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Sound file : 1984101GRSA(201)

Speaker: Gelek Rimpoche

Location: Ann Arbor

Topic:

Transcriber: Jayapushpa

Date: 15th December, 2021

Welcome everybody tonight. (Pause)When we sort of look and think …(*much noise*) when we normally sit and don’t think about our own behaviour and our own way of thinking, and way of working and way of dealing with people, and when we don’t think it, you don’t realize much about it. We think everything is quite okay, quite nicely passed, nobody said anything. We are doing okay. But when you carefully checked your own , then you find lots of questionable things that we have neglected. We have thought about it, we have act about it. So when we don’t find any problem with us, and we think everything is wonderful, and nice, nobody had said anything, so we are moving okay. We don’t think about this. With this sort of thinking I don’t think we are aware on spiritual field at all. We have no aware. The moment we put a check on ourself, then we begin to know what we are doing, we begin our awareness. (Pause…background noise*) So, when you check with yourself, and you realize, not only realize, you begin to wonder what’s happening. After all what is really spiritual awareness? What is really spiritual before we say awareness about it? What is really spiritual? That is the question. A lot of people will have their mind ‘ I know what spiritual is. I have to go to church. Or, you say ‘I go to temple or mosque or some other. And if that is the spiritual thing, and that I have to be aware about it. I don’t think that is the answer.(*noise disturbances*)0:06:00.7

I don’t think that is the answer. Going to temple, I mean, going to church , going to temple, going to mosque, is of course nice and beautiful, good work, no doubt. But I don’t think it is spiritual field you are in. I am not very comfortable to say it is totally not in spiritual field. However more or less definitely I think I should say this is not a spiritual field. Why? Because after all what is really spiritual field? What is it really? What is that? Sometimes very strange and people are interested, quite a number of them. Why? Because you are not happy with material benefit? So you realize that material is not the total answer, there is something else. So, people just go in for spiritual . But what is it really? Really, this is big question. Every day we have this, we got to think about it. What is it actually? Some will say, ‘Ya, I know what spiritual is. Guru teach me how to think and how to sit and how to sit and posture, different posture, or different yoga exercise. All sorts of things you have answered. But I don’t know whether they are really spiritual or not. So what is really spiritual? (Pause) That’s big question which we have not sort of answered, fine answer. What is it, each individual if you could think, what is spiritual? Lots of people will think very simple way, ‘God’s way’, or whatever. Whatever, eazy way, you know. But to me when I say ‘spiritual path’, I would feel something more beyond, something more and something beyond that of interest of my present life. Beyond interest of my present life, this is spiritual life. So this is difficult. Everybody has interest within life. Nobody has interest beyond life. Right? Everybody wanted to have good and better life but make before you die, right? Nobody wants to think after you die. Mostly, accept or not accept, it is our own thought. We want the best, the best within our lifetime. To me, as long as we have interest within our lifetime, it is not in spiritual field. I am sorry to say. I am sure lot of people are disappointed. Ya, it is. Because it is one of our biggest hope, to get something done before we die. So, it is not in spiritual field. Because the benefit, whatever the pleasure or power or anything, comfort, whatever you seek before you die, it is linked up with material benefits, whether you like to accept or not. It is true. It always links up with material. Or, selfish thoughts, ‘I would like to develop the power to know something…I would like to develop (*some interruption)…some power to know something which I don’t know, something better, which I would like to show to the people’. Some people may say, ‘ I would like to do a service’. That’s beautiful word but actually you wanted to show your power and your ability to other person. Great, before I die, of course, right. Nobody would think about after death, which is in a way we cannot blame you. Anyway we cannot blame you, which is true. Everybody wants to something to be done within lifetime. On the other hand if you think about it, life after death is far far far away to go. Far far far away to go. And it is unknown road we have to travel. 0:12:26.8 (Pause)

