Cherish Our Precious Human Life, Part 1 of 2

The venerated Lama Zopa Rinpoche once said, “What this human body offers, the opportunity it gives us is much more than skies filled with billions of dollars or limitless skies filled with gold, diamonds or even wish-fulfilling jewels. Therefore, this precious human body we have now is unbelievable; it is more precious than anything.”

According to Buddhism, to be liberated, a soul needs to rise above the illusion of this Saṃsara world. However, a human soul may commit misdeeds and descend into the lower realms of existence, without much chance to redeem itself. The Worshipped Shakyamuni Buddha explains to us how difficult it is to be re-born as a human and regain the chance to attain enlightenment. “Bhikkhus, a man would throw into the ocean a plough share with a single hole in it. Then with the eastern winds it would be carried west and with the western winds carried east. With the northern winds it would be carried south and with the southern winds carried north. Then there is a blind turtle in the depths of the ocean and it comes up to the surface after the lapse of a hundred years. Bhikkhus, this turtle with one eye to see, would he put his neck in the plough share and yoke it to the hole to see light?” “Bhikkhus, it is more likely that the blind turtle would put his neck in the plough share and yoke the eye to the hole to see light rather than the fool once fallen to hell would gain humanity.”

More than 600 years ago, the venerated enlightened Master Tsongkhapa created a masterpiece, “Principal Teachings of Buddhism.” This insightful scripture reminds us to treasure the rare opportunity of being human, and to use our time here wisely. “The human body at peace with itself, is more precious than the rarest gem. Cherish your body - it is yours this one time only. The human form is won with difficulty - it is easy to lose. All worldly things are brief, like lightning in the sky. This life you must know as the tiny splash of a raindrop; A thing of beauty that disappears even as it comes into being. Therefore set your goal - make use of every day and night to achieve it!”

“The formless Lord pervades everywhere, but in spite of this, unless we become directly connected with Him, we do not receive any virtue from Him. The perfect Master is the Lord in human flesh. He is the Shabd personified, ‘the Word made flesh.’ Unless we are familiar with the human Master, how can we realize His subtle form, which is the Shabd? The Shabd and the perfect Master are the two means of taking the soul to its original Home. No one but the Master can reveal the secrets of Reality, and without Him no one can gain release from the bondage of mind and Maya. No one can meet the Lord except through the Shabd, and it is only the Master who can connect the soul with the Shabd. This is the only purpose of their manifestation in this world.”