When I first came to America, I noticed that everyone was so busy with worldly activities without any true purpose in life and time is just gone in an instant. This precious human life should then not be wasted on meaningless activities but on cultivating the seed of bodhicitta for liberation for self and others within this lifetime. You will then be accumulating vast amount of merit when you lead your life benefiting others.
The early morning is the time that I dedicate specially for my dharma practice. I do my daily prostrations and make water bowl, candle light and incense offerings at the altar. After which I will have my big American breakfast and I will rest for a little. I will then proceed to do my daily prayers and then meditate for 4-5 hours if I have the time to do so. I do not want to loose this precious time as mornings is the best time which is conducive for dharma practice since my mind is still fresh. At times I will then hang this “Do Not Disturb” sign outside my front door as I do not want to disrupt my dharma practice or lose my meditative concentration.
When I was 23 years old, my second guru teacher was Khenpo Karma Tseten (pictured above). He was 85 years old at that time. I had received many teachings from him and he always said to me “Lama if you really want to help others, you have to practice dharma yourself first.” For example someone is really thirsty and asked you for some water to quench his thirst. First you have to check your own cup to see how much water you have contained inside. Because if you gave away all your water, you will then have none left for yourself. How much water you have in your cup you can check and then simply just share it or drink it. In this analogy, water is the dharma and all beings are suffering of thirst due to the three poisons of attachment, aversion and ignorance.
Excerpt from “Do Not Disturb Sign,” written by Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, originally posted to his blogpost in 2018, also included in Precious Teachings.
