GENTLY WIDSPERED ~
4
increase your virtuous accumulation, you can continue to attain a precious human existence and to experience rebirth in higher states of existence, which encourage the flourishing of the Dharma. With such an opportunity, you can liberate yourself from the ocean of samsaric suffering and place yourself in the state of buddhahood. Now that you have this golden opportunity, it would be a shame to waste it or to lose it! The opportunity of attaining a precious human existence is quite rare. It is often compared to the incalculable chance that a blind sea tortoise, which rises to the surface once every hundred years, would be snared by a single golden yoke afloat on an ocean as vast as space. You might wonder how it is possible for beings in the lower realms to attain a precious human existence when it is not possible for them to understand the Dharma. As well, you might wonder how it is they can ever escape from these lower realms. Since they cannot hear the teachings and are thus unable to put them into practice to free themselves, how is it they are not stuck there forever? I will develop this topic for fuller understanding in a later chapter, but for now I will give a brief answer. Even though sentient beings experience the lower realms as hell denizens, hungry ghosts, and animals, all of which lack the capabilities of understanding the meaning of the Dharma, they can form a connection with the sound of spoken Dharma and with the visible forms of Buddhadharma. These demonstrations of its truth will eventually lead to a rebirth in a higher state of existence in the human realm. Also, the mind of those experiencing the lower realms might feel a kind of virtuous impulse which, at some later stage, will ripen into rebirth in the human realm. Then, as a human being, it is possible to acquire the merit that will allow a rebirth in a precious human existence. It is therefore possible that you can bring great benefit to all sentient beings through your prayers and good actions. You can be of direct benefit by having contact with beings in the animal realms, especially those that have close contact with the human realm, and you can help these beings progress to a higher rebirth. For example, if you were to explain the Dharma to an animal, or even to groups of animals, the blessing of your action would result in their experiencing a rebirth in a higher realm at some