Gehlek Rimpoche had a unique and painful moment to put into practice what he teaches. While speaking in Holland, he lost his bag which contained ten thousand dollars in cash. " This was much more than I had in all of my bank accounts put together. I also lost my credit cards and identification. This was on a Saturday. I couldn’t do anything or even leave the hotel until Monday." He gave himself until Monday morning to feel badly and mourn the loss and then, he says, "I decided that it was time to stop. I dedicated the loss of the money to the benefit of all beings and particularly to those who took it. Even so, every twenty minutes I would think, 'Oh my God, I lost a lot. How embarrassing if other people know.' When that happened, I told myself that I had already dedicated it. It was no longer mine. It was gone. So what was I crying for?"
Tibetan Buddhist monk Gehlek Rimpoche, teaches: "The world we are living in is impermanent. It changes from better to worse and vice versa. You have to develop determination of mind. You have to apply your mental power, what you might call good old-fashioned willpower." Then, he adds this insight: "You have to reason with yourself: 'I have much more important things to do with my life. I want to be of some benefit to myself and others. Am I going to . . . push myself down into depression? Or am I going to use my intelligence for some good?' "
Gehlek Rimpoche had a unique and painful moment to put into practice what he teaches. While speaking in Holland, he lost his bag which contained ten thousand dollars in cash. " This was much more than I had in all of my bank accounts put together. I also lost my credit cards and identification. This was on a Saturday. I couldn’t do anything or even leave the hotel until Monday." He gave himself until Monday morning to feel badly and mourn the loss and then, he says, "I decided that it was time to stop. I dedicated the loss of the money to the benefit of all beings and particularly to those who took it. Even so, every twenty minutes I would think, 'Oh my God, I lost a lot. How embarrassing if other people know.' When that happened, I told myself that I had already dedicated it. It was no longer mine. It was gone. So what was I crying for?" Comments are closed.
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
April 2024
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