Why bother with any path of spiritual development such as the Lam Rim? The Buddha answers this question in the Four Assurances:
— with a mind thus free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, and pure —
acquires four assurances in the here and now:
if there is the fruit of actions rightly & wrongly done,
then this is the basis by which,
with the break-up of the body, after death,
I will reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world.'
This is the first assurance.
if there is no fruit of actions rightly & wrongly done,
then here in the present life I look after myself with ease —
free from hostility,
free from ill will,
free from trouble.'
This is the second assurance.
still I have willed no evil for anyone.
Having [willed] no evil action,
from where will suffering touch me?'
This is the third assurance.
then I can assume myself pure in both respects.'
[That is, free of both evil intent and evil action.]
This is the fourth assurance."
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
These Four Assurances are not speculative beliefs, but direct consequences of a mind that has been trained and transformed: "free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, and pure". Such a mind is no longer driven by the Three Poisons of craving, aversion, and delusion, but dwells in clarity, love, and wisdom.
- The first assurance offers comfort in the face of metaphysical uncertainty: If there is rebirth and karmic fruition, the pure-hearted person is bound for a blessed realm.
- The second reassurance speaks to the life of peace and wellbeing already accessible here and now, irrespective of what may or may not follow after death.
- The third and fourth assurances rest on the intention of
harmlessness:
- If some harm arises inadvertently, the person who harbors no will to harm remains untouched in conscience and integrity.
- And if no harm has occurred at all, one stands fully purified, in both inner intent and outer deed.
These four assurances do not replace insight, but they do provide a stable foundation for the path. They protect the mind from nihilism and despair, from moral paralysis and fear. They arise because the practitioner has begun to taste the freedom of a mind released from affliction.
But this naturally leads us to a deeper inquiry: How is such a mind to be attained? This will be the theme of the next lesson.