Archive Result

Soundfile 19960229GRBH3P

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Bloomfield Hills

Topic Three Principles of the Path

Transcriber Jill Neuwirth

Date 12/2/2020

Good evening everybody. (Laughs) And thank you for coming here. So since everybody had that page. Anybody who doesn’t have the page? Alright. (Speaks to audience about getting and sharing the pages) [0:00:26.8] A those ancient Tibetan teaching which sort of translated sort of, I mean it is translated into English and we try to follow through this so that whatever we talk at end of this there’ll be something comprehensive. At least very at least it may not be going to be very detailed but it sort of comprehensive from the beginning to end some kind of idea of complete path. And that is the tradition and and we try to be true to the tradition because we do have some benefits. On the other hand, we would also not like to stick too the tradition way of teaching if we do that probably will be very complicated and difficulty. So so we try to to compromise in between so just to keep it whole thing together we like to follow the the text, the root text.

And as I mentioned to you last week, this was done and the great Tsong Khapa the Tibetan master and founder of the yellow hat sect after doing a number of years of retreat under the instruction of Manjushri and then they he had direct teachings with Manjushri and these direct teachings, result of these direct teachings in comprehensive very short form. So that’s why we chose this particular short version of it. And if I remember correctly I think we are the point where it says there is a no way divorce of a stabilized mind by which addiction to the ocean of the samsara’s delight is calmed. And as it the fixation that binds living beings to the suffering first cultivate spirit of stabilized mind. I think we’re in that point. Am I right? Thank you. So what I did is there is no way divorce of the stabilized mind. Stabilized mind I try to explain that earlier. If I’m the translator I will not use the word stabilizing mind. I will say seeking freedom.

So since this particular translation has mentioned stabilized mind so I’d like to sort of double fold tthat up by doing what does stabilized mind mean? So the mind which not decided what I wanted to do. So mind you know we do have a very fickle mind all the time. All the time. We want do this and halfway you turn around and make 90 degree turn do something else and all or maybe maybe if we go a little nit and then says maybe this is better than that, maybe this is better than that. Maybe that’s better than that. That’s what we always do. That’s c- that’s result of that. As consequences of that we get nowhere. And that is true to to everything. That is true to everything. That’s true to politics, and that is true to the economic work and that’s definitely true for the spiritual path. And you know whatever you want to do, if you don’t know it, learn it. If you know it you make up your mind and put all your energy to that direction. And that is absolutely important. And that is one of the reason I keep on telling you the last two or three- is it three already? Two or three weekends- not weekends, sorry. Two, sorry, Thursdays.

Two or three last Thursdays keep on telling you the love and light is not necessarily great, that’s what I mean. A lot of people will just (?) like float around and it is beautiful, wonderful wonderful and you know beautiful, wonderful is very nice to be in there for a while is great. And nothing wrong with that. You can enjoy for a while. But that for a while period is not necessarily capable of delivering the individual in total freedomship. And that is a problem. So what we really, what the Tibetan Buddhism gives the message to the individual is that each and every single human being individual is capable of achieving a total freedomship. Whether you want to settle less than that it’s your choice. But if you don’t want, if you want to make best whatever you could at least the minimum what you can do is getting yourself free from those difficulties that we face in our life after life. Because of my background, don’t forget. So I use life after life.

So what that’s telling you is there is no way to divorce of the stabilized mind. By which the addiction to the ocean of the samsara’s delights. The samsara’s delights. You know the word samsara must be, samsara or samsaric? Samsaric. Samsaric is there anybody who is not familiar with that word, would you raise your hand? There quite a lot of them. You don’t know what samsara is? I believe it is a perfume, isn’t it? (Laughing) It’s one of those Elizabeth Taylor’s perfume I think it’s called Samsara. It is the Sanskrit word a used for, it sort of it’s indicates the life after life the circle the circle of existence meaning the the meaning the the death will be followed by bardo the intermediate state. And intermediate state will be followed by rebirth. And rebirth will be followed by the living period. Living period will be followed by the death and that will be followed by bardo and continuation of that. That’s what they call it circle. The Buddhist, the circle of life. And always, always there’s a you know, in a one way buddha- Buddhist use the circle wheel as a representing the Buddha’s teaching on another way it is the indication that continuation of life after life and death after life. That, that continuation without our control. Without our choice it’s called samsara.

