“Each and every living being has within them the seed, or potential, to become a Buddha, a fully enlightened being – this is our Buddha nature. In Buddha’s teachings we have found the best method to ripen this seed, or potential.”
– Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, How to Transform Your Life

Meditation is often taught for the purpose of creating a more peaceful, balanced state of mind so that we will have more peaceful, balanced and happy lives. This is an excellent benefit of meditation but it’s not the ultimate reason that Buddha taught meditation. His ultimate intention was to help us develop lasting peace and happiness beyond this one life – for life after life.

Buddha, and all the many great yogis and yoginis over the last 2,500 years, have verified that consciousness never ceases, not even at death. Until we attain the state of enlightenment, we will cycle through life after life, in different forms and with differing conditions. And the karmic truth of the matter is, there is no guarantee that some of those lives will not be terrifically difficult.

Since we have limitless potential for peace and happiness, and the fulfillment of all our wishes, doesn’t it make sense to take the time now to nurture our inner peace by paying attention to it?

Check out this video with Kadam Morten where he talks about actualizing our potential based on Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s teachings: