Archive Result

;;;Soundfile 19920105GRJHNLLR 1

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Netherlands

Topic Lam Rim

Transcriber Jess Willyard

Date 10-24-2020

0:37:37.2

Ok, now and what to talk here for the next couple of days. So since basically we’re going to do a multi-practice of this and you have Tibetan very nicely here so combined with this. And many of you did not have Ganden Lha Gyema teachings though you have a long tape and transcribes from them by Marianne de Soeters. Sounded like sutras, tantra and sutras! And so, we thought best to do this short, very very short and followed by, I asked Alfred what we should be done last night and he said: short Lam Rim. He thought that’s good idea, right? So, combined them together. So whether the short Lam Rim what you will base this Foundation of All Perfections you have in here, or Tsongkhapa’s short Lam Rim, whatever it is. So, Tsongkhapa’s short Lam Rim is available in English, right? We do have copy. We do have that copy. Ok. That’s fine. I thought basically we give little explanation on it so that when you say the words, you have something to think behind. Most of you are familiar. The practice how it goes here is the Tibetan tradition, particularly has a lot of things you say. The reason why it keeps on saying it, no matter how you look at it, it is very systematic tradition. Very systematic. Very systematic. So when it’s very systematic it follows a lot of things, steps. It’s not one thing you do and end it. In lot of spiritual practices what I encounter now is a number of places where you do one thing and that’s it. Right? If you are doing sitting meditation, you just sit. And sit day and night. Just sit. Try to observe awareness. Just put emphasis on awareness. Nothing else but awareness, alone. I’m not criticizing, sounds like criticizing, but please remember I’m not criticizing. But that’s what they do. And some places, they will only teach you how to say mantras “bum bum bum bum bum” like you know, only, nothing but mantras. Keep on saying it, mantras. Some spiritual paths will have one signal little point of doing anything. One signal little point.

0:41:58.0

Some have one signal little thing to do to achieve whatever the purpose might be. So they’re single specialized and for that purpose alone. But here, the purpose is a little beyond that. It’s not a single particular purpose. It’s purpose is to go as far as the individual is possible to go. So that is the purpose. So in order to do that you have a variety of different steps you have to take it. The steps are very, very systematic. There are varieties. And in order to not miss a point, or in order to complete the necessary points, you have words to say. The words are organized and provided. You say the words and meaning behind follow by meditation. We have a saying in Tibetan: Using the word as walking stick. And with help of walking stick you will be able to pursue it, move.

0:44:16.3

So these words are important. It is organized and it has, it helps the individual not to miss a point! We have saying in Tibetan: the words are like walking stick, and with help of that, then the actual person be able to move, get up and walk and do all this. If you are sick or if you are old or sick or difficulties, you can’t get up unless you have help. Right? Even if you try and get up you fall. So similarly, in order to help them, you have a walking stick, and that is the words. It prop up for a human being to be able to practice. And it should have both. So that’s why the great Tibetan masters have provided these words for their followers to be able to practice. And we are fortunate enough to have in the different languages today. So they make the best use of it. And it doesn’t matter whether you say that word in English, Tibetan, Dutch, or for that matter German, Chinese, French whatever. Doesn’t matter. What does matter is the words should be complete and it should be able to correspond with individual thoughts. So the linking of thoughts and the saying of the words combined, so the word worked as framework and thought will follow. If you don’t have the words, you leave it alone to the thoughts, you may think something else, you may leave everything out. Or you may think three things and left five things out. So in order to avoid that, even short little practice session to have everything combined together. That’s why the words are here.

0:46:50.8

So the Tibetan tradition carries a lot of words to say, a lot of words. So that is the reason behind. But if you can manage without words, fine! Then you go ahead. But you have to make sure you’re not cheating yourself. Everybody can cheat themselves, saying that well, I’m extraordinary so I can do it! You understand, right? English has improved tremendously. Anyway so that’s that.

So since we are using this as a major practice, and I give short explanation on it, so that word behind it carries meaning with the individual. So I thought we spend the next two or three days on this.

Ok now, don’t think I’m going to give you a detailed teaching, no it is not possible to do anything detailed here. But short, something to think. So, since it’s going to be short, it’s going to be a little boring too. If it’s a detail, then you can make jokes and things like that and it is very nice. But, since we are making short, could be very boring too. Be prepared to be bored.