It is unknown road that we have to travel. And actually you don’t really need much help before death but we need help more after death, particularly during that period and after that That is where the spiritual comes in. (Pause) So, you may have a question and say, ‘Oh, this is nice to say after the death because you don’t see thereafter what’s happening, right? You may what guarantee do you have? What happens thereafter? These are the questions that people have in mind. There is no black and white, we cannot prove and show to you but definitely human life it does not…I mean I am sorry, ? But we individual does not end when we die. That is for sure. Many incidents you look around, many of the child at childhood they do remember their present life…I am sorry, their past life, many incident, everywhere you noticed. Very carefully if you checked everywhere there’s possible, many places. Even in India, last couple of years ago, two three years ago, this came over the newspapers and everywhere. It is one girl while going to school ,she was knocked by car, and reborn in another village. And she said, ‘I have broken this leg, I have come back. And made all the parents, even open her book and she says where is this and where that and every sort of things had happened. And that is very often in newspaper everywhere. Not only this, doesn’t really need publicized, even you checked up very carefully, closely there are people have tendency. These are simple signs that you definitely have past, present and future life. Otherwise where do you come from? Really, we do, we do. We have come from our previous life and we will go to our future life. We are here temporary together. Everything whatever we are using today, it is temporary. Like it or not, it is temporary. Your house, wealth, the car, the friends, everything, is temporary and unreliable, I am sorry to say, very unreliable. We work for security, right? I am sure, everybody does. We need security, right? From one form to another, we say, security. And our most reliable security is the bank balance. Bank balance, and if you have shares, right? In the stock market (Laughs). All these are our biggest, most reliable security. I don’t have to say shares and stock market how reliable they are. I don’t have to say. You know everyday what’s happening, right? But bank balance is also not reliable. This is not the best, not the best. The day when you need it, it won’t help you, definitely. The day when you needed most it will not help. You can do nothing with that. You may have tons and tons of money, but by the time when you die, you have to leave everything and go on. That is the day when you needed most. (Laughter) .They ditch you out. Not only the bank balance, but everything. Your family members, your dearest and nearest that you loved most, your care most; even your own body which though born with you but when you go , you leave at end. So, where does this security comes from? Nothing. (Pause) Of course you do have to work. I mean we cannot go under and say, ‘Oh, that’s not….blah. blah.I mean you cannot go , you cannot ran away. You cannot do it. Candrakirti, one of the great Indian pandit said you have to work according to society you have to function. The more you are aware in spiritual field, more you have to be going with the society, moving along with society way. You cannot go separately. If you are going separately, it is not very good sign. You have giving example. When the crops fully riped, and wheat and all you know, fully riped, and if good crop,it always comes down. Crop doesn’t have much wheat in that, it stands up. All others crops down but it stands up, right? When you stand up, you know, I know, it doesn’t carry much wheat. You know what I mean. 0:19:53.9

So, similarly when you behave different than that of the society, also show you are not very much fully packed. (Laughters) Really. So that shows you have not very much awareness even in spiritual. And don’t think…lot of people do think when you are interested in spiritual, and when you have a teacher, and when you have book to read, you think you know quite a lot, and followed it. You dressed up differently, you behaved differently. That I don’t think that’s the way to aware of spiritual at all. That’s slightly off track, if I may say so. But at the same time you go with society, behave like everybody does, and also help little more than others have. And then you are something, you are somebody. To be aware of spiritual field, most important to individual is impermanence. To remember impermanence is very important, very very important. Impermanent. Everything is impermanent. As I told you, your security is impermanent. Your life is impermanent, everything. Of course you all know your car is impermanent (Laughters) But very few know your house and money, bank balance, equally also impermanent, equally. And most important thing is our life, as I told you. It is very very impermanent. How old one will live? Who knows? Normally we say the great great great grand uncle and fathers and all these, fathers and mothers gone long ago, and then this young generation will take over and this and be there. But so many if you look up down you will see young ones go first and older ones remains helplessly. But you know how much impermanence is there. You will see them. That is natural, nothing surprise. It is natural. 0:23:01.1

