Every dharma practice is preceded by certain preparations that serve as a solid basis for correct practice. These preparations are divided into two kinds: the general and the special. The "four thoughts which turn the mind from samsara" belong to the general, or ordinary, preparations.

What does this mean to turn the mind from samsara? It means freeing oneself of every attachment to life in the three realms of samsara. The four thoughts, the four general preparations, allow us to develop this freedom, as we reflect in turn upon the precious human birth, impermanence, karma, and the sufferings of samsara.

The Precious Human Body

One speaks of the "precious human body," referring to the preciousness of a human existence, which is very difficult to obtain. It is valuable because it is endowed with certain freedoms and abilities. Its preciousness is described through three aspects: by comparison with the greater situation, through numerical comparisons, and through analogy.

The first of these aspects describes the so-called "freedoms" which characterize the precious human birth. A human birth is valuable because one has managed to avoid certain other kinds of rebirth, which would confront one with situations completely different from those found in the human realm. Eight different kinds of existence are spoken of here:

1 - Birth in the paranoia states where one constantly experiences the suffering of extreme heat and cold.
2 - Birth in the hungry ghost realms where one constantly experiences the suffering of hunger and thirst.
3 - Animal birth, where beings have the experience of being hunted and oppressed, of constantly eating each other and being misused.
4 - Birth in uncivilized lands, where one has no opportunity of learning something leading to a positive path.
5 - Birth as a god, especially a god with a very long life. As a result of earlier positive acts a god with longevity experiences happiness and joy during his life. However, experiencing the results of positive karma in this way means that this karma will eventually be exhausted. After their long lives these gods are reborn in lower and very painful states.
6 - Life as a being with mental disability, where one can neither understand the meaning of the dharma, nor practice it.
7 - Life with incorrect views when one automatically tends to accumulate negative actions, and therefore the causes of future suffering.
8 - Birth in a time when no Buddha appears, when there are no Buddhist teachings, and therefore one receives no help to free oneself from the suffering of samsara.

In these eight kinds of existence, one experiences only suffering. One has no experience of freedom in the sense of being able to practice the dharma.
Having a precious human body means that one has not only avoided these types of existence, but one is also equipped with certain capabilities. Here, ten aspects are described. Five of these concern us directly.

1- One was born in a human body.
2 - One was born in a region in which the Buddha's teachings are accessible.
3 - One has intact sensory organs.
4 - One does not have false views.
5 - One has a natural trust in the dharma.

The five further aspects have more to do with our surroundings, our outer environment:

1 - One was born in the times when a Buddha has appeared.
2 - This Buddha has given teachings - something we should not take for granted, since not all Buddhas necessarily give teachings.
3 - These teachings, if given in the past, have been preserved and are still accessible.
4 - One grasps and practices these teachings - a very personal condition, despite being listed with the external aspects. If one finds oneself in the excellent situation described, but does not practice, then having access to the teachings does not really do much good.
5 - One must also have a good heart, and a naturally loving disposition towards other beings - again, a very personal aspect.

These eight freedoms and ten conditions make up the eighteen conditions which, when they all come together, constitute a "precious human body." If one of these conditions were lacking, one could not call such a human existence "precious."

We have all obtained a human birth that qualifies as precious. This is not easy to obtain; rather, it is extremely difficult and for it to be possible one must have accumulated a huge amount of positive potential, a great amount of positive karma in previous lives. Above all, there is one cause that allows us to be re-born under such precious circumstances: this is the adherence to a discipline. On the one hand, discipline has to do with the various sets of vows we take on the way toward personal liberation. On the other, it has to do with avoiding the ten negative actions. However we formulate it, the quality of discipline is the direct cause for obtaining a precious human life.

There are stories that convey the difficulty of obtaining a precious human life. For instance, imagine a glass house with completely smooth walls. If somebody throws raw peas at the glass walls, most of them will bounce off and fall to the floor. It is most improbable that the peas will stick to the glass. However, if you constantly throw peas at the glass, sooner or later one is bound to stick. The probability that you will obtain a precious human body is much smaller than the probability that a pea will stick. Or imagine that a small ring is floating on the ocean. On the bottom of the ocean there lives a special turtle that surfaces briefly only once every hundred years. The probability of its head surfacing within the ring is pretty slim, but far greater than the chance of obtaining a precious human body.

One can also illustrate the value and the rarity of a human body when one compares the numbers of different kinds of beings. For example, there are pretty exact estimates of how many people live in this country. It is well known. However, if you tried to count how many insects live on just a small piece of land, this would be impossible.

All of us here were born under circumstances that make our human life very precious. We should remember that we have our precious human life because we have accumulated a great amount of positive potential and purified our minds of many obscurations. Right now we are enjoying the results of this but it is important to use these results in the best and most sensible way possible; otherwise we are simply squandering them. It would be as though we had taken a journey specifically to get something, and came back empty-handed. Or as though we had carried an empty bucket to fetch water, and returned with the bucket still empty. In each case, a wasted trip. We also should strive to make the most of our fortunate situation, and not fritter it away.

Making one's life meaningful means using the dharma and practicing the various methods that the Buddha taught. The Buddha gave such a great number of methods that it is not possible for one person to practice them all. Therefore, one should practice those methods that correspond to one's capabilities.

Dharma practice at its best means practicing like Milarepa and turning oneself away from all worldly concerns. In today's world, however, there are only a few people who are capable of practicing the dharma to this degree. If one is not capable of practicing like this, one should resolve to practice to the extent that is possible for one personally. One should do as much as one can. This relates to all our practices - meditation, accumulation of merit, purification practices and, of course, the preliminary practices.

One way to continually accumulate positive merit is to make offerings to the Buddhas. At best, one offers a large amount of things that one has. When this isn't possible, one can always offer clear water. If this isn't possible either, one can offer a lot of flowers. Or, failing this, with a mind full of devotion, one can imagine flowers and offer these to the Buddhas. In one's mind, one can also offer any flowers that one sees during the day. By making offerings to the Buddhas in whatever way possible, one can accumulate positive tendencies in one's mind.

Another possibility is to be generous to the sangha. One should be as generous as possible and support the sangha with a respectful mind.

The third possibility is to be generous to all sentient beings. One does whatever is possible to help them. For instance, when one comes across a thirsty animal, one gives it water.

These various examples show that it is always possible to practice useful and meritorious actions on different levels. One should really try to do this to the extent that one can, so as to strengthen one's own positive potential and destroy the negativity that burdens the mind.

As far as virtuous and harmful actions are concerned, one should not have the attitude that serious, obviously negative actions are to be avoided, and small negative actions are not to be worried about. A negative action, whether large or small, is always negative and will lead to problems and suffering. The result will always be negative because it corresponds to the original action. Therefore, one should not just concentrate on the avoidance of the big negative actions but should also distance oneself from those small actions which one so easily encounters.

For example, imagine a huge pile of dry grass, as big as a mountain. If this pile is ignited with even the smallest spark, the entire pile of grass will go up in flames. In a similar way, even the smallest negative action can have a very destructive effect.

This also applies to useful actions. One should never think that small positive acts would have no worth and therefore never even make the effort to perform them. One can very easily take this point of view. One thinks that one really isn't able to accomplish positive actions to any significant degree and, therefore, one never even makes the attempt. But a positive action will always have a corresponding result and one should always do what is possible on a personal level. With respect to practice, one should never think that it isn't worthwhile to start because one cannot do a significant amount. One should practice as much as one can, however much that is.

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