Verse 35: Slay afflictions the moment they arise
Verse 35 of Gyalse Tokme Zangpo’s 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, from the section “Final precepts, daily conduct.” Below: the verse in three translations and what seven teachers say about it.
Open in the study browser →When disturbing emotions become habitual, it is difficult to reverse them with antidotes. Therefore, the master of mindfulness wields antidotes as weapons and destroys disturbing emotions, such as attachment, the moment they start to arise. This is the way of a bodhisattva.
The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to slay attachment And the rest—mind's afflictions—at once, the very moment they arise, Taking as weapons the remedies held with mindfulness and vigilance. For once the kleshas have become familiar, they'll be harder to avert.
When reactive emotions acquire momentum, it's hard to make remedies work. A person in attention wields remedies like weapons, Crushing reactive emotions such as craving As soon as they arise — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.
(Compact.) "Pure motivation and proper methods are like a precious sword and anger is like an enemy." Recognize the thought as bad the instant it appears and it disappears on the spot; indulged a few times, anger accumulates until it erupts.
(Brief.) Consists of the Eight Verses citation: "In all actions may I watch my mind" — on recognizing delusion, extinguish it from the very beginning.
The apparatus: mindfulness is the "mental glue" holding the opponent attitudes, alertness the watchman detecting slippage, attention the re-fixer. Apply specific opponents (love against anger, etc.) immediately — like a mispronunciation repeated for years, an entrenched emotional habit becomes nearly impossible to correct.
Modern analogy: road workers jackhammering protruding rocks — "even out" each affliction at its appearance, before it hardens into habit and matures into action.
Every emotion begins as a tiny thought — caught there, it's "like a small wisp of cloud in a clear and empty sky, which is not going to produce any rain"; unnoticed, it multiplies beyond stopping. Mindfulness = remembering what to adopt/abandon; vigilance = constant alertness. Pointed test: "Whatever works to counteract emotions, it is Dharma; whatever does not work is not Dharma" (Dromtönpa) — aimed at practitioners chasing powers instead of counteracting afflictions.
Winter Retreat vv29–37 talk.
Talk 12: "crushing" reactive emotions means experiencing them completely — bodily sensation, emotional content, story — which releases their grip; the opposite of repression. Tricycle v35 (video/subscriber).
all agree on timing (catch it small — KS's cloud-wisp); the interesting split is on the verb. GR/AB/KTGR wield remedies as weapons; KM insists "crushing" means fully experiencing, not suppressing. Both are in the tradition; a rich discussion for practitioners who've tried each and hit its failure mode. ---
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche — The Heart of Compassion (Shambhala). A purchased book — no text is reproduced here.