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Extraordinary Words
Extraordinary Words 13 Practice in a Busy World
In this session of "Extraordinary Words," Khenpo Sodargye teaches the four essentials that define a practitioner's entire lifetime: pure discipline, broad hearing, deep reflection, and meditation in retreat. He begins with discipline — not necessarily formal vows, but even simple personal commitments such as not killing or not drinking alcohol, which provide a stable foundation for all further practice. He then discusses the ideal path of broad learning followed by a period of genuine retreat, recommending that after three to five years of solid study, one should step back from external activity and put the teachings into practice. Even for those with busy lives, home recitation is a viable form of practice. Khenpo emphasizes that steadiness of character is essential — an unstable person will collapse at the first difficulty, regardless of how much Dharma they have heard. He then reads His Holiness's teaching on the Three Principal Aspects of the Path — renunciation, bodhicitta, and non-dual wisdom — explaining their supreme necessity and the special merit of transmitting them. He shares the story of His Holiness announcing a sudden exam at Larung Gar, where recitation of The Three Principal Aspects of the Path was required of every student. The session closes with Khenpo noting the precious lineage of this text — transmitted repeatedly by the Panchen Lama and His Holiness himself — before giving the oral transmission in Tibetan.