Spontaneous Verse on the Preciousness of Human Life
by Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche
When you realize the preciousness of human life,
Just to gaze upon someone’s face is a great practice.
If you cannot see their face clearly, it’s as if you are blind.
This blindness is the inability to appreciate whatever is in front of you.
Seeing the preciousness of human life can lead to the threshold of realization.
If you can look at someone’s face and see their face clearly—without veils,
You truly appreciate their life.
You won’t have any disputes or disagreements.
Having disputes and disagreements is a sign that there is no appreciation
Of the preciousness of human life.
When you realize the preciousness of human life
You won’t feel your view is superior to others.
Seeing the preciousness of human life is such a great joy!
Everywhere, you appreciate the preciousness of human life.
When you see good and bad,
Realize that you do not see the preciousness of human life.
You have difficulty seeing life as it is.
When you see the preciousness of human life it will be easy to feel compassion.
When you realize the preciousness of human life
It will be easy to love and be kind to all beings.
If you do not appreciate the preciousness of human life
Generosity will be difficult.
You will grasp at things to protect yourself.
When you see the preciousness of human life,
Generosity flows naturally like a river.
This energy is unobstructed.
When you see the preciousness of human life
The meaning of all things is obvious.
Knowing the meaning is the essence of wisdom.
It clearly shows.
How essential it is for all of us
To see the preciousness of human life!
When seeing the preciousness of human life
You have no negative thoughts about others.
All negative thoughts are exhausted within the power and the strength
Of the preciousness of human life.
When we lack respect for ourselves as breathing beings,
We are discontent and have negative thoughts about others.
Engulfed in negativity,
We fail to appreciate the preciousness of human life.
There is no greater failing than this.
When you find yourself on an island of gold
Don’t go home empty-handed.
As a practitioner of Dharma, here and now, pick up the gold
And enjoy the preciousness of that!
It seems very simple:
Have some drinks, laugh out loud and have fun.
Is this the way to actualize the preciousness of human life?
Laughter that is deep inside is necessary.
Laughter deep within is never pretentious.
Laughing outside could be a distraction.
Crying deep inside is true crying.
This crying is full of joy!
Tears come from realizing how much time has been wasted
When you were unaware of how precious life is.
Now you realize.
How fortunate. How wonderful!
You celebrate with tears!
This crying comes from inside out.
Tears flow when you appreciate the preciousness of your human life.
You touch a nerve inside: the core of the preciousness of human life.
Seeing the infallible nature of your teacher,
You see this potential in everyone.
You develop great respect, not only for your teacher,
But for everything you see,
Everything you hear,
Everything you touch.
Everything is beyond ordinary!
Real devotion comes from realizing the preciousness of human life.
This realization of the preciousness of human life
Is like the sun shining brightly.
This is devotion to one’s teacher.
The compassion and the kindness of the teacher
Is like a snow mountain.
When you realize the preciousness of human life,
With clarity, the sun of devotion shines on the mountain,
The snow melts and nectar flows and frees you of thirst.
When you realize the preciousness of human life
You see the sun behind obscuring clouds.
The clouds can be white or black.
But white clouds are not good and black clouds are not bad,
All clouds obscure the sun.
White and black clouds, good and bad thoughts,
Do not exist when you realize the preciousness of human life.
At that time, nothing can stop you from being totally free.
From the beginning, the sun was never obscured by clouds.
Even when clouds cover the sun, still the sun always shines,
But if you don’t see the light,
You’re not seeing the preciousness of human life.
When you see the preciousness of human life
You shatter the chains of right and wrong.
You see it is possible to live fully.
You see the potential of the sun’s brightness to melt the snow
And you drink the nectar!
You taste the juice of your life.
You have a juicy life, not a dry life.
Everything you hear is juicy.
Everything you feel is juicy.
Everything you touch is juicy.
When the sun shines, juice comes.
When you allow yourself to be open, juice comes.
You see the preciousness of human life!
This brings confidence and self esteem.
This allows you to be kind and gentle,
Loving, compassionate.
This frees you from limitations.
You will see leaves falling from a tree.
You are free to entertain yourself,
And watch how the leaves fall.
At that time, that alone will be the greatest entertainment
Among all entertainment in the world.
Entertainment doesn’t change.
