Continuing from a previous question, a student asked: if an unintended bad thought intrudes while we're engaged in another activity, does that thought become part of a fixed program — part of our life's timeline?

As Long As We Don't Accept It, We Are Not Trapped Within the Unwholesome Dimension

The teacher explained that as long as we don't accept the voice that overlays itself onto us — simply remaining still and indifferent, giving it no attention — it cannot claim us into its own dimension. But the moment we accept it, even briefly, we step directly into that dimension. It then continues feeding us information, like an ongoing back-and-forth conversation within the mind, and the story keeps unfolding within its own dimension — all in order to draw energy from us. Our heart becomes like a receiver, continuously drawing in the tainted energy of that unwholesome force. Simply by not accepting it, by not going along, it can do nothing to us. This means that in the moment we refuse to accept it, no karmic consequence has yet occurred.

Even if it continues pressing and squeezing at our heart, that pressure draws only on whatever defilement already exists within us — and once used, that defilement depletes, like a battery being drained. We simply need to endure until it runs out. And this endurance is never wasted — it earns us both spiritual fortitude and merit in return.

Merit Arises in Two Ways

The teacher explained that merit arises in two circumstances: first, when we do good, merit arises to help that good deed reach successful completion; and second, when we resist evil, merit arises to help us overcome it. In both cases, the Triple Gem shines brightly at the center of our being — we are never doing this alone; the one of inner knowledge and power is always present behind the scenes.

How to Cultivate Enthusiasm, and Why Giving a Blessing Never Costs the Giver Merit

When asked how to build enthusiasm (chanda) for practice, and deepen it once it arises, the teacher explained that we must shape the heart through guidance, leading, instructing, and teaching — just as we would raise a child. Every heart, whether young or old, needs guidance. Where there is ignorance, we must teach; where there is forgetfulness, we must remind; where there is hesitation, we must lead by example; and where courage is still lacking, we must firmly direct. Once we cultivate genuine delight in what is right and good, enthusiasm arises naturally.

When asked whether blessing someone costs the giver their own merit, the teacher explained that it does not. Giving a blessing is an act of extending goodwill, lifting the receiver's heart through the sphere of loving-kindness established within the giver. Each word spoken rightly and well draws in pure energy. If the one giving the blessing opens their heart sincerely, a wholesome sphere is established within them too, and the Triple Gem manifests. Giving a blessing therefore never costs the giver any merit — quite the opposite, it generates merit for both giver and receiver at once.