being born human. Having respect for our parents, our Spiritual Guides, the Three Jewels and other beings is the main cause of gaining nobility. Patience is the main cause of great beauty. Generosity is the main cause of great resources. Offering protection to others is the main cause of great power. Studying and rejoicing in Dharma is the main cause of great wisdom. Healing and looking after those who are ill is the main cause of good health. Saving the lives of others is the main cause of long life. With our precious human life we can create all of these good causes. If we do so we will be sure to experience the results, just as when we strike a match and put it on a dry haystack we are sure to have a fire. With this precious human life we can create the cause to have whatever kind of human life we wish. We can be a millionaire, or we can be a wise politician, or we can be an ordained person who keeps pure moral discipline.

the great value of our precious human life from the point of view of our ultimate goal

Our ultimate goal is to attain the pure, eternal happiness of liberation and full enlightenment. Now that we possess a precious human life we can practise and complete the three higher trainings that lead to liberation. The human form is said to be like a boat in which we can cross the ocean of samsara and reach the shore of liberation.

As Shantideva says in Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life:

By depending upon this boat-like human form,

We can cross the great ocean of suffering.

Since such a vessel will be hard to find again,

This is no time to sleep, you fool!

Furthermore, with this precious human life we can train in all five main causes of full enlightenment: renunciation, bodhichitta, the correct view of emptiness, and the generation and completion stages of Secret Mantra. Since the human body possesses the six elements that are necessary for the practice of Secret Mantra (skin, flesh, bone, channels, winds and drops), with this human form we can attain all the experiences of Secret Mantra, including the ultimate realization of full enlightenment, in just one lifetime. If we are reborn as a god of the form or formless realms we will not have such an opportunity. Even the higher Bodhisattvas born in Pure Lands such as Sukhavati do not have such an opportunity.

We meditate:

Since beginningless time without interruption I have taken samsaric rebirths without freedom or control, in sorrow and in fear. Samsara is the most terrifying prison. Now for the first time I have all the conditions I need to break the bonds of my imprisonment. Therefore, I must not waste this precious opportunity to attain liberation and full enlightenment.

the great value of every moment of our precious human life

With this human life, each day, each hour, each minute, can be completely worthwhile. Every single moment of our precious human life has great meaning. In just one hour human beings can create the same amount of merit that a god creates in one aeon. If we meditate on love for just five minutes, or if we make just one prostration to our Spiritual Guide regarding him or her as an emanation of all the Buddhas, we will create immeasurable merit.

In a very short time we can purify all the negative karma that we have created in the past. The potentialities that we have created in our mind by our past negative actions are formless. Since we cannot see them it is easy to forget that they exist, but if our negative karma were to possess form it would fill the entire universe. All this negativity can be quickly consumed if we use this human life to do strong purification, just as a haystack is quickly consumed by a strong fire.

Je Tsongkhapa said:

If we contemplate the great value of these freedoms and endowments we will feel strong regret for having wasted our human body and our time.

Someone who is very miserly but who has to spend a lot of money travelling around will develop a strong sense of loss because he or she greatly values every single penny. In the same way, if we were to develop full appreciation for the value of every single moment of our precious human life we would develop powerful regret whenever we squandered a moment. Je Phabongkhapa said:

Instead of feeling so much regret when we lose our money, we should develop regret when we waste our human life.

Even if we were to lose all our money we could borrow some, make an appeal, or find a way of making more; but if we lose this human life without having put it to good use it will be almost impossible for us to recover our loss.

This body with all the freedoms and endowments is more precious than the legendary wishfulfilling jewel. With a wishfulfilling jewel we could live in an environment made of precious gems, but what happiness could we derive from that? What happiness could there be in having the power to transform all our possessions into gold? During this life such possessions would be a source of anxiety, and at the time of death we would have to leave them all behind. This precious human life is infinitely more valuable than gold. It is the real wishfulfilling jewel, the real philosopher’s stone that makes every moment meaningful and enables us to enter correct spiritual paths.

