The following notes have been excerpted from the book, The Essential Nectar: Meditations on the Buddhist Path, by Geshe Rabten.

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Recognizing the Opportune, Fortunate Rebirth

We must understand that our present existence did not come from nothing, but we have had other lives before.

After death also, this life will not be consumed without residue, like a candle, but we shall take other types of existence.

Our situation is samsara, a continual round of rebirths – from a human existence we go to a god existence, then become an animal, and so on, always dying and taking rebirth in one or other of the three samsaric realms, the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm.

We have no power to decide where we shall go, but are driven helplessly to our next destiny by the defilements and karmic imprints in our mind.

It is our actions (karma) that govern the type of rebirth we take.

Bad actions lead us, although we do not desire it, to rebirth in the realms of woe; practising the Dharma will lead us to fortunate destinies.

It depends solely on our actions, good or bad – we are not free to choose.

Since most of us have a large accumulation of negative karmic imprints, the chances are that after this life we shall enter an ill destiny.

While we are here in this very special human existence, we must be fully conscious of its value. There are periods when no Buddha comes to the Earth to give teachings; but at present the teachings of the Buddha are available in this world. We should rejoice in this opportunity.

Then, there are many human existences even on this Earth where the teachings of the Buddha are present, which allow no possibility of meeting these teachings. Such an existence, however well-off one is, is of no great use.

But, we are actually able to receive the teachings. The possibility of access to the teachings does not in itself make one’s existence valuable, for there are people who live in a Buddhist country and may even sleep next to the Sutras but have no interest in the Buddha’s teachings.

If one has a whole library full of Buddhist texts, but does not want to put them into practice, one is no better than a library mouse. But we have a certain interest in the teachings and wish to practise them for ourself.

Another favourable condition we have is that we are not lacking any of the senses – we can see our teacher, and hear what he says. All this, though good, is not sufficient.

If we did not have a teacher with personal experience of the Dharma who could explain it to us, it would be like having a field with nothing to plant in it.

However, not only are we human beings, in a place where the Buddha’s teachings exist, but we have found a teacher who can explain the teachings.

In addition, we are not all alone, but have the support of others practising similarly.

We are not on the point of dying for lack of food and shelter, but have the material necessities of life, so we are free to practise the Dharma.

This is just a brief explanation of the meaning of the text so that you can contemplate on it.

It is important to analyse this teaching in direct relation to oneself, otherwise it can be of no real benefit. We have to recognize that our present state of existence is quite extraordinary in that so many conditions favourable to the practice of Dharma have come together all at once.

If we go into town we can see many other human beings, but we should ask ourself how many of them have the special circumstances described here, such as meeting the teachings of the Buddha and having a Spiritual Friend.

Most of them are not in a position to come into contact with the Dharma, because of their mental attitude: they do not accept it.

We should try to be conscious in this way of the preciousness of these special circumstances, wherever we are.

Our remarkable present situation has not come about accidentally, without cause. The principal cause is that we have practised Dharma before this life and so received the inspiration of the Three Jewels.

It is good that we have attained this rare opportunity, but it does not last long and we cannot see where we are going to go afterwards.

We must therefore be careful not to waste it while we have it, but use it well by engaging in the practice of Dharma, setting our mind firmly in a positive direction right now.

To spend such an existence in trivial actions, motivated by greed and hatred, pursuing good food and a pleasant situation, getting attached to some people and fighting with others, so accumulating only causes for bad rebirths in the future, is really not worthy of it.

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Thinking about the Great Value of the Opportune, Fortunate Rebirth

This opportune, fortunate rebirth that we have now is not merely rare – many combinations of conditions are rare but of no particular significance – but it is extremely useful.

If we could choose between an entire universe full of jewels and an opportune, fortunate rebirth, we would have to select the opportune, fortunate rebirth, for it is far more valuable than any external wealth. If we had all the wealth in the world then of course we could have good food every day, fine clothing, and comfortable accommodation, but that wealth could not free us from even the smallest suffering in future lives.

There are many purposes for which the opportune, fortunate rebirth is useful.

Most immediately, it enables one to live a wholesome life and thus experience happiness in this very life.

It is also very valuable in terms of the next life, since it provides the basis for practising the method for avoiding rebirth in the realms of woe, where the worst of experiences are encountered.

Rebirth in a realm of woe is caused by the imprints of negative actions which are present in our mind.

