“Although we do not recognize each other as such, there is not one sentient being who has not been our mother. And just as we have taken countless rebirths, we have had countless mothers; no being has not been our mother. And each time they were our mother, the kindness they showed us was no different from the kindness shown by our mother in this life. Since they did nothing but lovingly care for us, there is not the slightest difference between our present mother’s kindness and care toward us and that of every sentient being….. The kindness and care that mothers showed you in the past, and the kindness and the care your present mother shows you, are not in the least bit different from each other, either in being your mother or in their kindness and care. The kindness is the same if you received some food or wealth from someone last year or this year. The time of the deed, past or future, does not alter the degree of kindness. Thus all sentient beings are nothing but kind mothers to you.”
From Liberation in the Palm of One’s Hand, spoken by Pabongka Rinpoche and compiled by Trijang Rinpoche.
As translated in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand: A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment by Pabongka Rinpoche / Trijang Rinpoche. Translated by Michael Richards. Wisdom Publications. Click here to download a PDF of 100 pages of excerpts, including the multiple introductions and appendixes, extensive Lamrim outline, and first chapter “Introductory Discourse on the Lamrim”; courtesy of Wisdom Publications.
Photo: Gaden Monastery Prayer Hall, site of the 2012 (first half) and 2014 Jangchup Lamrim Teachings, Mundgod, India, December 2012 © George Miller/JLTOC
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