By meditating on the great value of this precious human life we will come to see it as a very special opportunity that is not to be wasted. We will make a very strong determination to use it to accomplish both our temporary and ultimate purposes, and we will feel a great sense of loss if we waste even a single moment. If we think like this we will definitely take the essence of this precious human life. However, if we do not meditate in this way there is a great danger that we will let our life slip by without any meaning. As Shantideva said:

If, having found the freedom and endowment of a human life,

I do not strive to practise Dharma,

There can be no greater self-deception,

There can be no greater folly.

meditating on the great rarity of our precious human life

This has three parts:

1 Recognizing the rarity of our precious human life in terms of its cause

2 Recognizing the rarity of our precious human life by analogy

3 Recognizing the rarity of our precious human life in terms of numbers

recognizing the rarity of our precious human life in terms of its cause

Even if we understand the great value of our precious human life, we may still waste it if we think that it will be easy to be born a human again. In fact, it is very rare to be born a human because it is rare for anyone to practise pure moral discipline, which is the cause for such a rebirth. In Precious Garland of Advice for the King Nagarjuna says:

From giving comes wealth,

From discipline comes happiness.

Even when we do observe moral discipline purely it is easy to destroy it by becoming angry or performing other actions that destroy our virtue. It is extremely rare to find anyone who observes pure moral discipline without ever losing it.

There was once a Mongolian who sat listening to a Lama giving these teachings, and when the Lama came to this point the Mongolian protested, saying ‘You think that human beings are rare only because you have never been to China! There are millions and millions of people in China.’ However this Mongolian had missed the point – a human life is rare not because there are so few of them but because we ourself rarely create the cause to be reborn as a human. Among all the actions that we have performed since beginningless time, very few are pure actions that lead to a human rebirth.

Our human life is also very rare in that each of us possesses only one. We can possess many books, many clothes, many homes – but no one can have more than one human life. If we lose it, we cannot borrow another one. Moreover, this single human life that we now possess is diminishing with every moment.

recognizing the rarity of our precious human life by analogy

In one Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni asks his disciples ‘Suppose there existed a vast and deep ocean the size of this world, and on its surface there floated a golden yoke, and at the bottom of the ocean there lived a blind turtle who surfaced only once in every one hundred thousand years. How often would that turtle raise its head through the middle of the yoke?’ Ananda answers that, indeed, it would be extremely rare.

We are just like this blind turtle, for although our physical eyes are not blind, our wisdom eyes are. The vast and deep ocean is the ocean of samsara. The blind turtle remaining at the bottom of the ocean is like our remaining in the lower realms of samsara, to surface into the fortunate realms only once in every one hundred thousand years. The golden yoke is like Buddhadharma, which does not stay in one place but moves from one country to another. Just as gold is precious and rare, so Buddhadharma is precious and very hard to find. For most of our previous lives we have remained at the bottom of the vast and deep ocean of samsara, the lower realms. Only very occasionally have we been born as a human being, and even with a human life it is extremely rare to meet Buddhadharma.

recognizing the rarity of our precious human life in terms of numbers

Harmful actions that are the cause of lower rebirth are much easier to commit than virtuous actions, and so those who are born in the lower realms are much more numerous than those who are born as humans or gods. Of all the states of existence, hell has the greatest number. Fewer beings are born as hungry spirits, and fewer again as animals. Human beings are rarer than beings born in any of the three lower realms, and among human beings very few have a precious human life with all the freedoms and endowments. Among those who have a precious human life very few practise Dharma, and among those who practise Dharma very few practise purely and gain correct understanding and experience. We may sometimes get the impression that there are many pure Dharma practitioners and many people with realizations, but if we check we will see that such beings are extremely rare. Milarepa once said to the hunter Gonpo Dorje, ‘Buddha said that human life is precious but a human life like yours is very common.’ Among those who have a human life it is common to find people like this hunter who completely waste their opportunity and use it only to create causes for future misfortune. However, it is difficult to find someone practising Dharma purely.

When we meditate on the great value and rarity of this precious human life we are doing the analytical meditation that causes us to develop a strong determination not to waste a moment of our human life and to make full use of it by putting Dharma into practice. When this determination arises clearly in our mind we hold it as our object of placement meditation so that we become more and more accustomed to it.

Although we now have a precious human life with all the freedoms and endowments, we may still find it difficult to practise Dharma purely because we may lack other freedoms such as the time to devote to study and meditation. It is rare to find anyone who has ideal conditions, but the most serious impediment to our spiritual development is our own failure to generate a strong wish to engage in practice. Je Tsongkhapa said that to develop the wish to take full advantage of this life with all the freedoms and endowments we should meditate on four points:

I need to practise Dharma.

I can practise Dharma.

I must practise Dharma in this life.

I must practise Dharma now.

