Generating the Mind of Enlightenment

Generating the Mind of Enlightenment based on immeasurable compassion

Visualize all the objects of refuge in front of you. 

Visualize in the sky in front of you an eight lion throne. On the throne is a sun cushion. On the sun cushion is a moon cushion. On this moon cushion is a lotus flower. On this, visualize your root lama in the form of Shenla Okar. In front of your root lama, visualize the inner and outer yidam deities, the Buddhas of the ten directions, Rigdzin awareness holders, and Yungdrung Senpas (Bodhisattvas), and the lineage lamas of the sutra, tantra, and dzogchen. Around them are the khandromas, and protectors – both wisdom protectors and worldly protectors. All are gathered like clouds in the sky in front and around your root lama. 

Behind your root lama is the representation of the Enlightened body, speech, and mind. The representation of the Enlightened body is the statue of the Buddha. The representation of the Enlightened speech is the scriptures of the Buddha’s teachings. The representation of the Enlightened mind is the stupa. You can visualize many of these statues, scriptures and stupas vividly existing in the 10 directions.

Now reflect, “since there's no sentient beings who has not been my parent, my child, my relatives, every sentient beings has at one time been my father, my mother, and my relatives. There is no one who has not been my parent. All of those sentient beings are wandering in cyclic existence –samsara. They are experiencing suffering from their negative actions by the power of ignorance. This is why I need to generate the mind of Enlightenment.”

One practitioner said, “These three poisons are very important for me, otherwise I cannot generate the three wisdoms. The five poisons and the five negative emotions are very important for me. Through them I can generate the five wisdoms. These enemies are very important for my practice because I can generate compassion, love, and tolerance.”

All these mother sentient beings are the source of our practice and the source of our Enlightenment. 

All these sentient beings are now in samsara. They are facing a lot of suffering. Generate a strong genuine compassion and reflect: “What a pity. All those sentient beings are looking for happiness but they do not know what real happiness is. They do not know the real cause of happiness. 

Therefore, reflect: “what can I do for all those sentient beings?”

All those sentient beings are our family. Everyone you meet is your family. How can you stay content knowing that your family is suffering? There are many levels of suffering such as gross suffering and subtle suffering. But regardless of the level, all of our family members of all sentient beings are suffering. I have the good fortune in this life to have a connection to the teachings and spiritual teachers. I have the good fortune in this life to have a little time to practice. I have the good fortune to know the difference between the illusion of samsaric happiness and true happiness. Now in this life, I can do something to help all beings, because I am their son or daughter. I have a good human life and body. I can listen to the teachings, read the teachings, reflect on the teachings, and understand the teachings. With this body, I can do something for those who are suffering. This is why I generate the Enlightened Mind.

What can I do to help all these suffering beings? Right now I am powerless. Right now I do not have the ability to benefit them.

For sentient beings who are limitless as space, now I have no power to help. I need to become a Buddha in this life so that I can liberate all those mother sentient beings until samsara is empty.

That is the motivation of generating the Mind of Enlightenment.

Since benefitting sentient beings is so important, I cannot wait.

Because there is a big difference between doing things for sentient beings earlier or later. I cannot wait till tomorrow or next week. I need to practice now. I cannot even wait one more minute, for my family of all beings are suffering right now.

Right now, at this very moment, I will attain enlightenment for their benefit.

May all sentient beings be free from suffering, possess happiness and quickly attend the precious stage of Buddhahood. For this purpose, then I generate the supreme mind of enlightenment.

Through this motivation, we can then recite the prayer of generating bodhichitta. To review, there is a visualization for generating the Enlightened Mind, and a way of thinking, reflection, and motivation for generating the Enlightened Mind. With these two held in oneness, we can recite the following prayer.  

སེམས་བསྐྱེད།

Generating Bodhichitta

Generating the Enlightened Mind Just as the Noble Buddhas have done,

Through the power and glory of the virtues of the three times,

So all sentient beings to attain enlightenment,

I generate the supreme Enlightened Mind.

The prayer says “I generate the supreme Enlightened Mind.” This means that we practice with this precious mind which is the source of both suffering and enlightenment. Thus training the mind or turning the mind from being a source of suffering to a new way of thinking and being – a source of Enlightenment – is our practice to generate the supreme Enlightened Mind. In other words, turning the mind away from a mind concerned with self-grasping and towards an altruistic mind that is concerned with all beings.

You can pray this prayer everyday with the visualization and motivation/reflection. Sit comfortably and spend some time just reflecting on all sentient beings as our mother and family. The text doesn’t say to practice this 100,000 times like other preliminary texts do. But regardless, we need to practice this every day, and keep this motivation at all times. That is what is important. 

This concludes the teachings on generating the Enlightened Mind for benefiting others.