Archive Result

Soundfile 19860408GRJHNLOMPH (=year/month/day/author/location/topic)

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location eg: The Netherlands

Topic e.g: Om Mani Padme Hum

Transcriber: Tugje Stocke

Date: December 12, 2021

00:00 (introduction in Dutch)

00:39 Thank you so much for introducing me. I could not understand a word unfortunately (00:49 laughter). I am very grateful to the Department of Buddhist Studies here for giving me the opportunity to speak here today on the mantra of om mani padme hum. The mantra om mani padme hum as you know is a very popular among the how should I say it, Buddhist world? Or almost everywhere even those people who are not really deeply interested in Buddhist studies as a study or as a religious practice or whatever but sort of om mani padme hum is sort of popular I don’t know, I do not know what to call it, something very sort of a strange everybody uses, everybody knows, everybody heard about it. And so I have been asked to speak meaning of om mani padme hum. For the mani is a very in Tibet is has been used by everybody, even the child, the young children who begin to speak and begin to say ma or pa or something, by that time they are sort of automatically either taught or learned begin to say mani and the mani peme and all this.

02:39 But in actual reality it is a mantra of Avalokiteshvara which we call Chenrezig in Tibetan, Chenrezig and in Sanskrit we call it Avalokiteshvara. And also it is known as (02:55 foreign word) which is the six lettered, six lettered mantra. It is very small, easy, short yet has big, deep meaning and very deep meaning and very performed meaning and also from the spiritual point of view it also carries a lot of blessings and values and it is the (03:23 incomprehensible word) mantra. The moment I use the word mantra you may be wondering what is this? The mantra or mantra tantra all of them are the Mahayana teaching of the Buddha if you divide it, sort of divide it into two. The Mahayana teaching of the Buddha has been divided into two the sutra part of it and tantra part of it.

04.01 The moment I say sutra, people may not have much problem with that; however, when I say tantra people may have some problems or some misunderstandings or some misthoughts or something like that it is possible because very often the word tantra is associated with the various different understandings and different what should I say romantic mental projections which you do and then you (4:39 incomprehensible) along with that. So it is of nothing of that sort. It is a very, very profound, very deep teaching of the Buddha. As you know, all the teachings of the Buddha has been (04:53 unclear word) purposed in one direction. That is for liberation either ordinary liberation at the arhat level or extraordinary liberation of enlightenment. It is always progressed in one direction. So tantra is always progressed for extraordinary liberation that is total enlightenment or totally obtaining Buddhahood. And so therefore no sort of misunderstanding or sort of romantic attachment funny things specially with the figures and now there is so many books available so many figures you see with their (05:49 unclear words) not any romantic feelings in them. It is the very very serious deep and profound study and (06:02 unclear word) and it is the part of Mahayana.

06:07 Tantra even tantra all tantra are part of three Pitakas. Out of the three Pitakas it should be included in Sutra Pitaka and there are a lot of tantra quotations to prove this it belongs to the three all the three Pitakas and Sutra Pitaka. Anyway, that is beyond my point. So the point now is om mani padme hum is the Chenrezig Avalokiteshvara’s mantra. The mantras are known as (06:41 Tibetan word) in Tibetan. (06:43 Tibetan words and unclear)

06:48 And the reason why it has to be kept secret is because they have nothing to hide in there but they don’t want misunderstandings like we have now today so like that they don’t want it so that’s why they has proper (7:02 unclear word) secret thing is mentioned. And also if you are a practitioner then if you do not maintain the secrecy it doesn’t help you it doesn’t reward at all. But for studying purposes it’s totally different. And also (7:18 Tibetan) means in Tibetan it’s call it (7:21 Tibetan)

7:27 It is the liberation within the mind. So (7:31 Tibetan word) is the secret way to liberate within your own mind. That is actually what the word (7:38 Tibetan word) stand for the translation of the tantra into Tibetan goes (7:47 Tibetan word) and (7:49 Tibetan word) means secret way to liberate within your own mind. That’s actually leads to, something like that. As you know, Avalokiteshvara is a very important word, I don’t like to use deity, because it is a misinterpretation everybody uses deity but deity is if you read a Taoist book and then there is a lot of deities and the deities normally doesn’t mean that at all so there should not be misunderstanding so I choose use the word yidam which is the Tibetan word yidam. Again there are meanings I don’t like to go into detail but yidam means fully enlightened persons (8:39 unclear words).

08:43 But if you look into the Taoist tradition when you see a lot of deity, deity, deity, so all different spirit all different things coming (8:50 unclear words) all this all this all that are (8:55 unclear words) deity so that’s why the word deity has a lot of again it gives you I don’t know what to say different feelings or misunderstandings so that’s also we have to be very careful on the usage of this word. Anyway, so Avalokiteshvara is the embodiment of the compassion of all enlightened beings okay embodiment of the compassion of all enlightened beings. So many different forms of Avalokiteshvara you can find. Many different, many different. There are Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eye Avalokiteshvara, there are Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, Two-Arm and there are so many so many (09:56 unclear words)

10:00 Even tantras are different. Even each one of them have a tantra, there are four divisions of tantras, so even some of them belongs to the Kriya, some belongs to Caryā, some belongs to (10:10 inaudible) it all depends on their practice. It all depends on their practice, but those are all Avalokiteshvara. They are all the same person. They are all totally enlightenment, enlightened person, they are all embodiment of the enlightened beings compassion. But even then, by their sort of way how the tantra has been taught so it’s diverse division diverse so many things and particularly not only the Tibetan tradition, but Avalokiteshvara is a very very important and one of the most important I don’t know what they call yidam or deity or whatever of the Chinese Buddhism they call it Kuan Yin as well as the Japanese they call it Kannon and all of them in reality they are all same Avalokiteshvara (11:28 unclear). Except one little in Tibetan and Sanskrit tradition they have the division between Tara and Avalokiteshvara but Chinese and Japanese does not have the division of the Tara and Avalokiteshvara (11:42 unclear).So Avalokiteshvara they have Thousand-Arm and Thousand-Eye and they call it what is it (11:48 foreign language). And all these others are all the (11:56 foreign language) they always prayer very strongly and Japanese do the Kuan Yin too.

12:00 They doesn’t seem to be having the division of the Sanskrit and Tibetans have between Tara and Avalokiteshvara but even the Tibetan and the Sanskrit though they divided between Tara and Avalokiteshvara sort of divided a little bit; however they always come together. Sort of, they belong to the same family [excuse me, can I take off my jacket?]. So they belong to the same family and they function the same way. So functioning the same way and even the sort of from the visual point of view they sort of works together and they sort of I don’t know, act like one family member. So, that’s it. So it is important.

12:49 Now the mantra, I will go on my main subject. The mantra is the Avalokiteshvara’s mantra om mani padme hum No matter whether it is (13:02 foreign language), the Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eye, or whether it is Four-Arm or Two-Arm or whatever whatever the om mani padme hum is the common mantra to all of them, all different Avalokiteshvara though specifically they have their (13:19 unclear) Tara 13:23 or then they have different (13:25 unclear) Tara (13:26 unclear) and then they have their different mantras but om mani padme hum is the common (13:30 unclear)

13:37 So now meaning of the om mani padme hum is the first way it’s a very deep and profound meaning actually, very deep. The first (13:46 unclear) is om. Om is very important in all the tantric (13:54 unclear) whether it is Buddhism or Hinduism or whatever om is very very important very important the reason why the om is important there are many ways of explaining om. So today I would like to do a little different way than normal because it’s common it’s common so there is a tantra called Vajra (14:20 unclear) 14:30 has explained the meaning of the om. It says (14:32 Tibetan) 14:40 I’m so sorry, unfortunately it’s in Tibetan. [laugher] (14:48 Tibetan)

14:59 The om is known as jewel mantra jewel mantra why it’s called jewel mantra because they are giving the meaning it is the best and it gives the best wealth it gives the best luck it gives the best fortune it gives all your commitments all auspicious and all this that’s what the word I recorded from the Vajra (15:28 unclear) tantra so it gives the best wealth that’s why it’s called (15:32 Tibetan) the jewel mantra. What kind of wealth om gives? The wealth, don’t think of our material wealth we must think of both material and spiritual path wealth so when think about both the material and the spiritual path it becomes important the spiritual path. Out of the spiritual wealth, the best spiritual wealth is highest enlightenment, total Buddhahood according to the Buddhist terminology according to the usual total enlightenment or whatever you call it. So that is the best wealth we can get.

16:27 So om gives the total enlightenment. Why it gives the total enlightenment it has three letters in there, in that. Ok. Because it gives you three inseparable bodies, that is they are not really bodies, that’s wrong, it’s the three kayas, the sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya, and dharmakaya. The three inseparable kayas (17:09 unclear) kaya is a sanskrit word I’m sorry. It’s a sort of form. I don’t know. How do I translate it? It’s a sort of form, is it right? We have so many learned professors and everything here today so it is very embarrassing for me to say it, but I think it is a sort of form.

17:31 Form. It’s really a (17:34) word used as kaya sambhogakaya, dharmakaya, nirmanakaya. It is the level of enlightenment where there are different the mental level, the physical level and the outer physical level and the inner physical level I don’t know sort of explanation that might fit better. So which was given by om so that’s why it’s given the jewel mantra. And how does this om represent these three inseparable kayas? Is om has to be divided into three letters actually. Actually they are ah and oh and m. Though m and oh both, especially m ma does not have the life, the ma is in the short form, it’s the round one doesn’t have (18:30 unclear) ma it’s a (18:32 unclear) 18:35 on the top. Om so with these three letters, according to the Abiyacara, the Indian great (18:46 unclear) scholar according to the Abiyacara his book called (18:50 foreign word) in that (18:55) it has mentioned clearly these three letters the ah om divided with the three different letters and each of these different letters can represent totally different path totally different path which is the path of the base when we talk base this means today’s our lifetime whatever we are ordinary life whatever we have today this is the level of the base it represents base in the base level it represents the body, mind and the speech. That is our ordinary body, our ordinary mind and our ordinary speech. During the path the level on the way to enlightenment there are a level called illusion body level where you obtain illusion body when you obtain illusion body there you have two divisions of the illusion body, pure and impure illusion body. That is a bit the higher level

19:59 So during the path the illusion body it has to be totally totally obtained by the individual through the practice of path. It is sort of a what do you call it in the West a crystal body it’s slightly different than our ordinary body beyond this ordinary body where you perform you obtain another body it’s called illusion body. So in that body during the path, in that body it also has body, mind and speech in that body. So during the path level, you understand, during the base level, during the path level. Base means today in ordinary our working day sort of ordinary body, ordinary mind, ordinary speech it’s our base body, mind and speech. After some time this ordinary base body, mind and speech will be able to transform into an illusion body, an illusion mind, illusion mind sounds quite funny but anyway, but it’s a special mind, and illusion speech. So this is called level of the path level. Path means when you practice and when you obtain later highest state, at that level you can obtain (21:25 unclear). So base level it can represent this and path level it can represent that. And the result level, the result level it represents total enlightened body, total enlightened speech, total enlightened mind.

21:46 So with three letters ah o ma division not only can represent our ordinary body, mind and speech, but our body, mind and speech which we’ll be able to obtain later as a path and body, mind, speech with total enlightened level with total ultimate body, ultimate mind, ultimate speech which also be represented by this. And by combining these three ah o ma then you have the sound of the ooooom (drawn out o) (22:21 unclear) by producing the sound, by combining three together it also represents more than that.

