Sabchu Rinpoché

༄༅། །ཆིག་བརྒྱུད་མན་ངག་གི་ཡི་གེ་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་མཛོད།

The Precious Treasury of Written

Instruction Transmitted One-to-One
by Patrul Rinpoche

6 th
SLOGAN
གསང་དགོས་པ་གསུམ་ཡོད་དེ།
There are three things that must be kept secret:
རང་གི་ཡོན་ཏན།
1
One’s qualities
གཞན་གྱི་སྐྱོན།
2
Others’ faults
ཕྱིན་ཆད་ཀྱི་བསམ་བློ།
3
Future plans

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གཞན་གྱི་སྐྱོན། Other's faults

When we observe sentient beings’ uncon-

trolled, unregulated behaviours, we can dis-
cover the opposite of Patrul Rinpoche’s sugges-
tions. We sentient beings not only notice others’
faults, but we can endlessly talk about them.
Other’s doom, their failures make up a spicy
gossip. We take satisfaction of our own glory
relative to the others’ shortcomings, therefore
such conversations serve us about the same
purpose as a good dramatic TV show. What
made people take pleasure in Rome’s ancient
bloodsports could not have been significantly
different. Things have changed since then, we
could argue. We are now civil and sophisticat-
ed, we might think. True, to a great extent, but
what about our propensity to take delight in
other’s setbacks, their failures, especially when we dislike them? That still exists. After turning toward
Dharma, we could think that these propensities dissolve. But do they really? Don't we, in fact, be-
come increasingly more aware of them? Like a good shape-shifter, we see the propensities reappear,
manifesting in different cloaks, in different capes all the time.

Then there are some of us who are on the other end of the spectrum. The outer world does not
matter to us at all. We could not care less about what is happening to our own siblings, let alone the
sentient beings of the six realms. Totally confined within our own self-absorbed mind, wherein our
own wellbeing – or rather lack thereof
– is the only matter of concern to us.
Dissatisfaction, fury, and a truckload
of sadness occupy the entirety of our
mental landscape. If only others could
hear loudly our inner monologue, they
would certainly feel compassion to-
ward us. But sadly, they cannot hear our
thoughts. They cannot see us helplessly
stuck in our own disturbing emotions.
Lost, hopeless, and unhappy, we can take
extreme measures like killing ourselves.
Om mani peme hung.

When we are our best selves, and when we rely upon our Dharma compass, we can clearly see
that all the aforementioned thoughts and actions are nothing but an ocean of negative karma
driven by deluded mindset. This is how we have been paving our way toward samsāra, perpetuat-
ing this type of existence lifetime after lifetime. Not fully realized, but as firm believers, we try to
remove ourselves from the unfavourable environment and put ourselves in a favourable, conducive
one in the hopes that we can put an end to such predicaments. Inspired by those who are called the
Well-Gone-Ones (Skt. Sugata), we also try to tread the shown path. To help us on our meaningful
endeavour, the great master Patrul Rinpoche left behind a map. His suggestions are:
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Your valuable faculties and well-favoured conditions are

extremely precious but they are finite. By focusing on others’
faults, you are wasting your precious life on negative thoughts
and actions. One ought be faultless to point out others’ faults.
Are you faultless? If you are enlightened, you are on a higher
plane, but you are as sentient being as the other. Both of you
are on a same plane. On the contrary, if you point out faults of
the other, in turn, the other would not just sit quiet and accept.
He or she would also point out your faults, which of course,
you would not accept. Would you? Like fuel to a fire, a range
of afflictive emotions will be in play during the course of this
action, and beyond. Both parties end up creating a moun-
tain of negative karma, which further ensures the samsāric
existence after your death, which, you know very well, is the
antithesis to your original aim. Therefore, even if you know
of others’ faults, keep them secret. Don’t speak ill of others, because it will not bring any
positive outcome, and you save yourself from creating unnecessary negative karma.