It is naural. So, there is no time fixed for anyone of us, right? Today we sit here nicely, talked and then listened. You may think, ‘you say some rubbish. Do you think he says some sense. Whether anyone of you will be living tomorrow or not, who knows. Who knows? And each one will say, ‘Yes, tomorrow I will be there. I will be there tomorrow. I don’t know but I will be there’. Ya, really, we all think . ‘I will be there but what about others, I don’t know’. But what guarantee do we have, “I will be there’? We ask the question back to you and say, ‘Are you sure you going to be there?’ ‘Are you sure nothing is going to happen to you? ‘Can you guarantee? Some of you say, ‘yes’. Can you bet? So, you say, ‘No’. (Laughters) Ya, really, true. Actually guarantee nobody can guarantee. As I always say, I will not die today . I mean I am a subject of death and every one of us has go, we all know. But I am not going to die today. Everybody has that in mind. Everybody. Even the person who is going to die in next hour. In own death bed, sick for long time and give up by doctor , and everybody you know. And that people also has in mind, yes, I may not get better, I am not very sure, it’s been very bad. But not today, not today. This is everybody will have. So when we have ‘I am not going to be the next’, that is definitely cheating, and definitely wrong wrong information. You could never hold that. You must aware that ‘I could also be next one’. Why not? He died up there, she died down there, he’s dead, she’s dead, why not me? Why not me? Of course each one of us searching(?). You may think, yes, you don’t have to worry about just now. But the time will come, they get you. So that’s not the thing, You have to be worried about now. If you worry about now, what will happen is you can do something. If you don’t worry now, you can do nothing. But when I say do something, I don’t mean that great teaching that gives you , ‘you are not going to die’. It is not that. But when the day comes, you be able to a little better off than without knowing anything, just go into the blank. Something little better than that can be done.so, therefore awareness of impermanence today is very important. Another words, it will not waste your time. It helps you tremendously to not waste your time. It is very important. Wasting time is one of our , you know biggest problem that we have. People waste a lot of time, tremendous amount of time in spiritual . I don’t know about the material. Everybody works hard, I think. But spiritual waste lots of time. So not to waste the time, is impermanence is important. 0:27:29.0

By knowing that, definitely you have to think about it. You have to think a bit. Yes, it is painful to think about dying. We don’t like it. Everybody likes to hear beautiful love, compassion, how nice, wonderful, blah, blah..But nobody would like to think suffering, mourning and death. Yet, we definitely have to face death. By not talking, by not listening, by not discussing, by not thinking, if we can avoid, each one of us would not like to think about it, in opposite sense.But that will not come at all. Buddha had said, (Rimpoche quoted in tibetan). No matter you ran away from the death….go up to space, go down ocean, go through the Himalaya mountains…wherever you go, whatever you do. One thing, the death and second thing, karma, these two will definitely catch you wherever you are, wherever you are. No way to run. So you have to face it sooner or later. When you face it, if you are aware of little bit, you know how the things move, and what to do about it. If you know something. You probably will be better. That is the beginning of your spiritual thing. Money making and making a better life, material point of view, everybody can do it. Everybody. Even the …some of the animals are maybe even better than human beings, you know. The rats how much can they collect, how much they can do. We, human beings tend to be little better than animals. That’s how I feel, I am sorry to say. But how can we be little better? What is the solution? Every religion will tell you , every religion will tell you surely, different slightly here and there but basic principle is always the same. Different terminologies is there, give you different names. But basically whatever it might be, if you do good, you’ll be good; if you do bad, you’ll be bad. That’s every religion will tell you. Like or not because it is true. Therefore every religion tells you. Not only religion, every sensible people will tell you. Really, every sensible people will tell you that. 0:31:31.2