[0:09:00.9] And it has a lot of passions in that that’s why they perfume is named after that. Maybe I’m guessing. (Laughs) But the sam- there’s a lot of delights I there. There’s a lot of beautiful things in samsara to which I was telling you the other day I think I think it was here. Last week. Is it here? I think so. I was talking here so I’m sorry I have the Tuesday in Ann Arbor and then weekend I had- what did I have? Cleveland. So that’s why I begin to confuse, you know? So anyway so the samsara has lot of delights, too. And that’s nothing wrong with those delights. That’s beautiful things within the samsara, within life. Ah, here. I told you. The life also has that’s like wonderful things, not only suffering but there also wonderfulness within the life. That’s a lot of those good things. Nothing wrong with this. And that people can definitely enjoy those. You can definitely enjoy. There’s nothing wrong. Nothing wrong. Don’t have to feel guilty about it. Don’t have to feel bad about it.

[0:10:16.8] And one good thing in Buddhism- I’m not going to say it. (Audience laughing) Okay. I’d better go down. So so nothing with those samsara’s delights. You can enjoy that. But you should not have attachment for those. These very attachment for the samsara’s delights will make our self bound to that. It is the attachment is the problem and it’s not the delights itself. There’s a lot of beautiful things in life, you cannot ignore that. There’s a lot of suffering in life that also you cannot ignore. And you know that our self. I don’t have to tell you here, we all know that. Otherwise you should not be here, right? The reason why you’re here is more or less to want yourself get some whatever the reason is. I don’t know whatever the reason you’re here. (Audience laughing) So anyway I presume that you wanted to make yourself little better. And in normal American Christian you call it bring closer to enlightenment. (Laughs) So so that’s is probably a reason and making yourself better beings and improving our own spiritual standards. So that’s what it is.

[0:11:49.9] And if that’s so what makes you not to improve, what makes you not to get better will be the attachment. The attachment will hold you back. That’s the attached to what? Smasara’s delights. That’s the problem. That’s what it is. So if you want seek freedomship fro the samsara you should not have attachment for the samsara’s delights, you know? If you don’t have that, and then you can seek total freedomship. The delights will not going to lose it, it’s going to be there. And what you’re really going to lose is the the problem that you face and the difficulties that we have within the our life, within the our life after life. And particularly most important is the unknowing, uncontrolled and unmanaged force that push you through the tube and circle round and sometimes it is wonderful picnic spots . sometimes it is terrible, what? Huh? Audience: Pain, sorrow. Rimpoche: Sure, no doubt. But I’m not thinking that way, I’m sort of thinking the the the the wastewater goes. Not the water treatment but huh? Audience: (Inaudible) [0:13:20.6] Rimpoche: Sewage. There you go, thank you. Sometime you get through that pipe you know, so. So we don’t have a control over there. And that’s what it is.

[0:13:34.0] That’s really true. And I was in India for a long and it is a very hot place. And when started looking through when you sort of you know open you’re the sewage system the sewage system is quite open there. And if you begin to open you find the hundreds of cockroaches climbing up through that. And they use DDT powders to put them through there. That’s what they do in India, yeah. That’s what it is. So anyway so what happens is that little cockroaches in that sewage system and this nice little joyful people living in the air conditioned Bangalore, let’s call it in India is by chance it happens to be the place different and within the next coupe of years or something it can definitely switch around. And that is our biggest problem. And that was Buddha’s recognition of a a difficulties or the sufferings that we people have. That’s why Buddha choose to call it first noble truth is truth of suffering. That’s why first important step in the spiritual path is seeking freedomship. Freedomship. Freedom. Not falling in those funny little realms. That was most important.

[0:15:16.0] So we don’t have control we don’t have control at all so it only by chance, definitely by chance by the time when you dying when we die it totally depends on what kind of karma we connect. And that karma is capable of delivering the next immediate, you know the cause and result, the karmic cause the responsibility of the individual and it is action. That’s the really what karma is. And that’s whatever we did and that brings the result back which is, which is, a principle that we are responsible to our self. That’s what Buddha keep on making that statement all the time it’s because of that reason. Whatever we do we are responsible, nobody else. Good we did we will enjoy, bad we did we will suffer. That is our self. We’re responsible. So so what makes us not to seek the freedom is because we’re afraid the fear or losing, the fear of losing whatever it is. You know a lot of people have tremendous amount of fear of losing something which you don’t know what you’re really afraid of it. But you’re afraid of losing the samsara’s delights. That is the fear we have.

[0:16:51.2] And that fear will make us not to seek freedom because I’m going to lose it. You know I’m going to lose it. I’m going to give up. I can’t give up. You don’t have to give anything, nobody’s asking give you up anything. But simply saying not to have attachment but when you look at the word as attachment we say yeah it’s bad, no good. I don’t want it. I don’t to be attached. But when you’re really acting within that when you’re functioning with attachment and then we love attachment. We can’t give up. Right or wrong? This is true. True fact. You should always look. You know the other day I did I think I have said it, but if I’m not said it I mentioning, I’m going to say it again here. If I’m sure I should have said it. But these thoughts what I’m going to share with you on the basis of this is going to be it’s providing you a mirror. Mirror. Where you look yourself and see whether you have quality or faults what do you have that is that is the mirror we are providing you. This is your mirror.

