Kyabje Gosok Rinpoche
Teaching on Precious Human Rebirth

Mahayana Buddhist Practice 

Practitioners of Mahayana Buddhism all harbor the great vow of « attaining Buddhahood for the benefit of sentient beings. » To achieve the perfect Buddha fruition, one must simultaneously possess complete wisdom and merit. These two are cultivated through practicing the correct view of emptiness (sunyata) and bodhicitta. To realize the correct view of emptiness, one must first generate a sufficient level of renunciation. To cultivate vast bodhicitta, one must first understand the nature of suffering in samsara and aspire to liberate sentient beings from suffering and lead them to happiness. This aspiration still requires renunciation as its foundation.

Renunciation can be divided into two aspects: abandoning attachment to this life and rejecting attachment to future lives. Therefore, tracing back to the root of all stages of practice, one must first abandon attachment to this life.

By abandoning attachment to this life, practitioners can attain rebirth in the higher realms of humans or gods in future lives. By rejecting attachment to future lives and diligently practicing morality, concentration, and wisdom, they can attain nirvana and liberation. By generating the great vow of « attaining Buddhahood for the benefit of sentient beings » and diligently cultivating bodhicitta and the correct view of emptiness, they will ultimately achieve perfect Buddhahood.

Precious Human Rebirth

Practitioners fail to realize how precious, rare, and immensely beneficial it is to possess a human life endowed with eight kinds of leisure and ten kinds of endowment. They also fail to consider what goals should be achieved using this human life. As a result, they waste their time pursuing fame, wealth, and material pleasures.

It is like a beggar who, unaware of possessing gold and silver treasures that could improve his life, continues to beg and live in poverty. If we fail to cherish this rare and precious human life, allowing our valuable time to pass in vain, we will inevitably continue drifting in the ocean of samsara in future lives.

Contemplating the meaning of « leisurely and fortunate » helps practitioners avoid wasting their precious lives on meaningless pursuits. Reflecting on its rarity encourages practitioners to seize this rare opportunity to diligently practice the Dharma, thereby attaining liberation and ultimately Buddhahood.

The number of sentient beings in the six realms is incalculable, and countless beings have fallen into the three lower realms. In comparison, the fact that practitioners have obtained this rare and precious human life in this lifetime speaks volumes about its extraordinary value.

Meaning of « Leisurely and Endowment »

In the term « leisurely and endowment, » « leisurely » refers to the eight kinds of leisure, which are freedom from the eight unfavorable conditions:

1. not encountering the Dharma,
2. being physically or mentally impaired,
3. holding wrong views,
4. being born in a remote area without access to the Dharma (these four apply to human beings), and
5. being born in the hell realm,
6. the hungry ghost realm,
7. the animal realm, or
8. the god realm of long-life heavens.

The Five Personal Endowments

The term « endowment » refers to ten types of completeness, including five personal endowments and five circumstantial endowments.

1. The first condition of the personal endowments is being born as a human, as humans have more favorable conditions than other sentient beings.
2. The second condition is being « born in the central land. » This term has two meanings: geographical or related to the Dharma. Here, it refers to the latter. Practitioners are born in a place where the fourfold community of Buddhist disciples—monks (novice monks), nuns (novice nuns), laymen, and laywomen—uphold the precepts, and there are teachers who teach the three baskets of scriptures (Sutras, Vinaya, and Abhidharma) or practice the three trainings of morality, concentration, and wisdom.
3. The third condition is having « all faculties complete. » This means not only that all senses and limbs must be intact but also that one must not be a hermaphrodite (possessing both male and female reproductive organs). Hermaphrodites cannot receive any form of individual liberation precepts, so they cannot possess a fully endowed human body.
4. The fourth condition is « not committing heinous crimes, » meaning one has not committed the five unforgivable sins: killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, causing blood to flow from the Buddha’s body, or sowing discord among the Sangha. The scriptures state: « If one commits these five unforgivable sins in this life, one cannot attain the fruition of arhatship or higher. » Moreover, committing these sins directly contradicts the goal of seeking liberation and nirvana. Therefore, those who have committed such misdeeds cannot possess a fully endowed human body.
5. The fifth condition is « faith in the supreme, » which refers to having deep faith in the precepts. There are two purposes for upholding the precepts:

• • first, avoiding grave transgressions that lead to rebirth in the three lower realms;
  • Second, pacifying afflictions.

To avoid grave transgressions, one simply needs sincere faith in the precepts and diligent practice. However, to pacify afflictions, one must study the three baskets of scriptures (Sutras, Vinaya, and Abhidharma). Here, having faith in and studying the three baskets fulfills the condition of « faith in the supreme. »

To practice the Dharma and attain liberation, one must possess not only the eight kinds of leisure but also the ten endowments. Only then can one fully meet the conditions for practicing the Dharma. Practitioners should strive to fulfill these five personal endowments.

