The Four Limitless Thoughts

In the Mahayana, the practice of bodhicitta is very important, and meditation on the four limitless thoughts—love, compassion, joy, and equanimity—is fundamental in giving rise to it. The bodhisattva believes that space is infinite and that sentient beings fill all its vastness. As space itself is boundless, sentient beings are described as limitless. A true understanding of this is “limitless wisdom” (Tib.: tseme sherab). Sentient beings are all identical in that they are beset by conflicting emotions and experience suffering, no matter what their size, color, or structure, whether they measure miles across or are so tiny that we cannot see them. Lord Shakyamuni was asked by a disciple to explain what the phrase “limitless sentient beings” means. His reply was that when he looked at the ground beneath the wheel of a horse-drawn wagon, his loving wisdom-eye could perceive as many sentient beings as there are gods and men in the entire universe. This shows how much stronger the limitless love of the Buddha’s mind is compared to one’s own. The earth now has almost 8 billion humans, and there may be a hundred million gods in the heavenly realms. Buddha saw this many sentient beings just in the space beneath one wagon wheel.

Sentient beings arise from ignorance, which cognizes an “I,” or “self.” This becomes the cause of endless suffering and never leads to happiness. The bodhisattva has the means to relieve suffering. It is his or her responsibility to help other beings who experience great suffering and are in real need of assistance. To do this, the bodhisattva needs to generate tremendous loving-kindness. We want to help sentient beings, and even though we are presently still at the level of imagining helping, it is most important to generate this kind of wishing. All beings have natural, basic, true buddha-nature. Therefore, the power of our own buddha-nature can extend to eventually liberate all sentient beings. This is the reason we practice. If there were no buddha-nature, practice would achieve nothing. Buddha-nature is the fundamental seed.

Also, according to Mahayana doctrine, one should adopt the view that every sentient being has somehow shown kindness to oneself just like the kindness shown by one’s own present mother. So during meditation one needs to believe strongly that all limitless sentient beings are one’s mothers from previous lives and, furthermore, that each sentient being has been one’s mother not once but so many times that all her blood from these previous lives could form an ocean, and all her bones, a mountain. This thought includes all beings, even one’s enemies. This motivation, which gives rise to tremendous compassion, is very important. It might take as long as an aeon to help each sentient being in this way, but one cannot be afraid. One must have a tremendously heroic mind. One needs limitless compassion. When beginning this practice, it is best to start by contemplating the kindness of one’s present mother and how much one wants to repay her for this. Once this is very strong in one’s mind, one can move on to thinking about friends, neighbors, and, finally, enemies.

Equanimity, or having no disparity in one’s attitude toward different sentient beings based on discrimination (such as between friend and enemy), is important if one wishes to benefit everyone equally. This is because all sentient beings are equally kind in that they provide the opportunity to develop compassion, they are all equally involved in suffering and need help, and the true nature of sentient beings is shunyata, which is basic equality. This is limitless impartiality, or equanimity. For example, if one wants even one sentient being to have good health, one needs to also wish this for all limitless sentient beings; if one wants to remove the suffering and cause of suffering of one sentient being by means of compassion, then one also wants the same for each one of the limitless sentient beings. Praying for everyone to attain happiness is limitless wishing. One wishes for the temporary happiness of each sentient being, the different conditions that will result in this happiness, and that this happiness will never change. For each sentient being one also wishes for the unchanging and sorrowless happiness that is the state of enlightenment itself, perfect awakening in dharmakaya. For example, if someone has good health, one needs to pray that this will never change, or if someone realizes real joyful happiness in the heavenly realm in the company of angels, amidst beautiful flowers, trees, crystal waters, and music of many different instruments, one wishes for this never to change. Even though one is a bodhisattva, one can pray that a god of the realm of emanation will continue to emanate perfectly forever. One also prays that natural realization of buddha-nature, achievement of the sorrowless state of nirvana, never changes.

The four limitless meditations are very important for those who want to practice the Mahayana. Patrul Rinpoche used the following similes:

One’s loving-kindness for sentient beings should be like that of a mother bird who works hard to provide a warm soft nest for her young and then cares for them in every way. The bodhisattva needs to care for sentient beings in this manner.

One’s compassion should be like that felt for the suffering of a mother who has no hands and so is powerless to help her only son who has fallen into a river. Because she cannot help him, she becomes more and more upset, and feels more and more love for her child. The bodhisattva needs to feel such limitless compassion for all sentient beings amidst all their different sufferings. The bodhisattva’s motivation is a deep and heartfelt wish for beings to be free from suffering.

