Free Into the Heart of Life by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo Page B

that for everyone he meets—president or Pope or road-worker, it doesn’t matter—his only thought is that they should be happy. It doesn’t matter who they are. It doesn’t matter whether on one level he might or might not like them. His only concern is for their happiness and well-being. He is concerned with the real person, not the mask, not the glittering image these people are wearing. He is concerned with the real person. When looking at that person his only thought is to wish them well. We can all do this.
     
    The ceremony of taking refuge comes from the time of the Buddha himself. When the Buddha was wandering around in northern India he met so many people seeking his advice. At the end of many of these discourses in the sutras, the questioner states, “From now until life’s end, I take refuge in the Buddha, in the Dharma, in the Sangha.” It is a very ancient tradition in all Buddhist countries. It expresses commitment to put the spiritual path in the center of our life instead of just at the periphery. It is a commitment which says, “From now on, I will transform my life into something meaningful.” Therefore, taking refuge is the beginning of the Buddhist path.
    Toward every person we meet, starting with those who are the closest to us—our families, our colleagues, people that we meet everyday, and then extending that to strangers and whomever else we meet—our first thought should be the appreciation that they want happiness. They aren’t just anonymous blobs: they’re people with problems, with pleasures and pains. They want to be happy, just as we want to be happy. Cultivating that attitude toward everyone breaks down the ego-centered selfishness which causes us so much pain. So long as we are fixated on ourselves, on how we can be happy, we will never be happy. It is only when we open up our hearts to include all beings that suddenly we discover there is this inner joy within us: it begins like a little spring of water and is without the dryness of our self-cherishing thoughts. As our essential nature is love and intelligence, we are not inherently bad. We are inherently perfect. It is just that this nature has become covered over, like the sun covered by thick clouds. We may identify ourselves with the clouds because we don’t see the sun. But the sun is always there.
    These qualities will become stronger and stronger once we begin to practice. As long as we rely on things or on other people for our happiness, we will never genuinely be satisfied, because these things are impermanent. They’re transient; they’re insecure.
    The only true happiness lies within us. That’s where it is.

Questions
    Q: What was your central motivation for spending so many years in the cave in the Himalayas?
    JTP: My motivation? The Dharma in itself is motivating. Once you realize the benefits of practice, then it keeps you going. It becomes more and more central; it takes over your life, as you can see! But in recent years, my motivation has been very much to help young women from the Buddhist Himalayan regions who want to devote their lives to the Dharma. One sees that they have such incredible intelligence; they have such a spark, and one wants to help them. If we don’t help them, who will?
     
    Q: Is it true that nuns are not educated in the Tibetan Buddhist culture? And can you tell us about the nunnery you have started in northern India?
    JTP: You know, you are really very fortunate in the West. You are all well-educated and you can read whatever you want. You can study whatever you want to study and if any spiritual teachers come, you can go and listen to them without obstacles. Basically, you’re very free.
    I think it’s hard for people in the West to appreciate a society where there are obstacles to being able to study. For example, in the Himalayan regions like Ladakh and Bhutan, there are many monks and nuns. But, there is no education for the nuns. When I lived in Lahaul, I saw this very