By getting rid of these imprints, we can close the door which would otherwise lead us to unfortunate rebirths.

We can get rid of them only by ourself performing practices of purification – no-one else can do it for us. The practices of purification involve the four forces:

(a)​ Becoming strongly aware of the negative nature of the unvirtuous action

(b) ​Determining not to commit such an action again

(c)​ Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels and generating Bodhicitta for the benefit of all sentient beings, since any negative action is against the Three Jewels and sentient beings

(d) ​Remedial practices such as reciting mantras

Using the opportune, fortunate basis that we have now, we can become human beings again in the next life, or gods, by practising morality and creating the specific causes. But with millions of American dollars, one could not buy a human or divine existence, thus from the point of view of the Dharma, this opportune, fortunate basis is far more precious than any external wealth.

With this human basis, we can not only attain high estate within samsara, but if we desire to free ourself from samsaric existence altogether, we can obtain, based on this opportune, fortunate rebirth, an existence with eight special qualities that is ideal for achieving Liberation.

The most deep-seated purpose of human existence is the aim of benefiting oneself and all others, not just superficially and temporarily, but perfectly and forever. To do this we must attain the state of Enlightenment.

This can be done on the basis of this existence, but although this is our innermost desire, there are many obstacles and it is not easy to accomplish.

It is often said that one can attain Enlightenment in this very life-time by the practice of Tantra; this is so, but to practise Tantra one needs certain qualifications. If we have not already ripened our mind through training in the Sutra teachings, we can see for ourself that we cannot achieve anything through Tantra.

Therefore, we must be skilful in the way we try to practise. There are, for example, practices available to us which enable us to be reborn in Pure Lands such as Sukhāvatī, Yiga Chödzin, Shambhala, or the Pure Land of Tārā.

In these places it is very easy to practise the Dharma.

On the one hand, unfavourable conditions are absent: there is no suffering of sickness or old age, or of heat or cold; and the defilements such as greed, hate and delusion are suppressed and cannot interfere with the practice.

On the other hand, every favourable condition is present: one can meet Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and deities and receive teachings from them, and with one’s mind unobstructed by the arising of defilements one has clear wisdom and faith and all the internal requirements for Dharma practice.

The practices for rebirth in Pure Lands are quite easy and very effective. First one must learn about the fine qualities of these places, from study or from teachings such as the present one. Then the desire to be reborn in such a place naturally arises; much as when people keep telling us that such-and-such a beach is very beautiful and pleasant, we start wanting to go there.

Then we must establish a special connection with the lord of the Pure Land we have chosen. For example, if we wish to be born in Sukhāvatī, we must try to set up a link with Amitābha Buddha; or if in Yiga Chödzin, with Maitreya.

We must also dedicate the virtue of whatever positive activities we do, such as prostrating, reciting mantras and meditating, to be reborn in that Pure Land so that we can train our mind there and become able to help others.

We cannot get to such a Pure Land by going around with a lot of money trying to buy a ticket, but we can do these practices. Therefore, this opportune, fortunate rebirth, which enables us to do these practices, is of far greater value than any material acquisition.

We human beings are like bees in a room, who although there are doors open, just keep hitting themselves against a closed window. There are doors leading to positive states of existence, but we are so involved in mundane affairs and worry that we cannot see the right door.

With this existence we can practise the means to attain Liberation, free of all the sufferings and dissatisfactions of samsaric existence.

On this opportune, fortunate basis, this human body, we can go still further and attain perfect Enlightenment, and benefit others with Buddha-activities.

While we are not actually putting all our effort into trying to do this, still the possibility is there, and many beings such as Milarepa and Tsongkhapa serve as examples.

If we ripen our mind by training on the common Path taught in Sutra teachings, we can then enter the door of Tantra and undertake practices that can lead to Enlightenment in this life, even in a few years.

In fact, countless human beings have attained Liberation and Enlightenment in one life, and our situation is no different from theirs: we can do it too. We have the same opportunity that Milarepa had, perhaps better, since we are in good material circumstances, well-fed and strong.

Of course, he and the others had to follow completely and without mistake the Path shown by their Spiritual Friends, but we are not doing this; we just waste our life in worldly involvements, so we are still here.

Through this opportune, fortunate human existence, then, we can avoid being born in realms of woe, and we can attain Liberation or Enlightenment.

Thus, it has very great value, superior even to that of a wish-granting jewel.