Buddha had said(*tape went blank..*), do virtuous actions as much as you can. And most important watch your mind. Control your mind. This is Buddhism. That is really Buddhism. Buddhism does not tell you to have faith in Buddha, to hold hands to Buddha, nor this sort of thing. No, they don’t tell you. They simply tell you, avoid non virtuous actions, build up virtuous actions; important thing, control your own mind. That’s Buddhism. So, it is not even a religion. It is a way of thinking. When I am say Buddhism is not a religion, you may be wondering with big eye look at me, but still, it is true. (Pause) Only you are your own individual, is only your own saviour. There’s no other person. No one can help me, when I need it, except myself. So, go for you too. No one can help; no one, except for yourself. That also at the time when you are going through it, I don’t know whether you can help yourself or not. Unless you are fully developed person, I don’t think you can. Because you are controlless. So, therefore you have to try to build control right now. You have to move right now on the right direction. If you do a good starting from today, tonight. If you think, better way. If you act better way, it will contribute tremendous through your own credit, before when the time really comes to you. That will help a lot. It will reach you far away. If you don’t do it, then it is…..You know every action whatever we do today, if you look to ourself, if you look to yourself, or anybody else, we do bad actions very easily. All bad things we do easily, without or with realizing. Nobody has to teach us how to be mean, how to misbehave, be mischievous (Rimpoche chuckles) create problems. These are automatically done. How to harm others. Nobody has to teach. You do it. Why? We are used to it. Unfortunately non virtuous actions that we are used to it from the limitless of the beginning. We keep on doing, keep on doing, keep on doing. Therefore we have been circling, circling, circling, circling and that’s the problem. So, you ‘ll be thinking, ‘This fellow is telling everything negative; he has nothing positive. Everything is negative, everything is bad and never know where’s the good’ (Rimpoche laughs). You must be thinking that. Is possible. But as long as we are full of negativity, we’ll always be negative automatically. If you are full of negativity, everything all negative. If you don’t believe you are negative, you ask yourself, ‘are you happy? Fully satisfied? No. No one is happy , everybody has problems. Some may have more, some may have less. It is a different matter. But, no one is happy, I mean, totally happy. Some could be happy without sensitive(?But mostly people encounter. It shows we are subject of suffering. Even Buddha, okay, in Buddhism, Buddha love to teach everybody. Buddha when he first taught to the people, the spiritual Path or Buddhism , or history or whatever you may like to say. When Buddha first talked to the people, he did not talk about nice and beautiful love and compassion. He taught misery and suffering. The first word Buddha ever uttered to his disciples are problems, miseries, the Truth of Suffering. It is sad but it is reality. Therefor He chose to say, ‘suffering’. Even his last word, last teaching is impermanence. So, impermanent and suffering, is the beginning and the end. In a way it is nice, good sign. You start with suffering and ended with impermanent. So that’s goes away. Right? Now, if you work, it goes away. People have asked Buddha, whether there is end to circle of existenceness or not. Buddha did not answer then. ( Rimpoche quotes in Tibetan) Because at that time people are not really ready to receive the answer. So, in one way, he had not answered, but on another way, he has always said individual circle of existenceness has end. That has no beginning cannot be find but end will definitely be there. That’s what we should look for. If you aware in the spiritual field, that what’s we should we look for. Why we are born, helplessly. Why we die, controllessly. Without our control. Why, why? Because the key is above our head, key is somebody else’s hand. Lots of people may say, key is in God’s hand. Okay. I don’t think so. If it is in God’s hands, God don’t want you to die. I am sure. God loves people. He don’t want to see people dying. So, key is in our own hands, nobody’s hand. So we cannot be used it because we have created some karmic , some different karma that will push you, push us without any control. This is problem.so, if you can try to gain control on that, then you are really in spiritual path you are looking for. 0:41:10.7

