We often hear people complain that life is not going their way: their salary is not high enough, their house is not big enough, or their luck is not good enough. Their brows are furrowed as though the entire world were working against them. Yet, when we look carefully at their circumstances, their bodies are healthy, their families are safe, and they have food to eat and clothes to wear, we may wonder: Why are they filled with so much dissatisfaction?
Many people spend their lives taking their blessings for granted.
Human beings have a peculiar tendency: we quickly grow accustomed to what we possess yet remain constantly preoccupied with what we lack. When we are healthy, we rarely think of effortless breathing as a gift. Only when a cold leaves us congested do we understand how precious it is to breathe freely. When we are young, we seldom consider strong and agile legs a blessing. Only when our knees begin to ache do we miss the freedom of running.
Happiness is much the same. It quietly surrounds us and seems as natural as the air we breathe. Only after it is lost do we suddenly realize that it was there all along.
I once knew a friend who had just recovered from a serious illness. In the past, he often complained—about the demands of his job, his limited income, and the dullness of everyday life. Yet after leaving the hospital, he seemed like a different person. The morning sunlight moved him deeply. A simple bowl of plain rice porridge brought him contentment. The sound of his child’s laughter brought tears to his eyes.
He said:
“While I was lying in the hospital bed, I could think of nothing else. I only wanted to recover—to be able to walk normally and eat normally again. Now that I have regained these things, I finally understand that an ordinary life is the greatest blessing of all.”
This reminds me of a teaching given by Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in Philosophical Sayings About Worldly Matters:
“A person not appreciative of the good life he is living is one who has forgotten his past miseries. A person in good health is not aware of its blessings until he loses it.”
This means that some people live amid blessings without recognizing them. Although their circumstances are good in many ways, they remain dissatisfied, finding fault with one thing after another. They are filled with complaints and self-pity.
The main reason is that they have become immersed in favorable conditions and have forgotten the existence of hardship. While enjoying happiness, they forget the difficulties they once endured. In the same way, strong and healthy people often fail to understand the suffering of illness. They neglect to protect their health and do not cherish their strong bodies. Only after falling ill—confined to bed, unable to move, and without an appetite—do they finally understand the joy and blessing of good health.
The Buddha has long revealed this truth to the world. Regrettably, not everyone has the good fortune to respectfully listen to the authentic Buddha Dharma personally taught by Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Many people pass through life in confusion and unawareness. Only when illness comes do they understand the value of health, and only after something is lost do they recognize the happiness they once possessed.
Those who fail to appreciate their blessings may not necessarily be ungrateful by nature. Perhaps they have simply forgotten that adversity exists. Having grown accustomed to favorable circumstances, they begin to regard them as something they are naturally entitled to. Having forgotten their former hardships, they become blind to the peace and stability before them.
It is like someone who has lived for so long in a room filled with orchids that they no longer notice the fragrance. In the same way, those who remain surrounded by happiness for too long may cease to recognize it.
In truth, happiness does not require luxurious clothing, fine food, fame, or worldly success. It is hidden within every ordinary day: waking in the morning without illness, having a home to return to at night, having food when hungry, clothing when cold, and someone to rely upon when weary.
May we all pause in our habit of complaining. Tonight, before going to sleep, take a moment to count what you possessed today: one easy breath, one warm meal, one word spoken and answered—and the opportunity to learn the authentic Buddha Dharma.
Question: Venerable Henghsing Gyatso Khu-ston brTson-‘grus g. yung-drung, we know that you are the incarnation of an ancient virtuous being and that in a prior life you were one of the four most outstanding disciples of Venerable Atisha. You truly are a person of great virtue. You have suffered on behalf of living beings by prostrating more than 1,000 kilometers. Your hands and feet are scraped all over, yet you do not mind at all. You are truly remarkable. You have prostrated a longer distance than that traversed by Dharma Master Heng Sure when he performed kneeling prostrations all the way to the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas over ten years ago. Moreover, you made full prostrations after each step! I know that what you say during this interview will be truthful and dependable since you are a true cultivator, a famous and venerable rinpoche. I heard that there are twelve levels of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha IIIWan Ko Yeshe Norbu Holiest Tathagata. You must be in the upper tier of disciples at the first or second level.
Answer: Amitabha! H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Holiest Tathagata does not classify disciples into various levels or categories. Whether the disciple is holy or ordinary, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III will use great compassion and bodhicitta to save the disciple by teaching according to the particular circumstances and karmic conditions of the disciple. However, different grades of disciples have naturally formed as a result of their different levels of goodness and cultivation. You have referred to the first level too casually. I do not belong to the first level since I am quite ordinary. There are those who are higher than I am who are also not within the first level. The first level of disciples under my Buddha Master is composed of Buddhas. They have been Buddhas for years and years. Take a look at the congratulatory letters sent by the great Bodhisattva H.E. Tangtong Gyalpo and H.E. Dorje Rinzin Rinpoche. Then take a look at the lineage refuge tree. You will then know what is meant by the first level. Even disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III on the second and third level are all holy beings on the level of a great Bodhisattva. Each and every one of them is the incarnation of a famous ancient being of great holiness. Everyone would know who they are if their names were mentioned. We who live in this contemporary era cannot pretend to be them.
