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Soundfile 19890429GRJHNLPHL 4

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location JHNL

Topic Precious Human Life

Transcriber Steven Krichbaum

Date 2/13/2021

That must be a very painful way of sitting. You are used to it? good.

So yesterday we talked about the important - rather - recognizing the precious human life. I would like to repeat once again. Where we say it is precious - because it has the nature and opportunity and richness to achieve our goal. very simple, bottom line statement. 0:01:59.6

Now when we talk about leisure? what are we talking about? What do you mean by leisure? everyone has time, everybody would like to, but everybody be busy and have no time. Leisure here means - not only having time - but time which you’ll be able to provide it very productive achievement. And how do you put productive achievement here? is by avoiding unproductive events. So Buddha divided that into 8. 4 applying to the humans, and 4 non-humans. 0:04:47.8

Ok what are the 4 non-human? If you are born hell-realms, born in hungry ghost, born as animal, what is 4th one? (god? hard to understand). 0:05:47.2. Sounds very funny here, but it is not. This life that we have here, is by chance we have it. Why? Because we have a tremendous amount of karma to be born anywhere. Any of the lower realms are very much possible to be born there. It is by sheer luck that we happen to be a human being. If we are born as hell-realm there will be no time to do anything. It will be too difficult to bear. If you are born as a hungry ghost you will be too hungry - you can’t do anything. 0:07:21.0

If we don’t get food for an hour, how much do we feel? Maybe 1 hour is not that much, but who knows. If you don’t get for 1 day. Hungry ghost they don’t get food for a very, very long-time. It is not that they are poor. Some are very rich, just by their karma they can’t eat. If you like to see, really, it is terrible. Tibetan from Rimpoche 0:08:39.9 - the hungry ghosts have a stomach like mountain size, huge, little hills, and there hands and legs are so tiny. very, very thin compared to that big stomach.

And there are a number of knots on their throat, so they cannot put any food through. By chance if something goes through, then there is tremendous pain here through this knot. Their body is so thin, but big stomach and totally covered by dust. And they have so strong anger inside and even started burning fire, the flames coming out of their mouth. 0:10:13.0

So if you remember - if you’ve ever seen close encounters with the third kind movie - and in that the 3rd kind person produced big stomach, very thin - when I saw that film that reminded me of hungry ghosts. There are also stories. A couple, a family member, one of those hungry ghost husbands went for certain food. Wife and children are waiting home and one of the Indian Pandit they sort of give a little water gift to all these hungry ghosts. they dedicated it and said some prayers so the hungry ghosts can be able to utilize the water gifts they gave. 0:11:46.0

So at that time a lot of hungry ghosts comes in to take that water. so one of the hungry ghost women told this Indian Pandit - if you go in certain, certain area my husband is there a long-time he hasn’t come back. Please give him a message that whatever food he get it, he should come back because we are really suffering here. So please come back. So this Pandit told this hungry ghost - but when I go there, I give this water gift and hundreds of ghosts come out , how do I recognize? And he said, it is not a problem. My husband is totally different than the others. he doesn’t have 1 eye, he doesn’t have 1 leg. Right eye not there, left leg is not there. 0:13:39.8

So he said, yeah - I will give the message. he went outside and does his usual giving things and a lot of hungry ghosts in that area came. He saw one of them with one right eye, and one left leg missing. He said, you have your family in such and such area and you are here. So whatever you could get it come, and you have to go. So he said, he couldn’t get anything. He showed his hand like this and dry spit. that is all he could get. Yeah, that is it. that is true. What is happening is, there is plenty of food, but they can’t get it. Their karma is such they can’t utilize number 1. number 2 even among them there are powerful ones and so humble ones. The powerful ones overtake them and the humble ones doesn’t get it. 0:15:28.9

