The third of the practices listed here is one very frequently quoted by Tibetan lamas, and extremely important. The beginning occasion for each day is getting up in the morning. What is our first thought on waking up? We can all afford a couple of minutes in bed to prepare quietly for the day before jumping up and brushing our teeth. Sechibuwa suggests that an earnest practitioner of the Mind Training should at this point be setting motivation, resolving not be polluted by self-centeredness for the course of the day. It is important to understand exactly what is meant by self-centeredness, so that it is clearly demarcated when it arises in the mind during the day: "I recognize this; I was looking at something similar just this morning." And then the teaching of the Mind Training can come flooding in.

Again, don't be lenient with self-centeredness. Recognize this quality of mind that has brought us misery, discontent, anxiety, and frustration, year after every year of this lifetime, not to speak of lifetimes before this since time out of mind. Each morning, look at the day that is yet to unfold and really set up the aspiration not to succumb to the self-centeredness, not to value our own welfare as the priority in our daily activities. This is a perfectly feasible transformation of the mind. Anticipate responding to others with concern and sensitivity for their well-being, go into the day with this stance, and then be aware and introspectively alert in dealing with people during the day. Be aware of the quality of your mind as you work, drive, shop, take care of the children, watch TV. In other words, having set the resolve, carry through; not because the karmic results will injure us if we don't, but because we yearn to live a meaningful and contented life that opens up to greater and greater happiness for ourselves and others. Cherish that thought and motivation throughout the course of the day.

If we cannot cultivate introspective alertness, even during our busiest days, then we might as well discard that way of life, because it is guaranteed to be meaningless. Get rid of it and do something different. Obviously, I am not recommending suicide, but a change of lifestyle. Our children, spouse, and friends are not benefiting from it, and we certainly are not ourselves. What are we actually offering to our children in such a situation? The most emphatic lesson that children learn is not the words we say, but the substantial example that we demonstrate in the quality of our life. Those of us who claim to have no time for any kind of dharma practice, whether teachings, meditation, or transforming daily actions into dharma, have set for our children the poorest possible example; and unless they rebel, they will waste their own lives as we have encouraged them.

Employment in service, as a nurse, teacher, doctor, or monk, may sometimes substitute for living a truly meaningful life. There is still a karmic benefit: healing others is wholesome. But if the motivation is chiefly to earn a good living, the benefits are limited. We may enjoy the fruit of good health in a future life, for example, or meet with skilled doctors when we are sick ourselves, but meanwhile we remain mentally imbalanced and miserable. There is no substitute for internal spiritual practice.

At the end of the day, when we lie down ready to sleep, then again it is worth taking at least a few moments to look back and examine the events of the day. Remember the original resolve and recognize the occasions when self-centeredness and mental distortions arose and dominated our thoughts and perhaps our physical actions. Guilt has no place in this recognition. (Interestingly, guilt has no translation in Tibetan, although remorse does.) Simply recognize that we have engaged in actions motivated by self-centeredness that bring us harm, squandering the wonderful potential of this human life, damaging ourselves and others. And with that recognition, recall how to counteract the self-centeredness and mental distortion. There is no way to snap our fingers and be free of such unwholesome behavior, but we do know the antidotes. So look to the future and say, "This is something to avoid, for everyone's welfare."

This is not simply a matter of scrutinizing the unwholesome events like a judge. Recognize also the victories, the delights of implementing the spiritual practice, and the times when we acted with real cherishing of others. Look back and rejoice at the acts of service that were not calculated to elicit a reward or even gratitude. These acts are answers to the question of how we can make life meaningful. Recognize occasions of insight, when we have seen ourselves or others without the reification of an autonomous, intrinsic identity. Rejoice in this cultivation of wisdom, because this also is a way to make life meaningful.

Other commentaries on this verse frequently refer to cultivating the motivation before beginning any endeavor: "May this act as a cause for my full awakening for the benefit of all creatures." In other words, allow the relative bodhicitta to enter and provide the incentive for engaging in that endeavor, which tremendously enriches it. Then, at the conclusion of a wholesome action, or at the end of the day, look back and once again dedicate its merit to full awakening for the benefit of all beings, and to anything else that seems of great worth, such as peace on this planet. We can offer this merit, or spiritual power, and we can keep on offering it: the more we offer, the more we have.

Excerpted from: A Passage from Solitude, by B. Alan Wallace. 1992 by Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York 14851.