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　　In this way, we are very lucky indeed to have a human life, whatever form that human life has, whether it is as a woman, as a man, being well or sick, wealthy or poor, whatever. We are very lucky, very fortunate. The best thing is to give life a meaning by exerting oneself as much as possible in a spiritual discipline, a spiritual path. That is the greatest, the very best thing. Even if one can”t spend a lot of energy and time, just to sometimes practice and not to let it diminish is very, very good. The most important and crucial thing is kindness, some kind of positive attitude, and good and noble thoughts. That is certainly the one thing that will benefit oneself and others the most. Not having that, you can pop out.

　　So, even when you are not feeling well, are sick or depressed, it is normal to think that your life is meaningless and to feel despair, but it is not the case, it is in fact not true. Human life is very important and has great meaning, whether you are happy and well or not, because there is no such thing as never being unhappy, there is no human situation of never feeling despair. So it is natural to feel bad and suffer sometimes, but still to change the recognition of the value of life, to be really in harmony with the teachings, with the teachings of the Dharma, then you can bring more meaning to your life.

　　We are especially lucky in America, because 50 or 100 years ago they had not even heard of the Buddha or the Dharma; Americans didn”t know that the Buddha had spoken and presented these teachings. Now we have this extraordinary condition and possibility. In my case, it is almost like pride, because in Tibet everyone is a Buddhist, fathers and mothers, everyone has faith in the Dharma. Your country isn”t like that, because Buddhism is new and different. You have really examined and looked at it, you have investigated the teachings and have come to the conclusion that you can rely on them. That”s the kind of confidence that is very strong and very reliable, it is firm and steadfast. This is very, very lucky, so as much as you can, applying the Dharma is very good.

　　That was a very brief explanation of the fourth chapter of Bodhicharyavatara, “The Way of the Bodhisattva.” If you have any questions, please ask.

　　Questions

　　Student: I am a bit confused about how to work with compassion towards enemies, because if emotions are not to be relied upon, why should we worry about the emotions of our enemies

　　Translator: In other words, we wouldn”t worry about making them angry, because it is not something definite

　　 Can you rephrase your question

　　Student: I got the sense that for ourselves emotions are not to be paid attention to and yet we should pay attention to the emotions of others.

　　Thrangu Rinpoche: That”s simple. We recognize our own reactive emotions as our enemies. For the human enemy, we develop compassion. Why

　　 Because that human being doesn”t recognize his or her own enemy, their own reactive emotion as the enemy. So they are confused because of not recognizing who their enemy is. They think that we are the enemies, so they are completely confused. So we should have compassion for them because they haven”t recognized their true enemies.

　　Question: Rinpoche, could you speak about the relationship between maitri and the kleshas

　　 I think I am confused. Should we not consider the kleshas to be something that we would … It was very clear that we should be aggressive towards them, so maitri and the kleshas are …

　　 That”s confusing.

　　Thrangu Rinpoche: Maitri is love, so do you mean love to yourself

　　Student: Yes.

　　Rinpoche: Well, no, it”s not like that. You have to think about this carefully. If you are reacting to the emotion of anger, for …

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