#eight verses

[moonphonic]

[spiral-nature]

Compassion Conquers All, by Tsem Rinpoche

The text begins with a discussion of motivation and how motivation affects an action and the outcome of any single action. The eight worldly concerns are introduced and discussed and the reader is instructed to memorize these concerns and use them as a reference point to check their motivation in day-to-day life. When working from the eight  worldly concerns, suffering is guaranteed and can only lead to negative states of mind. Rinpoche arrives at this conclusion by explaining that everything is impermanent. If you embark on a journey with the intention of receiving praise (money, comfort), the factors leading up to praise and the praise itself will be ever-changing. Once praise is received, the situation will inevitably change and the praise will subside, resulting in reactions and suffering persists. The eight mundane views must be under control before embarking upon the eight verses.

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[life-and-dharma-blog]

Expectation. It is so hard to overcome the expectations we place on ourselves and others. Attachment to expected action, especially when those we are trying to help, not only don't comply to our expectations, but strike out at us, it can strongly aggravate the ego and disturb our minds. Practicing patience and compassion in this type of situation is very powerful and quite a challenge for most of us. But each moment you try, each moment you practice mind training and compassion, it is like you are taking a powerful medicine to heal your mind and repair your thoughts.

[goddessof-war-blog]

What I have learned from the Eight Verses

We must develop infinite altruism

We must create good karma/actions

Sentient beings are precious and useful.  Without them, we would not have fame, clothes, reputation...we cannot practice altruism and achieve Enlightenment without them

We should never consider ourselves as superior to another human being.  We should consider other people to be superior to ourselves

In times of anger and rage, focus on the enemy's good qualities and have sympathy instead.  Everything has a positive side.  Once the rage subsides, we will feel ashamed at the horrible things we have said or done in revenge

If someone hurts you, bullies you, betrays you, we should not take action because we are hurt, we should take action because we are concerned about their well-being in the long run.  In the end, it will come back to haunt them, and we must look out for and benefit others.