By Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa 1054-1123
With the determination to accomplish
The highest welfare for all sentient beings
Who surpass even a wish-granting jewel
I will learn to hold them supremely dear.
Whenever I associate with others I will learn
To think of myself as the lowest among all
And respectfully hold others to be supreme
From the very depths of my heart
In all actions I will learn to search into my mind
And as soon as an afflictive emotion arises
Endangering myself and others
Will firmly face and avert it.
I will learn to cherish all beings of bad nature
And those pressed by strong sins and sufferings
As if I had found a precious
Treasure very difficult to find
When others out of jealousy treat me badly
With abuse, slander, and so on,
I will learn to take all loss
And offer the victory to them
When one whom I have benefited with great hope
Unreasonably hurts me very badly,
I will learn to view that person
As an excellent spiritual guide.
In short, I will learn to offer to everyone without exception
All help and happiness directly and indirectly
And respectfully take upon myself
All harm and suffering of my mothers.
I will learn to keep all these practices
Undefiled by the stains of the eight worldly conceptions
And by the understanding all phenomena as like illusions
Be released from the bondage of attachment.
English
Indonesia
Tibetan
EBenz
September 12, 2010
All we need to do is to watch our mind. We shouldn’t stopped by our own habitual defilements disguised as anger, bad hurtful speech, vengence and all forms of desires and attachments. Cultivate human dignity, exercise patience, tolerance,sympathy, humility, kindness and compassion. Execute virtous actions by pushing ourselves to help and benefits others. It’s a worthwhile deed!
Sarah
January 28, 2011
This is the Buddha’s teaching condensed into eight verses. If we practise what is taught here, we will become enlightened. Dharma is pure and simple.
Arisa
January 30, 2011
It is natural for our minds to forget once situations or what we have heard had past. So we must train our minds not to forget. The way to do this is that we must constantly have verses to remind us of virtuous actions we must project and discard non-virtuous thoughts from our minds which will eventually lead to non-virtuous actions. The best way to do that is to read the 8 verses of training the mind by Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa. When we read this everyday we become habitual to it. And when the opposite thoughts arises we can stop it by remembering the 8 verses. It will also help us to collect the good merits to help us to transform ourselves and cause peace and harmony wherever we go.
Arisa
February 5, 2011
These 8 verses of training the mind when contemplated deeply is very beneficial for the transformation of oneself. Is also a very important guide to help us to refrain from all our negative habitual habits. Habituations can be classified as good or bad habituation. But in the Samsaric existence bad habituation will always be easier to follow. It is easy and enjoyable to indulge in negative habituations.So we need these 8 verses to train our mind to counter and think positive eventually to be habituated into positive thinking and actions. This will create harmony, love, compassion, humility etc in ourselves with others.
Mike Hume
May 14, 2011
A complete commentary to these beautiful verses can be found in “Eight Steps to Happiness” by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. There is also a biography of Geshe Langri Tangpa near the beginning of the book.
YontenJamyang
December 23, 2011
This should be the main practice for everyone. It encompasses all the teachings that will lead us to higher attainments. It should be contemplated during prayers and more importantly kept in mind all day to check our mind, speech and action. Eventually, we become the embodiment of the eight verses.
vajraD
February 17, 2012
The 8 verses of mind training is so powerful. Didn’t understand it at first so contemplate in it for a while. It seems so simple yet most of us especially me finds it hard to apply at times. I have taken little steps to apply the 8 verses in daily life and I see improvemen.
diamond223
March 26, 2012
Thanks for the posting of EIGHT VERSES OF TRAINING THE MIND!!
The verses are deeply meaningful and beneficial. I love to read it again and again, it helps me very much to overcome emotional disappointments in my daily lives.
Thanks to Geshe Langri Tangpa for composing the beautiful verses.
By reading these verses….may help those people overcome emotional depress.
Agnes Kohl
April 8, 2012
“I will learn to cherish all beings of bad nature
And those pressed by strong sins and sufferings
As if I had found a precious
Treasure very difficult to find”
…
“When one whom I have benefited with great hope
Unreasonably hurts me very badly,
I will learn to view that person
As an excellent spiritual guide.”
From the 8 versus these two above stuck out for me. Why? Because I find myself, and I believe for many of us too, that it is “natural” for us to judge and avoid when people whom we believe are “bad”. And if you add on those who have hurt us, we will resent and hate, even take revenge and hurt back.
I have had someone very close to me hurt me and I was furious and very bitter. I had hurt back, and it did not make me feel better but much worse. I resented myself. When I read the verse to make such people my best spiritual guide, I contemplated. And from much deep thought and reflection, I gained more peace by learning from this person who hurt me. In learning to let go and forgive, I gained much wisdom and inner relief of pain and anger.
Yes these 8 versus of Mind Transformation is the recipe for Inner peace and true Happiness.
Sherabz
July 14, 2017
Eight Verses of Training the Mind is very powerful in transforming our mind from negative to positive. If we follow strictly and apply it, it may help us overcome our negative emotions.
By reading these verses and include it in our daily sadhana, it may eventually develop our compassion and Bodhicitta.