Shantideva's Compendium of Precepts (Laptu) and A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (Chod-jug); 17-Mar-2006 (Day 3 of 9; Morning) - Dalai Lama Audio Teachings on Tibetan Buddhism Podcast

His Holiness the Dalai Lama began his teaching today with the remark that all composite things are produced from causes. Everything comes into being in dependence on other things. The desirable that we want, as well as the undesirable that we do not want, come about in dependence on causes. The Buddha revealed the causes of suffering in detail and made clear that if we eliminate them we will achieve peace. The principal causes of suffering and unhappiness are disturbing emotions. The task of spiritual practice is to counter them by training the mind. The experienced meditator empties the mind and abides in the present moment so the natural clarity and luminosity of the mind emerges. His Holiness commented that, while neuroscientists have achieved profound knowledge of the workings of the brain, reducing the workings of the mind only to a function of the brain does not account for all our experience. His reading of the Compendium of Trainings contained advice on avoiding unwholesome actions and the dire consequences of not doing so. For the Bodhisattva the practice of virtuous conduct and the cultivation of the mind in meditation are mutually sustaining.