If, having met such an existence, we are still attached to fruitless work, confused with trivial matters, and not practising the Dharma, then really we must be crazy.

If we sit just a few minutes contemplating the defects of samsaric existence, thinking that we must train so that we can benefit all sentient beings, and perhaps reciting a mantra such as OM MANI-PADME HUM, this is of great benefit. Even one minute, even a single second of this human life has great value if used in the right way.

The really great waste is that of not using our opportune, fortunate existence to accomplish the benefit of ourself and all other beings.

We must be aware that whether we practise Dharma or not, this existence is going to end. When he arrives at the point of death, the Dharma practitioner can look back on his life and see that he made as much effort as he could to make it meaningful, so now it is all right if he dies.

But one who has not practised the Dharma will see that although he attained such a wonderful opportunity, he just let it go to waste.

We tend to think that we are very stable and will last for a long time, whereas a rosary, for example, may break at any moment. But in fact, if the rosary is just left, it will last for centuries, unless some mouse eats it – we are not as durable as that.

Many people have quite fragile objects that belonged to an ancestor of theirs perhaps two centuries ago, such as a pair of glasses, still in good condition, [although the original owner has long since passed away].

This contemplation should make us conscious that our present opportunity is very precious and must not be wasted. The reasons given are very hard to refute. We must therefore develop the attitude of striving to make the best possible use of this existence.

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Thinking about the Rarity of the Opportune, Fortunate Rebirth

To further induce us to make proper use of this opportune, fortunate rebirth, we contemplate a third point, its rarity, or the difficulty of obtaining it.

To illustrate the rarity, the Kadampa geshes frequently quoted this story about a man crippled in both legs, who fell from the upper story of a house and landed on the back of a wild ass who happened to be underneath. The ass bolted, with the man hanging on for dear life. When they eventually came to a settlement, a spectator observed that the man was singing, and asked him why. The cripple replied that it was the first time he had ever ridden on the back of a wild ass, and there was no chance of it happening again. When could he sing for joy if not now?

Clearly it is very unlikely that a cripple would not only fall on the back of a wild ass but manage to stay on; our falling into this special human situation is similarly unlikely.

What else should we do but take this unique opportunity to practise Dharma to the best of our ability?

Some may think the example inapt, since we can see human beings all around us but never see cripples falling on the backs of wild asses. But we are not discussing just the obtaining of a human form, but the very special human existence with the eighteen factors of opportunity and good fortune.

By looking at the causes of the opportune rebirth, we can see how difficult it is to obtain the result. The main cause is the practice of the morality of abandoning the ten unvirtuous actions.

The co-operative causes are the practices of Giving, other types of Morality, Patience, and so forth. So that these causes ripen properly, one must also pray in a pure manner, unmarred by the eight worldly concerns.

These causes do not arise spontaneously but are established with difficulty.

Seeing in this way the difficulty of obtaining this opportunity, we should realize that since it is so rare, we must make effort to use it well. After each point in the meditation, we should make this strong decision.

We should also realize that it is extremely hard for us to obtain another such opportunity in the future – we have to make effort to create the causes. If we think we have already created sufficient causes, this will weaken our practice. We may think that five years ago we did this, last year we did that, and last month we did something else, all of which was creating the causes for an opportune, fortunate rebirth.

This may be true, but still it happens that great anger arises in one’s mind – if this is directed towards certain objects, it can destroy all the virtue one has created. Wrong views too can destroy one’s roots of virtue.

Thus, no matter what we have done in the past, there is no certainty in the future, and we must continue to strive.

Perhaps we think that in the past we made great effort in accumulating the causes, and in the meantime we have had no great anger or wrong views, so we are probably all right. This again may be true, and it is excellent that we have accumulated such virtue and not allowed it to be destroyed. Still, we should examine our mind to see which is stronger, virtue or negativity.

If we are honest with ourself, we shall probably have to admit that negativity is stronger, for defilements such as attachment, pride and jealousy arise easily and spontaneously, whereas to do anything virtuous requires conscious effort and care. We see people who lose control of themselves, taken over by strong defilements; but to see the strong arising of positive states of mind is very rare. Thus, now and in the future, non-virtuous attitudes are likely to be more prevalent in our mind than virtuous ones.

We should therefore continue to make effort in our practice of Dharma.