རང་གི་ཡོན་ཏན། One's qualities

While it is true that we suffer from our systemic samsāric propensities, it is also equally true that we
have many positive qualities. By the power of our merit from the past, we enjoy good outer and inner
conditions. Caused by these limited, finite, but well-favoured conditions, we have intermittent bursts
of loving-kindness and compassion toward sentient beings, as well as confidence in the enlightened
teacher and teachings. Thanks to the living teachers we encountered in this life, we have knowledge
of what is to be abandoned and what is to be adopted. In adverse situations, we manage to stay true
to our core beliefs: respecting karma, restraining oneself from negative thoughts and actions, not
giving into pressure, but persevering
to be good and do good for self and
others. We do all that. When needed,
we also rely on the antidotes to the
negative mental states. These defining
qualities constitute who we are or how
we wish to be.

We need to remember that a person

of good character has been working
on himself or herself amidst difficult
predicaments. Thinking, I will be good
when the world allows me to be good,
is indicative of our need for conve-
nience, not good character. We must
think carefully of what Patrul Rinpoche is suggesting here. We may genuinely try our best to be
compassionate, caring for everyone around us, yet the very people we cared for may often scorn us.
When this happens, we should not be discouraged, but continue to be mindful. We can cultivate
positive qualities such as aspiration and action bodhicitta, because of understanding their innate
virtue – not for any other reasons.
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We may fail at times to remember why we are cultivating the said qualities. For some individuals, we
may end up NOT having very compassionate thoughts, simply because their reactive feedback to our
compassionate gesture was not up to our standards. After such instances, we may then closely con-
ceal our qualities like precious jewels, exposing them only to a chosen few worthy ones who recip-
rocate in accord to our wishes. Receiving the expected responses from them, this sense that we have
been successfully compassionate can then sometimes become a reason to feel superior over others.
The compassion, or rather, this feel-good factor we perpetuate, is just like any other feel-good factor
we have in life – there is nothing compassionate in it. Is there?

We knew then, and we can know now,

that our development of compassion
for sentient beings was not contingent
on what we may receive in return, but
rather, that we practice compassion
for its own innate virtue. We chose
compassionate action over non-com-
passionate action, because that is the
way of life we saw fit for ourselves.
Though it may have had a thoughtful
inception, such compassion, howev-
er, when not paired with the wisdom
of mindfulness, frequently leads us to
either discouragement, or becomes a
means to feel good about ourselves,
which was never the intended goal
of compassion when we started the
practice. Therefore, just like a training
gymnast has to balance on the beam
consistently, similarly, we must always
be mindful of the very reason for be-
ing compassionate and kind. Deter-
mined to perpetuate the best version of ourselves, when we feel that we are being hit by stones, we
must carry on being who we always wish to be. Remembering why we are practicing compassion
enables us to remain in the practice. May noble Chenrezig constantly inspire us all.

On the other hand, occasionally, upon failing to be the best version of ourselves, we may be lightly
mocked by our friends and relatives, who comment on how our behaviour is not up to par with Bud-
dhist principles. We should, again, introspectively think, along the lines of what Sakya Pandita said
in Ordinary Wisdom, and I paraphrase: People examine faults in the excellent ones only, just as they
examine precious material such as gold and diamonds. This is true. Those in the path of excellence are
scrutinized. Diamonds are coveted, but have we heard of anyone coveting ordinary rock? No. With
that reason in mind, we must remember that, while we are on the path, if our unregulated behaviour
sometimes becomes a subject of discussion, we can infer that this scrutiny, and our initial tendency
to fall short of more perfect aspirations, are part of this path. Thus, not discouraged, we must carry
on in the path of mindfulness and compassion, determining to be the best we can, performing all the
social roles we have, such as parents, children, spouses, siblings, peers, friends, and above all, being
mindfully compassionate human beings. May noble Chenrezig constantly inspire us all.

