Lesson 14: Reduce Negativity, Increase Positive Actions, Watch Your Mind
Gelek Rimpoche tells us, when we learn to help ourselves, then we can begin to help others. But how do we help ourselves? We watch ourselves. Our dharma is to correct our thoughts, which then leads to the correction of our actions. Discarding wrongdoing is the path of all spiritual people, Buddhist or non-Buddhist. And when we act out of love and compassion rather than negative emotions, the possibility of causing harm is greatly reduced. Dharma in Tibetan is Ch, which means “correction.” For example, we correct our anger by turning it into patience. We discard wrong not because someone is going to punish us, but because we understand how karma works. The essence of Buddhism is to try to discard wrong. Everything thereafter is just technique. Buddha said the essence of his teaching was to reduce negativity, increase positive actions, and watch your mind.