As regards empathic joy, when a mother camel finds her lost calf, she is the happiest of beings. Similarly, the bodhisattva needs to feel such unlimited happiness when any sentient being experiences permanent or temporary happiness. Even in the case of temporary happiness, such as a sick person receiving medicine, a starving person receiving even one mouthful of food, those who are cold receiving warm sunshine, or those who are hot receiving cool breezes, one should rejoice and feel much happiness.

Finally, one practices equanimity when one’s loving-kindness and benefit to others is free from discrimination and given equally to all beings of the six realms whether they be friends, enemies, or neutral. It should be equal in the same way that the mahasiddhas (enlightened sages of ancient times) held festivals for the benefit of all the people, and the feast was shared equally amongst everyone. One should demonstrate similar loving-kindness, compassion, and equality in all one’s ideas and activity.

Each of the four limit-less thoughts has three levels of meaning. First is the level of ordinary loving compassion, which is directed no further than wanting to remove the suffering of sentient beings through one’s compassion. This is ordinary help on a worldly level, not beyond apparent reality. This level of practicing the four limitless thoughts is of very great benefit and merit, but one still needs the second level. The second level is perfect understanding. In looking for the suffering of sentient beings, one will find nothing substantial because everything is by nature conditionless. This realization is like viewing phenomena as dreams, illusions, mirages, the images of multiple vision, emanations, or reflections. It is the understanding that really there is no suffering, and no one involved in suffering. This is the most profound Mahayana or bodhisattva view to hold while practicing the four limitless thoughts. The Buddha said that if one can meditate like this for even one second, the merit accumulated is as vast as space itself.

The third level is nonconceptual practice. This comes with the achievement of buddhahood itself. It is the limitless compassion of Buddha, where everything appears enlightened and pure and there are no longer any waves of appearance of sentient beings. This state is compared to clouds naturally giving rain, which gives life to fields, plants, and flowers. This rain of benefit is spontaneous and unceasing, continuing as long as sentient beings exist and suffer in the universe. The level of buddhahood is all-pervading.

At whatever level the bodhisattva practices them, the four limitless thoughts are of great significance. It is also very important to study the Mahayana doctrine taught by Lord Buddha and his holy followers, as it gives much detail on the practice of bodhicitta. If one does everything according to this doctrine, then one can make no mistake. It is also very helpful to read the histories of the lineage gurus and to study their attitude and practice, as they were all bodhisattvas themselves. Their bodhisattva activity for the benefit of all sentient beings is very profound and limitless. Although one cannot copy this, one can try one’s best to emulate them and make wishing prayers to be more like them. This is like a yak quickly eating as much grass as it can while keeping its eye on more distant pastures. One may not be able to act or have the same realization as great masters or the Buddha, but one can aspire to follow them and pray to be able to do so.

In his Mahayana teachings, Lord Buddha said that he prayed to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment, with himself last. He also prayed that in the interim he would become light where there was darkness, a bridge where there was no way across a river, a home with beautiful land and meadows for the homeless, fire to warm those who suffer from cold, waters for those who thirst, and so on. I think it is because Buddhas and bodhisattvas have prayed in this way for previous countless aeons that we now enjoy this beautiful solar system, and our beautiful earth with its flowers, forests, gems, edible plants, healing medicines, and so on. I feel that all of this originates from their bodhisattva wishing prayers, and maybe we can create similar benefit for sentient beings in the future.

When one sits and practices bodhicitta intensively many difficulties arise, such as emotions, defilements, and even sickness. The Vajra Cutter Sutra (Skt.: Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra) says that as the great bodhisattva practicing the Prajnaparamita is purified, many difficulties will arise, but this should not give cause for worry. For example, if one washes a dirty cloth, the water changes color as the dirt washes out, but this means that the cloth is becoming perfectly clean. Do not become depressed about one’s inability to help at this stage but practice joyfully and happily, just like a master of ballet. If one practices Mahayana training without error, one will gradually achieve higher levels of experience and it will become easier.

You must study and meditate on the Buddha’s Mahayana teachings because this is the most profound practice. I believe that the strongest practitioner of loving compassion is one who possesses the very essence of Mahayana Buddhism. It is for this reason that it is called the “Great Vehicle.” This is not sectarianism, because the Mahayana, or Bodhisattvayana, is Lord Buddha’s heart-teaching. I hope all sentient beings may become qualified to practice the Mahayana and, through it, achieve the absolute realization of shunyata and compassion without conceptualization.

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From A Calm Place in the Storm: Buddhist Teachings on Finding Wisdom and Compassion by Karma Thinley Rinpoche © 2024 Sumeru Press