Sunday Teaching

Geshe Gelek gave a beautiful teaching this morning about the importance of our human rebirth, and using it to sail across the wild waves of samsaric complications to calmer waters and liberation.

Citing the Prayer for the Beginning, Middle and End of Practice - written by Lama Tsongkhapa for his mother - Geshe-la said that this life is like a sailboat: you have to put the sail up, otherwise you get stuck.

With sail hoisted of the sincerest of minds,
Driven by winds of unflagging effort,
On this well-built ship of study, thought and meditation,
May I bring living beings from samsara's ocean.

"The ability of this boat is tremendous," he said. "What kind of sail do we need to raise in order to move beyond? Compassion. Love and compassion."

When you raise this huge sale of love and compassion, you get tremendous benefit, Geshe-la said. Then you wait for the wind of joyful effort. You can cross the ocean of complications on this boat - so better to sail now than to wait.