Achieve by Doing

by Khenpo Sodargye

Many people complain that life is difficult, so they seek solutions in the Buddha’s teachings. In reality, even if you receive the best instructions, they are ineffective unless you apply them. It is like a doctor treating your disease. If you receive the medicine but do not take it as prescribed, you will not be cured, even if the medicine is powerful enough to raise the dead. Poet Lu You of the Southern Song Dynasty says, “What one learns from paper remains shallow; what one practices makes it profound.” Ideas from books will remain superficial. Only through hands-on application will its usefulness (or the lack of it) become clear to you. I wrote this book that contains many practical instructions. Try to work on these methods authentically; test them out yourself. Do it! Only then, through the subtle blessing of the Dharma will you experience some benefit, physically as well as mentally. Be aware that we eat bite by bite. No muscle is grown from just one mouthful of food. We walk step by step; no thousand-mile journey is covered in a single stride. Similarly, we train our minds bit by bit. No stage of sainthood is reached with only a few days’ practice. As long as you have progressed a little further today than yesterday, you should rejoice. Remember: water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock away. Some people may not accept the parts of this book that seem to go beyond what they know. In this case, try not to reject those notions outright just because they contradict your education. It is important to know that our conceptual mind is unreliable. The Buddha said, “Do not trust your ordinary mind; what you think is not reliable.” When we make any decision, especially in an unfamiliar field, we must employ rational wisdom rather than draw hasty conclusions solely based on “I feel that...” How many times have we been tricked by our meandering thoughts? In the West today, more and more scholars are accepting and identifying with the Buddha’s teachings.

222 pages, Paperback

Published June 22, 2016

About the author

Khenpo Sodargye (Tibetan མཁན་པོ བསོད་དར་རྒྱས, Wylie mkhan po bsod dar rgyas; Chinese: 索达吉堪布) is one of the principle disciples of H.H. Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok, who placed him in charge of the Larung Gar Serthar Buddhist Institute upon completion of his studies there. He additionally served as Khenchen Jigphun's chief translator for Chinese disciples. Many of his Chinese-language translations of Tibetan texts have sold over 100,000 copies, and he has lectured or given talks at over 100 universities around the world, including many in China and the U.S.