Archive Result

Soundfile 19940506GRJHNLSAS

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Nijmegen

Topic Dealing with negativity

Transcriber Constantijn Koopman

Date May 2023

[Recording starts in the middle of a teaching]

If it’s the case???? that my body is not me, that is fine. But if my mind is not me, then where am I again? So, you go. So, there is mystery about it. But, whether my mind is me or whether my mind is not me, whether my body is me or whether my body is not me, but still we all know I as a human being still exists. That existent human being, if you look deep down in your own guts, whether we can find it oneness with mind or separateness with mind, but we can definitely find that is a good nature person.

That person has compassion. That person will see somebody suffering, we feel it. We feel the pain of other people who is going through. We understand what is all this pain is about it. One thing, because we ourselves do experience that pain. So that why, when we see someone else exposing the pain, we can feel it. And we want to do something. We always want to help. And unless you’re some crazy person, but otherwise when you see somebody is suffering, you’re willing to help. 0:02:59.5 Whether the help is great or not, but in the rest, no matter whether it is this side of the Atlantic Ocean or the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, wherever it is, in the West people naturally tend to share things what you have. If you have extra ten dollars, you’ll be willing to donate to that, if you have extra tie or a shirt or a skirt?? or something, you will be willing to another type it???? Skirt or pants or whatever. So you will be willing to share that with the other person.

That willingness is a quality, it’s a good quality, and which we all have it. And there won’t be anybody who does not have that quality in here. If you have one, raise your hand; we will know who you are. [laughs] So, I don’t see any hands at all here. I’m just joking. But reality is really that willingness, that caring, that sort of feeled pinch of other person’s suffering – we all do. And that is the sign, that is the symptom of compassion. And when we look at them, we will know there is compassion.

The earlier Buddhist masters has given an interesting example.

TUE LE ME MI SHI DANG, CHU SER LEN NE SHI SI DANG….

They give example: when you see the smoke over there, you know there is fire. 0:06:03.2 When you see the seagull flying over, you know there is water. You don’t move???, they sit and they hang out in the air. We know there is water. And when we see the pinch and the sharing and the caring attitude of the people, we know there is compassion.

So basically, you do have a great human nature within us. That is not necessarily all human nature either. Even the animals do care too. I’m sure we see around, one animal is suffering, the other is caring for her. Even they share tears. You have an interesting story. There is a butcher who try to slaughter one sheep, or goat or something. No, so tried to slaughter a cow. The goat went and tried to hide the butcher’s knife. So, we see that. So that’s why even those animals, they have compassion too.

So basically, good nature of being we all possess. That good nature we call it buddha nature. That is what is the Buddhist name, Buddhist technical name. Technically, you call it buddha nature. You may call it Christ nature, you may call it Yahweh nature, or you may even call it… whatever. Whatever you want to call it. Since I am from Buddhist background, so I call it buddha nature. [laughs] 9:19.9 So, the point here is: basically, beings we have extremely wonderful nature. We can see that, we can understand that by the reasons what I showed you earlier, we talked earlier.

However, we also give a lot of cold shoulder. You know what a could shoulder is? You don’t have to give good reactions, sort of cold reaction. You always snap people, you always do very cold shoulder.

So why? You have a good nature, this person has, that person has, but we give a rough cold shoulder each other. Why? It’s our habit. This is our habitual pattern. If somebody tells you “Booh!” we will not hesitate to say, “Fuck you!” [laughter] I’m sorry for the language.

That is: without any hesitation we will say that. And that is again seeing that we do have a bad addiction. 0:12:05.2

Either this is addiction of anger, or addiction of pride, or whatever it is, we show our bad habits. And it is addiction. These addictions are not in nature, they just come up. It is built up. For what is happening, is: it is acting like a cloud, where you cannot see the beautiful sky if you uncover this. I came here this morning. I am above that cloud and I have there??? a nice sunshine there. I have seen it. But when you get down, they will see the cloud, you don’t see it. And we do know this is temporary effect. But the nature of the sky is still so clean, clear. Openness is there. So like that, the nature of a human being: we have a wonderful nature, beautiful nature, kind, compassionate nature. However, we cannot see that. We could not show that to people. So, instead of that, we show the cold shoulder. We fight, get a trouble in family. The children don’t get along with the parents, the parents don’t get along themselves. And so, everybody fights with anybody anyway. Nations don’t get along with each other.

So, in other words, the single little individual, from a single little individual dealing within our family through big nations are dealing within their whatever, whatever the society or whatever that is. 0:15:15.08

So, which is our true situation now? The wonderful inside, the bad habit outside? And that’s where we are, and that’s what it is.