And it is very much like human being too. All of them. the powerful ones bully the weak ones. the weak ones be losers all the time. And then we think the spirit, when you talk about the spirit is a great thing. Non-human, extra ordinary wow. But no. they have their tremendous sufferings, most of hte spirits that we get around here are the hungry ghosts. nothing more. I’m not talking about holy spirit. I really mean it. But most of the spirit around area, people come trance, mediums, god knows what all these are - mostly in the category of hungry ghosts. 0:17:22.9

So we are human beings. much more powerful, higher category, better. we have much more better opportunity than they do. they depend on us. their survival is based on linkage with the human beings. every human beings born, when we are born with a number of spirits together. what we call them - simultaneous born ghosts - the moment one human being is born, lot of spirits will cover over that and be born together with you. When you die, they don’t die. because their life duration is longer than humans. they live a couple of hundred years more - some of them. and they identify with your name and identification. because they think that is them. you give someone name John - the spirit will take the name John and say I am John 0:19:57.3

Because that spirit had depended on John for survival for long-time. So the John have any secret that only John knows, it is known to all these different spirits too. They can tell you, testify on your behalf. After the human being is dead, the spirits are still around. So then they talk to them and they will tell your secrets, only known to you. So we get confused and we think we are talking to that person, but it is not. many cases it is not, 100%. We can’t say 100%, some people after they are dead, can be born as some spirit. so that is possible, but most of them are those simultaneous born ghosts that identify with that persons name and identity.0:21:58.4

So anyway, if we are a spirit we will be too busy to identify and tell stories and won’t have much time to be effective. And running around, looking for food. and they can’t eat. Very strange, very, very strange. You are not going to believe it if I tell you what happens with that. If you have a glass of water here, there are 3 different beings together. 1 human being, 1 hungry ghost, 1 samsaric god. If they look together here, ok what is going to happen? there is only a glass of water. what is going to happen? the human being sees this as water and use this as water. can drink it be water. for the samsaric gods it is nectar. and they can use this as nectar. it serves all the purpose of nectar. Ok, for hungry ghosts it is blood or pus or something that you cannot use. If they try to use it, it has the same effect. that’s how karma works. 0:24:05.4

Rimpoche speaks in Tibetan. Chandrakirti, a great famous Indian Pandit, has mentioned very clearly in his Madhyamika text - so that is exactly how Karma works. I hope it is water and not blood. That’s how it works. so as a human being, we are luckily, fortunately not born as a hungry ghost. So we have a chance opportunity to do. there is leisure for us to practice. Second if you are born as an animal, you will be too dumb, too stupid to understand anything. some of the animals are very intelligent. I do agree, but no matter how intelligent they may be, they don’t have the human capability. we all know that. Did you get it now? ok. Longevity god - that is a very funny god. They are so happy. And they have totally, totally no feelings at all. For us it is like vegetable - looks like in a coma. In hospital they put people in a Coma - just like that. They recognize when they are born that they are longevity god. 0:27:00.1.

Say, Oh yeah, I am born as longevity god. they recognize that. and then some sort of pleasure will take over and will be like a dead dog. And then at the time of dying, they think I am transferring my life - dying. Otherwise in between they can’t sort of - bliss fit - people get fit right. so they get blissful fit, not a painful fit. So that’s what it really is right. If you put an injection morphine injection what happens to you? everything becomes insensitive right? - not like that. they feel pleasure, not like a morphine injection that cuts the sensation out. but they very much feel pleasure those longevity gods. tremendous enjoyment. they don’t do anything else - just lie there completely. (laughter)0:29:30.8

Much better than taking drugs. Drugs have the reverse effect. they don’t. So if we are born like that. We won’t have any time to do. Even in human beings if you look. some people are very well addicted to abcd. Some are totally addicted to drugs, but they cannot even survive. they are always looking for drugs. They can’t survive without making money. No really. People are addicted for that. But nobody likes to call it addicted, because they want to be a very serious person, but actually they are addicted to money. Some people are addicted to work - we call them work-a-holics. They are addicted completely, they cannot do anything without work. Some people are totally useless - addicted to useless - you can’t do work, you can’t meditate, you can’t do anything effective, you have to do something neither here nor there. That is their addiction. 0:32:12.7