We can also see that the opportune, fortunate rebirth is rare since one of its factors, the presence of the Buddha’s Teaching, only occurs rarely and does not last long. This too should motivate us to make the most of this opportunity.

The Buddha himself taught the rarity of human existence by picking up a little dust on his fingernail, and explaining to the monks that while they were then in a happy state of existence, it was very easy to fall into the realms of woe. The number of beings in happy destinies was like the dust on his nail, while the number in ill destinies was like the dust of the whole Earth.

He also taught that of the five destinies of samsaric beings, the greatest number of beings were in hell states, the next greatest number were pretas, and next animals.

Although we cannot ourselves see the hell beings and pretas, they are spoken of in the Sutras. The Buddha explained the states of rebirth as dependent on the degree of negativity of the action which throws a being into them: extremely negative actions throw one into the hell realms, less extreme ones into preta rebirth, and ones of comparatively slight negativity into rebirth as an animal.

Going one step further, let us divide human beings into those who are interested in spiritual practice and those who are not. The former are a small minority, and even among them it is hard to find any who have the complete opportune, fortunate rebirth and are genuinely engaging in practice that will be fruitful.

The text quotes several examples from the Sutras that illustrate the extreme rarity of the opportune, fortunate rebirth. So, we should use these three approaches to realize that the opportune, fortunate rebirth is very rare:

(a)​“Cause”: since the causes are hard to create, the result must be rare.

(b)​“Effect”: considering the numbers of beings in the various destinies, [which are the effect of their actions,] the fraction with the opportune, fortunate rebirth is tiny.

(c)​“Examples”, as given in the text, develop our understanding of the rarity.

Having recognized the rarity of the opportune, fortunate rebirth, we must make the strong decision to use it well.

What are we doing with this rare and precious opportunity? A Kadampa Geshe said we should feel about it like a certain Tibetan who was visiting one of the few places in Tibet where one could get fish to eat. Having had a large meal of this rare delicacy, so tasty and difficult to obtain, he was so worried that he might vomit it up and waste it that he tied a cord tightly round his neck to keep it down. Likewise, if we just die without having used our opportune, fortunate rebirth, it is a complete waste.

If we do not make an effort to accomplish the benefit of ourself and others, then one year goes by after another until we arrive at the point of death, and looking back we see this marvellous opportunity has just run to waste. A certain lama said, “The first twenty years of my life I did not practise Dharma because I did not know anything about it. The second twenty years I decided I was going to practise but I did not have time just at that moment. Then the next twenty years I spent saying I was not able to practise any more. That is my life.” 

There are supposed to be some lakes where a great many jewels naturally occur. If we come to such a place and do not fill our pockets and our bags with these jewels, it is an opportunity wasted.

Similarly now, if we do not recognize the value of our life and use it in Dharma practice, there could be no greater loss.

We have a lot of conditions conducive to Dharma practice, each one rare.

Wisdom that can discriminate clearly between right and wrong or between the various aspects of things is rare.

Since negativity arises much more easily than virtue, periods when the mind is positive and fit to engage in Dharma are rare.

In addition, we need friends to help us, people who will strengthen our practice.

If each condition is rare in its own right, for them all to come about at the same time is prodigious.

Recognizing strongly how very special this opportunity is will enable us to put great effort into making it really meaningful.

Whatever we have done up to now is past. If we have accomplished something worthwhile, good; if we have let our life go to waste in distraction, just drifting without control, that cannot be changed.

But from now on, we should do our best to use our life meaningfully and not waste it. We must resolve strongly to do this.

The value of the opportune, fortunate rebirth is not something we can see immediately. Though we may say we believe it is valuable, very likely we do not have real conviction about this.

If we did, we could not bear to waste even a moment.

A certain lama had stuffed his meditation cushion with chips of wood, for want of anything better. As he was sitting in meditation, a sharp splinter stuck in his leg and a trickle of blood ran down and across the floor. Just then, someone came in and asked him why he did not pull the splinter out so that he could meditate better. The lama replied that if he died while he was taking the splinter out, he would have wasted a very precious opportunity. This is the kind of conviction required.

Like most meditations of the Lam rim, this is an analytical meditation, using many reasons to overcome the many possible doubts and to incite one to use the present opportunity to the utmost of one’s ability.

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Source: Based on Rabten, Geshe. The Essential Nectar: Meditations on the Buddhist Path. Edited by Martin Willson. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2014.

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