But how you perceive it transforms tremendously.
You have true regard for who you are,
And that brings dignity.
That brings sensitivity.
That frees you from thinking you have to fantasize
And run around the world in your mind.
You will not have time to follow every thought—
You will be too busy enjoying the preciousness of human life.
You are so totally at ease,
No matter what thought comes, it has no power.
No matter how seductive the thought,
You will not be seduced.
No matter how terrible the thought,
You will not be unsettled.
You will not follow or suppress.
At that time, there is the practice of Dharma.
Sitting in meditation postures
And chanting melodious mantras
Will not necessarily guarantee that
You will be perfected in your practice.
When perfected in practice,
You are a dignified and confident being.
Dignified, confident, sensitive, compassionate—
All these words may have only one meaning for you.
Every sound of good and bad is like an echo,
Which shows you how to live your life.
Dignity, confidence, sensitivity, compassion—
These would not be difficult for you.
It’s just natural.
All these are merely the movements of your life,
Like the movements of a skillful dancer.
When you see the preciousness of your life
You dance skillfully.
When you don’t appreciate the preciousness of your life,
You don’t recognize the impermanence of your life—
This ever-changing human life.
You don’t see the hopelessness of samsara.
You don’t see that every movement you make
Is causing suffering.
Life is funny; it is like a dream.
Today we are here; tomorrow we are gone.
Today we’re alive; tomorrow we may be dead.
Life has no purpose at all,
Unless you see the preciousness of your human life.
Achievements in this life mean nothing at all
Unless you see the preciousness of your life.
All achievements in this world are like a mirage,
If you hold on to them, they burst like bubbles.
If you don’t see the preciousness of human life,
All that you achieve in this life
Are like achievements tightly held in a dream.
When you awaken, your hands are empty!
In my feeling, the process is the key.
The process is the result.
To use the process as the result
Is the practice of our lineage.
It is the most profound practice of all!
Don’t think that the process has a destination.
Even if you reach your destination,
You may have missed so much.
You may have lost so much.
The destination is not very important.
While you are moving towards the target,
That activity, that action, that life, that moment,
Should be full, should be whole, should be complete.
Then, even if you get nowhere,
You got somewhere.
You got to experience the life.
You got to enjoy the life.
You got to see the life.
You got the meaning of life.
In your journey as a practitioner,
The more skilled you are in your journey,
The less expectant you are about the destination.
You will be fully engaged in the dance.
Make your dancing the journey,
And your journey the dance.
How can you celebrate the journey?
How can you color the journey?
There will be ups and downs.
Ups and downs must become color.
Up is red and down is blue.
Up is white and down is black.
But up is not always white and
Down is not always black.
Both white clouds and black clouds
Obscure the sun.
It’s as simple as that.
Keeping this in mind,
Conduct yourself in daily life with simplicity.
Cultivate understanding and patience.
Discipline yourself with gentleness.
A life without discipline is not a worthy life.
Always heed the circumstances; don’t consider self-interest first.
However the circumstances arise,
Be flexible and bend as the situation demands.
The circumstance becomes the music,
The environment becomes the stage,
And you become the dancer.
The greatest dancer will dance beautifully on a small stage,
Or dance without difficulty on a large stage.
The greatest dancer will dance skillfully, whatever the music.
Be the most flexible dancer.
If the circumstance demands you to stand straight with head high,
Be able to do that.
If the circumstance requires you to lower your head and bend down,
Be able to do that.
This is the understanding of the preciousness of human life.
This becomes effortless.
This is the joy and happiness of the dancer.
Dance well!
Dancers are never too old.
Dancers are never too young.
It’s never too late to dance.
Dance, and take compassion as your partner.
Dance, and take wisdom as your partner.
If you take wisdom and compassion as your partners,
You can dance on any stage—anywhere, anytime.
When you are flexible
You will not need to rule anything out.
When you are flexible
You will not need to rule anything in.
Ruling in and ruling out will not mean anything at all.
You will see the unpredictable nature
Of this predictable precious human life.
As a practitioner of Dharma
Don’t be a slouch.
Don’t be rigid.
Don’t be predictable.
It’s essential to be unpredictable,
But completely free in space
For simplicity and kindness.
Remember this.
Then you are practicing something
That will benefit you
And benefit all sentient beings.