0:49:10.1

Alright, so let’s look here. I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until I obtain enlightenment. That is the first word here. Ok what is taking refuge mean? That is the question here we raise. What is taking refuge mean?

Taking refuge. So here I’m going to speak from the Buddhist point of view, strictly Buddhist ok? Rather than, try to be, what do you say, try to be, adaptable to all but we have to sort of say Buddhist point so. Taking refuge is the basic principle where one becomes Buddhist or one doesn’t become Buddhist. It’s sort of a doorway in the Indian tradition, in India, earlier. I don’t think there is much difference between, til, quite late there’s a very many common practices between like Hindu and Buddhist practice. Not so much difference, beginning level. Then the division where it makes, from the Buddhist point of view, to make you extraordinary. That’s how the Buddhists put it, from that angle, to make you extraordinarily better. So, that is, every religion does that. One is better that the other. The old system will do that. So the Buddhist will say to make to you specially different then the non-Buddhist, not necessarily Hindu or anything. Non-Buddhist, That’s including atheists, right, who doesn’t have religion. To make you better than that, so establish foundation within you, you take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and that is the point.

0:51:38.3

Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, you take refuge. Now the question arises, what Buddha, what Dharma, and what Sangha? That’s the point. Since we are going to be short I’ll come to the precise point without going in much detail. There are two kinds of the Buddha. When you say “I take refuge to the Buddha”, you have to think two kinds of Buddha. One, the Buddha, who represents as Buddha to you, which is the historical Buddha. The Buddha Shakyamuni who was born in India. Who was an ordinary human being, and prince of some Indian kingdom. Who himself had a practice and gained realization and developments, and shared his own personal experience to us, which we call Dharma. So that is the historical Buddha and the historical Dharma. Right? And that historical Buddha represents to us, through a figure image, the image of the Buddha who is suppose to look like the guy who came to India a couple of thousand years ago. Though I doubt it, whether that person has long ears and long extraordinary thing here and hands are joined, I’m not very sure. I think, 2500 years who knows. People will write little bit longer, make little bit here, so his face becomes a little bit longer, ears become a little longer, growth become a little more taller, that’s possible. We all exaggerate a little bit, right? Wanted to make look different than ordinary being. That’s what happens. But I’m sure the Buddha had curly hair. Quite sure. You know why I’m quite sure? Because the curly hair is the sort of, they use as some sort of spiritual quality in India, they have a system of quality earlier. And wherever you look in Buddhist texts they said the Buddha’s hair you can pull it and it goes back. It has to be curly right? It has to be.

0:54:55.4

Anyway. And that is the external Buddha, which you project. Or which you take refuge, or whatever it is. But the most important thing is the internal Buddha and that is our answer to our problem is the internal Buddha and that is difficult for us to raise. Difficult for us to comprehend at this moment. That is our Buddha. That is my Buddha. That is my future Buddha. When I develop, I have to develop in the form of my Buddha. I can not develop anything else. Right? That is important. When I develop, I develop in my Buddha. That goes to each one of us. So when you say, “I take refuge”, it is always interesting and important to think a little more than historical Buddha. Think about it, bringing your own personal Buddha level up. At this moment, that particular Buddha of our own personal Buddha, is in the level of seed. You get it. Did you get it? Did you hear me? As a seed. Seed is something that can grow, but not yet grown. There are two kinds. One people will tell you, it is pure inside, you are absolutely pure wonderful, inside nature. However we are covered with the delusions, so our beauty, internal thing can not function. Because it is covered with the delusions. That is one way of explaining. Another way, which I like better, is the seed level. But we do have it within ourself. It doesn’t matter whether it’s covered and unfunctionable, or whether it’s not grown fully and unfunctionable. But what’s happening? It’s not functioning. Whether it’s covered and not functioning or not grown and not functioning, and the point is it’s not functioning. So our purpose is to make it function.

0:58:18.6

To activate that and to make it function. That is major goal. No matter whatever you may talk it. Talk as Buddha level up there somewhere over there, or talk Buddha level within individual. But that is the major goal. Ok? Whether you like to go up there and be Buddha or sit over here and be Buddha, doesn’t matter. So the point is one has to become Buddha, whether you want to become here or there, doesn’t matter. That is the philosophical problem. The philosophers worry about it. And our part is, we have to get it. Whether you get it here or there, doesn’t matter. Right? That is important. I mean, really truly speaking. The same thing with whether it is seed level or whether it is covered with delusion. That is again the same thing, it is a philosophically problem. Let the philosophers worry about it. For us what’s happening, it’s not working just now, have to make it work. When it works, whether it works here or there, doesn’t matter, it has to work. That is the same thing.