22:31 The sound of the om will only be able to produce if you put all these three things together. If one of them missing, the om will not come. If there is, you understand basically if the ma is not there, then there only o, if o is not there then there only am so by having the ah o m all together then the word of the om will be evident, the sound of the om. This has more meaning for that. As you combine the three letters you can produce the sound of om this means by combining the practice of the method and wisdom together you will be able to purify the (23:20 unclear) of the body, mind and speech and ultimately be able to obtain combination of mind and combination of body. Now this terminology is totally new to many of you. In tantric practice, in tantric level, union means combination of body and mind. Union means combination of wisdom and the method.

23:58 Okay. At the level of the total enlightened persons is the extraordinary quality of the enlightened beings is the body and the mind is union. Whatever the body is, that is the mind; whatever the mind, that is the body; wherever the body is is the mind, wherever the mind is there is the body that is the extraordinary quality of enlightened beings. That’s why it’s called great union. So when you see (24:28 unclear) man and a woman together and you call it a union and then you say the tantra is the sexual religion, look at this picture. That is the wrong objection. It is a symbol, symbolizing, symbolizing great union. Great union means this. So that’s why what I’m saying just now the method and the wisdom combined and the (24:48 unclear) combination of body mind. Combined body mind together is taught only at enlightened level. Nobody else. Whereas below the enlightened level the body and mind are separate. When you are totally enlightened, this level, the body and mind combined. The body is the mind and the mind is the body. Okay.

25:11 So you see (25:12 unclear) argue can you touch the mind because you can touch the body and all this sort of, this type of debate, you are able to do it, but it is the fact that that is called the extraordinary quality of enlightened beings. So, that is the representing by combining three words it produces one sound, it is representing by combining method and wisdom together you will be able to produce from mind body and the mind. You get me? Ok, now. This is the very important explanation on om which normally very few of the Tibetan are especially in the West very few people knew about this. So that is the reason why it is called jewel mantra because it gives you a wealth, the best of wealth. That is the inseparable body mind great union or inseparable of method and wisdom with union. So, that is the in tantric (26:35 unclear) when you say union remember it is in reference to the ultimate enlightenment. By remembering these meanings and even you say om properly once by the power of remembering this meaning and by the power of enlightened beings who have total control over samadhi and prayer and then we get a lot of benefits. This is what I’ve learned from one of my late, great masters, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche. He had explained this detailed to me a couple of times.

27:33 So that’s what I’m sharing with you today because of this om is always very a lot different explanations of om. What I’m explaining to you is one way and don’t think this is the only way. There are many other, many other ways to explain om. Now the next is mani padme. A lot of people think om mani padme hum is a Tibetan word. No, it’s a Sanskrit word. Mani is jewel and padme is lotus so whether it’s jewel lotus or lotus jewel whether you call it lotus jewel or jewel lotus, that is the name of Avalokiteshvara, one of the names of Avalokiteshvara. The reason why Avalokiteshvara is called jewel lotus or lotus jewel some people refer to it as lotus jewel some people refer to it as jewel lotus. But, don’t think the jewel in lotus. I did notice a lot of people even people writes book on that I think, maybe I’m wrong. (28:41 unclear) unfortunately I don’t read English books in English because my English is very bad, very terribly bad so I always (28:54) even I have to read I just read a few words and put it down. So I had a big problem with the reading of English so but I have heard and I’ve even heard people explain and I think there is a book on it. I don’t believe there is jewel in the lotus. I don’t think so. Maybe it’s jewel and the lotus. I don’t know, but maybe what I know is only jewel and the lotus, okay. So it’s jewel lotus or lotus jewel.

