Reactions to the 8 Verses of Thought Transformation and 5 Remembrances

5. When others, out of jealousy,
Mistreat me with abuse, slander and so on,
I will practice accepting defeat
And offering the victory to them.

This verse literally translates to: If someone is jealous of you and talking smack about you, you should learn to turn the other cheek and surrender to them. In today’s society, if one were to surrender to everybody that does wrong to them, he or she would be eaten up by people around them. However, I believe that this verse holds a significant, timeless lesson that we should not harbor hard feelings towards the person that slanders us out of jealousy. Instead, we should offer them the victory because their feeling of jealousy is, in a way, a compliment to us. Offering them the victory could be doing something like paying them a compliment or sharing some of your talent – or whatever they are jealous of you for – with them, like we discussed when Ven. Tenzin Kacho came to visit. To me, this verse is a reminder that we should not hate or mistreat those that may mistreat us. Take the higher road by ignoring their abuse or helping them out sharing what they envy most about you with them.


8. Without these practices being defiled by the stains of the eight worldly concerns,
By perceiving all phenomena as illusory,
I will practice without grasping to release all beings
From the bondage of the disturbing unsubdued mind and karma.

By practicing these verses, without being affected by the eight worldly concerns: pleasures/pain, loss/gain, fame/shame, and praise/blame, we could be released from the “disturbing, unsubdued mind and karma.” This concluding verse simply informs us that by taking heed of these verses, we can be enlightened if we are not affected by the concerns of the world. By not desiring pleasure or fearing pain; by not caring about loss or gain; by not being affected by shame or wanting fame; by not trying to gain praise and rid blame, you can become enlightened. Being enlightened in this sense is being above worldly concerns. I think that the line “I will practice…to release all beings” means that when a person practices these eight verses, he or she can teach others to do so as well so that they can be free from the “disturbing unsubdued mind,” which represents the worldly concerns. And being free from karma means being free from the ties to the world. Anyways, to make it short, this last verse tells us that by taking heed of these eight verses of thought transformation, one can become closer to achieving enlightenment.

- Secretary Vivien