So when you take refuge to Buddha, so you have to think, not only the historical Buddha, that is represented, but also the personal Buddha within the individual. That is important. So does the Dharma. So is the Sangha. Dharma also, historical Dharma, I don’t know whether you say historical Dharma or not, but Dharma within historical Buddha is the historical Dharma. Our own personal spiritual development, big or small, high or low, whatever it is, that is our own Dharma. And our purpose is to make that rich and big, high. And when it’s done it’s ultimate it is equal to becoming Buddha. So that is the spiritual development. It is Dharma, nothing else. But Dharma and Buddha both are represented by the spiritual books and teachings. The Books, which has the figures of the Buddha, Tsongkhapa, teachers and so forth, are representing the Buddha part of it, and message itself is representing the Dharma part of it.

1:02:02.4

So to respect that, it is also important to pay attention to those Dharma books and Dharma pictures. Particularly, not to leave it on the bare ground, and especially not to jump over. Jumping over or sitting on top or if you are wearing skirt, skirt is going all over, which very often happens in the West, is very disrespectful. Whether you respect or don’t respect, it doesn’t matter, neither to the book, nor to the Buddhadharma. Doesn’t matter at all. Whether you shit on it, or whether you bow to it, it makes no difference to those: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Or for that matter for that book also. But what does matter, is the individual here. To try to activate our own future Buddha, individual over here to try to activate to bring it to better life. That makes a difference here. Because, this will bring different karma. This will bring different merit. So that’s why it’s the individual which matters. So for our own benefit, you have to make sure that we don’t put those on the bare ground, or jump over. Particularly jumping over. So when you walk by, have some respect. Don’t walk over it. Don’t sit on it. And, things like that. It is small, but it makes a lot of difference. So that covers Buddha and Dharma. And Sangha, is relatively talking you say, highest assembly, or they say, the assembly of more than four Buddhist follower Bhikshus, the monks. That is the technicality, technically speaking. But actual Sangha, true Sangha is the Sangha, individual who sees the true nature, the true nature of phenomena. Sometimes it’s very similar, between the philosophers and spiritual practitioners. What do philosophers seek? Seeking the truth. Right? That is the philosopher’s job, as far as I understand. Searching truth is the philosopher’s job, if I understand correctly. It’s now made it out, philosophers are made out to find different theses and theories, and try to present it. It looks like that now. But the true philosopher is trying to find the truth! So does the spiritual practitioner. Why are you doing the spiritual practice? Digging the truth! What is spiritual development? Nothing but solving the mystery of life! I would like to make it very simple. That’s all it is. That’s the truth.

1:06:19.9

So one who sees the truth of whole phenomena, whatever it is, human beings, existent beings, the relative, the absolute, or the time, whether it is going east or west, or whatever it is. Whether it is speed of the sound, or the speed of the world movement, the global movement, whatever it is, knowing the truth is the, we try to solve the time problem on the cooking pot yesterday, so that’s what it is. So, it is, the solving the mystery is appearing the truth. Right? Encounter with the truth, meaning, solving all the mysteries that you sort of bare the truth you will see! That’s, you call it, encounter with the truth! There is nothing else you encounter. So actual truth, when you find it, that is Dharma. And when the person sees that, it becomes Sangha. Whether you have long hair, or short hair, whether you wear yellow, or red, or maroon, or blue, or white, or black, or naked. Doesn’t matter. What does matter is the individual understanding and gaining and the quality what the individual get. So that is the true Sangha. When you don’t have the true Sangha, you have relative Sangha, which it represents, which is assembly, which is four or more Buddhist monks. Call it assembly. Right? So that is, when you say "I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha”, means, basic number one, recognize to whom you are taking refuge, what is taking refuge, and why. These are the three most important points here. One who has to get in. That is Buddhist doorway, anyway.