Five Circumstantial Endowments

The five conditions of the circumstantial endowments are based on Asanga’s « Bodhisattvabhumi »:

1. « The Buddha appears in the world » means the practitioner is born during the time when the Buddha resides in the world and has not yet entered parinirvana.
2. « The Buddha teaches the Dharma » means that the Buddha not only resides in the world but also reveals profound teachings. Not all Buddhas of the ten directions and three times have the opportunity to teach the Dharma after attaining Buddhahood.
3. « The teachings endure » means that the Buddha’s teachings still exist in the world, have not declined, and continue to spread and flourish.
4. « Following the Dharma » means the practitioner encounters diligent and accomplished teachers or masters, understands the supreme benefits and merits of practicing the Dharma to attain liberation and Buddhahood, and thus resolves to take refuge, uphold the precepts, and even renounce worldly life to practice.
5. « Being compassionately supported by others » has two meanings: First, teachers or masters endowed with teaching and realization virtues impart their essential instructions and pithy advice to practitioners without reservation, enabling them to attain liberation. Second, faithful supporters provide food, medicine, and other necessities, enabling practitioners to focus on their practice.

Cherish Precious Human Rebirth

People often fail to cherish this precious and rare human life. Instead of using their worldly wealth and other endowments to help others overcome suffering and attain happiness, thereby accumulating wisdom and merit for their spiritual practice and ultimate liberation, they let greed, anger, and ignorance dominate their lives. Much of their precious time is spent pursuing personal gain for themselves and their loved ones or harming enemies. Driven by self-cherishing, most of these actions become negative karma, leading to immense suffering. Ironically, the very conditions that could support their spiritual path become obstacles to liberation. How regrettable this is!

Just as a medicine requires all the ingredients listed on the prescription to be complete before it can work effectively, we already possess the eighteen precious conditions—eight kinds of leisure and ten kinds of endowment—that are essential for attaining liberation and Buddhahood. If we fail to cherish this rare and precious human life and continue to waste our time, we resemble the blind fools described in Bodhicharyavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life). Such behavior reflects profound ignorance.

The scriptures use this analogy to illustrate the rarity of human life: « A blind turtle (the practitioner) lives at the bottom of the ocean (samsara), surfacing only once every hundred years (after enduring long periods of suffering in the three lower realms, temporarily gaining a human rebirth). On the surface of the sea floats a golden yoke with a hole, carried about by the waves. The moment the turtle surfaces, its head happens to fit perfectly into the hole of the yoke. » This shows how rare and precious it is to obtain a human body and encounter the Dharma. Practitioners should deeply cherish this opportunity.

Four Wrong Views of Dharma Practice

Before hearing the Dharma, practitioners may believe that life is simply about achieving worldly success and happiness, without needing to expend effort in practicing the Dharma. This is the first wrong view that hinders spiritual progress.

However, after hearing the Dharma and understanding the extraordinary benefits of this precious human life—such as being reborn in higher realms or pure lands, attaining liberation, or achieving perfect Buddhahood—and generating realizations in their minds, this mistaken view will gradually diminish and eventually be eradicated.

All sentient beings share the common desire to seek happiness and avoid suffering. Yet many people hoard their wealth and resources for their own enjoyment, unwilling to practice generosity or engage in virtuous acts. Despite striving for happiness, their stinginess results in rebirth in the hungry ghost realm, which is the opposite of their goal.

Practitioners may fall into the second wrong view that hinders their practice: belittling themselves and believing they lack the ability to practice or achieve liberation and Buddhahood. Yet even heavenly beings, when nearing the end of their lives, pray to be reborn as humans who can achieve Buddhahood in a single lifetime. If celestial beings aspire for this, practitioners should not underestimate themselves but instead develop unwavering confidence in the possibility of attaining liberation and Buddhahood through diligent practice.

The key to whether practice bears fruit lies in whether practitioners can transform their erroneous views and afflictive habits through practice. If they succeed in doing so, they will generate realizations at various stages of the path. Therefore, progress depends on putting the teachings received from the guru into practice, gradually reducing afflictions and karmic obscurations. The arising of realizations in one’s mind-stream has no relation to age, wealth, or social status.

Although practitioners understand the importance of practice, they often delay it, thinking they will have time to practice earnestly in the future. This is the third wrong view that hinders spiritual progress. To counteract this, practitioners must contemplate and meditate on how rare and precious a human life with leisure and endowments truly is.