We are not. We are not. Each one of us has a portion of it, but that doesn’t mean we are addicted. we are not. if you are addicted for money, you won’t be here. if you are addicted to useless you won’t be here. if you are addicted for janky(drugs?) you won’t be here. So very fact you are here is you are not. So this is Leisure. This is precious. And many people cannot take it. Cannot. Their opportunity is cut it out. Doesn’t matter who they may be, but somehow some people don’t like it, some people think it is strange, weird. So they cut themselves out. Strange and weird. And some people are very suspicious and they cut themselves out. Some people totally don’t want to hear about it. 0:34:22.6 They cut themselves out

Some people curiosity, but there are lot of blocks that cut that out. So there are lot of them. some people are addiction of busyness they made themselves. Addiction of busyness, but reality might not have to be busy, but you make yourself completely busy. How do you make it addiction and busy? People do it all the time. Ok I am not going detail, ok. So by looking at those, Buddha recommends to us here to appreciate this life, recommended that we should meditate. Meditated in such a way, sort of imaginative meditation here. Imagining that each every point you imagine that you be born in those different categories that we negated before. 0:36:24.4

Imagine to the extent that we begin to think that am I really born there yet. So then that is the time, oh fortunately, I have not born myself as a hungry ghost, though I had perfect cause to be able to be born as a hungry ghost. number of them. So if I am born as a hungry ghost, I will be extremely hungry and looking for food and definitely will not have time to achieve the ultimate fulfilling spiritual development. So I am fortunate not to be there. So we do the same thing with hungry ghosts, same thing will the hell realm. you do the same thing with the desire gods and the longevity gods. desire gods, I mean the samsaric gods. Okay? 0:38:30.0

Now samsaric gods or desire gods are not like vegetables. they are very active, they are very playful. They enjoy their life tremendously. I will tell you what happened, during the Buddha’s lifetime there was a great disciple of the Buddha named Sariputra. Sariputra had a disciple doctor, medical doctor. And he was totally to Sariputra. Sariputra was very fond of him. And Sariputra gives him a little bit of teachings, and he is meditating and coming up very well. Suddenly that fellow died. Something happened and he died. when he died, Sariputra put a lot of effort to see where he going to born and Sariputra trying his best to help him and have that person be reborn as something better. So Sariputra saw him reborn as a Samsaric desire god. So when he is human being even he comes on the elephant. normally he rides on an elephant. I mean this old 2,500 years in India right. He is wealthy doctor and rides an elephant all the time. So whenever he sees Sariputra from distance, he jumps off the elephant, doesn’t even have time to get down, just jumps off the elephant. And also when you are born as desire god, they are known as 3 timers. 0:41:15.3

they know 3 times, past, present and future. they are not like us, we don’t remember our previous life. They do remember and they knew it like something that happened yesterday. for them just like yesterday. So taking that into the consideration, Sariputra followed him to the Samsaric god realm. Sariputra expected that he would do the same thing and he could continuously teach and this fellow would achieve liberation. So he went there, when he saw Sariputra, he wouldn’t come to Sariputra. He raised his hand and wait in pose. One time he picked up a flower and threw at Sariputra and that is it. 0:42:40.3. So Sariputra becomes helpful and that becomes very difficult. He went to Buddha and told Buddha. What I did and this friend of mine, and this problem, and I prodded and pushed him and now he is born in desire realm. I went there to help him continuously to develop and he won’t even talk to me. He just throws some flowers and that is about it, so what can I do? 0:43:25.9