1:09:00.4

So whom you take refuge, that, “how" is no problem. We all know. When we have trouble, and you want to seek help, we will do all sorts of things. Right? We all know how to do monkey tricks. So we’ll act that. And that is the refuge taking. Right? Right? If it’s a very serious person, we do very seriously. If the person is a sort of jolly, nice fellow, we take refuge nicely, jolly way. If it is very close friend, “hey, help me out, right” so, hit on the shoulder and do whatever. So that’s how we do. That’s our monkey trick, and that’s how we apply. Since we consider very it’s a serious person, very seriously, so we folded hand, we say “I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha” serious way of doing it. But the point now, the next point is why and what for. That is two different questions, we have to think a little more. Why do we take refuge? There is one thing to do something without any reason. People do it because they are doing it. People do it because it thinks the system tells you to do it. In the West, it’s very well disciplined. Actually the Western people are very well disciplined. So if the system tells you to do anything, you just follow it after through, without question. That is the Western style. Just go ahead with it. “Oh, I’m just supposed to do that.” Or something you say. But, sort of half way through, you go without question. And when you’ve gone half way through, and gone back, then you begin to question, “Hey, wait a minute. Why am I doing this? Something’s not right. What is this for?” And then the question rises a little later, instead should have raised this a little earlier. But, in the West, people sort of do that. In the East people won’t even think. They just go ahead with it. Because it’s just “Dharma way” so they sort of look like, unquestionable, and we just follow it and nobody raises question, even later. In the West they say, “go ahead and follow it” and after sometimes they begin to raise the question. It is better to raise the question now. Why? Even you people, I mean, many of you have the teaching, many of you know. Few of you don’t even have. We all sit down, say here, “I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.” So somehow the society structure, whatever it is everybody will go and say “I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.” without question. Who knows what you think you buy it when you say all these words by your mouth. Who knows? But here I’m trying to feed you the material which is simple to think! It is your prerogative to raise question, and to clarify it. If you want to. You should. It’s your prerogative. If you don’t want to, that’s fine.

1:13:03.8

Anyway, so know the question is why, and for what purposes. There’s two things:

(quotes Tibetan verse), the meaning, or the essence of refuge is recognizing the problem that we have. Recognizing that we need a solution to our problem, and recognizing Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, have the method of how to overcome our problems. And that’s why from the beginning, I said Buddha shared his personal experience. Problems that we encounter today and problems that Buddha encountered 2500 years ago is the same problem still. It is nothing new with us. We have those problems for those years however, we have not dealt with it. We haven’t dealt with it. We let the problem grow, let the problem overtake itself. Let the problem grow, let it function by itself. And we didn’t handle it. To me, spiritual practice means, try to handle our personal problems. Not the material problem. Not the matrimonial problem. But the real problem which makes us suffer. That’s important.

1:15:58.5

What is it, our problem? Our problem…it manifests in different ways to the individual, however, no matter how you search to it, it leads to our mental, emotional structures. Our problems, no matter whichever way you say it, it is our delusions which manifested in different ways. It manifests in different ways within ourselves.

In the West we talk a lot of emotional problems. Right? Some individuals have very high emotions, like to cry all the time, you like to laugh all the time. Or either cry or laugh or nothing in between. So it happens black or white, but not so much gray. Some people are very angry all the time that is the problem. Whether it is anger or lust, whatever it is, one brings the other one together all the time. If you have an anger problem, you have an attachment problem. You can not separate. If you have attachment problem, you are bound to have anger problem. It comes together. It is part and parcel because that’s its formula. That’s how it functions with us.

1:18:32.2

Why that is function with us, why? Because the anger and attachment has taken a very strong grip over ourself, they are very strong grip. Very strong. How did they grab us, like that? In what way? In what way? They grab us though our habitual patterns. Believe it our not, it’s our habitual patterns. Habitually, they function. That’s because our habit. If we have strong attachment, we have possessiveness and then we have jealousy, straight away. Without any questions. The jealously sometimes is too strong either way you look at the individual person you can start fighting with it. You do that, don’t we? I don’t have to look to anybody else, ourselves do it. Right? If you give different smile to somebody else, in the evening you raise question, “why did you smile that way?” Right? You’re going to raise that question because the attachment is a stronghold, so it definitely pushes the button of the jealously. So that’s why you see a different eye. Tibetans call it “tiny eye”. Tiny eye, so you get that. That is our habit. And, when you are not getting what we wanted, and automatically we get angry. It is not an automatic, there is no engine functioning there if you don’t have the habitual patterns. So our problems are interlinked and built in habitually within us, so we have them all the time. So it’s powerful, it has a strong grip over us. It controlled us, because of it. So if you use the same method as our problems have used over us, so if you change the habitual pattern, if you reverse that, and build it in our habitual way, not to get angry, not to get jealous, not to do this, not to do that, instead of going to do it, going to do it, training it. You know reverse. It is in your habitual pattern. That is the biggest way, the best way, the strongest way we have over our emotional, rather than emotional problems even…

