The first verse in the 37 Verses says:

Right now you have a good boat, fully equipped and available- hard to find.

To free yourself and others from the sea of samsara,

Day and night, constantly,

Study, reflect, and meditate- this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Have you ever considered how unbelievably lucky we are to be here, alive in human bodies, in a time when we can access teachings from across the world and across the ages so easily? What a world! What a gift! This is what it means to have a good boat. Thubten Chodron translates that first line as “having gained this rare ship of freedom and fortune.” Yes.

Just take a moment and consider what an astoundingly good thing we’ve got going. Despite presently living in a current pandemic, words can’t express the freedom and fortune available to us. We have hot running water. We have a variety of fruits and vegetables year-round. Our libraries are stuffed with collective knowledge we can read for free! And because of modern convenience, we can read after sunset. And we even have time, because we don’t spend all day washing everything by hand. All things considered, this is pretty great.

Specifically, we have a human existence and minds capable of thinking about wisdom teachings, and practicing them. Friends, what more do we need?

Our good boat, our unbelievably lucky human situation of existence, can carry us across the waters of suffering. (Samsara=suffering.) We can help others cross over, too. Then why on earth would we squander this golden opportunity at such a life? Thus Dilgo Khyentse writes, “You have not obtained this precious human existence by chance… Do not waste it.”

The 37 verses teach us to wake up to the beauty and opportunity of our lives. So we do this by study, reflection, meditation, practice.

Ken McLeod asks, “What will it take for you to step into the boat?”

Surely a worthy question to ponder this week.