And Buddha told Sariputra - that is your fault. Because you pushed him to the desire god realm as much as you can push him up. So at that level they don’t understand misery and pain. and when they can’t understand the pain and misery, there is no question of renouncing it. And also there are overjoyed. So there is no time for them to do anything. So you have to wait until he died from there. That is what Buddha told Sariputra. So if you are having too good a life, too perfect, too smooth, it is not very good again. Human life is very good. There is a little bit of pain, suffering, recognizing, there is a little bit of opportunity to shed tears. there is a little bit of opportunity to laugh so there is a little hot. Little bit of cold. so it is a perfect atmosphere to see the true reality. So it is precious. If you are too spoiled by material comfort and then you don’t see the reality. because you don’t feel pain. if you are over pressurized by pain, then you can’t think straight. You won’t have opportunity. Human life is good.0:46:32.0

Not only it is great this condition, but in our present time there are more external conditions there too. External conditions is all sorts of methods available. I present from the Buddhist point of view, becuase my background is Buddhist so I have to present from the Buddhist point of view. Born as a human being, lived as a human being, and experienced life as a human being. So the problem is as a human being, and also seing the goal of achievement as a human being. And worked towards that goal as a human being. And made it through and became a Buddha. And shared his experience. Can you see the difference? Survived and lived as a human being and shared his experience. And that is a lot, hell of difference I tell you. Because he didn’t say, like we do, Buddha says this and Buddha says that. He said, he did, I experienced this, I found this, I went through this, I found that. He’s talking about what happened to his life. 0:49:46.8

And that is Buddhism. And the ideas of the Buddha, what throwed(?) us is not an idea, it is an experience. And that experience that Buddha shared is still a living experience. And that makes difference. We have the opportunity to share that. So that makes a hell of difference, huh? We also have a person or persons around with us who are trying to going through the same thing. Who triy to follow the path that Buddha have followed. Who gained experience what the Buddha gained. So who is valuable for ourselves for consultations, for information or whatever. That is much more precious. And that is very rare. It won’t be many times. It hasn’t been a long-time. It has been only like 2,000 years that’s all. 0:52:01.2

And who knows how long it lasts. If you are fortunate enough it might last another 200 years or more maybe. And that is about it. And they will go away. So when we are born as a human being, it happens to be really a great chance. Human beings are continue, but experience what Buddha shared not continue, not being there too long, it will not be there too long. so we by chance happens to be in tht category. happens to be there. And that is external condition. Not only Buddhism, if you look any other religion it is same condition. Non of them will be everlasting. So that is it. So now you can think how the time you are taking as a human birth, happens to be by sheer luck, or coincidence, or by whatever it is, is very valuable for external conditions.

Internal conditions. Each one of us is interested, each one of us is looking for, each one of us is opening, 0:54:15.2. And external conditions there are opportunity that you can open to something. Which is some good thing. So when you think about it carefully, you can appreciate. So I am not going to talk to you, traditional system, from the cause point of view it is also difficult to find. from the nature point of view it is difficult to find. Blah, blah, blah. I am not going to tell you that. I am going to tell you exactly what we can think about it and how we can appreciate it. That’s what I’m trying to do. 0:55:34.5

So when you see this is great and you have opportunity when you see this and we have to do it, we have to make best use of it. And if you don’t make best use of it, the opportunity and conditions aren’t everlasting either. I don’t remember where is it. I think it is in Holland the last 2 days wherever it is that the emperor of China once invited Sakya Pandita. I think it is here right? I don’t know. Emperor of China invited Sakya Pandita to be his guide. and then the emperor said yes I invited you from Tibet up to here, but I have to observe you first. So he has been observing him for 6 years. After 6 years, Sakya Pandita said alright you have observed me for 6 years and you found it good, now I have to observe you. So he observed the emperor for 6 years. So they are playing game, sort of playing a game I think. At the end of 12 years Sakya Pandita died. So that is it, finished the observation. So the opportunities are not lasting. Sure you have to observe, but you should not over observe. then the opportunity will go. 0:58:05.1