29:35 That is very prominent in the tantras and both in the sutras and the tantras. It’s a funny thing, most of the tantric yidams are only mentioned in tantra alone and not much mentioned in sutra. But Avalokiteshvara is very much mentioned in the sutras, very much mentioned like the Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara they are a group, a group of people [laughter] a group of yidams mentioned in both sides. Avalokiteshvara is one of them mentioned everywhere. So, now the point is either it is sometimes referred to as the jewel lotus and sometimes referred as lotus jewel. The reason why they are called this, because of the hand implements of Avalokiteshvara (30:16 unclear). In the hand of Avalokiteshvara you will find jewel you will also find lotus. It is also sort of what you call it in the Western understanding of the initials. Why Avalokiteshvara is carrying a white lotus and it’s not an ordinary lotus but a white lotus. The reason is it is significant. The significance is the lotus has grown wherever you may be. I mean, normally in practices, in certain practices there it is said it is grown in mud yet it has no mud (31:08 unclear). But in the Avalokiteshvara explanation we don’t say that. There are reasons for that.

31:16 Similarly we say the lotus has been is pure and it has no mud and it has no fault at all, a white lotus. Okay? Which means, it is showing that Avalokiteshvara himself, he had to cut the total ignorance including within peace and therefore he himself has not been caught into the extreme existence in the samsara. We are caught in the extreme existence in the samsara. There are two extremes actually. One extreme existing in the samsara, samsara is a Sanskrit words, I’m sorry, bad habit, excuse me, it is the circle of existence according to the Buddhist terminology, thought, thinking (32:25 unclear) it is the circle of existence, it circles, you understand?

32:30 The life after life, the birth after birth, the death after death, like that it circles. So the circle of existence is referred to as samsara and the extreme existence in samsara is one fault so it is indicated that he is pure or she is pure and Avalokiteshvara both sexes, he and she both, so it’s pure so therefore is not stuck in the two extreme existence of the circle of existence. That is the indicator why he (33:19 unclear) white lotus. So as, so as, the jewel it also carries in the hand. The jewel represents she has been freed from the circle of existence and had obtained nirvana but she was not caught in extreme nirvana, what is extreme nirvana? Extreme nirvana is again a sanskrit word that is the opposite of the circle of existence; peaceful, whatever, uh, sort of, it’s extremely peace, that’s it peace, and extreme means it is sort of total you are involved in that peace (34:16 unclear).

34:22 and don’t bother what is happening on the other side. So that is sort of the two extremes. For example, the arhats. There are two arhats (34:37 Tibetan names) They have a name I have forgot in English. Anyway, (34:45 Tibetan names) they would have no left over the total nirvana people are two extremes of peace, two extremes of nirvana peace because they don’t bother what’s happening, (34:57 unclear) they just enjoy themselves. Or I don’t know even if they enjoy or not. (35:01 unclear) They're there.

35:04 So, Avalokiteshvara is not being involved in the total extreme of the nirvana side also. So he has cut the two extremes, she has cut the two extremes; extreme of existence circle and extreme of nirvana cut the two extremes and by cutting two extremes she comes back or he comes back in every different level of samsaric life at the human level samsaric gods level even in the hell realms and everywhere comes back, goes back and helps all the people as much as possible under many different manifestations, many different forms, many different activities and many way to help and to give the need for the people. So that’s why jewel is being carried. What does jewel do? Wish fulfill. So that’s why I’m here to serve you, to fulfill your wishes so this is why he’s carrying the jewel she is carrying the jewel he or she.

36:19 So, similarly that’s why he or she be in every different level of existence in many different forms to give help to all the sentient beings temporary and permanent, help whatever is been able to be given by me. So to show that the jewel has carried and lotus has been carried so therefore he or she was called jewel lotus or lotus jewel. So, that’s why the lot of different names for Avalokiteshvara came, for example in Tibetan, that’s what I know, sorry, (37:03 Tibetan) is the lotus holder, (37:11 Tibetan name) is the white lotus holder (37:15: Tibetan name) the jewel holder (37:19 Tibetan name) the jewel lotus (37:21 Tibetan name) lotus jewel all of them, all of them that why jewel lotus, lotus jewel all these are in the Avalokiteshavara’s name.

