..续本文上一页imes my first thought is this “I”, and I am particularly ashamed of it. Therefore, we should read biographies of past sages such as Jowo Atisha more often, in order to emulate their deeds bit by bit and gradually lighten the attachment to self. At the beginning, we might be thinking of “I” everyday. But after we realize the importance of altruism and the harmful impact of selfishness, we will not longer regard this “I” so highly any more.

　　Of course, this cannot be accomplished in a day or two, nor in one or two years. We must persistently follow in order and advance step by step. Then we will eventually be able to spontaneously think of all sentient beings instead of “I” anytime and anywhere.

　　As a matter of fact, many great sages of the past and present have all followed this practice. Some eminent masters at our colleges also made great effort, started at the very beginning and trained themselves for a long term, to place the benefits of all sentient being as top priority no matter what they say or do. In the course of time, they are able to apply Bodhichitta with ease.

　　8. Question: Buddhism apparently emphasizes the motives of action, and uses altruism to guide our behavior. Does this mean it pays less attention to the results of action

　　Answer: The “cause” is the most critical in doing anything. When the “cause” is good, the “result” will be good naturally. If the “cause” is bad, it is impossible to have good “result”. Just like when farmers plant crops, fruits will grow heavy only when pellets of seeds are plump. Similarly, the consequence of behavior is satisfactory only when motives of action are accurate.

　　Therefore, the emphasis Buddhism places on motives is not to ignore consequences. Instead, this is the wisest way to emphasize result. Of course, sometimes our motives were very good, but we did not succeed in our endeavor. This is not because we did not pay attention to the result; it was because causes and conditions were insufficient.

　　9. Question: I major in Communication Studies, and just graduated this year. I have been studying Buddhism and become a vegetarian for two years. I am currently studying “The Great Commentary on the Words of My Perfect Teacher”. Everyday I do prostrations, recite sutras and meditate. I sincerely wish all sentient beings will be liberated and hope I can accomplish in this life to help them.

　　At the beginning I was able to get up at 5:30AM everyday, insisted on reciting sutra and prostrating 200 times. But after one to two months, my inner laziness rose up and gradually I became bored. I noticed you said in the Dharma text that, “ A good practitioner practices consistently everyday through his entire life. “ But my willpower really is not strong enough, and I blame myself very much.

　　My Dharma brother says, “ This is rather common. As you become more motivated, you encounter more unfavorable conditions.” I really would like to know: why would I experience greater hindrances as I become more motivated

　　Answer: First of all, I praise your diligent practice. But I disagree that greater aspiration leads to greater hindrances.

　　Although there is a saying that “ however persuasive good is, evil is yet still stronger”, it is also said that, “A tall tree catches the wind .” When a person”s undertaking gets greater, his practices becomes more successful, there will be more and more hindrances surrounding him. But things do not always follow the same pattern. The unfavorable conditions may disappear all together for some people when they become better and better practitioners.

　　Therefore, I do not quite approve the remarks of your Dharma brother. Nowadays some people like to advocate ideas apparently right but actually wrong. Sometimes they even pretend to know what they don”t k…

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