Kelsang Gyatso - How to transform your life : a blissful journey

How to Transform Your Life

About the Author

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is a fully accomplished meditation master and internationally renowned teacher of Buddhism who has pioneered the introduction of modern Buddhism into contemporary society. He is the author of 22 highly acclaimed books that perfectly transmit the ancient wisdom of Buddhism to our modern world. He has also founded over 1200 Kadampa Buddhist centres and groups throughout the world.

Find out more at www.tharpa.com

Suggested study or reading order of books by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche

How to Transform Your Life

How to Understand the Mind

Joyful Path of Good Fortune

The New Heart of Wisdom

Modern Buddhism

Tantric Grounds and Paths

The New Guide to Dakini Land

Essence of Vajrayana

The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra

Great Treasury of Merit

The New Eight Steps to Happiness

Introduction to Buddhism

How to Solve Our Human Problems

Meaningful to Behold

The Bodhisattva Vow

Universal Compassion

The New Meditation Handbook

Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully

Ocean of Nectar

Heart Jewel

Clear Light of Bliss

Mahamudra Tantra

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche

How to Transform Your Life

A BLISSFUL JOURNEY

THARPA PUBLICATIONS

UK US CANADA

AUSTRALIA ASIA

First published as Transform Your Life 2001

Reprinted 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010

Second edition 2014. Reprinted 2016

Third edition revised and published as How to Transform Your Life 2016

Digital edition first published as Transform Your Life 2014

This digital edition published as How to Transform Your Life 2016

The right of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means except for the quotation of brief passages for the purpose of private study, research, or review.

Tharpa Publications UK

Conishead Priory

Ulverston, Cumbria

LA12 9QQ, England

Tharpa Publications US

47 Sweeney Road

Glen Spey, NY 12737

USA

There are Tharpa Publications offices around the world, and Tharpa books are published in most major languages..

New Kadampa Tradition International Kadampa Buddhist Union 2001, 2014, 2016

Cover image scyther5/depositphotos

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016951338

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-910368-57-2 paperback

ISBN 978-1-910368-58-9 ePub

Contents

About the Illustrations

The illustrations in this book depict the eight auspicious symbols, a peacock, the mirror of Dharma, the sun shining through clouds, and hands in prayer.

The symbolism of the eight auspicious symbols reveals how to begin, make progress on and complete the Buddhist path to enlightenment. Just as peacocks are said to thrive on plants that are poisonous to other birds, sincere spiritual practitioners can make good use of whatever circumstances arise in their daily life. Through the mirror of Buddhas teachings, Dharma, we can see our own faults and have the opportunity to overcome them. Like the sun dispelling clouds, we can develop the wisdom that can remove all delusions from our mind; and the hands in prayer holding a wishfulfilling jewel symbolize that by following the spiritual path we will eventually experience the completely pure mind of enlightenment.

PART ONE:

Foundation

Come under the great umbrella of Buddhism

Introduction

Through practising the instructions presented in this book we can transform our life from a state of misery into one of pure and everlasting happiness. These instructions are scientific methods to improve our human nature. Everybody needs to be good-natured with a good heart, because in this way we can solve our own problems as well as those of others, and we can make our human life meaningful. Every living being has the same basic wish to be happy and avoid suffering. Even newborn babies, animals and insects have this wish. It has been our main wish since beginningless time and it is with us all the time, even during our sleep. We spend our whole life working hard to fulfil this wish.

Since this world evolved, human beings have spent almost all their time and energy improving external conditions in their search for happiness and a solution to their problems. What has been the result? Instead of their wishes being fulfilled, human suffering and problems have continued to increase while the experience of happiness and peace is decreasing. This clearly shows that until now we have not found a correct method for reducing our problems and increasing happiness. The actual correct method for doing this is changing our attitude from negative to positive. We must understand this through our own experience. If we check carefully how we are experiencing problems and unhappiness, we can understand that they are all created by our uncontrolled desire, wishing ourself to be happy all the time. By stopping this wish and instead wishing for others to be happy all the time, we will not have any problems or unhappiness at all. If we sincerely practise every day stopping wishing for ourself to be happy all the time and instead wishing for others to be happy all the time, then we will understand from our own experience that through this practice, which prevents attachment to the fulfilment of our own wishes, we will have no experience of problems or unhappiness at all. Thus, if we really want pure and everlasting happiness and freedom from misery, we must learn to control our mind, principally our desire.

With wisdom we can understand how our human life is precious, rare and meaningful. Due to the limitations of their body and mind, those who have taken rebirth as animals, for example, have no opportunity to understand or practise spiritual teachings that are methods to control delusions such as uncontrolled desire, anger and ignorance. Only humans are free from such hindrances and have all the necessary conditions for engaging in spiritual paths, which alone lead to pure and everlasting happiness. This freedom and possession of necessary conditions are the special characteristics that make our human life so precious.

Although there are many humans in this world, each one of us has only one life. One person may own many cars and houses, but even the richest person in the world cannot possess more than one life; and, when that is drawing to an end, he or she cannot buy, borrow or manufacture another. When we lose this life, it will be very difficult to find another similarly qualified human life in the future. A human life is therefore very rare.

If we use our human life to accomplish spiritual realizations, it becomes immensely meaningful. By using it in this way, we actualize our full potential and progress from the state of an ordinary, ignorant being to that of a fully enlightened being, the highest of all beings; and when we have done this we will have the power to benefit all living beings without exception. Thus, by using our human life for gaining spiritual realizations we can solve all our human problems and fulfil all our own and others wishes. What could be more meaningful than this?