Three noble principles
Three noble principles (Wyl. dam pa gsum) — there are three things that make all the difference between your practice being merely a way of bringing temporary relaxation, peace, and bliss, or of becoming a powerful cause for your enlightenment and the enlightenment of others. They are:
- good in the beginning: arousing bodhichitta as a skilful means to ensure that your practice becomes a source of merit for the future
- good in the middle: maintaining the view of the nature of mind, the attitude of non-grasping free from conceptualization, that secures the practice so that the merit cannot be destroyed by circumstances, and
- good in the end: sealing the practice properly by dedicating the merit, which will ensure that it continually grows ever greater.
The three are referred to in a popular quotation from Longchenpa:
- "Begin with bodhichitta, do the main practice without concepts,
- Conclude by dedicating the merit. These, together and complete,
- Are the three vital supports for progressing on the path to liberation."
Further Reading
- Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, revised and updated edition, Harper San Francisco, 2002, pages 60-62.
- Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher, 'The Three Supreme Methods', pages 27-31.