37:38 Now, you many raise question here. If Avalokiteshvara is only holding a jewel and a lotus what about Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eye, are there any other thing to hold? Yes, they do have a lot of other things to hold. And then there are certain Avalokiteshvara which has which carry the vase, and the vase has the nectar, the nectar and the jewel works the same way, the same way. So therefore it explains the Avalokiteshvara carrying the vase filled with nectar and it has the lotus in it. So, that is the, that’s why someone even Avalokiteshvara is referred as (38:44: Sanskrit) this is a Sanskrit word. And, that’s good enough. So that is the mani padme.

38:54 And the hum, now hum is again, very important (38:58 unclear). 38:59 as I explained the om according to the Vajra (39:01 foreign word) tantra, I shall also explain the hum according to the Vajra (39:06 foreign word) tantra. Hum has five letters. In this case we have to divide the head of the ha the body of the ha and underneath the small ha and then the u and the ma, m. So the hum has five letters. The five letters will represent our wisdom. And also object of the five wisdom. Five wisdom and object of the five wisdom. So by remembering that if we will (39:38 unclear word) together once so cuts all the sufferings, it cuts all the sufferings that why hum has been one of the important mantra and om is the important mantra and the beginning of many mantras is om and the hum is also end of many mantras it is either hum or soha. One of them will come at the end of the mantra because soha is not concerned today, so I’m not explain it.

40:20 But hum is concerned today so hum has the five wisdoms represents. Five wisdoms even ordinary level today we also have five wisdoms with us but our five wisdoms is not good enough five wisdom it has to be transformed into the extraordinary wisdoms. So the five wisdoms is totally total enlightenment level you can obtain it. So that’s why this is the hum also represent five wisdom so to prove this I must quote (40:51 Tibetan).

41:06 Hum it says what is the hum? The hum destroys suffering and hum destroys pain. Hum cuts the samsara and therefore hum is the best. That is according to (41:25 Tibetan). So, the five wisdom is our ordinary level the five senses which can be transformed as the five wisdoms. Five senses, I don’t mean this eye, ear, the sense of (41:49 unclear: ) there are five of them so don’t let me go into that otherwise I’ll go nowhere. So, there is thing called five wisdoms so that was the hum reference, ok? (42:02 unclear)

42:04 With this, with this when you call it om mani padme hum by remembering this words then you are calling the Avalokiteshvara, you are called Avalokiteshvara by name, the Avalokiteshvara are your great compassion may never leave me or protect me or hold me or another word, you have great compassion within you, you may bless me and your blessings of the great compassion will go through my body, mind and speech. Ok, that is the one way of explaining the om mani padme hum.

42:54 Another you also find very often now. There are six syllables which represent the six realms in the circle of existence and each one of them purified if (43:13 unclear) and help people in there and then up to enlightenment. That’s another one. That’s very common way.

43:22 Another way it’s important is this: mani (43:30 talks with another person) 43:51 If you want to go farther I’m (43:52 unclear) because everyone is busy. If you want to go farther I can explain a little bit more, if not then,...K, anyway, I just give you briefly. Another one is the mani represents the method, that is the great compassion, great compassion and padme is the wisdom, that is the emptiness, and the hum is combined. So the combined of the emptiness and of method. Combined of wisdom and method. When you combine wisdom if this is the yeah, anyway, ok.

44:34 Let me explain this a slightly different way, ok. According to the sutra (44:38 unclear) whether it be the sutra pure, sutra Mahayana, sutra not tantra. According to the pure Mahayana sutra, mani represents the activities of the bodhisattvas. The bodhisattvas are the what do you call it in the Chinese they call it (44:59 unclear) or Bodhisattva in the sanskrit, Tibetan call it (45:03 Tibetan word), So the Mahayana practitioners the persons who have obtained great altruistic mind are called bodhisattvas or (45:15 foreign words). 45:18 They have a lot of (45:24 unclear) activities such as generosity, proper morality, patience, enthusiastic [45:34 change of tape?] 45:38 great compassion and the preliminary work whatever you have to do all of them are included in the mani.

