His Holiness
The Third Dalai Lama
Sonam Gyatso
(1543–1588)
“Practice means taking upon yourself the responsibility of continually living in accordance with the holy Dharma, the teachings given to you by your spiritual master. Through working with the teacher and with the laws of cause and effect, you can take advantage of your extremely valuable human life, a life-form hard to find and, once found, very meaningful; a treasure more precious than a wish-fulfilling gem. Other than doing this, there is no offering of practice. Grit your teeth, and do not let the once-attained opportunity afforded by human life slip away. If you do not utilize this tremendous potentiality, is your heart not vain?”
From The Essence of Refined Gold – Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by His Holiness the Third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso as published in The Path to Enlightenment by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Translated by Glen Mullin. Snow Lion/Shambhala Publications.