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Patrul Rinpoche writes that we must

keep our aforementioned qualities
secret. Why? Let us ponder on that.
In the world around us, we can see
people boasting about their achieve-
ments, their qualities. Sometimes,
we also may want to be seen in good
light. For instance, in the workspace,
do we not compete with our peers
to make good impressions on our
boss? At home, do we not see chil-
dren working hard for their parents’
positive opinions about them? To our
prospective employer, do we not fine-
tune our resume – mildly concealing
some parts while remarkably high-
lighting others – to stand out in the
crowd? After turning toward Dharma
and becoming part of Buddhist cen-
tres, have you not noticed people’s
explicit and implicit efforts in hopes
of making good impressions on their peers and on the teacher? While being couch potatoes in our
room, we do not care about our appearance, but the minute we decide to go out in public, we must
appear nice. APPEAR nice. Think about it! The concern about how we appear to the eyes of onlook-
ers. We couldn’t care less about how we appear to the four walls we are in right now as we read this
essay, because they do not perceive us, we think. But people perceive us, we know. Their perception
of us matters to us, especially when they are important to us. As a result, we try, in all sorts of ways,
to achieve our goal. Why do we do that? What are the mental states involved there?

The pertinent answer conveyed in Dhar-

ma is that we are captivated by the eight
worldly preoccupations. These include four
attractive ones: praise, pleasure, fame, and
gain; and four displeasing ones: criticism,
pain, disgrace, and loss. Ordinary sentient
beings perceive them as an effective compass
to achieve happiness and avoid suffering,
which Dharma instructs us not to be valid.
The preoccupations, in and of themselves,
are not inherently good or bad, say the mas-
ters. But their inherently transient nature
makes them ineffective as means to lasting
happiness, they say.

But let us argue that that is not true, that they

are the perfect means to lasting happiness.
We should then scheme to constantly strive

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for the former four concerns and fight against the latter four, which by the way, we sentient beings do,
and yet we do not achieve the perceived happiness nor do we succeed in avoiding the suffering. Rath-
er, following this paradigm, our suffering, or duhkha, is amplified. Because of our deluded mindset,
we are unable to sustain this verifiable truth. May noble Chenrezig constantly inspire us all.

Thus Patrul Rinpoche instructs us as follows:

Your qualities are yours. You cultivated them and likewise, you could diminish them. You are
the master of yourself. The other’s knowledge of your qualities will not increase nor diminish
your qualities. So why announce them to others? On the contrary, if you do announce them
to others, pay attention to the involved motivation. Are you sure that you are not governed by
eight worldly preoccupations? Having experienced the futility of your actions, why do you
still pursue this? Why don’t you rather focus on the worthwhile pursuits?
You know you do not need the world to know who you are. Don’t be concerned about your
APPEARANCE. Keep your qualities to yourself. Keep them secret.

ཕྱིན་ཆད་ཀྱི་བསམ་བློ། Future plans

From the verifiably true words of the masters, we can come

to understand that all affairs of samsāra are futile, unreli-
able and fleeting. This finite life we have, can end at anytime.
When the death strikes, this precious faculty-equipped body
dissolves. With that, everything of this life also dissolves. By
those reasons, we can understand and limit our idle plans
and speculations. Putting an end to the limitless schemes
can open up free time for us to focus on the reliable en-
deavours: accumulation of merit and purification of karma.
Unlike samsāric affairs, our accumulations, our purifica-
tions can effectively help us. They do not dissolve as we die.
Moreover, the training of decent behaviour, the training of
concentrative meditation, and the training of wisdom carry
over lifetime after lifetime. The time we spend training in the
two bodhicittas – aspiration and action – is not wasted. The
practice of the six pāramitās, the transcendental qualities,
is exceptionally reliable. Through it, the benefits achieved
will not only manifest in this life but also in the next. They
are the source of true, meaningful, long lasting happiness. In
keeping with this and adapting the instruction to our life sit-
uation, we could engage in the practice in all sorts of scenar-
ios. That being said, no one needs to know when we decide
to limit our samsāric affairs, or what changes are we imple-
menting. No one needs to know what practices we are doing
in our mind. No one needs to know when and how we practice. Do we need the world’s permission to
practice samsāra? If no, then why do we need permission to practice Dharma? We did not announce
to the world when we started samsāric affairs, so why do we need the world to know when we start
Dharma? When we are angry at someone, we don’t ask permission: Hey! May I be angry at you?
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– Certainly, no. Similarly, we