So when you look for spiritual path means you have to look how gain control over your own future. Your own future. That’s the best way to look, I feel. Unless and until you know that, till then I don’t think you are looking for spiritual path at all. You know people may say, ‘meditation, oh, very nice, beautiful. I like to be meditating. I like to have little spiritual path over there as well’. People may say that, right? Meditation is big question. A big question. What do you meditate? When you meditate, right you sit in beautiful posture, cross legged and beautiful lotus. All sorts of things, beautiful things. But what do you meditate ? Really, this is very very big question. What do you meditate, meditation. Okay. If you sit blank, think nothing, sit blank. I don’t think it is meditation. If you try to get away all your thoughts from your mind, problems fly away, if you focus your mind from the you get little relaxing, why not. Definitely. You can change your problem that you faced everyday, you change little bit. That way relaxation is there. For that, you don’t even have to meditate. Go to the river side, or the lake, or forget your problem for a moment, and lay down there with beautiful sunshine, you get relaxation too. That’s not the one, more than that you have to . Meditation, I noticed, I am sorry to say, but I noticed people are straightaway go and sit and do all sorts of things. Those who know actually, I am not criticizing to that, I think some of you know that. It will be great. But if you don’t know what you are doing, what is the use of sitting there? Best thing, first thing you have to learn it. Learn it. To be aware of spiritual, you have to learn at first. Even meditation you have to learn it. What do you think. (Rimpoche quotes in Tibetan) One of the great Sakya Pandita had said, ‘Without learning and if you try to think and meditate, you reach nowhere. Just like the man without arm trying to climb over rock. How can he climb over rock? So, in the spiritual means , now, *(let me make it short because it getting maybe…you may have to open little bit door…I think everybody’s getting a bit hot. Thank you. I think you have to move..)(Laughters amidst some conversations) So to be aware on the spiritual path, the first thing, the first step, is you have to learn it. Without learning , there can be nothing. As I, a number of times I told you, no instant development can never take place. Don’t hope for instant development. There is no instant spiritual development. If you think there is something happens you know, guru bless you and you become ‘Boom!’. I don’t think it never happens. (Laughters) Even somebody say if something happens, I question how much truth they tell you, really. I met a number of friends who told me, ‘I saw a clear light ‘He said, early stage for me also. I thought he seen Clear Light. So, I said, ‘How is it? How do you feel? And he said, ‘ It is like star’ and I said, ‘What ?’. He said it is like star . It is like star with all different shinings because it is Clear Light.). You know people have no hesitation and no understanding on Clear Light, having cleared out of it. Clear Light is not going to be stars shining like that. So, that’s it. Many different things do happen. You see different things sometimes. Sometimes you have different things encounter with you. Little bit awareness, no doubt about it. But that doesn’t mean you have developed or you have learned spiritually. No. Nothing , never happens, and I am telling you. No instant, never hope for instant. If you keep on holding to the instant, before instant development comes, the death will come (Laughters). So, you don’t know what to do. So, don’t hope it, don’t hope for it. So, only thing is, try to…the first step try to learn it. Learning is the best.(Rimpoche quotes in Tibetan) You know we have saying, if you learn about the spiritual path, this is best you can ever obtained. And it is the best way…the thieves cannot carry, really. And it’s also the best friend that will never ditch you down when you needed most. It is also the sharpest weapon that you can use when you encounter with enemy of ignorance. So, there are always advantage. So you must learn first. 0:50:08.4

Learning also very important now. No doubt it is very important. But what? You cannot go and learn everything. You have to choose certain particular religion, certain particular guidelines, certain particular, you know, things we have to choose and follow it properly. Before you choose, you have to check very much carefully. If you don’t check carefully, it can lead to lots of problems. Because spiritual path is not easy path; it is difficult path. When you buy a car, I am sure you will show to friends who knows something about mechanics or you will try to….I mean I am talking about secondhand car (Laughters)…show it to friend, show it to mechanic, you look up, down, push, do all sorts of things to see whether it is good or not, right? If it is good, very good, couple of years it will do some good to you. If it is bad, even alright, what’s wrong? It may give you two, three days later some problems here and there some problems. But if you make mistake in the spiritual field, it is not going to be couple of days, or couple of years. It be for very very long period. So, therefore, check and learn. Every religion I am sure it is very good, it has tremendous path of , you know, or way and presentations. And many of great saints and scholars have passed through. Each one of them are qualified but at the same time individual will have its own karmic link also. So, you have to check up with your link. When you realize your link is not there, if you have the opportunity, everything you have to see, okay. Opportunity open you must see. Some great religions there, but if you don’t have books available, you don’t have guides available, and you don’t have teachers available, you don’t have opportunity. Or, you don’t have friends available. So, everything you have to see properly and then follow it nicely. Before you take any path, you have check, counter check, cross check whatever, cross examination. Whatever you have to do. You do. And once you follow, you follow properly. And then you gain from it. As I told you, no matter whatever lineage it maybe, they will teach you same thing. If good you will get good result, if bad, you will get bad result. No one can contradict that. If you don’t follow any religion, doesn’t matter. Not necessary to follow religion. Be a good person. Avoid all the non-virtues as much as possible, and do virtuous as much as you can. You don’t even have to be a religious person. I am sure if you follow properly with this, even if you non-religious person, you will be better off in future, than great religious person. Really. Because it is your karma that makes everything function with us. Your karma is not

