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Here are some more wishes, prayers, and affirmations for the good of all: May all beings be happy, content, and fulfilled. May all be peaceful, harmonious, and at ease; may all be protected from harm and fear; may all have whatever they want, need, and aspire to. May all be healed and whole. May this planet be healed and whole. May all beings awaken from the sleep of illusion. May all beings be awakened, delivered, liberated, and free. May all realize their true nature and awaken to the Buddha within. May all equally enjoy, actualize, and embody the innate Great Perfection.

We can recite these, or simply contemplate them in a profound and soulful way; you are radiating unconditional love and acceptance to all beings equally, praying that all be awake and free. Radiate loving-kindness to the world; compassion to the world; joy to the world; equanimity and peace of mind to the entire planet. As you do this, start to bring the light back to yourself. Embrace, love, and forgive yourself. Open yourself to receiving the same kind of love and blessings you are sending out. Outside and inside become merged, without separation. This is the natural state, oneness and wholeness.

We rejoice in the good fortune of all. We rejoice in the virtuous good deeds and accomplishments of others. We put an end to covetousness and jealousy. We forgive and accept others, and put an end to feelings of ill will and enmity. Blessings to the world. Blessings to ourselves.

Repeat these words too. Then rest in the afterglow of this meditation for a few minutes. Just sit in the light. Be peaceful in the light. Be light. Enjoy this divine abode, this heavenly home. Rest in the sublime awareness of these Four Heartitudes.

STEP SEVEN

RIGHT MINDFULNESS

Keeping Your Eyes Open

The whole thrust of Buddha’s teaching is to master the mind. If you master the mind, you will have mastery over body and speech…. Mastery of the mind is achieved through constant awareness of all your thoughts and actions…. Maintaining this constant mindfulness in the practice of tranquility and insight, you will eventually be able to sustain the recognition of wisdom even in the midst of ordinary activities and distractions. Mindfulness is thus the very basis, the cure for all samsaric afflictions.

—DILGO KHYENTSE RINPOCHE, JOURNEY TO ENLIGHTENMENT

One day in 1982 when I was in France, temporarily serving as an attendant to the Dalai Lama, His Holiness was dining with another grand lama, Pawo Rinpoche. The pair were recounting stories and anticipating the rebirth of the recently deceased Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, when the elderly Pawo Rinpoche spied an ant struggling across the polished floor, wending its way toward the sunlit doorway.

The aged Pawo Rinpoche, who no longer had the use of his legs, asked the Dalai Lama if he would be so kind as to rescue the little creature and help it on its way. His Holiness did so with alacrity, gently carrying the insect across the regal chamber, setting it down safely outside in the warm sun, and sending it on its way with a whispered blessing. Chuckling with delight, he rejoined his venerable colleague.

“Now I have done a service for you, Rinpoche. Your old eyes are better than mine! People talk so much about emptiness and high Mahayana philosophy, but loving regard for the equality of all that lives is the true sign of a Bodhisattva.”

His Holiness himself later recounted the story, during a teaching in France about the necessity of selfless service and universal responsibility.

This is a wonderful story about sensitivity and loving-kindness, but it also reflects the impeccable awareness and alert mindfulness of Pawo Rinpoche. He was elderly; he had less than perfect eyesight; he was engaged in animated conversation with the Dalai Lama, in a foreign place in a foreign land. Yet he was conscious of the movement of an ant. Pawo Rinpoche was awake to what he was experiencing, so the little ant became part of his awareness. This is true presence of mind. His mindfulness