Before we can develop the wish to practise Dharma we must first recognize the need to practise Dharma. To do this we meditate:

I need to practise Dharma because I want to experience happiness and avoid suffering, and the only perfect method for accomplishing these aims is to practise Dharma. If I do so, I will eliminate all my own problems and I will become capable of helping others.

Even though we may understand the need to practise Dharma, we may still think that we are incapable of doing so. To overcome our hesitation and convince ourself that since we have all the necessary conditions we are definitely capable of practising Dharma, we meditate:

I now have a precious human life with all the freedoms and endowments, and I have all the necessary external conditions such as a fully qualified Spiritual Guide. There is no reason why I should be incapable of practising Dharma.

Even though we may understand the need to practise Dharma and may feel capable of doing so, we may still delay, thinking that we will practise in some future life. To overcome this laziness of procrastination we need to remember that since it will be very difficult for us to gain another precious human life we must practise in this very lifetime.

Even though we may see that we must practise in this very lifetime, we may still feel that our practice can be postponed until our retirement. To overcome our complacency we need to remember that the time of death is most uncertain and so the only time to practise is right now.

In this way we arrive at four strong resolutions:

I will practise Dharma.

I can practise Dharma.

I will practise Dharma in this very lifetime.

I will practise Dharma right now.

These four resolutions are invaluable because they make us generate naturally a spontaneous and continuous wish to take full advantage of our precious human life. This wish is our best Spiritual Guide because it leads us along correct spiritual paths. Without it, no amount of advice or encouragement from others will lead us to practise Dharma.

On one occasion Aryadeva and Ashvaghosa were about to have a debate. Ashvaghosa was standing on the threshold of a room with one foot inside and one foot outside. To test Aryadeva’s wisdom he said ‘Am I going out or coming in?’ Aryadeva replied ‘That depends upon your intention. If you want to go out, you will go out. If you want to come in, you will come in.’ Ashvaghosa could think of nothing to say to this because what Aryadeva had said was perfectly correct.

If we desire good things we will perform virtuous actions and if we desire harmful things we will perform non-virtuous actions. Since our desire is so powerful it is extremely important to abandon non-virtuous desires. If someone uses his mouth to give advice to others but in his heart cherishes the desire to steal someone else’s possessions, then eventually, through the force of his desire, he will accomplish his aim. What is it that commits such a person to prison? Nothing but his own non-virtuous desire. He loses his reputation and falls in everyone’s esteem, all through his own wish. On the other hand, if there is an ordinary person who is not highly regarded but who has a sincere and continuous wish to gain bodhichitta, then eventually, through the force of his or her desire, this person will attain spiritual grounds and paths and experience the fruits of practice.

The great Tibetan meditator Gungtang Jampelyang once asked ‘What is the difference between a wise man and a fool?’ The difference lies in their intention. A wise person is someone who has a good intention, not someone who merely possesses knowledge. Devadatta studied as many texts as an elephant can carry on its back, and yet he cherished a perverse desire to harm Buddha and so he took rebirth in hell where all his scholarship was useless. Amongst the most valuable advice we can receive is to develop a good intention and to maintain it at all times. We need to know our own minds and to exchange our harmful desires for ones that are beneficial. Buddha Shakyamuni said that a correct intention is the root of all Dharma realizations.

training the mind in the actual methods for taking the essence of our precious human life

From meditating on the great value and rarity of this precious human life we firmly decide to use it meaningfully, to take its essence. To take the essence of this precious human life means to engage in methods that will bring benefit in our future lives and to stop investing all our energy and concern in activities that are aimed at attaining only temporary benefit in this present life. To take the least essence of this precious human life is to protect ourself from the danger of lower rebirth and to ensure that in our next life we obtain a special human rebirth endowed with the seven attributes of higher lineage by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a person of initial scope. To take the intermediate essence of this precious human life is to protect ourself from uncontrolled rebirth and to attain liberation from samsara by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a person of intermediate scope. To take the great essence of this precious human life is to protect ourself from the danger of self-cherishing and to attain full enlightenment for the benefit of all living beings by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a person of great scope.

All the stages of the path that follow are the actual methods for taking the essence of this precious human life. They are explained in three parts:

1 Training the mind in the stages of the path of a person of initial scope

2 Training the mind in the stages of the path of a person of intermediate scope

3 Training the mind in the stages of the path of a person of great scope

What are the stages of the path of a person of initial scope? They are meditation on the great value and rarity of this precious human life, meditation on death and impermanence, meditation on the sufferings of the three lower realms, the pure practice of going for refuge and the practice of avoiding negative actions and engaging in virtuous actions. By practising these stages of the path we avoid birth in the lower realms and protect ourself from their sufferings.

