Lesson 25

The Way of the Bodhisattva L25 25

Chapter Title Mapping

We treat life like a permanent vacation, often represented by the popular phrase "Living in the Moment." However, Khenpo Sodargye challenges this comfortable numbness by comparing our final moments to a prisoner walking toward an execution ground—where bravado vanishes and limbs go limp.

He calls out the modern tendency to sugarcoat spirituality, recounting a conversation with an American teacher who advised him to "stop talking about rules and hell" because Westerners find it uncomfortable. But isn't hiding the cliff more dangerous than warning about it? Through the striking historical story of a woman who physically turned her back on the Buddha, and the near-death account of the famous Lingza Chokyi who felt her family's tears as a rain of pus and blood, this session reveals why genuine faith isn't just a comfort blanket, but a survival mechanism for the consciousness when the physical body fails.

"The Way of the Bodhisattva" is one of the most highly recommended texts of Khenpo Sodargye’s lifetime. He once said that among all the treatises he has translated and taught, this is the one that everyone should study thoroughly at least once. For those with faith, it guides the mind deeply into Buddhist principles and inspires a broad awakening of Bodhicitta. Even for those without faith, studying it can help reduce anger, stress, and suffering. If studied systematically from beginning to end, this text becomes a lifelong source of spiritual benefit. This course, taught by Khenpo Sodargye in 2006, consists of 201 lessons and carefully guides practitioners to cultivate Bodhicitta and enter the Bodhisattva path, using the clearest, most practical, and systematic approach to help students advance to higher dimensions of life and mind.