37 Practices of a Bodhisattva Part 10

(31)
If you have not analyzed your own confusion,
You might put on a Dharmic facade
While behaving in a non-Dharmic way.
Therefore, to continuously analyze your delusion and discard it
Is the practice of a Bodhisattva.

(32)
If, compelled by your own afflictions,
You speak of the faults of other Bodhisattvas,
You, yourself, will degenerate.
Therefore, never to mention the faults of thos
Who have entered the Mahayana Path
Is the practice of a Bodhisattva.

(33)
Desire for gain and honor leads to arguments, and
Activities of listening, reflecting and meditating decline.
Therefore, to relinquish attachment to the households
of friends, relatives and sponsors
Is the practice of a Bodhisattva.

(34)
Harsh speech disturbs the minds of others
And compromises a Bodhisattva's right conduct.
Therefore, to give up harsh and unpleasant speech
Is the practice of a Bodhiattva.


Practice 31 is very important. It is too easy to get caught in the whirlpool of life and fool ourselves into thinking that we are behaving in a positive, spiritual way, when in actual fact we are behaving destructively. We need to look deeply at ourselves and see what we are really doing. That way we won't, for example, sanctimoniously meditate for an hour each day, and then go around berating and belittling people, acting counter to the dharma. This is a common complaint about many religious people: they talk one way, but act another. An antidote to this is deep reflection.

Lama Karma Chötso told us that Practice 32 should be interpreted to mean we shouldn't criticize anyone at all, since we have no way of knowing who has entered the Bodhisattva path, and who has not. This is a good practice for me, because my old habit was to automatically find fault with people, no matter who they were. It makes about as much sense as automatically praising people, but it was really a reflection of my own insecurity and self-hatred. By not criticizing others, and even praising them, it helps to foster a positive environment in my own head as well as contributing to a positive environment out there in the world.

Practice 33 is good common sense. Don't be attached to other people's possessions. There's no need to be jealous of someone else's stuff. Preoccupation with this sort of thing has very little positive use.

Practice 34 is also common sense, if you interpret it to mean that you should never say things whose purpose is to hurt someone else. I don't think it means you should never say anything that someone else might find unpleasant.