So now the question arises, “What does Dharma do?” The word Dharma, a Sanskrit word, but the Dharma itself in Tibetan called Chö. Chö means the past tense of chöö. [Laughter] The chö means correction, to correct. Like correction keys, you understand that right? Correction keys, people say that, right? So, chö means correction.

So, what do we correct? So, you correct the beautiful nature of the being, to not let it be overpowered by the negative emotions or negative addictions. That is really what Dharma means. When I have always said, “This is Dharma Buddhism,” sometimes you may think about a very mystical religion. 0:18:01.6 Or maybe you think it has a whole lot of rituals and mantras and all sort of things. Yes, there are. But the essence of Dharma really means correcting the individual’s faults.

So, that is the real essence of chös. And that is the principle of the Buddhism is. It is principle of Buddhism. That is Buddhism, you can say simply. Make it simpler even.

Yeah, that’s what it is. Buddhism really meaning… The same question was asked to Buddha: “What is Buddhism.” And Buddha himself gives the answer, saying that avoiding negativities, build positive, watch you mind. And this is Buddhism, that’s what the Buddha said. And “watch your mind” meaning: it doesn’t mean what thoughts is coming up in your mind. A lot of people do that: watching. You come and sit there and meditate. All types are coming and let it go away. People do that, but that really doesn’t mean. But do not misunderstand, I’m not criticizing people watching their mind, you know, really! But what I’m trying to say is, when the Buddha here says, “Watch you mind and control your mind,” does not mean what thoughts is coming to your mind. It means, if there is negative thoughts coming, let it not overpower you.

So far, what we have done, we have let the negative control ourselves all the time. 0:21:00.0 That’s why we can ready??? to say anything to each other at any time without any question.

So, if you’re correcting, so then you have to correct from here. When we say “correction,” it sounds very nice. And sometimes even we call it “transforming the negativity.” Sounds very romantic. But in reality, I don’t think there is anything to transform. The negative cannot become a positive. Attachment cannot become a path. Anger cannot become a path. Ignorance certainly cannot become a path. But sometimes, the attachment may help to bring positiveness, and likewise anger. I do not know whether ignorance can do that or not – very doubtful. But the main point is to remove the anger, to remove the attachment, to remove the ignorance; to separate the individual away from those negative emotions.

When you feel how you separate yourself with your negative emotions, you feel good. You feel healthy, you feel clean, you feel wonderful. 0:24:06.5 But when you are subdued by those negatives, you can’t feel good. You feel bad. But you have to challenge that by fighting. It is a struggle: negative versus positive. The stick here is ourselves. So, on me are my emotions, negative versus positive, fighting. If negative wins, I go under the negative control; if the positive wins, I may become positive.

So, this is all about the Dharma. Dharma really means that. Dharma does not necessarily related to saying mantras. Mantra saying may become part of the Dharma, but that mantra saying is not Dharma. Meditation may become Dharma, but Dharma is not meditation. And worshiping in temples may be Dharma, but Dharma is not worshiping in temple.

So, the real Dharma means correction: correcting from the control of negative emotions to the positive emotions. And if you could do that, after some time you really become yourself in sort of in wellness with a clear, clear, compassionate, positive nature. 0:27:05.1 And when you have been able to do that, you begin to see yourself. You begin to encounter with the self-nature. I don’t know whether you can call that self-nature or not; I’m not even sure. But let’s call it anyway. And the Tibetan masters refer them as “face-to-face with the self” sometimes. No matter whoever says what, and when you have that, I think you begin to understand the nature of emptiness. When you have that you begin to see yourself. When you have that, this is really self-healing???.

0:29:17 [There seems to be a cut here: no translation, silence up to 0:28:43.1]

So, when you have that yourself face-to-face, you have removed your mask. So, unmasking yourself really meaning and remove the negativities, whether it is habit or addiction. It is easy to say for me, but difficult for us to do. That’s what is all about it. So, the constant efforts of everyday practicing is one of the key method of actually challenging these negative addictions. 0:30:10.2 So, if we do it every day, may not be a very long time, and in the long run you achieve great deal. And if you don’t do it every day, you do it for some time and then you drop the idea, here you pick up some time, go over somewhere and then drop the idea, then pick up again – if you keep on doing that, then the result will be also like that. So the constant efforts of every day, changing those negative addictions, acknowledging clear nature of self, which we call it discipline. You may call that “moral,” you may call that “ethics,” so but that is what we call it the true practice.

