8. The Supreme sign of accomplishment is a continuous decrease of wishes and wants

Note: This blog is part of a series sharing the teachings of the Atisha's Lojong Root Verses on Training the Mind as shared by Jetsumna Tenzin Palmo in London May 28 & 29, 2016.  These are not transcriptions of the lectures, rather a collection of her thoughts sewn together.

8. The Supreme sign of accomplishment is a continuous decrease of wishes and wants

With practice, our inner sense of joy becomes so strong, there is very little to want.  Allowing the greed of the grasping mind to run us is like drinking salty water, our thirst will never be quenched.  When we are in this state, we do not notice that we all have so much and are totally unsatisfied. The accumulation creates a stagnation and total lack of freedom within our beings.

 

“A sign that our practice is working is that less and less do we want more and more.” ~ Jetsumna Tenzin Palmo

 

The things in themselves are not the problem, it is the grasping.

Jetsumna told the story of a very devout wealthy Indian Buddhist king.  Everything that could be gold in his palace was gold.  His guru wore nothing but a loin cloth and carried nothing but small begging bowl.  One day they were in the garden for the king’s lesson in the Dharma.  Suddenly, several of the king’s staff interrupted them screaming that the palace was in flames and the king must come back to the palace at once.  The king calmly lifted his hand and said, “Not now.  I am receiving the teachings of the Dharma.  You can handle it.”  At which point the guru leapt to his feet, irate and yelled, “You might not care, but my begging bowl is in that palace.”  

Read the ninth root verse and teaching notes.