How does the practice of a small being protect us from the sufferings of the lower realms? If we meditate on the great value and rarity of this precious human life, and on death and impermanence, we will practise Dharma purely and go for refuge purely. If we go for refuge purely we will keep the commitment to avoid negative actions and perform only virtuous actions. If we do this we will avoid creating the cause of rebirth in the lower realms and create only causes of higher rebirth. Therefore, the realizations of a small being protect us from suffering. They are objects of refuge and are to be regarded as Dharma Jewels because they resemble the actual Dharma Jewels of Superior beings.

What are the stages of the path of a person of intermediate scope? They are the practices of generating renunciation in dependence upon meditation on the dangers of samsara and, motivated by renunciation, the practices of the three higher trainings. By gaining the realizations of a middle being we attain liberation and protect ourself from all the fears and sorrows of samsara.

What are the stages of the path of a person of great scope? They are the minds of great compassion and bodhichitta and, motivated by bodhichitta, the practice of the six perfections – in short, all the paths of Bodhisattvas. By gaining the realizations of a great being we attain full enlightenment – the complete abandonment of all faults and the perfect accomplishment of all good qualities – enabling us to offer protection to all other living beings.

In Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment Atisha says:

There are three types of being that should be known;

They are small, middle and supreme.

In this context a ‘small’ being means a person of initial scope, a ‘middle’ being means a person of intermediate scope and a ‘supreme’ being means a person of great scope. Our scope for spiritual development is determined by our aspiration. As our aspiration becomes more far-reaching, our capacity for spiritual development increases. In terms of their aspiration all living beings are included within the three types, small being, middle being and great being.

There are two types of small being, ordinary small beings and special small beings. An ordinary small being is someone whose aspiration does not extend beyond the limited goal of finding worldly happiness in this life alone. Such a person sets his or her sights on obtaining the changeable happiness of this life. He therefore seeks the guidance of ordinary specialists such as business administrators, careers advisors, marriage guidance counsellors and travel agents. If an ordinary small being also practises Lamrim he will not only become much more successful in all his worldly pursuits, but he will also increase his merit, purify negative karma, and gradually extend his aspiration so that it becomes the aspiration of a special small being.

A special small being is someone who has ceased to be interested in obtaining only the happiness of this life, and who aspires to the happiness of higher states of existence in future lives. Although the aspiration of a special small being extends beyond the welfare of this life, it does not reach further than the limited goal of obtaining the worldly happiness of humans and gods in future lives. A special small being can fulfil this wish by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a small being.

A middle being is someone who has ceased to be interested in obtaining changeable worldly happiness either in this present life or in any future life, and who seeks only the perfect happiness of freedom from all kinds of uncontrolled rebirth. Although the aspiration of a middle being extends beyond obtaining merely worldly happiness, it does not reach further than the limited goal of fulfilling only his or her own welfare. A middle being can fulfil this wish by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a middle being.

A great being is someone who has ceased to be interested in fulfilling only his or her own welfare, and who seeks to become fully enlightened so that he or she can help others to find freedom from their suffering and experience the bliss of Buddhahood. A great being can fulfil this wish by gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path of a great being.

Mahayana practitioners begin to develop bodhichitta, the aspiration of a great being, from the very beginning of their spiritual practice. For a long time, though, this motivation is artificial because spontaneous bodhichitta is generated only after gaining all the realizations of the stages of the path that are common to a small being and a middle being, and some of the realizations of the stages of the path of a great being, such as the realization of great compassion. Great compassion, the determination to release and protect all living beings from their suffering, gives rise to genuine bodhichitta, the determination to become enlightened solely for the sake of benefiting others. Great compassion itself is generated only after we have realized renunciation, the determination to free ourself from samsara; for if we do not sincerely wish to be free ourself, how can we develop such a wish for limitless living beings?

It is not easy to realize renunciation because this special virtuous mind arises only when we have given up attachment to this life and its pleasures. Training the mind in the stages of the path of a middle being is the actual method for gaining the realization of renunciation. Training the mind in the stages of the path of a small being is the actual method for overcoming attachment to this life. Without developing a mind of renunciation it is impossible to generate a mind of great compassion. In the beginning we should develop renunciation, and gradually renunciation will cause compassion to arise. As Shantideva said:

If we do not even dream of becoming free from samsara ourself, how can we have the wish to release others from its miseries?