45:48 And the padme represents emptiness, emptiness, emptiness is wisdom. When I say emptiness, those who are familiar with the Buddhist terminology for them it’s ok but for others they may think padme empty. The emptiness is not empty. Emptiness as a matter of fact is a full (Rinpoche laughs). Empty is full full is empty. That’s why Buddha said form is empty empty is form. Ok. K, that’s. So, this is difficult to understand, not very difficult, but it is difficult. So these, in order to understand emptiness, it is also become necessary to understand dependent arising. Because the logic of the dependent arising is the king logic to bring emptiness in. So these are the wisdom part of it as represent by the padme. Padme is padme, padme is lotus. Lotus is a pure deity. That’s why emptiness is pure. The wisdom part of it is pure so therefore it is representing the (47:03 unclear).

47:05 And the hum, in this case will represent by a combination of method and wisdom like Chandrakirti had said (47:16 Tibetan). Chandrakirti’s Madyamaka text he had mentioned the person who would like to cut the ocean of the samsara (47:30 uclear) who would like to obtain enlightenment is like a flying bird, when the bird flies he needs two wings. So similarly, what the person needs is method and wisdom and the moment you have one of them and you don’t have the other you can not fly anymore and you’ll be sort of fall down wherever it is (Rinpoche laughs) so you need both. So, similarly you need method and wisdom both. So to represent method and wisdom together is the hum combines, hum combines, five letter combines, when they can combine five (48:09 unclear) together so they method and wisdom together. So om represented the body, mind and speech of the enlightened being and also the bodhi mind and the speech of ordinary person, mani represented the method and padme represents the wisdom, hum combined. That means enlightened beings method and wisdom combined may be giving to my body and mind and make it similar as yours. That’s what it is. And then there are other ways of explaining. Ok.

49:02 In the (49:05 unclear) tantra, in the, according to the Kriya tantra you have explained total meaning of om mani padme hum separately. According to the Yoga tantra, the total meaning separately explains, ok. According to the Maha Anuyoga tantra they have different meanings. And all of them, I brought a list here if anybody are interested to study these, there are twenty-one sutra and tantras where this Avolokiteshvara and the mantra om mani padme hum has been referred, and mentioned, and explained. So that’s why I said earlier it is unlike other. The others all deities are mostly explained in tantras not in sutras, here it is explained in sutras. In tantra, there are fourteen tantras. And in sutra, there are 7 sutras. I got all the list here. I’m not going to read it to you because it serves no purposes. Those who are interested they may like, if they like to copy it out, it is available with me. And, with this I must give a little time for any questions if they have.

50:22 Yes?

[Audience] Tara and Avalokiteshvara so it not really a male or female deity it is sort of (50:40 unclear) spectrum.

[Rinpoche] In reality at the total enlightened level I don’t really think there is much difference at all. And, particularly between Tara and Avalokiteshvara yes two separate identities for sure yet very often (50:50:56).

[51:02 Audience] Manjushri?

[Rinpoche] Manjushri is slightly different, it’s not so close as between Tara and Avalokitsehvara is, yes, but there are, actually according to a lot of scholars, when you obtain total enlightenment, your body, mind and speech all become same. The Abhidharma, Vasubandu had mentioned (51:26 Tibetan). So this is (51:30 unclear)

51:33 How may it be possible? But separate identities must be maintained and this and that. So this is not for us to decide. But in that level everything is adjustable, I think.

[51:47 audience] I missed the five letters of the hum. Would you mind to write it out?

[Rinpoche] Ok. Five letters of the hum is with the head of the ha, one, the body of the ha, two, underneath the ha there is a small a, long, the sanskrit long one, I don’t know how to write the sanskrit, Tibetan with a smaller a.

