Some students are hesitant to join FP when they hear that there's a test. We used to lose a student or two right before the test, although of course you don't even have to pass.
But we get tested all the time ...
We get regular Dharma quizzes, for example, from the people who bother us at work, and we get pop quizzes when something goes wrong that we weren't expecting. How'd you do? Peaceful mind?
Whenever I get cut off on the highway, I practice immediately going for refuge, because a few inches the other way and it could have been the end of me. I want the Three Jewels to be at the front of my mind, always, but especially then.
When I'm focusing on the advantages of cherishing others, I try to give myself repeated quizzes, asking myself throughout the day, "Who were you thinking about?" Sad to say, it's usually me.
Of course, the final exam is death.
In Eight Steps to Happiness Geshe-la says "'Self' and 'other' are relative terms, rather like 'this mountain' and 'that mountain ... 'This' and 'that' therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self, it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself."
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Thanks, Mimi, for another great post. My current test is the upcoming election. How am I doing? Improvement needed!
ReplyDeleteVery nice post.
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