Three Causes for Obtaining a Precious Human Life

In The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, three aspects of precious human life are discussed: causes, essence, and analogies. To obtain precious human life, three specific causes must be fulfilled:

1. Pure observance of precepts—Master Chandrakirti emphasized in Introduction to the Middle Way that obtaining a human body requires pure adherence to precepts. Observing precepts purely is a necessary condition for rebirth in higher realms. However, how many people in society can uphold the ten virtues? (Avoiding the ten non-virtues: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh words, idle chatter, covetousness, malice, and wrong views.) Even if practitioners have taken individual liberation precepts, bodhisattva precepts, or tantric vows, they should honestly ask themselves whether they are truly able to observe these precepts purely. Therefore, one should not underestimate the difficulty of upholding precepts and treat it lightly.

2. Practicing the six perfections and other virtuous actions—While pure observance of precepts enables one to obtain a human birth, without fulfilling the conditions for a fully endowed life, there will still be deficiencies. These deficiencies can only be remedied through virtuous actions like generosity. Generosity increases merit; observing precepts secures a human rebirth; patience brings dignity; diligence, meditation, and wisdom help practitioners enter the Dharma.

3. A pure aspiration—At the very least, a pure aspiration should include the wish to be reborn in higher realms. The ultimate aspiration is « to swiftly attain Buddhahood for the benefit of sentient beings. » If practitioners dedicate their practice of the six perfections merely to achieve wealth and happiness in this life, driven by self-cherishing, their aspirations are tainted and impure. Such motivations can easily squander the merit accumulated from virtuous actions, leading even to misdeeds. Consequently, it becomes highly unlikely to obtain a precious human life again in the next life.

These three causes are extremely difficult to fulfill simultaneously. Due to long periods of wandering in samsara, deep-rooted habits of seeking worldly success and happiness dominate practitioners’ minds. Most thoughts naturally arise out of a desire to avoid illness and suffering while gaining wealth, power, and fame. Even after taking refuge in the Dharma and committing to practice, impure and tainted thoughts frequently emerge.

Although practitioners constantly aspire to be reborn in higher realms or attain liberation and Buddhahood, upon reflecting carefully on their daily thoughts and actions, they find themselves engaging more in negative deeds than virtuous ones, continuously creating causes for rebirth in lower realms. With such inverted thinking and behavior, how can practitioners fulfill their aspirations? Therefore, they must constantly examine their minds, correct erroneous thoughts and motivations, and stop being influenced by them, which would hinder their chances of rebirth in higher realms or attaining liberation and Buddhahood.

Once practitioners transform their minds and gradually purify bad habits, they will progressively gain insights that bring peace and freedom, thereby strengthening their resolve to practice diligently.

From the above, it is clear that a precious human life with leisure and endowments is exceedingly rare and valuable. If one fails to practice the Dharma in this life, the chance of obtaining such a precious human life again in the future is extremely slim.

The above explains the causes for the rarity of a precious human life. If practitioners deeply contemplate and internalize these teachings, they will quickly develop a profound understanding of its essence and analogies.

Explaining the Rarity of a Precious Human Life Through Numbers and Time

The essence of how rare and precious a human life is can be explained through two aspects: numbers and time.

1. Numbers – Among sentient beings who fall into the lower realms, the number of beings in the hell realm is the greatest, followed by the hungry ghost realm, then the animal realm. The number of animals alone far exceeds that of humans.

Once, during the Buddha’s lifetime, he picked up a handful of dust from the ground in front of his disciples and asked them, « How does the amount of dust in my hand compare to all the dust on earth? » The disciples replied, « The difference is hundreds of millions or even beyond calculation. » The Buddha then explained, « The number of sentient beings reborn in higher realms is like the dust in my hand, while the number of beings falling into the three lower realms is like all the dust on earth. » Among those reborn in higher realms, those who also obtain a fully endowed precious human life are even rarer!

2. Time — In the endless process of samsaric wandering, eons when a Buddha appears are called « Bright Eons, » while those without a Buddha are called « Dark Eons. » Dark Eons far outnumber Bright Eons. Each great eon consists of four phases—formation, abiding, destruction, and emptiness—each lasting twenty intermediate eons. Even during Bright Eons, a Buddha only appears during the abiding phase, and the Dharma remains in the world for only a few thousand years. Thus, it is clear how rare and precious it is for practitioners to be born as humans during a Bright Eon and encounter the Dharma!

Having obtained such a rare and precious human life in this lifetime, if one continues to squander it on pursuing worldly happiness or harming enemies, their ignorance will be no different from that of animals. Some animals are even more skilled at these pursuits than humans. Yet humans, who possess a precious and rare human life, continue to engage in such ignorant behaviors, which is absurd. Reflecting on this can help practitioners overcome the wrong view of postponing practice due to excuses.