There are people, there have been in the passed, there are here today – I mean not here, but here in this world today – who try to do practice, says millions of mantras and says prayer 24 hours a day almost and meditates every day, but the negative emotions are not even touched. 0:33:01:1. On the contrary, it has been enforced, become strong. On the contrary, the negative emotions are reinforced and become strong. So then, that’s called corruption in Dharma.

It is true: a lot of people have that. A lot of us. We sit and close our eyes, we say, “For the benefit of all sentient beings…” Even the textbook reads: “For the benefit of all sentient beings.” So when we close our eyes, we see dotted beings around with us. So then we may say, “All beings may remain with the joy forever.” And we really say, “All beings may be free from the sufferings forever.” And we have no problem. These dotted beings become free, these dotted beings will remain in joy. So, we have no problem. But if the dotted beings react, say, “Hey, you, you are wrong! I’m not suffering.” Then you have to say, “O yeah, you see as if your are suffering; you are suffering.” ??? if we reply. “Furthermore, I’m sitting for liberate you.”

So, you freak out. And that’s a problem. 0:36:10.7 This problem is: we meditate compassion on mainly faceless beings. So, the nameless, faceless dots will not react. So when they react, you may have to tell them, “You are not all sentient beings, get out of my way.” So, that you may have to tell to everybody: he isn’t everybody. So, by “beings” you have lost all sentient beings.

So, that is corruption in Dharma, misusage. Or not problem used ??? So, these are the few points that I like to raise here, so that, when we talk about the Dharma, we understand it better what we are talking about it.

Another problem that we face is: we always focus outside. We will say “compassion,” “love” or “love-compassion,” or whatever. And we are happy, because we are the one who are giving love, we are the one who are sharing the compassion. So, everybody is happy when you talk about compassion, love because that is what we wanted to be. And when we talk about suffering, individual don’t like it because that is what we do not want to be. So, that is pre-judgment. 0:39:00.8 It may be called prejudgment….

Translator: Prejudice?

Well, it is not even aprejudice, it is a prefabricated mind, let’s call it.

Actually, people have problem. They think, “I know what I am doing.” They think, “I know what Dharma is.” And they think, “I know what compassion is. We have a prefixed mind, and we come with that. And when the speaker talks about that, he uses ??? with your prefixed mind. When it corrects, when it corresponds with you prefixed mind. And you sort of acknowledge your head? You say, “It’s right.” And when it doesn’t correspond what you ???, then you become doubtful, suspicious. And that’s another problem. So, when you come and talk about Dharma, when you discuss about the Dharma, you should be open-minded. So, when you have a prefixed mind, you don’t have an open mind. This is really, I’m talking, on the ground, really.

So, I’m not going to talk to many, because I have finished. I am exhausted, I have nothing more to say. I’m finished.

[There seems to be a lapse here, for the teaching continues at the end of a sentence.]

….do we have correcting. Correcting the negative delusions. Basically, in one way nobody of you know what is good and what is bad, what negative and what positive is. In one way. 42:00.00 But on the other hand, human intuition has a very good idea of what negative and what positive is. I always raise this point. If you look in the Buddhism, the Buddha gives ten nonvirtues. So, when one sort of sees ten negativities, the cessation of that develops within the individual. That cessation of it called “development.” And when you look in the Ten Commandments: very similar. Very, very similar. So, I’m sure the Buddha did not have conference call on telephone or through fax with... whoever they are, the Ten Commandments fixed it ??? But this is an indication: the truth is truth. And fully potential, intellectual potential have the capacity to perceive it.

So, that’s what I tell you. That’s what I say. Both very difficult to say: what is good and what is bad? But somehow we all know, there is a human intuition. That’s why we know what negative actions and what positive actions. So, we have the negative potentials, try to correcting them. That will becomes Dharma. 0:45:00.0 And that is no mystery. It is straightforward, simple. But to be able to correct that, you have constant efforts what you have to put in. And these constant efforts, mental efforts or physical efforts or emotional efforts, are really true practice. It doesn’t have to be done in temple, it doesn’t have to be done on meditation cushion; it can be done in the pot in the toilet, anywhere else.

And particularly when these negative grow with us, correcting them is great. But when the negative thoughts are strong, it is very difficult to correct by the positive thoughts. For example, if some guy is angry, some person is angry, we do know the direct opponent of anger is patience. But you cannot tell that guy, when he is angry, say “Hey, patience!” So, if you can say but you better do to run out. So, what does that indicates you? It indicates you when the negative is very strong, you may not be able to challenge at all. It doesn’t really have to be negative even. Anybody, whoever doing something, if you have to tell that person, “You’re doing wrong,” it is very difficult to connect that person. That person will either tell you, “Under control,” or “That’s none of your business!” 0:48:11.8 So, either the case the person denies. The angry person will not say, “I’m angry.” The angry person will say, “I’m not angry, but…” blah, blah, blah. So does the person who has possessiveness, will not say, “I am possessive.” They may tell you, “I love you.” In reality, they may be telling you, “I am very possessive of you.”

