The Condition of Living Beings
The best way to help living beings is to show them the path leading to liberation. Thus, the best way is the unity of method and wisdom, which is the quintessence of the teachings of all the Buddhas, that is, these three essential aspects — Renunciation, Bodhicitta, and comprehension of voidness. After all, because of the three poisons of the mind, beings suffer and cannot find real happiness. People will never achieve happiness as long as we are under their control. However, to eliminate the impact of these obstacles, it is necessary to resort to some practices. That is why this text discusses three main aspects that allow a person to discover the true path.
Buddhist Approaches to Living a Meaningful Life
The explanation of the central part of the text consists of three parts, which explain renunciation, Bodhicitta, and the correct view of voidness. They represent successive stages of understanding how to act and exist. The stronger our renunciation of the so-called good things of samsara, the stronger our compassion for others will be. It is worth noting that renunciation has two directions. On the one hand, people look down on the sufferings of samsara without feeling any interest in them, feeling disgusted and a desire to get rid of them completely. On the other hand, people look up to liberation and want to achieve it. The stronger these two aspects of renunciation, the stronger will be the intention of Bodhicitta, which also has two directions.
Then, depending on these states of mind, people will achieve either liberation or enlightenment if they have the correct view of voidness. Renunciation should be pure; we should be completely uninterested in samsara’s brilliance and so-called good things (3). As a result, we naturally experience three types of suffering life after life, as the text says (8). It is the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and pervasive suffering. Since all our mothers are in the same position, we need to make efforts to help them by developing the goal of Bodhicitta (7,8). All phenomena of samsara and nirvana arise due to causes and effects. It is always immutable, always true. When we understand this, and our understanding is based on the aspiration for independent existence to disintegrate, we have entered the path that pleases the Buddhas. When we understand voidness, our cognition will no longer be directed to independent existence (10). The very foundation from which erroneous cognition arises, that on which it relies, that is, clinging to independent existence, will disintegrate and disappear.
Comparison
I would like to compare this text with “Tao Te Ching, ” traditionally attributed to Laozi. Both of these works differ in some aspects related to the understanding of the state of living beings. For Je Tsongkhapa, the world is a place of suffering that must be left after reaching nirvana. People are in a state in which they need to find opportunities to change and overcome the principle of their current state. This position is quite similar to what is offered in Taoism; however, there is a significant difference related to what surrounds people. For Lao Tzu, the world is a place of realization of the Highest Principle, and our goal is not to leave the world but to achieve complete harmony with this Principle (Tao), becoming an immortal saint.
On the other hand, despite their differences, these two texts offer similar methods that will allow readers to make their lives meaningful. The basis lies in choosing the path of self-improvement through inner work, meditative practices, and performing good deeds. It is also expressed through a respectful attitude towards beings who were able to achieve the desired state – awakening or harmony – in the hope of help in life. Consequently, integrity is reflected in the pursuit of perfection, an unwavering movement toward truth, calming the mind, pacification, and peace with inner and outer nature.