Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this teaching at Tara Institute, Melbourne on June 2, 2006. In this first part Lama Zopa Rinpoche touched on the topics such as emptiness according to Svatantrika view, the unification of emptiness and dependent arising and searching for real I. He recounted the history of how Lama Atisha came to Tibet and how to integrate three levels of teachings.

You can see all the teachings from this event here:

https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/lama-zopa-rinpoche-teachings-in-tara-institute-2006/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche talks about purifying negative karma in two ways. Firstly, through the power of regretting negative actions, as that helps purify our negative karma and defilements. This regret should focus on acknowledging and repenting the negative actions, rather than regretting positive actions. Secondly, viewing negative actions as empty, recognizing that they lack inherent existence and are merely labelled by the mind. This realization aids in purifying negative karma by revealing the illusory nature of these actions.

The Western perception of regret as negative arises from a lack of understanding of Dharma. In reality, regretting negative actions is a positive practice that contributes to achieving happiness and enlightenment. Rinpoche further discusses how our own mind serves as the root cause of both happiness and suffering. Negative thoughts and delusions generate negative karma and lead to suffering, while positive thoughts and actions create positive karma and bring happiness. Even external pleasures depend on one's mind and karma. By cultivating positive and healthy thoughts through Buddhism and meditation, we can attain peace and happiness for ourselves and others. Applying mindfulness and meditation throughout daily life is crucial to overcoming negative emotions and engaging in positive actions, leading to immediate effects on our well-being.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche shares a story about how he threw stones at a bush that people believed was inhabited by a naga, and how shortly after, he developed a pimple on his face that turned into a spreading infection. This experience strengthened his faith in the existence of nagas and their ability to harm those who harm them.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche tells another story about a mother who asked her son to bring her Buddha's relics but he forgot and picked up a dog bone on his way back. The mother believed it was a relic and her devotion caused the actual relic to manifest. Similarly, if someone recites Rinpoche's name mantra with pure thought and faith, even if Rinpoche himself has no qualities, that person will receive benefits. The mantra should be recited with guru devotion and the understanding that the disciple's mind and the guru's mind are one. By reciting the mantra with this attitude, one can receive blessings and benefit from it.

This teaching was given at Institut Vajra Yogini, France as part of a Four Kadampa Deities Retreat from April 18-May 11, 2003. You can see all the teachings from this retreat here:

https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/4-kadam-deities-2003/

Just as a bank multiplies your money, bodhichitta multiplies your merit, and not just by a little, but by leaps and bounds! With each thought of benefiting others, your merit becomes limitless because the number of beings you wish to help is also boundless. Even the slightest intention to heal the headaches of sentient beings accumulates inconceivable merit. But when you actively strive to eliminate their suffering and bring them happiness, the merit skyrockets—like hitting the jackpot! Reciting the Twenty-one Tara praises with bodhichitta is equivalent to reciting them a hundred thousand times while offering a single butter lamp with bodhichitta yields the merit of a hundred thousand light offerings. It's like a mega bonus!

Bodhichitta is like a treasure trove of merit, as Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo beautifully explained. It holds limitless skies of merit within your reach! Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains that when reciting mantras with bodhichitta, each mantra becomes a powerhouse of merit, benefiting every sentient being—including the smallest insects, the tigers, snakes, and even our enemies. There's no discrimination—it covers all races and all living beings. Bodhichitta encompasses countless insects, animals, and all living beings in forests, fields, and skies who endure immense suffering.

By generating bodhichitta, we are planting seeds that bring us closer to its realization. Every action we undertake with the motivation of bodhichitta benefits countless sentient beings, supporting their happiness and well-being. Its scope is vast, embracing all beings in all universes, from the tiniest to the largest, providing hope and relief to even those who have committed unspeakable acts of cruelty.

We should reflect on the immense power of bodhichitta, a force capable of transforming the world and alleviating the suffering of countless beings. Through cultivating compassion, wisdom, and realization, we can offer increasingly profound benefits to others and ultimately guide them from happiness to enlightenment.

Bodhichitta is the door to the Mahayana path of enlightenment, and by embracing it, we can unlock the qualities admired by all Buddhas. With bodhichitta, we embark on the journey of becoming buddhas ourselves, bringing happiness and freedom from suffering to every single sentient being. By taking universal responsibility for their well-being, we can actualize the highest potential within ourselves.

This teaching was given at Institut Vajra Yogini, France as part of a Four Kadampa Deities Retreat from April 18-May 11, 2003. You can see all the teachings from this retreat here:

https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/4-kadam-deities-2003/