True Dharma Pratice – No Expectation Of Reward

What does it mean to practise the Dharma?

It means simply doing whatever one can to help others with absolutely no expectation of reward or result for oneself.

We often hear the story of the Buddha in a previous life offering his body to save a starving tigress. When the prince saw a tigress about to die from hunger, he offered his own body to her.

He did not think, “I am practising the Dharma. I want to become a bodhisattva, so I will offer my flesh in order to become one.” There was no such thought in his mind.

When he saw another being suffering, he simply could not bear it. At that moment, he did not think about what reward or karmic result he might receive, nor did he think, “I must become a better person,” “I must practise,” or “I must attain realisation.”

If your thought is, “I must improve my practise; I must become a bodhisattva, so I should do this,” then this is not the practice of the Mahāyāna, the Greater Vehicle. In truth, you are still doing it for yourself.

How is this essentially different from thinking, “I must become richer,” or “I must become more beautiful”? It merely changes into: “I must become better; my practice must improve; I must become a bodhisattva; I must attain higher realisation.”

If that is the motivation and aim for your practice, then ultimately your thinking remains very worldly.

True Dharma practice—and becoming a bodhisattva—is not simply about meditating, reciting scriptures, or performing religious activities. Rather, it means that when faced with an ordinary, suffering sentient being, you are willing to sacrifice yourself, to at least some degree, for their sake.

A person with such a mind is, in fact, extremely rare.

6 March 2026, Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal