Archive Result

Soundfile 19960222GRBH3P

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Bloomfield Hills

Topic Three Principles of the Path

Transcriber Jill Neuwirth

Date 12/22/2020

…and Rimpoche is the Tibetan language title for, I don’t know, so. For (Inaudible) [0:00:12.7] people who supposed to have power to reincarnate him or herself supposed to enjoy that title. (Inaudible) [0:00:27.7] Personally I certainly do not. But happen to be one of these fortunate boy who had that title. So I believe the title is last forever til you die. So that’s no matter whatever the condition might be. So it is been good for me because (Inaudible) [0:00:52.9] originally monk. Monk in a Drepung monastery, one of the Tibetan largest monastery about 13,000 monks. Perhaps I can say world largest monastery. And I did enjoy the title and later I became a refugee after the communist Chinese took over Tibet completely in 1959. So still have maintained that title. And thereafter a few years later I become a layperson and I still maintain the title, so (Laughs) so the title has been good for me. I don’t know what it mean anything or not. Perhaps doesn’t mean anything unless the person, the individual who will be able to, to keep up their personal activity true to the title otherwise it is nothing.

[0:02:15.9] In good old Tibet you may have some kind of privileges and prestiges and which is not an issue here at all so therefore, therefore that’s the thing, so. So anyway that’s how I like to introduce myself. And this is second day because the last Thursday though the weather made it difficult for a lot of you to show up, but quite a lot of people they’re there, so basically mentioned what is all about the Tibetan Buddhism. And I like to re- sort of, let’s see, those of you been there before, Thursday. So let’s see if I say the same thing or I say totally something different so you can point it out to me. So I’d like to give you very briefly what is old Tibetan Buddhism is all about it. Tibetan Buddhism, we call it living tradition. Living tradition because it’s not a philosophy alone, and it’s not in the sense of religion where you have to go and worship and do all that sort of thing either. But is a very basically a way and how you live, and a way and how you conduct yourself in your daily life.

[0:03:56.8] And it is sort of way of life which tries to give you a very positive, virtuous, karmic-oriented way of living. Does that make sense? Am I talking something different than what I talked earlier? I hope not. So anyway, virtuous, karmic, positive principle. That is basically a Tibetan Buddhism. Buddha himself been asked by a number of people, what is this your thing called Buddhism? What is this? And Buddha himself replied dig pa (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:05:01.1] He says, avoid negativities and build positive actions as much as you can and most important watch your mind. And that’s Buddhism. So that’s Buddha himself said. So it is really, it is way, and how you handle our mind. Mind is an extremely important, I shouldn’t say extremely important matter in our life. Extremely important component of our life and that is the mind. Mind is extremely tricky. Mind doesn’t have color. Mind is not tangible. However it is extremely important. Every single thing that we do, we act, we function, everything is somehow it is under the direction of our own mind. Unless we’re crazy. We may be little bit of few screws loose otherwise we won’t be here. And but if you’re really too much loose, then that is another issue. So that is the mind. That’s mind.

[0:06:40.4] So it is extremely important, more important than our body. But do not misunderstand, I’m not trying to tell you your body’s not important. It is equally important but mind’s more important. It’s mind’s the one which really makes your body function and work. And if the body doesn’t work, if the body has to tell mind hey, it’s time to move or something it’s difficult. Even you do- you know I was watching last night the Larry King Live and interview with the, the, I forgot, the Superman. Audience: Christopher Reeves. Rimpoche: Christopher Reeve, right? So I mean it’s so amazing and how he talks and how he functions and in the middle of thing and he had some kind of jerk, and the Larry King says oh, you made your leg move. He said no, this is my muscles telling my brain let’s go. So, so that’s that. And if the body has to tell the mind, and somehow have to move it it is almost impossible. Very difficult. But the mind moves the body very easily. Very easily. Particularly if you have a problem like he had, if the some sort of neurological disorder that doesn’t function something, it’s totally different issue. But in our own cases, in our own normal cases, normal cases, if body has to, to tell mind what to do, rather than mind guides body, we’re in big trouble. We know that right? We’re in big trouble.

[0:08:32.1] So everything whatever we do, we act, we function, we think, we say, we eat everything whatever we do it is the mind which is the most important thing within our, within our, what you call it? Within our establishment. Within our life. So mind is very important and when the director is good, when the Principal is good, and wonderful, the school is bound to be good and wonderful and when the Principal’s not that great the school is going to be similar to it. Maybe that’s not true. But I’m sort of like to give you an example that way why, but I’m thinking something else. Maybe I’m trying to make that in modern times doesn’t work very well. Buddha had said once, rin je (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:09:32.3] So the Buddha says, if you are somewhere near a some kind of gold mountain, or gold mountain with mine, gold mine, and somewhere near everything have very good chance of having gold. But in case if you are surrounded or if you’re depending on some kind of mountain which is poison then everything nearby is bound to be poisonous. So I was thinking that way. So try to use the Principal and the school and analogy but doesn’t work very well.

[0:10:20.3] But because, that’s because I was thinking it in the traditional old way of func- expressing and try to put that in the modern something what we live in, so doesn’t work. But whatever it is. The thing is, the most important thing is the mind, and the, if that is good every single thing that we function is bound to be good. And if the mind is not right, not properly trained- are you okay? (Speaks to audience) [0:10:52.7] So, so the first, the most important thing is the mind. So the Buddhism is extremely gear- I mean, sort of the main point of the Buddha is geared towards the training the mind. So if it is absolutely dealing with the mind. And how we should deal with our mind, how we should influence our mind, how we’ll bring up the at level of our mind, what shall we do, how we can do, how we can improve our mental capacity, and how we’ll make benefit out of those by improving our mental capacity and all this. So that’s why Buddhism is very, very focused on mental development.

[0:12:05.7] And then I said a living tradition earlier. And that very mental development is not only used as building a knowledge. You know, building a knowledge is one thing and being a development within the mind is another thing. If you build knowledge perhaps you get your head a little bigger, I’m not sure. But I did see on television if you believe it, the, the, what is it? In the Newsweek? Or US News or something, something they have a television advertisement you know, they read the Newsweek. I think it’s the news- US News. They read and their head become a little bigger. Then said, oh, something heavy, I guess I’m maintaining knowledge. So I’m sure number of you have seen that on television. So I’m not talking about that sort of mind development, expanding the head for a little while. And after a little while it will shrink down. You can forget, right? So it shrink down. See I’m not talking about that knowledge. So mental development is such a thing that mind adopt, mind adopt the principles that you would like to be as a human being, human principle adopting that.

[0:13:34.1] Adopting every spiritual stages after stages and adopting that, and by doing so, so you yourself and others companion of yours and so and forth making their life better. And that is the mental development. It’s not the building knowledge or making, bringing more information and try to soak the information by making your head bigger or, or, or your briefcase more heavy as usually professors do. And they make more notes and their briefcase becomes heavier and heavier, probably two they get another one on the left shoulder too, so. Not that. So, so that’s why what happened how and how we try to bring the mental development is directly under, under a guidance and following through the path that our lineage masters have followed. And so try to follow in that will make it, making sure that you’re going through the right place and reach the right result. Because otherwise the spiritual path is also very interesting. It great wonderful every spiritual path is great, wonderful, no doubt and a wonderful thing. However, many of them can have very limited scope. I mean which we call spiritual path has very limited scope. Just only one purpose. Even meditation was commonly accepted as spiritual practice.

[0:15:38.2] However, what does meditation can really bring to the individual is mental, mental stability. Mental stability. That’s what the meditation can bring. And that’s about it. And but if you use the mediation for right purpose, with the right guidance, with the right information, and with the right master, then the meditation can bring a total enlightenment. So, so, so even if you’re looking at like a thing called meditation, and if it’s used for properly for, for appropriate way, properly used and then it is an interesting tool to bring total enlightenment. If not, it can be any level it can become. So if you just simply use that only focusing point it will bring focus to you, and then the meditation’s work is done. Whether you have to focus on anything doesn’t matter, whatever, they become bringing focus on. So, so the meditation is something which you can even use for, for a development of material company or anything without, without concentration you cannot even build a company. And yeah, I mean it’s true. If you don’t have the big bosses in GM or Ford or Chrysler here, if they’re not thinking and not focusing company not going to grow at all right? You need the focusing. So the meditation is something can be used even for that purposes. Purposes. We’re not try to give, oh, I’m sorry. I’m a little bit too late. I should have given the meditation instruction to, what is this the former chairman of the Chrysler- What his name? Audience: Lee Iacocca. Rimpoche: Lee Iacocca. I should have given him that too. (Laughs) I’m just joking. Maybe he doesn’t want it.

[0:17:59.4] What I’m trying to say is, the focusing point will bring, can be used for anything. Material development, spiritual development. So when you’re bringing meditation with Tibetan Buddhism, the focus what there was put on is the spiritual development. And I’m not going to talk too long on this general talk because last Thursday I totally devoted for that giving the background of the general Tibetan Buddhism so I’m not going to do that because otherwise I will never be able to do that the little piece of paper what we have in our front. In our front. And so the paper what we have here, is actually a sort of essence of a Tibetan Buddhism used for an individual development, individual development. And I have to tell you a little bit about this. This is by Lama Je Tsong Khapa. Lama Je Tsong Khapa is rather, was, a founder of a the, the, the Gelugpa sect, doesn’t matter. It’s immaterial.

[0:19:20.0] 1347 to 1419, Tsong Khapa came in Tibet 1347 to 1419. He was an extraordinary person. Person with the superb, superb wisdom who tried to see how best way the he, himself, can develop and benefit and follow the footstep of the Buddha and also how best way he can help others. So by 1347 to 1419, at that period it is not a new development of Buddhism in Tibet at all, no. Buddhism came to Tibet by seventh century and very well developed up to tenth century or so, then gone down a little bit, and furthermore developed very much in the 1100s and by this the Buddhism is very, very well developed in Tibet. However he is very revolutionary guy. And was never satisfied by various explanations given by the Tibetan masters at that time. So he always wanted to have proof whatever those Tibetan masters taught, says, or writes, or speak, or teach. He always wanted to have some kind of proof from the Indian masters.

[0:20:53.0] Sort of try to trace it back to the, to the, before the seventh century and if possible trace up to the Buddha and that was his goal. He always does that. And he even established a saying in Tibetan, saying in Tibetan, if you want a pure water you must make sure the source of the water is from a peak of snow mountain. And if you want a pure spiritual practice you must make sure it’s a coming from a Buddha in India. So he established that saying in Tibet. So very revolutionary guy and couldn’t satisfy with the many of explanations given. Particularly on the wisdom path given by those his own masters and during his time. So finally he decided to go to India to pick up a final, sort of, fine point, to polish himself, sort of upliftment or he want some kind of springboard from which he can bump up.

[0:22:05.0] So he decided to go to India to find that. And by this time he has thousands of followers. Wherever he goes those thousands of people follow him. And Tibetans are very happy-go-lucky person. In the sense that we do not organize as we do here. Here we have time, place, set up, and so if you going to- like this one if you have meeting here we will say it is here, it is in the church, it is there on Lone Pine, or Woodward, we go and we say it’s 7:30 and all this sort of thing. They don’t do that. Tsong Khapa goes somewhere so the thousand of people will follow him. Thousands of them follow him to, to, to, to listen to his teachings or explanations or whatever it is, and by the time he was living in one area, he been there, spend out a month or two by then he’s moving somewhere and the last people are still arriving. (Laughs). Last people are still arriving. Thousands of them following around wherever he go, so like you know like big sort of collection of bees, following queen bee type of thing he’s going on.

[0:23:22.5] So a number of teachers at that time said, if he goes to India, what’s going to happen these thousands of people? Are they going to go to India and it’s not going to work. So they made a request to him not to go to India. And saying that you’re not going to find anything else extra in India. There’s a lot of stories anyway. To cut all the long story into short, so finally they found a solution. The solution will be that he will be able to contact, contact a one of those enlightened beings we call it. Some, some kind of buddha. Buddha of wisdom called Manjushri. Buddha of Wisdom. Embodiment of enlightened beings’ wisdom we call it. Anyway. That’s some kind of angel looking type of being which we refer as fully enlightened beings called Manjushri. So they said, why don’t he work and try to get in contact with Manjushri, direct contact, so that he can learn from Manjushri and doesn’t have to go to India.

[0:24:38.6] So almost all the great teachers at that time sort of draw the conclusion that he’s going to work for seeing the Manjushri. And he did. He did. And there was one of his teacher has a direct vision with Manjushri all the time. Even before Tsong Khapa came in being. So one of his teacher have a direct vision with Manjushri. So Tsong Khapa started asking question to the Manjushri, to this teacher and he said, alright, I’ll ask tomorrow. And you get your answer tomorrow. That’s what happened going for a while. So after little while, the questions become so profound and his master who had vision with Manjushri couldn’t understand what Tsong Khapa saying, nor he could understand the reply what Manjushri says. So what he does he started taking notes. And he reads his notes with Tsong Khapa he read it out back to him. Is that right what you’re saying? So the next time the reply comes the Manjushri, he take note and he goes back Manjushri- did I take the note correct? And he said she said that’s correct and then he goes back and try to read the note again.

[0:25:51.7] So functioning after a little while Manjushri said this won’t work. It’s very worst than post office. (Audience laughs) It won’t work. So the, so the Manjushri he says I must have direct contact with Tsong Khapa but I cannot have direct contact with him unless he made some purification himself. So he has to purify himself. So, so he indulged Tsong Khapa to have more purification and accumulation of merit. So he urged Tsong Khapa to go in the retreat in southern mountains in southern Tibet. And Manjushri actually hand-picked the number of people that he can take with him, so only eight is allowed. Each one of those eight is Manjushri hand-picked. So-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so, Tsong Khapa doesn’t have any priority or anything to say who he wants to go with it. So it’s Manjushri hand-picked eight of them went to a mountain top and had a practice. Purification and this they’re done. It’s interesting to hear that with you. Normally I don’t, what, what Tsong Khapa did in that and stayed not very long and they have asked how long he has to stay in that retreat and Manjushri said you never know. Maybe forever. And keep on those who are having direct visions they told him, maybe forever.

[0:27:23.0] But anyway, Tsong Khapa without any doubt, without any question, followed exactly whatever the Manjushri told him to do and went to the mountaintop and all eight of them went in and pooled their money together, eight of them. Eight of them. All their property. Total property is eight shous(?) [0:27:45.3] in Tibetan count it’s called shous. It’s probably less than penny’s worth. Eight shous. For all these eight people all their properties put together is less than a penny’s value. So that’s all they had. So they took that and went to the retreat. And so ended- they ended up eating all sort of the berries on the mountaintop. Whatever they could get, berries, and root of berries been drinking, and all this sort of thing that is how they did it managed. And, and then of course he has a vision of Manjushri there and he refused to accept this is the real Manjushri because you know, the first thing he saw in like thirty-five buddhas or something from a mountaintop, different mountains. And when he begin to see that he won’t look at it. He goes away.

[0:28:49.0] He goes away because you know, one thing, what we’ll do today if we see something even we have different dreams, or even we see different stuff how much we’ll jump? We’ll make a big deal. I saw this. I saw that. You know, I saw light, I saw clear light, I saw what. I saw stars you know, all sorts of thing. If we have still different little dream, or somebody chasing you in dream, or somebody is, or, or you are overpowering something, or you receiving something, we make big deal of whether we made our self happy or sad whatever, according to that dream. I mean how much big we make it? Tsong Khapa here not dreaming. Literally seeing the buddhas sitting on the mountaintop, refused to look at it saying that the visions can be right, visions can be wrong. There are three different types of visions. One, is the perfect, is the pure vision. When you are, when your body, when your channels body, and your energy when it is pure, completely pure you can get pure vision. And when it is not pure, you can get delusional vision. Then you have hallucination and so and forth. So the Tsong Khapa’s not going to bother whatever he sees totally acknowledge, sort of refused to acknowledge, walk away.

[0:30:21.4] Then finally those buddhas are coming very close to him, now you know, sort of grouping together and becoming close to him, he won’t bother. At end of that Manjushri comes and says hey, I am Manjushri. Believe me, I am. And you did this, you think that way, he will not accept until he receive a word from his guru who’s been having the direct contact with Manjushri saying this is a real, pay attention. So the Manjushri has to go back to this guy and say tell him this is a real pay attention, don’t ignore us. So, so til then he went out. So, so he had direct vision with Manjushri. Vision, in sense it’s not a simple vision that we see, sort of half hallucinated, half asleep, half joke, half cook up stories. That is impure part of it. It’s not. It’s like meeting person to person. Really stuff we are talking face to face, person to person talking and result of that meeting with Manjushri is this.

[0:31:38.2] This is the Manjushri’s essence of teaching to Tsong Khapa is sort of, one page it is single, one simple little page. So, so this is that. So In Jewel Heart, the organization in which we function, what we really do and we use these as a basic introduction for Tibetan Buddhism because it is simple, it is very short, it gives you all variety of the essence of the Tibetan Buddhist teaching. Except not much Vajrayana in here. So we use this as an introduction. So everywhere. So we also choose to have the same thing here. The other day I explained why we use certain texts because you know Tibetan Buddhism is such a vast and to make it convenient and comprehends with the one individual to deal with your own life, we should not miss any step, so know we sort of shouldn’t go haywire here and there. So we should be on the ground focused together, provide base, and in future, if you see, you know, if you practice constantly, wonderful. If you just throw it away and say a few years later, somehow the, this thing came across to you, you begin to look at it, you may think oh, this word, behind this word there’s sort of this message and that message and this and that.

[0:33:25.6] So, so that really serves lot of useful purpose for the individual. So that’s why we try to use a little something writing. And then also in the west, the western culture is such, if you have something in writing you like it better. You’ll be you’ll be satisfied, you think you got it I got it somewhere, you think got it. If not, if not ah, well, he said something but I knew I heard one, whatever, you know. (Audience laughing) So, so serves both purposes so that’s why we try to use this. So if you look here, the first word it says homage to the venerable gurus. Alright, guru trip. (Laughs) Homage to the venerable gurus. If just read it you say homage to gurus. But that’s not the point. Why they said this? What is guru mean? Forget about the venerable. (Laughing) But really it’s not that important point.

[0:34:40.0] But what does guru mean? Why, why you have to pay homage to guru? Why not to, why not to all sentient beings? Or why not to Buddha? And why not to Manjushri in this case? Now you’re familiar with Manjushri anyway so, so there the reasons. I came to this part of the world, at the Michigan area in 19- and I sort of, first I was first visiting 84, 85? 86, Robert? 85, 86. I came into twice visit when I actually really moved here by 87. So I didn’t- so all those lectures that I talked, or teachings that I did, and I read with people, I didn’t talk much about this guru business til this year. I did not. So I sort of somehow skipped that. The reason why I did that because we had a lot of guru trips that we had in the 60s. And 70s. Sort of a lot of guru trips. So it gives you very different ideas or funny thoughts and things like that. So that’s the reason why I did not mention at all. However, it is very important.

[0:36:19.8] Without which we cannot make much good progress in the individual on their path, on their journey. So, so this year I put a lot of efforts to talk about guru, the qualities of the guru. The guru and the and disciples let’s call it, relationship, what is meant, how it work, what is main broken(?) [0:36:49.3] and all this we talked and we spent all our total winter retreat this year on the guru thing. So when I say winter retreat, basically in Jewel Heart we have two retreats in year in Michigan itself. One is in summer and one is in winter. Summer retreat we call it joyful retreat because everybody enjoys, it is happy-go-lucky, wonderful, holiday type of thing plus we do a lot of healings and all this. And we do you know, interesting practice and we have almost for the last five, six years Allen Ginsberg comes all the time sit with the retreat and almost every night he entertain reading poetry and sing. Philip Glass comes in and been every year last four or five years. He plays, and we beat every, every pots and pans that’s available in the kitchen we been doing that, so we call them joyful retreat in summer. Which incidentally is in August 27th- September 2nd right? It’s the same thing this year? Yeah. So that’s what we do.

[0:38:16.4] So over the Labor Day weekend. So it’s open for everybody. And if any of you are interested you can contact Jewel Heart and you can make a your reservations now. Actually true. Because at the end, the last minute you don’t get much. And then winter retreat is we call miserable retreat. (Audience laughs) And so we shut them, that is closed door, we will only allow those people who had previous exposure and also Vajrayana experimental. Only we allow them. So we spend total winter this year talking guru bout business. So I think I like to spend a little time here too. If you don’t mind. The guru trip’s been there already some, made some benefit to lot of people. Lot of disadvantage and even harm to number of people, it’s all facts. There’s nothing to hide or nothing to, nothing to- what should I say? It is open. Sometime damage, sometime good, sometime helpful, some had backlash, that’s alright. And that is true.

[0:39:38.7] But the reason why you have these problems are- one of the reason is we don’t see the qual- you, we don’t see the qualifications. It’s not even a qualification. It’s quality of guru. The fitness to be guru. To be called somebody a guru and to be somebody who say, I am your guru. To be able to say that you need a certain qualities and what kind- beside that, no one will tell you I am your guru. Okay? If anybody tries to tell you I am your guru, run away from that person for miles straight away, straight away. (Audience laughing) Don’t even look back. It’s a problem. So, so what happens is guru has been selected by you. I select my guru. But though I didn’t at my childhood somebody else selected and give me ready-made gurus. And put it on there. So I had to go through because I’m four years old. So that time I got to go through. After that, after that, every guru that I came in contact I selected. They didn’t select me. Except Dalai Lama. It is sort of 50/50, you know it is the- (Laughing) it is the ruler of Tibet, and in Tibet he is in a total political, economic, religious power so somehow everybody goes, so there’s not so much question of selecting or not selecting, sort of went around.

[0:41:20.5] After- beside that, each and every single guru- I have some thirty-odd gurus. Each and every one of them I selected. I made a personal request for them to be my guru, my guide. My teacher. And I, each and every one of them, I ask personally can I attend your teaching? Can I get teaching from you? Can I get guidance from you? And that is how I selected my gurus. And if any gurus try to tell me I’m going to be your guru, I run away. So that, that’s true fact. So number one, that’s the point. But what happened in the west, other, other way around. The gurus been advertised in various papers like we did. There’s a pamphlet, right? So pamphlets and brochures and whatever. Whatever the way we advertise. And then, then people came. And then that’s also guru talks all sorts of good or bad, whatever it is and some people are very inspired and take refuge, whatever it is. Then there’s somehow label them you are this, you are that. That is totally wrong. So therefore, number one, make no mistake you choose your guru, not the guru choose you. Okay? A. That has to be clear.

[0:42:50.6] That’s why I say if anybody try to tell you I am your guru, run away. Run away. I mean it, I’m not even joking. (Laughs) That’s, that is, that is point number one. Point number two, the guru- when you want select your guru, you need know the quality of the guru. You know, guru is nothing but than that of some kind of mentor for you or that sort of inspiration for you. So that’s what you should be, you’re looking for. So if you want to be impressed by the person. If you want to use that person as mentor, you must know some kind of good thing about that person otherwise, what to be mentored? Anybody will know how to sit if there’s a comfortable chair I will know how to sit. I can sit the whole day without any difficulty. I sat yesterday in my kitchen, try to clean the cupboard and there’s a person James try to help me. And he helped me and said you know I told him he’s like the dog’s chase their tail because it’s a small kitchen I was sitting in the middle of the thing and he tried to help me around. So I can sit the whole day. I sat there whole day yesterday, morning til evening. It’s no problem for me sitting cross-legged on hard floor. No big deal. It’s wood floor. And it’s warm when I got up James said oh, it’s warm. That’s what it is. (Audience laughing)

[0:44:25.8] So sitting, anybody can sit. That’s not a big deal. Not a big deal. But the quality of the person. Person must have quality. Quality of dealing with negativities. Quality how to deal with anger. Person has quality of dealing with anger. Quality dealing with attachment. Person must have quality dealing with the jealousy. Person must have quality dealing with the fear. These are the qualities that you look for. And if you find it, if you find the quality (Audio cuts) [0:45:05.6] …to be qualified to be guru, the person should have ten qualities. Shing nyi tu wai (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:45:18.2] Well-behaved person. Well-behaved. If they- if it’s wild, crazy chap, if not well-behaved, the number one quality is missing. So well-behaved person. Well-controlled their delusions. That’s number two. If you are delusions are well-controlled you will be well-behaved. Right? That’s right. So well-behaved. Well-controlled their delusion. And more learned than you are, because if you want to learn from him something, from him or her, but he or she must be more learned than you, otherwise what you going to learn, right?

[0:46:13.5] Nothing more. So that’s why more learned. And diligent person. If the, if the person is not diligent, then you have difficult to deal with person. You can, you can call and say, well I’ll call you back after 7:30 tonight after work, and then I forget. Completely to call that’s I do or owe somebody apology yesterday I didn’t even call after. (Laughs) So, so that is the not diligent. So see that is disqualification for me. Not being diligent. Diligent means person who really been able to work all the time whenever is needed so diligent. Chi ye tu (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:47:04.2] And not only learned, but every knowledge that they try to bring it out must have proof from the spiritual masters other than yourself. Previous teachers, their books, their quotations, their experience. Every single damn word that you come out of your mouth must have proof of experience of some master here and there. So that is the very important quality.

[0:47:39.0] Ken yi rab (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:47:41.4] The person also must know what you’re teaching about it, the subject well-versed, well-understood. Otherwise what you going to teach, right? So ya ton (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:47:53.8] And also good in presentation. Some are they be very learned but do not know how to teach. Just stuck there and say, keep on saying you know what it is sort of thing, if you keep on doing that it won’t work. So must have way good in art of presentation. So that is very important too. Ser a tu (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:48:18.4] it’s also compassionate one. If the guru doesn’t have compassion, you’re in trouble. So the very compassionate one. And guru who can take hardship. Guru who can take hardship. So these are the qualities of the guru.

[0:48:38.9] So you have to look, if you’re looking for guru, and so you see whether that person ahs these qualities or not. You can give fifty percent discount today. Yeah, true. Because you’re not going to find somebody with total all the qualities, even Buddha himself said. It is the maximum qualify- discount you can give is fifty percent. So, (Laughing) so, so that’s the- that was the problem in the 60s. And we don’t know anything about how to check guru, how to look whether it is fit or not to be fit to be guru. And instead of A, we don’t have way of judging it, number one. Number two, instead of we choose so-and-so be guru, and other than the organization, or the group, or the people choose you, somehow adopted you into be, into be guru’s disciple. So that was the problem. And if it is properly done, we would not have faced the problems caused by those today. Those who have advantages, who have received benefit, we have no quarrel with them, they’re great, wonderful. That- let that go. So those of us who had a difficulties and that was because of that problem.

[0:50:09.8] So from now on, when you choose your guru these are the points. These are the qualities you look and then you select the person. So that, that, that’s why. That’s the quality whether the person is fit to be guru or not guru. Selected by you. Whether you can select that person as your guru or not. That is the point where you check. And number two, once you selected guru, the guru is extremely important. Extremely important. So much important than, than that, so much so that even more important than Buddha, to our self, as Buddhist. Our guru is more important to our self than Buddha. I can share with you one interesting historical events that have taken place between India and Tibet. There was a great master called Naropa, mahasiddhi. And that is crazy wisdom Naropa. Crazy wisdom teacher, mahasiddhi Naropa. Naropa has a number of disciples, but one of the important disciples called Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu tradition in Tibet. It’s one of the oldest tradition, very important tradition. Founder of that is Marpa, is disciple of Naropa.

[0:51:47.8] Actually, when these events took place, Naropa already died. Marpa doesn’t know he already died. So he wanted to see Naropa and running into the forest of India screaming, yelling everywhere, looking for Naropa. So there’s no place, there’s no place called Naropa. Naropa doesn’t have address. Naropa doesn’t have post box, telephone number, nothing. So he has to go roam around the forest of India. Imagine how big it is, you know? So running around everywhere hoping to see Naropa. And one day he came encounter with Naropa. There’s a number of things. Anyway, I cut the story short. Finally he did meet Naropa. And then he didn’t know Naropa already died, but Naropa already died and appeared as look like usual Naropa that he used to see before. And they went through the forest and cave wherever they are and Naropa’s giving him a teaching that he asked, give the teachings and things like that, and then went to bed at night.

[0:52:57.4] And middle of the night Naropa jumps out of the bed and started screaming, saying hey Marpa, Marpa, get up, get up, get up! So he’s hard sleeps so woke up and said what’s a matter? What is it? What is it? So he said hey, your mandala, your own mandala, Hevajra mandala is in the air. Look up here. Here. The total mandala is here, appearing here. Personally to you. And he look up and he sees the total mandala. The mandala is, if you’re not familiar, is the sort of, architectural set up of a certain pure land of a pure beings. I cannot do better than that as this moment. So he said, look the mandala’s here! Look, look, look! And so Marpa looks up and he sees the mandala completely and then he said, now you have choice. Do you want to prostrate to me or you want to prostrate to the mandala, he asked. So Marpa thought for little while, he said, I can see him all the time. I don’t see this mandala every day so I’m try to get to that mandala myself, that’s my goal why not? I’m going to prostrate to the mandala first.

[0:54:20.6] He didn’t even reply and started prostrating the mandala. And then Naropa said, lama khor (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:54:28.6] He said where there’s no guru, there’s no Buddha. Where there’s no Buddha, there’s no yidam. Where there’s no yidam, there’s no mandala. So all the thousand different buddhas are because of the manifestations of the guru. So therefore, your mandala is my manifestation so the mandala goes to me and mandala dissolves. And so he’s left there without anything. So, so that’s why the guru becomes, once you have the guru and guru becomes important. In Tibetan Buddhism, even in all different traditions. All different schools what they call it guru devotional practice is root of all development. Root of all development. With my personal experience. With my personal experience. And if you left out certain gurus and you do not get any development at all. This is personally I can say it. Okay that’s enough. Because I don’t want to spend all time talking about the guru.

[0:55:59.1] So the guru is important. That something should not be brushed out completely in the spiritual path. Guru is guide, guru is friend, guru is the mentor, and guru is Buddha, Buddha is guru. Guru is yidam, yidam is guru. Guru is dakini, dakini is guru.. Guru is dharma protector, dharma protector is guru. Guru is angel, angel is guru. Okay? Guru is god, god is guru. So that is that much important in the, in this tradition, at least. I’m speak to you because this is the only I know. So that’s why homage to gurus. First thing. First thing. So therefore, what happens is, what you’re trying to do is we look to Buddha. Buddha is our guru. If I, if I’m a Buddhist, and I’m a Buddhist. And if you, if you are Buddhist what we’ll do, we’ll look to the Buddha as guru, as mentor, as an inspiration, and way and how we do practice is what the guru buddha has done so we follow the footstep. So that’s why it’s becomes so important. Then the personal gurus are becoming the personal emissary of the total enlightened society.

[0:57:35.2] Few years ago I was in Europe, it’s not a Jewel Heart, another organization asked me to speak. So I spoke for almost same thing about guru is emissary of enlightened society. So three weeks later bout the same organization asked me to go to Brazil so I went there and when I reached Brazil I saw lot of t-shirt says, guru is the ambassador of enlightened society, says Gelek Rimpoche. So I saw I told that in Italy, three weeks later I saw this hundreds of t-shirts in a Brazil. Sometimes people are very active that way too. Anyway, so that is about the guru. And guru issue it’s not so important, but it’s also important I thought I’ll take the opportunity to mention it here because it can be, it is some people it went terribly wrong because of this problem.

[0:58:39.1] Now the second line and third line- not line. What you call it? Verse. The after the guru, the, the first verse I’m going to skip that, second verse I’m going to skip it. Cut to here there’s no way divorce the stabilized mind. Is it divorced or what? We’re using different translations all the time. You know unfortunately Tibetan teachings are right now we have couple of good translators in the United States not, not with Jewel Heart. And each and everybody will translate totally different. And poor me, when I can’t, when I don’t know English I have a problem here. Anyway. There’s nowhere divorced of stabilized mind by which addictions to the ocean of the samsaric delight is- what is it? Audience: Calmed. Rimpoche: Calmed. And as, it is the fixation that binds living beings to suffering, first cultivate spirit of stabilized mind. So they’re, they’re telling you, we may say three principle. Here is they try to give you the first principle. I call it simply determination to be free. Here this translator calls spirit of stabilized mind.

[1:00:28.2] Okay. So I call it seeking freedom. This is important for me and I’m going to say it in that way, whatever the translators write. So, for me it is seeking freedom. Why? Why? Because we have a problem. We have a difficulties. We have a suffering. Suffering is our problem. We have emotional problem, we have a mental problem. We have a karmic problem. So we’re not free of those. So the first and foremost important for us to seek the freedom. And in order to seek the freedom, we need to know, we need to know, number one, we have to acknowledge our problems. Number two, we also have to acknowledge there is a way out. Number three, the way out is not an out there, within our self. Within our self. Right in with our self. So this is the point that very important. Each one of them is difficult for us. Number one to acknowledge that we have problem is very difficult. People will say yeah, I do have problem, yeah. But in reality you don’t accept. None of us will accept. You know, all the time we’ll say I’m not angry, but- blah, blah, blah. All the time we say. Simply because we refuse to acknowledge that we are angry. We deny. It’s not only one of us, but all of us. And everybody does that.

[1:02:21.9] Why? The denial is the biggest shelter for our negative emotions. Because if we accept we have negative emotions we’re going to chase them out. So, easiest way, I don’t have it. So, that’s the way. I don’t have it. So we deny. We deny. But we do. You look at the people’s face. You look at each and everybody. We will try to show nice face. We try to put the makeup and make it look beautiful, and wonderful, and bright, and all this. However, in between the lines or in between the cracks of the makeup you see the pain that go through. Each and every one of us. We try to show the best eyes we can, best face, ooo, but within that ooo business, in between we see the sufferings there. Pains are there. And when we long lost friends get together, you sit together, you talk. If you watch and if you conclude how much you talk. The major talk is what sufferings that one has. What experience you had. What a difficult I face. Who lost what and what, all this we have. So this is a basically our pain. Our problem. We have them with us. So denial is the biggest problem.

[1:04:03.0] So first, step number one in Tibetan Buddhism, chase the all denials out. Acknowledge the problems that we have. If you deny the problem, the problem’s not going to go away at all. Problem will remain with us. So accept, acknowledge. Don’t have to, don’t have to accept, I’m sorry. Acknowledge the problem. Acknowledge. Acknowledgement itself is such a powerful treatment. If you acknowledge that you’re angry, your angers go down half way down. Because I don’t want to project myself as some kind of bad person. If you associate anger with bad. So person thinks, oh, I’m angry, I’m a terrible, I’m a bad. I should not be the one who’s angry. So that’s the thing. The anger power will cut down by fifty percent if you acknowledge you’re angry. Step number one. Don’t worry bout it, Buddha’s, Buddhist teachings tell you direct opponent of anger is patience. Yes, it’s true. But don’t worry about patience first, difficult, but acknowledge, acknowledge. Cut the denials out. Acknowledge that I’m angry. Keep acknowledgement. I am jealous. I am upset. I am angry. I am attached. Give acknowledgement whatever the negative emotions that controlling you or you have it, you’re having a difficulties, acknowledgment.

[1:06:07.6] Most important. Once you acknowledge that, then the second step is you want to seek freedom from that. You know somebody heavy handedly pushing you down. So you don’t, you do no longer want that. So you want your freedom. We are Americans. We know what freedom means, right? Thank you. So we do want a freedom from anger. I want my freedom from my anger. I want my freedom from my jealousy. I want my freedom from my attachment. That’s we want it, upper or most important I want my freedom from my ignorance. Ignorance is not me. Attachment is not me. Anger is not me. Jealousy is not me. I am different than that. I am pure. I am an wonderful. I am a pure nature. I am a Buddha nature human being. I am the one who’s going to become fully enlightened buddha. So my life, me, it’s Buddha-natured life. I’m a pure. But I cannot show my pureness because of my attachment. Because of my anger. Because of this, and therefore I need freedomship. What’s wrong with that? Any problems? No problems.

[1:07:54.0] Should not be. So think that. That’s your sort of Tibetan Buddhism 101. (Laughter) For you. Okay? Audience: Okay. Rimpoche: Good. Any questions? Audience: None. Rimpoche: Thank you. Goodbye. I’m going home. (Audience laughs and claps) Can we also meet next Thursday- you have question? Audience: Yeah, you mentioned the word delusion and I thought that benefit a lot of people that you can define what you mean by delusion. People have delusions (Inaudible) [1:08:35.1] Rimpoche: Thank you. This is my personal problem for I call them delusion. Them. The anger, the attachment, the hatred, the jealousy, I call them delusions. The reasons I will tell you later. That, that, that’s, that’s give you a deluded view, that will give you wrong view, all sorts of things. Actually, these are the negative emotions. So that we have within our self. Thank you Robert. Audience: You’re welcome. Rimpoche: Thank you. Anybody have any announcement? Oh I’m sorry there are more questions. Sorry. You can’t go home. Okay.

[1:09:19.2] Audience: You said Buddhism is a, is for the development of the mind, in Buddhist philosophy is there a difference between development of the heart and developing the mind or are they- do you see them as one and the same? Rimpoche: Well, heart is when you say heart, I look at the some kind of physical lump inside something, right? And heart- the interesting thing is eastern people, when we’re think the basis of the consciousness is the heart. And in the west thoughts are coming from the brain, so when the moment you refer to mind you immediately took your finger and point to the brain. But in the eastern tradition we point to the heart. Thinking this is the basis of consciousness then of course there’s a connection and correlation between the heart and the head, and that’s I think how mind functions anyway. So thanks for raising that question. And if you look the heart as piece of organs and then that piece of organs is important organs but not the mind. But mind the home of the mind, the home of the consciousness could be the center of the heart. That’s what the traditional eastern- I don’t know whether it’s a philosophy or religion or whatever it is. They’ll think that way. Thank you. Yes?

[1:11:09.3] Audience: When you say acknowledging negative feelings, do you mean internally or, or is it something that you think? Rimpoche: Internally. Internally. You don’t have to go and confess to anybody. Internally you do it. And if it help you make note and put on your walls. Yeah, right. Really I mean it. And number of friends, number of people who have been studying with me these days doing that. They’re putting their sort of little slip here and there so when they go around the see it and that helps. If you want to you can do that. Okay- oh sorry. Audience: You mentioned the Vajrayana practices? Rimpoche: Oh, Vajrayana practice. Okay, what is that? How do I answer that? Buddhism most basically divided into three kind of Buddhism. One- in principle, freeing yourself from the negative emotions by having discipline. Discipline-oriented way. So that’s we call it Hinayana. The second one is discipline, yes, but within the negative emotions there may somehow good. Some good things, such as certain parts of attachment or all this. There may be some good things. Maybe you can make best use of it. So whatever the way, if we can deal with it, make use of it, so it is good. So that is the Mahayana sutra way.

[1:13:15.6] Mahayana tantra, Vajrayana which we says. Vajrayana’s way of dealing with the negative emotions not so much with the discipline not so much cutting it out, but transforming it. Transforming it in the positive energy. So using anger, transforming it as way to obtain enlightenment. Using attachment transform it. Use attachment. Transform it to a pure wisdom and make yourself deliver to the enlightened level. So way and how they handle the, handle the negative emotions so makes the three different levels. Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana. Hinayana if you cannot handle it don’t deal with it, avoid it. Discipline it down. Mahayana, yeah, good discipline there maybe something good. Make sure you don’t get into trouble. So pick up the good things and go about it. And Vajrayana will say take it, use it, transform it and make the make best use of it. So that is the basically difference. But one follows the other. Tibetan Buddhism is Vajrayana oriented. However, without Theravadan principle, or the Hinayana principle, and Mahayana principle of love and compassion, you cannot go at all. So Vajrayana is a high level, but the higher level must have strong foundation in lower level, so that’s how it works. Thank you for asking the question. Oh, I don’t see any more hand. Thank you so much and thank you for coming and we’ll see you on Thursday. If you want to meditate, meditate on Buddhist 101. Thank you.