The inner harmony of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

- through Sophie Solere

Published on

Ready-to-wear happiness seekers, go your way. His Holiness the Dalai Lama gives us neither simple recipes to be happy nor crisp anecdotes of individuals who would have found the love of their life by listening to his words. On the other hand, for those who take the trouble to follow his luminous reasoning and to apply even a part of the precious practices contained in this text, the path is open to him. It remains to go through it. inner harmony is a collection of teachings about a text that has become one of the favorites of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Rays of Sun, composed at the beginning of the 1357th century by Hörton Nam-kha Pel, a disciple of the great scholar Tsong-khapa (1419-XNUMX). Rays of Sun is itself a commentary on an older poem, Exercise the mind in seven points, written by Geshe Che-ka-wa (1101-1175). A number of practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism have no doubt already had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with this training of the mind, where it is a question of considering oneself as the most humble of all in every relationship with others, of learn to shoulder the setbacks and grant victory to those who mistreat us, or to offer everyone help and happiness by taking all the suffering on oneself. We are far from personal development seminars, since the objective is not to finally feel recognized or to “become someone”, but on the contrary, to understand that the self has no inherent existence. What is conventionally called the "I" is only the product of causes and conditions, it does not exist independently, demonstrates to us Tenzin Gyatso, who regularly practices this seven-point mind exercise.

Throughout the pages, he recalls the fundamentals of the practices of Tibetan Buddhism: cultivating the aspiration to enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, and not for the purpose of personal interest. Practice meditation either analytically, using reflection (eg on compassion, death or impermanence) or one-pointed, with the mind resting on what has been understood. The Dalai Lama carefully explains the practice of taking on the sufferings of others and giving them our own positive qualities. This meditation, to be accomplished through breathing, accompanied by visualizations, "aims to reduce and eliminate the egocentric attitude, as well as to encourage the thought of concern for others". It also develops with great clarity the path leading to the understanding of emptiness, linked to the perception that all phenomena exist only in correlation and therefore cannot be independent.

Finally, he evokes his life journey, not to put himself forward, simply to show how obstacles can be allies on the way. “I used to live in a very protected environment, but now that we are in exile, there is nothing dishonorable in facing reality. I might even have become dull-witted, but due to Chinese threats and humiliations, I became a real person. »

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Sophie Solere

Sophie Solère is an economic and social journalist who has been interested for years in the environment and interdependence. She works for Buddhist News, a media platform dedicated to Buddhist spirituality and wisdom. By practicing yoga and meditative dance, Sophie discovered the power of spiritual journeys, which offer so many paths to (re)find yourself. She is dedicated to sharing inspiring stories and valuable advice on spiritual practice and the environment with Buddhist News readers.

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