Ok - best opportunity is to eat (laughter) And it is time to eat. Ok we’ll come back and talk. In a side conversation Rimpoche said, peace in Tibet is great. peace everywhere is great. 0:58:52.2

Question from Audience off mic: When I said they have a problem of eating food, I am talking about hungry ghost in general. Some may not have that much problem of eating. But most of them don’t live on the human food like we do. They mostly eat smell. category of Smell eater. smell. so next time when you make a nice soup, cover the pot, otherwise they will take all the nice smell (laughter). 1:01:21.2

Another question off mic: Possible. People, human beings who try to contact spirits, they talk. Those spirits identify as you.

Another question off mic: same thing. same thing. they will identify you as you are. so if you are Marianne and you change to Mari-anne (differnt pronounciation).1:03:25.6

Another question: she asks she knows someone with a drinking problem and he is a totally different person when he drinks than when he is sober. She asks, is it possible that those entitties like hungry ghosts go into the person or effect the person? Rimpoche - Sometimes but not so many times. The drink we have a name for Tibetan - Nung Choo in Tibetan. Water to make you mad. When you drink water to make you mad, you become mad and naturally become a different person. It is not necessarily a sprit influence. But you cannot rule out either. 1:05:37.4

But when you are drunk. Then your spirit, not the spirit, your personal spirit is low, when it is low, the host of spirits is easier to get in. So they can overtake which is why you can’t rule out. But mostly not.

Audience question: She asks if there are people who hear voices. She wondered if that could be an influence of those hungry ghosts. the spirit of hte person could be weak. three possibiliites: possible a God speaking to you. let’s say god okay. Possibility of ghost speaking to you. possibility of crazy person just hearing for nothing. My advice to the people is, don’t listen and totally ignore. totally ignore. don’t even pay attention. And especially if Dharma practioners are having this sort of thing, it is time for you to make more strong commitment, and more prayer, particularly if you saying Mig Tse Ma, say it more. Concentrate more. If it is bad spirit, they will dissapear. 1:09:06.3

And if it is craziness, in due course of time it will go. And if it is good one, it will prove by itself for a number of times. Even you think it is good one. To proving itself, unless it is 100% proven for 3-4 years or maybe 5 years, do not pay any attention. That’s it.

Audience question off mic: that’s why it is called simultaneously born. They can cover it, hide-out. Human beings have tremendously strong, powerful Karma. Very valuable, someof them notice that and sort of hidden under it. Like the in Indian they do all the VIPs and a lot of people will go under their coat. And we call them we call them Jan Cha (Tib 1:11:33.8) licking spoons. they go with them and get into the important areas and hiding in the coat and behind. that is exactly how the spirits work. They even do it behind deities, not only human beings, that’s why when you invite deities (hard to understand the recording 1:12:12.1).

Audience question off mic: How do you get rid of it? Rimpoche: You don’t get rid of it. You don’t have to do anything. let it be there. only thing is you pay no attention. that is the only way you treat. 1:14:48.6 They can’t harm you. they are hostiles and helpful both. some are try to help you, some are trying to help you. But both can do nothing. Provided if you remain as you are. If you don’t remain as you are and try to swing here, swing there, then they get opportunity as well. As long as you are straight, solid, nothing can. And if you started banging, not being yourself, trying to be a little bit this and that and then you hear this voice, then you being to do all this funny things. If you remain solid, even not a dharma practitioner, just straight forward human being. They can do nothing. They can do nothing. And I am sure with all of us, there are millions of us listening here. They can do nothing, I am telling you that literally and truly (Rimpoche laughs). 1:16:32.5

But there are powerful ones that are not simulataneously born, but something else. There are millions of categories of spirits. The powerful ones they can do something yes or no, huh? Sometimes this small type of go there and take shelter under them, and become protected under their control, and then try to come back and try to harm or help or whatever. Some of them do that. Then they get a little more power, a little more access. But even then it is ok. 1:18:41.2