also do not need to inform
the other party that we are
practicing patience, that we
are practicing compassion.
What we decide to do volun-
tarily or involuntarily in our
mind is decided in our mind,
by us. The world's aware-
ness of our aims is irrele-
vant. Perhaps, the only party
who needs to be involved is
the lama, who we rely upon.
Apart from that, no one.
Therefore, no one needs to
know what we do.

But think about this: we do let the world know what we are doing, don’t we? We can go endlessly
announcing to others what we plan to do, where we plan to go. What are the perceived benefits? What
are our end goals? Through what means do we aim to achieve that? In the digital age we are in right
now, we do that via social media, announcing to the world that we are in a retreat of some esoteric
tantric practice. One could argue: is there harm to this? Certainly there is no harm, but that is not
the point. The point is to pay attention to the motivation behind the action. What are the involved
motivations? Are these motivations consistent with the original ones which drew our attention to
the Dharma? Since the determining factor of virtue and
non-virtue is motivation, it becomes imperative to cross-
check if the involved gross and subtle motivations are in
accord with Dharma or with the eight worldly preoccupa-
tions. Contrary to our samsāric behavior, Jetsun Milarepa,
the great example in this respect, proclaims the following
while practicing alone in the mountain:

May there be no one to carry my corpse,

And no one to weep at my death,
If I am able to die in this mountain retreat,
The wish of this lowly one will be fulfilled.

Making it simple and applicable to our context, Patrul

Rinpoche alludes to us: Just keep your affairs to yourself.
They do not pertain to others.

The source text by Patrul Rinpoche you can find HERE.

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Dza Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1887)

An enlightened master, who, though he lived the life of a vaga-
bond, was one of the most illustrious spiritual teachers of the 19th
century. His principal teacher was Jikmé Gyalwé Nyugu, a great
master who was one of the foremost students of Jikmé Lingpa.
From Jikmé Gyalwé Nyugu he received no less than twenty five
times the teachings on the preliminary practices of the Longchen
Nyingtik, as well as many other important transmissions. From
time to time he would write a text of his own and these treatises
were later collected into six volumes of his writings. Among them
is famous The Words of My Perfect Teacher.
This great master devoted his life entirely to study, contempla-
tion and meditation for his own benefit and teaching, debate and
composition for the sake of others. In so doing, he helped to make the teaching and study of texts
such as The Way of the Bodhisattva, the treatises of Maitreya, the Three Sets of Vows and Treasury
of Precious Qualities widespread throughout the upper, middle and lower regions of East Tibet. In
particular, when the tradition of teaching the Secret Essence Tantra, and the traditions of experiential
guidance and tsa-lung practices for the Longchen Nyingtik were just like lamps whose fuel is almost
spent, through his great kindness he revived them and made them even stronger and more wide-
spread than before.
On the 18th day of Saga Dawa in the Fire Pig year he displayed the signs of dissolving his form body
into the all-pervading space of reality.
Source: Rigpawiki

About Venerable Sabchu Rinpoché

Sabchu Rinpoché is a contemporary Tibetan Buddhist
teacher, born and raised in Nepal, and active in overseeing
the activities of the Karma Kagyu monastery in Swayambhu.
In addition to the traditional Tibetan education and training,
Rinpoché also completed a Bachelor’s degree in Film Studies
in Canada. Dividing his time between personal retreat,
overseeing his monastery, and teaching Dharma, Rinpoché
also sets aside some time to write short teachings and
narratives.
To read more write ups please visit: www.sabchu.org

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