[Audience] Could you write it?

[Rinpoche] Ok, if I can. 52:24 This is the head. Now I should be very clear it looks like lines but I’m making it. Ok? But, this is the head portion, this is the body portion, this is the a and this the u and om. One, two, three, four, five. Ok?

[Audience] Thank you very much.

[Rinpoche] You’re welcome.

Yes, sir?

[Audience] 52:47 Speaking about body, mind and spirit….

[Rinpoche]: Speech

[Audience] Oh, I’m sorry.

[Rinpoche] No, I’m sorry, it’s my fault.

[Audience] Could you tell us a little bit more about the distinction between method and wisdom?

[Rinpoche] 53:12 Method and wisdom actually wisdom is method, right? However, it is categorized in different name so such as if you are familiar with bodhichitta, bodhisattvas total altruistic mind or other things related. I mean, if you are not dealing with emptiness, or natural phenomena any other method that is not dealing with natural phenomena, you understand natural phenomena? Are categorized, I should say categorized as method. It’s simply a matter of categorized. And dealing with emptiness of persons or articles or any other things but not like, not impermanent and all this impermanent and all this will come into (54:13 unclear) subtle and rough impermanence should come as part of the method. All other things are the wisdom part of it because it will cut the root of the samsara because it is the opponent of, the direct opponent of ignorance. So that’s why it is mentioned as wisdom. I’m sorry, but that’s it. OK

54:45 Any other questions? If not….I’m sorry.

[54:46 Audience] Is the emptiness (difficult to hear clearly: here are a few keys words) the extreme of samsara and nirvana or

[Rinpoche] 54:57 Realism and all this are we are talking about with emptiness understanding but these extreme existence of samsara and nirvana I don’t think it deals with emptiness at all. It is simply everybody who are in the samsara are called to the extreme existence of the samsara and those who are in nirvana, those who have obtained nirvana, but who enjoys the datu, it is the Sanskrit dharmadatu where that comes from, it is sort of I don’t want to use the word because,..it’s sort of high you fly in that and don’t bother about anything what happened. It is the too extreme nirvana, I think. If you look detailed in the arhat level there are two divisions and especially with the no left over I don’t know what’s it called (56:15 speaks Tibetan to someone). Yeah, nirvana without remaining and all this are the too extreme how do you call it, nirvana. So they don’t do anything for a long time and after some time if you are accepting the ultimate one yana then those arhats would even without remaining would have to join the Mahayana and obtain enlightenment. But if you accept the ultimate three levels then it’s a different matter for that.

56:55 Yes, sir?

[Audience unclear]

56:56 [Rinpoche] From nirvana, no. From nirvana, no because it is totally you can not fall because you have cut the root of samsara. But, there are another level when the stage of meditation only without having the wisdom, the serenity meditation, sitting, the concentration alone can bring very high levels there are four levels of samadhi, four forms, four formless and all these other seventeen or something like that goes up and that’s called ultimate, ultimate in the ultimate people can remain (57:44 unclear) for very, very long time. Sometimes in Buddhist texts it is referred to as (57:52 Tibetan) So feelingless yet it is without fear. So almost like that level so go eons. And these people definitely get fall back. They are not cut samsara. They fall back. So that is the reason why wisdom is become important if you read (58:21Tibetan) So that is the one of the important points where the Buddha had strongly recommended not to sit, sitting is not been very much specifically recommended and the training, the training into wisdom, once you gain control over the stabiliarity of the mind, what do we call it, shinay, then it is recommended to turn into the (58:52 unclear) because of this reason. For once you obtain nirvana, you don’t fall back. But if you don’t obtain, you obtain the highest at the peak, then you definitely fall back and a bad fall back too. (audience laughs). Thank you so much.

[Host] One thing is for sure, one question leads to another. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for your detailed expose of a very complicated, complicated (59:26 unclear). I thank you very much for your attention.

[Rinpoche] Thank you so much.

clapping