#LamaZopaRinpoche begins this teaching, #ThoughtTransformationTeaching 49, recorded July 9, 2020, at Kopan Monastery in Nepal, reminding us that even if we do get the virus, we can utilize it and even enjoy it. If we rely only on the self-cherishing thought, we can’t enjoy it because we see only suffering, the suffering of pain. If we enjoy it, we are experiencing it with bodhichitta—conventional and absolute. With that we can experience the sickness of all sentient beings. We take it on and experience it for them, allowing them to be free from samsara by taking on all of their obscurations and sicknesses so they can achieve enlightenment. This is also a quick way to purify our negative karma, collected since beginningless rebirths, and achieve enlightenment for ourselves.

Even when we are happy and comfortable and enjoying life, if we remember bodhichitta, then that time can be used as the cause for happiness for sentient beings and doesn’t get wasted. If not done with bodhichitta, our comfort and happiness become wasted. When we are suffering or enjoying life, including when we die, we can remember bodhichitta and utilize whatever we are experiencing on the path to enlightenment for sentient beings. In the West, when death happens suddenly there is so much fear—to separate from family, wealth, one's body. Even when we are not actively dying from a virus or other factors, there are so many conditions for death that have nothing to do with sickness.

There are roughly 350 ordained Sangha in the FPMT organization. The value of Sangha is more than the whole sky filled with wish-granting jewels. Being Sangha and living in morality is the most important way to achieve liberation from samsara and enlightenment, and benefit sentient beings by freeing them from the lower realms and bringing them to enlightenment. Therefore, if you are a monk or nun you should rejoice all the time! When you think about the preciousness of human rebirth, because you have taken vows, you should rejoice as this is the foundation to achieve everything—to liberate numberless sentient beings from samsara and bring them to enlightenment. You are the real hero.

What brings peace to the world is subduing the mind, subduing delusion. What brings chaos to the world and so many problems is the unsubdued and disturbed mind, delusion. Sangha has the main special job of subduing, overcoming, defeating the enemy: delusion. If you are Sangha you must recognize that you are the real hero doing the most difficult thing to do. Lay people living in vows are heroes as well, but because Sangha have more vows they are the real heroes over the delusions.

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