cleared, you cannot look outside. It is within our individual. Actually you have to look yourself. Actually you are your own guide. Actually you yourself is your own master. You yourself is your own teacher. Truly speaking now, actually truly, you own teacher is yourself. Your own guide is yourself. Your own friend is yourself. I mean, your dharma, your spiritual is within you not outside. No one. No one from outside can tell you, only simply suggest you. It is your own, you must look inside. Inside, you must look. Only difference between tibetan and western, tibetan for thousands of years been looking inside. We look outside, in the West , we look outside. You mix yellow and red, see you find orange. Oh, great this color, orange, great. So, I think it is bad way for us. . But the moment you talked about spiritual, you must look inside, not outside. When person, when I talk to you, When I am talking to you, even you listen to me, right, you should not listen to me like watching television show. If you just follow outside like that, then it is like watching a television. Nothing happens. But if you look inside, whatever he is saying, whether it makes sense or not. Seeing if it is not good, that point he’s pointing out, you see whether I have or I don’t have. Like a mirror, if you put mirror in the hand, you see among the , right ? Similarly when you listen to any spiritual talk, anything with spiritual side, I mean not the side, but way to do it. So, you see into the faults. Actually, it is good thing to point out all the faults of the individual. Okay, somebody points faults with finger on you, you get angry. You should never get angry. It is good teaching. So, when the faults are with you, you don’t have to announce publicly. You must remove by yourself. If you do that, that’s you are taking a step. If you don’t do that, I talk, keep on shouting, and you keep on listening. After sometime, you may say, ‘nice information, make sense’, go home and that’s end of it. Nothing happens. Nothing happens, right? So, the best thing is, if you look at everything positive whatever you say, whatever you say, it will point any faults there. Lots of faults there. I can assure each one of us are full of faults. None of us are free. I am really sure of that. Everyone of us, every thought what we have, every action what we do, every satisfaction that we take, everything we have faults. To complete virtuous is very difficult, very difficult. But, it is very important to recognize our own faults. If you recognize, you can reduce, right? If you been able to reduce it down, it will help you. This is only way to help. Buddha had said, (Rimpoche quotes in tibetan). Sufferings of people, whether we accept or not, everyone of us is suffering, okay. Sufferings of the people cannot be removed by the hands of enlightened person, nor they can wash by giving water, pouring water on your head…abhisekha and all these (Rimpoche laughs). Why do we have initiation (Laughters). 0:59:34.7

Very important thing is our …no, sorry, I don’t mean ‘our’…their spiritual development. Okay, what we are looking for is the spiritual development. It cannot be transferred. It is not transferrable, you know, like Giro, you cannot take my Giro travel and go. Similarly you cannot take my spiritual development. This is important. So, you have to develop within you, within yourself. To develop that you have to have awareness, you must be aware of it. You have to be aware of what is virtuous, what is non-virtuous, what is our action. Whether my action is correct , right or wrong. You have to check. If you get angry at the fault of people, after sometime you realize, it is bad. I have been mischievous, I have done bad thing. That everybody will know. That won’t help. But it is too late when you realize. So, try not to be too late now. Taking example, try not to be too late. But if you try not to be too late, it cannot be done first time, second time, third time, fourth and fifth time, even then our delusion will bring us down. Really, the moment you realize , ‘Oh , oh, I am in trouble, I am going the other side, too extreme’. So, your period anger will reduce . Normally if you get….some people mad for days and hours together, right ? You refused to talk, you refuse to take all everything together. Because you have no awareness. This is the problem. You get overpowered by the anger. You been completely overpowered by anger. So you have no aware. The moment you have little awareness, you say, ‘Oh, oh, oh, when I look at it, what am I doing?’ You should do the right thing. The moment you get the awareness, the fuel thing will be completely…if not completely, will be 50% become weak, the moment you are aware. The problem is we don’t aware what we are doing. We will only know, we have a saying in tibetan, (Rimpoche quotes in tibetan), ‘ If you cross the river half way through, then you begin to know what’s happening, right? So, this is too late. So to be aware means to be alert. I mean everything whenever you are on…every human beings , I tell you, by its nature whether you like it or not, it is beautiful. By its nature it is pure, clean, sincere, every human being. No mater whoever maybe. It is everything beautiful, pure, clean, whatever maybe. Human being, human nature. 1:03:00.9