in Ultimate Bodhichitta
How to Integrate the Practice of These Instructions
Appendix I—The Root Text: Eight Verses of Training the Mind
Appendix II—The Condensed Meaning of the Commentary
Appendix III—Sadhanas
Essence of Good Fortune
Prayers for Meditation
Appendix IV—The Kadampa Way of Life
Study Programs of Kadampa Buddhism
Index
Further Reading
Illustrations
The illustrations depict the lineage Gurus
of the stages of the path to enlightenment
Vajradhara
Naropa
Atisha
Dromtonpa
Geshe Potowa
Je Tsongkhapa
Jampel Gyatso
Vajradhara Trijang Rinpoche
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche (included at the request of faithful disciples)
Acknowledgements
This book, The New Eight Steps to Happiness, gives a detailed and practical commentary to the revered Mahayana Buddhist poem Eight Verses of Training the Mind, written by Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa (AD 1054–1123). The poem expresses the essential methods for developing universal love and compassion, and does so in a way that has inspired generations of practitioners for almost a thousand years.
The book is based upon transcripts of two courses of oral teachings given by the author at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Center. The transcripts were carefully checked and substantially augmented by the author during intensive editing retreats in 1998 and 1999.
We are deeply grateful to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for his great kindness in preparing a commentary that brings alive the full meaning of this celebrated text for the benefit of all worldwide. The power and lucidity of the commentary show clearly that the author writes with full personal realization of the subject matter.
We would also like to thank all those dedicated senior Dharma students who assisted the author with the editing and who prepared the final manuscript for publication.
Roy Tyson,
Administrative Director,
Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Center,
August 1999
Buddha Shakyamuni
Introduction
Everyone, whether religious or non-religious, is looking for happiness all the time and wants to be free from problems and suffering permanently. We can fulfill these wishes through understanding and practicing the instructions given in this book.
This book is based on the widely renowned Eight Verses of Training the Mind (Lojong Tsig Gyema in Tibetan), which was composed by Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa, an eleventh-century Buddhist Master from Tibet. Though comprising only eight four-line verses, this remarkable text reveals the essence of the Buddhist path to enlightenment, showing how we can transform our mind from its present confused and self-centered state into the perfect wisdom and compassion of an enlightened Buddha.
Every living being has the potential to become a Buddha, someone who has completely purified his or her mind of all faults and limitations and has brought all good qualities to perfection. Our mind is like a cloudy sky, in essence clear and pure but overcast by the clouds of delusions. Just as the thickest clouds eventually disperse, so too even the heaviest delusions can be removed from our mind. Delusions such as hatred, greed and ignorance