The fourth wrong view that hinders practice is when practitioners wish to fulfill all their worldly desires and goals before committing to spiritual practice. To counteract this, practitioners must meditate on the meaning of impermanence and death, understanding that life will inevitably end and the time of death is uncertain, thereby eliminating this wrong view.

These four wrong views that hinder practice often arise because practitioners have not yet deeply realized the rarity and preciousness of a human life with leisure and endowments. Therefore, practitioners must continually reflect deeply and practice the meaning of this rarity. Thereby overcoming these four wrong views. This ensures that any teaching they practice becomes pure Dharma and any practice they undertake becomes pure spiritual cultivation.

Practitioners must deeply contemplate how tragic their situation would be if they were born into one of the eight unfavorable states, unable to escape the boundless suffering of samsara. A human life can be likened to a single day: waking up in the morning represents birth, morning to noon symbolizes growth and reaching middle age, noon to evening signifies entering old age, and nightfall represents death. Practitioners should reflect: How much time in a single day (or a lifetime) do I spend practicing seriously?

Practicing Diligently According to the Dharma

If one can skillfully utilize each day, practicing diligently according to the Dharma, then one’s practice in this lifetime will surely progress toward perfection.

Every morning upon waking, one can visualize in the space before oneself one’s root guru, surrounded by countless Buddhas and bodhisattvas from the ten directions. The essence of the guru is no different from that of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Practitioners should contemplate how rare and precious a human life with leisure and endowments is. If one were born in one of the eight unfavorable states, they would endure immense suffering and have no opportunity to hear or practice the Dharma. For example, beings in the hell realms are surrounded by raging fires and boiling cauldrons of oil. Burning meteors and arrows rain down from the sky, while hell guardians force molten iron and burning fireballs into their mouths and pierce their bodies with red-hot tridents. Their skin, as delicate and sensitive as an infant’s, suffers unbearable pain from the scorching flames and cruel punishments. Such terror is beyond words. Even enduring such suffering for a single moment would be unbearable for practitioners, let alone for eons. Amidst such immense suffering, there is no chance to hear or practice the Dharma.

As described in the scriptures and The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path , the other unfortunate states of the eight unfavorable conditions include the eight hot hells and eight cold hells, as well as the immense suffering endured in the hungry ghost and animal realms. Even among humans, those who are blind, deaf, mute, mentally deficient, or severely disabled, requiring others to care for their daily needs, cannot study or practice the Dharma. Moreover, even if born human, those holding wrong views (the most harmful of the four unfavorable human conditions) are driven by such views to commit grave misdeeds, leading to endless suffering. Through this contemplation, practitioners should cultivate deep fear of the lower realms and the unfavorable states. Feeling fortunate and deeply cherishing this precious human life, they should resolve firmly: I must use this rare and precious human life to practice the Dharma diligently. I must not waste this life, lest I am reborn in an unfavorable state in the next life!

Praying for Blessings from the Guru and the Buddhas

In this way, one should pray for blessings from the guru and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, so that one’s thoughts transform, giving rise to inspiration, realization, and spiritual experiences. Then, visualize the guru and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas entering one’s body through the crown chakra, bestowing profound blessings. Such meditation enables the practitioner to generate realizations at various stages of the path, bringing immense benefit.

All practice depends on properly relying on a qualified spiritual guru as its preliminary foundation. Practitioners who engage in such meditations every morning will gradually align their thoughts throughout the day with the Dharma. However, the key to receiving blessings lies in whether practitioners can transform their minds and generate realizations. Merely reciting prayers without heart felt engagement will bring no real benefit, nor will it help generate realizations at various stages of the path.

Concluding Remarks

Practitioners can use this rare and precious human life to practice the Dharma diligently, thereby attaining liberation and ultimately Buddhahood. Alternatively, they can misuse this precious life to create negative karma, continuing to drift in samsara or even fall into the lower realms. Though endowed with the same human life, the outcomes differ vastly depending on how it is used. Practitioners must carefully reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of these choices.

Throughout countless cycles of samsara, practitioners have been reborn as celestial beings countless times, enjoying immense wealth and pleasures. Yet today, they remain trapped in samsara, unable to attain liberation. Therefore, one should no longer squander this precious human life chasing worldly riches and pleasures. Moreover, this life not only provides a rare and precious human existence but also the opportunity to take refuge in the Dharma, hear the teachings, and practice. One must strive to attain liberation and ultimately Buddhahood. Do not allow this precious human life to become like an anchor, fixing oneself firmly in the ocean of samsara, preventing liberation.

The above is a translation from our Chinese webpage, based on original Tibetan teachings.