Audience question off mic: Why can’t the mind be produced by genes? Rimpoche - mind is continuation. this mind is the result of another mind. One thing that is important is the condition in this is mind does not produce anything else besides mind. Matter does not produce anything else besides matter. Mind doesn’t produce matter, matter doesn’t produce mind. that is that basic principal. Mind follows continuation of mind. There is no beginning that’s why it comes to this point. Reply from audience off mic: How can one see that this is not possible? Rimpoche: we can’t see it. If we can see it there is no problem. You can’t see it. That’s why these are called Kongyus, not mingdoos (TIB 1:21:01.7). Not direct cognition you can get. indirect cognition, by reasoning it is a continuation and maybe sometimes by Shindu Corgu (Tib 1:21:22.7)- this is relying on the quotations. This falls in that category. It is beyond helpfless (?) cognition. you can’t prove by 2x2 = 4. In that manner in this. 1:21:40.8.

But what happend is, if the genetic is producing the mind. When the body becomes useless, the genes completely develop and then decreasing and dissolving, people die, mind also has to die then. Which is not - we know very well. So that is one of hte reasons we can see. If it started from there, it should also finish from there. And there is another new one who is starting somewhere else, who belongs to somebody else. But is not the (can’t understand 1:22:24.2).

Question off mic: It will end. what will happen is the present Buddhism, which was introduced by the Buddha Shakyamuni will end and will finish it off. Then there will be a period - we call it dark period. There is no Buddhism or no teaching, no religion at all for long period. And after that it will start again, another one. Instead of Buddha Shakyamuni another Buddha will appear - then another teacher, another period, it will flourish and go for awhile. and that will end, then there will be a big period of gap, and then someting will stand that will continue. That is the circle continuing again. 1:26:06.6

Audience follow-up off mic: Rimpoche - yeah, it gets better, it gets worse. It is always ups and down. it goes from worse and then better, better, better and then reach peak level and go down, down, down. Another off-mic response: Rimpoche - for what? for universal peace, but there are individual goals and universal goals are different. What is happening is individually it is possible to achieve Buddhahood, universally they say it is possible, who knows how it works. Individually yes, because of karma, individual efforts and so and forth. universally it is very, very difficult. because there are too many people involved, too many ideas, too many deals, when we have so many things it doesn’t work that well.1:28:44.8. Who had the answer? I don’t think so. Everybody trying, but I don’t think there is an answer for that. Don’t expect everything to have an answer. No, no, no. What do you mean? Thinks don’t have an answer for us. 1:29:07.7

Individually yes, collectively no. Not a universal answer to big scale no. small scale like this - people here - definitely. we have a karmic connection, common karma, common efforts, that can have a common result to. But more it is work individually. But then when you go bigger and bigger it becomes more difficult. There are collections are much more, efforts much more, so many different thoughts, so many different minds, so many this, so many that, it won’t work. I’m sorry, but it looks like I am very pessimistic. But that is what it is to me. 1:30:09.4

Different people will say universal is beautiful, everyone wonderful, but I won’t say that. Beautiful no doubt, but it has a disaster ending too. It will be a disaster ending. Sure, it has to be. That is the natural of the beauty will be end with the ugliness. That is change. It has to take place. We can only buy time, postpone it, becuase we don’t want to have that happen when we are alive. I am honest. We don’t want that to happen when we are alive, when are children are alive, buy time, that is what it is. Buy time politically, economically, you buy time culturally, religiouisly, from everything buying time. why Gorbachov come down and say universal disamament. Reagan goes back and shake hands. it was buying time1:31:40.3

politacally - all these religious leaders get together and say prayers. They are buying time. when Gorbachov comes down and shakes hand politically they are buying time. Because the end is disaster, we all know tht. Whether it is individual country, individual person or whole country or whole universe. It ends in a disaster. don’t even doubt it, don’t even hope. I am sorry. It is really. 1:32:35.5