And that is how denial works. Our first problem to remove from the self, the first mask you have to remove: the denial. As long as you’re denying, you do not have the opportunity to work with it. So, the acceptance or the acknowledging the problem as problem, or acknowledging having a problem, itself reduces the problem into fifty percent down. So, if you are a friend you should be helping the person to recognize the problem. But don’t go too far. [laughs]

So basically, whether the Dharma we are going to talk, or that we’re going to talk, or whatever we’re going to talk, whatever we’re going to do, the workshop or whatever the next few days, whatever is called, whatever it is, it will really be focusing to encounter the negativity. 0:51.09.3

One of the strongest armament the negativities can carry is the denial of impermanence. So, the death and the dying is not really an impermanent. But… death and dying is impermanent. [laughs] But that is the gross representation of impermanent within us. So, it is very really gross example of the impermanent. So, it is one of the very strong weapons that where you can cut the denial within yourself, ourselves. So, all these things what we’re doing next couple of days, we will go really focusing on that. That will be real Dharma.

Okay, I think I’ve been talking too long. And if you have any questions. I should give you room for question and answer.

There’s no question? We can go home.

Audience 1: I can ask the question in English myself. 0:54:00.0 I would like to ask Rinpoche how we deal with limitations. Because, as you can see, I have physical limitations and the thing I have to deal time and again and again is struggling with the limitations. What is, how is the Buddhist view on that?

Rinpoche: This is a very important question. We get all kinds of limitations with a lot of people. Some are physical, some are mental, some are emotional. We get these limitations. Basically, we don’t??? have the limitations, so can’t do much. But what we can do, what we can do is: these limitations should not become the cause of negative emotions. It should become, should try to make it cause to bring positive emotions. It is hard, it is a difficulty. We all know that. And sometimes people can’t help it, to get… you get angry with that. Sometimes, people can help it, it is painful. One has to deal with it day by day, moment by moment, hour by hour. Every moment.

0:57:20.3 It is sad indeed, for sure. However, the thought comes. We have every right to get angry with it, even though, if you get angry, if you get upset with this, if you’re angry with that, it won’t help.

It won’t help. Shantidva said: KA DI CHÜ SO ME….

So, Shantideva says, “If there’s something to be corrected, why should we get upset? But if there is nothing to be corrected, what will it help by getting upset or by not be happy with it.” I’m not through?? that, okay? So, by understanding Shantideva’s way of approaching it, sort of we can be like that, we can try to reduce the negative emotions at least.

Even those people who have physical limitations, it is indeed a difficulty, but they are better than who have mental difficulties. So, what we do is: we try to reduce the negative and the oriented emotions and change it. If possible, change it by positive emotions. Like saying, “Well, I have this. It is whatever it is, my karma or whatever it is, whatever the reason might be, I have that. I can’t correct. But, me having this, may I be able to substitute the means of the others who also have the similar problem, who may not have to experience that. Can I substitute for them. ???? or whatever, me have me to do that. And that attitude can be the negative, can take over the positive. In reality, whether there is a God or Buddha can be changed, probably not. It’s one’s own thing. But by taking that attitude, by taking that emotion, what will happen is: that very possibility of getting angry, upset over or unhappiness over, can be changed into a positive opportunity. To be able to practice that. 1:01:13.9 I mean, this is a little extreme I’m talking, but there are people who have been doing this, there have been before, there are present available, I know for fact??? So, there are people like that. If you can do that, it may be helpful. I’m sorry, it is a bit emotional, but…

So, this is what we call it: KE WI LAM DE JO WA: the difficult circumstances taking into path. Taking advantage of difficult situations. So whether it is changing anything physically or not, but in the mental comfort as well as in the spiritual path it makes a hell of a difference.

Right? Thank you.

So, if we don’t have a question we can go a little earlier but… 1:04:01.8

So, how do we conclude? How, what am I supposed to do now? [laughter] Well, this is lecture, right? So, I should say, “Thank you so much.” So these are kind, nicely and patiently listening. They did not attack me [laughter]. It is very easy to talk here, you know? Because you all ??? acting as bodhisattvas??? It is very simple and easy. Thank you so much.