1:22:04.4

See the key is the habitual pattern, how you change. To me, that makes sense. But to me, that is dharma practice. To tell you the truth, dharma practice is nothing…does not depend on whether you have a mala, or not in your hand, or on your neck. People wear it, right? Goes down. It depends if you have the mala of controlling habitual patterns. And that is the spiritual practice, to me. Whether you sit crossed with the leg, or whether you walk around, or whether you sleep, or whether you visit, or relax. Whatever it is, if you do that, it helps. That is how we do. And bring awareness, awareness is help. And when you need the most awareness is when you encounter with problems with people downtown, or your workplace or your home, rather than you’re sitting and meditating. That is least awareness you needed, actually. But we think, our awareness is the only needed when you’re in a place like this, temple. “I have to meditate on awareness”, then you go out, you forget about it. That’s our problem! At least what you need is in here, but what you need is more out there, out in the big world.

1:23:56.5

So anyway I’m going to fast, talking to detail. So I’m going to cut it short. Making it short, that is, ok so…why sangha? Seeing the truth. Solving the mystery. Our mystery of our life is nothing but an ignorance, the ignorance of it. Whether it is not knowing or wrong knowing, whatever it is, our mystery of our life. Not this life but lives. It is lives or our ignorance. You cure that through the wisdom. Then you solve the mystery of life. That is seeing the truth, encountering the truth. People may call it encounter with own mind, encountering with the true naked, or whatever name they may call it, whatever beautiful name label it, and nicely made, turning or looking inwards or face to face, people say all sorts of things. Right? Truly that’s all there is, they are talking about, and that happens whatever the terminology you use, doesn’t matter. That’s what it is. That is our problem. And when you overcome that, say the truth, then you become true sangha. Until then you’re not true sangha. No matter whatever the label you may put it. Sangha of Jewel Heart. Sangha member of Jewel Heart. Or, monk of this and that monastery. Whatever you may label it, they pretend to be sangha but you are not. Get it? So let it be a relative sangha, anyway, make us happy, little bit.

1:26:15.9

So I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, that’s that. So, for how long? Next question comes, for how long? Or for what purpose? If it is only one purpose that you will normally do when you talk to a friend, “hey you have me on this, ok”, sort of, to make one point, so others say, “I’ll have you on that point.” So there’s one point you’re asking to help and the other person will do also one point. Here we’re not…here we’re asking “til I become a Buddha, til I become fully enlightened”. It is a long thing, it is a long shot. It is not short, it’s a long shot. Anyway, when you say long shot it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. But on the other hand, our problems are such we have to have long shot, otherwise, it can’t happen.

1:28:15.6

So actually when you are seeking help, and not only seeking help for individual purposes, individual one purpose, but multi purpose, for all purposes. And the time…so let’s say until I, what is it, I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, until I obtain enlightenment. So it’s not for one purpose, until I obtain enlightenment, so whatever difficulties that come, problems, I need your help, that’s what it is. So when you take refuge as you have guided and instructed and say if you visualize Buddha and taking refuge to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and that’s what it is. And you also have to remember the other side, Buddha which you are picturing, is the historical Buddha who are representing. Internally you have to activate your own future Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. And that also, not for one little purpose, completely until you attain enlightenment. That’s what it is.

And then, what is next here:

“By practicing generosity and any other perfections may I be able to obtain enlightenment.”

So which means, here, for the benefit of all sentient beings, so you divided this line into two, the first portion is taking refuge, and second portion is generating a pure thought. Pure motivation. So motivation is considered very important, one of the most important. In Buddhism, you have all the different things, different practices. And each one of them, like say, giving a food to the hungry, helping the individual who needs it, giving shelter to the homeless, or medicine to the sick, or leading the individual to enlightenment, whatever you may do, it is the same thing, whether it is Theravadin, Mahayana, or another one is Hinayana or Mahayana, whether you make it big vehicle or small vehicle or whatever it is, even non-Buddhist, whatever it is, it is the same act you do. But in Buddhism, and particularly in Mahayana Buddhism the technique….(tape ends)