Question: That is wonderful! Can you tell us who they are?
Answer: The first level is composed of the five Buddhas in the five directions as well as other Buddhas. The second level is composed of twelfth-stage Bodhisattvas and higher. The third level is composed of tenth-stage Bodhisattvas and higher. The fourth level is composed of fifth-stage Bodhisattvas and higher. The fifth level is composed of first through the fourth-stage Bodhisattvas. The sixth level is generally composed of those on the level of venerable ones. There are Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas among the current disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. For example, there are disciples of great holiness and virtue who passed the test to become a Golden Throne Holder. During those tests, which were held completely in accordance with the dharma rules, those disciples manifested true realization in front of many people. Having passed the test, they received a Golden Throne Holder certificate. Other examples of disciples are H.E. Tangtong Gyalpo Bodhisattva, who is famous in Tibet, and H.E. Denma Tsemang II Longzhi Tanpe Nyima Rinpoche, both of whom were disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Those two are probably on the fourth or fifth level. Other people who in this lifetime have become disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III include Venerable Dachu II Hengsheng Rinpoche, who in a prior lifetime received teachings directly from the founder of the Jueyu sect, Dangba Sangjie; Venerable Xirao Jiebu, Venerable Muya Jiongzha, and Venerable Xiangge Qiongwa, all of whom in a prior lifetime were disciples of the founder of the Nyingma sect, Master Shantaraksita. Everyone knows that they are disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. They should be at the fifth or sixth level of disciples. There is also Venerable Dharma Teacher Long Hui of the temple called Hua Zang Si, who is a dharma teacher on the level of a venerable one. Of course, there are other disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III whose status is even higher. However, I cannot tell you who they are because that is a secret. Actually, many people know about this without me having to say anything. I bear responsibility for what I say based on the law of cause and effect.
Question: As far as I know, among the disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III are dharma kings and rinpoches. There is also a non-Tibetan Chinese Geshe. Great Dharma Teacher Qingding was also a disciple. Can they be called fourth-level disciples?
Answer: As I just said, the first level is composed of Buddhas. Those on the level of a Golden Throne Holder or dharma king belong to the second or third level of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Dharma Teacher Qing Ding only belongs to the sixth or seventh level. To be within the sixth level of disciples under my most venerable Buddha Master is something remarkable. One must have true realization and high morals. Such a person is surely an eminent monastic or a greatly virtuous practitioner. Take, for example, Venerable Akou Lamo Rinpoche and H.E. Gar Tongstan IV.
They were able to lift an over 4,000-pound lotus tub used to bathe the Buddha. Still, they are only on the fourth or fifth level of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Those disciples who are relatively low have not attained the realization in which all greed for money is cut off. It is out of the question for those who do not have true realization to rise to the mid-level of disciples under H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. No matter how much such a person may brag of himself, without true realization he is just making false claims.
Question: Then, should all the lay disciples be classified as belonging to the lowest levels?
Answer: That is not the concept at all. Their level will be determined by the Three Branches of Yinming (Logical Reasoning). It is not a matter of empty talk. Their level is determined by examining their direct awareness and their reasoning. Lay disciples are equal to everyone else in that they must show their realization for all to see and for seven witnessing masters to see. Their different levels result from differences in knowledge and realization. Many lay disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III have attained very high accomplishment in the dharma. Aren’t there lay disciples who have passed away in the cross-legged posture while in total control over their own death? Aren’t there lay disciples whose body emitted light after their death? Aren’t there lay disciples who left behind sariras (holy relics) after their cremation? Cultivation emphasizes real accomplishment. Boasting about oneself is of no use.
Question: We heard that there are some persons of great virtue who claim that they represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in transmitting dharma and accepting disciples. Do they truly have such rights?
Answer: Of course, there is such a right. If you want to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in expounding the dharma, you must be on the first level of disciples. That is, only a Buddha has that right. Even Mahasattvas on the second level of disciples fall short of the right to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III in expounding dharma. That is because they are not Buddhas. Thus, no matter who the person is, if that person is not a Buddha yet claims the right to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, then that person is a fraud. You can see that even great Bodhisattvas do not have the right to represent H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Question: Rinpoche, forgive me for asking a question I should not ask, but to which level do you belong?
Answer: Me? At most I belong to one of the lowest levels. I am a very ordinary rinpoche.
Question: Being so modest, you are truly amazing. We know that you sat in meditation for twenty-two days without eating and drinking–that was not something an ordinary person can do. Moreover, you are the incarnation of one of the four most outstanding disciples of Venerable Atisha. You are a great rinpoche, a venerable one.
Answer: Amitabha! I am quite lacking. I am an ordinary person.
Question: Thank you very much for accepting this interview.
Answer: You are welcome, you are welcome.
Interviewee: Venerable Khu-ston brTson-‘grus g. yung-drung V
Henghsing Gyatso Rinpoche
Interviewer: Huei-Chin Yang
(This text was translated from the Chinese text that follows.)