[0:18:08.8] Can you see it? That really true. And see within that and what you look is you don’t have to tell anybody whether I’m bad or good or bad or don’t have to ask anybody. See yourself in that with your attitude with your thoughts with your way of thinking with your way of living with your way of functioning with your way of dealing with people with your way of dealing with your own life and each and every one of them, each and every one of them you have to look in thereand see it is good one or bad one. You can have your own reflection. Then you can correct like people do, people look in the mirror and when the see some funny thing here they remove that and put up little more extra white or pink or peach or red or whatever you have to do people do that right? So the mirror serve the purpose. So here this is your spiritual mirror where you look with your own thoughts. And with your own way of functioning dealing and see if there’s a problem or is it correct. Is it correct and good be happy about it, rejoice. It is bad or if it’s doubtful if it’s bad, remove it. If it’s doubtful, find out.

[0:19:38.4] That is the that is the spiritual practice opportunity. That’s what we can provide you. That’s not me, it is the lineage, the background of thousand years of the Tibetan Buddhist masters and and earlier Indian teachers fro Buddha onwards and that is the unbroken lineage and unbroken living tradition. That’s what we bring to you. It is unbroken mirror provided given to you copy when you get piece of paper it’s not piece of paper you’re getting that mirror. And when we’re talking here I’m telling you how to use the mirror. So so then what you do is you yourself has to look into this and then make a corrections. Dharma spiritual means nothing than that of correction. I very often say it word dharma translated into Tibetan is cho, means correct. Correction. Correction ag- you have to correct our addictions that simple as that. What are we addicted. We are addicted to attachment. We are addicted to anger. We are addicted to jealousy We are addicted- we don’t have to teach somebody how to get attached, do we? Is there school for teaching how to be attached? No there’s no. You don’t have to. Because we get that that that level automatically comes up.

We don’t have to go to school how to get angry, to learn how to get angry. We we do get angry without knowing that, right? And we don’t have to go to school how to learn to get jealous. Wedo get auto- even the parents try to hide the magazines or whatever the children will pick up faster than you do. Before you know they already have that. So that’s what always it is. So that’s because we have life after life addiction. That’s why. So when you do a spiritual path what Buddha know what Buddha experience when I said don’t go for love and light when I said grounded, the grounding here is to work against your those emotions which you’re attached with your addicted. That of anger, that of jealousy, that of atta- that is grounding work. People you say I have to grounded people say what you mean by grounding? Number of people think what you mean by grounding?

So grounding does not- everybody’s on the ground, nobody is in the air, right? But here when you say grounding he means normally a lot of people we we don’t work with the your emotions and they instead of some kind somehow something will happen looking some kind of miracle thing will happened. Or waiting for what you call, apocalypse or or Armageddon or something of that type of thing something you know happening or maybe a close encounter with third kind or some kind of thing people waiting and some sort of working for it which is flying in the air. It’s ok you can get a close encounter with third kind, if you get it, you get it. But why you have to work for it. No reason no reason at all. So earlier spiritual that who have come. Spiritual people who had fully developed and nobody sort of worked for getting close encounter with third kind but they do get contact with the third kind without running to wherever you have to run some different places. And there’s there within the four walls of the your own bedroom we in that you do get close contact with third kind. They did. Everybody did. Those of the spiritual path, they did. But it is I don’t think it’s come with the spaceship. So so that’s what it is.

[0:24:07.9] So anyway the point is that’s not the game that’s not your aim. The aim is aim is to clear the obstacles to get to that level. So what are the obstacles our negative emotions because these negative emotions create negative karma so negative karma will create suffering and that becomes obstacle so that’s why it is important to work against that is the spiritual path that Buddha knows. That is the Buddhist message. You don’t have to go out somewhere to find negative emotions. You don’t have to go out somewhere to find antidote of negative emotions it’s all within our self. Simply matter of tapping it and making use. As an human being I like to move to the next verse(?) By contemplating how difficult a precious human life is to- I can’t read this word. Audience: Acquire. Rimpoche: Acquire. How to get it, right? Thank you. So by contemplating how difficulty a precious human life. Okay now last time I told you meditation 101 right? Okay now it goes on 102. 102. Is it 102 they call it? Maybe, alright Thanks. So 102 will be what? 102 will be- this is very interesting. The Buddha’s teaching if you look at meditation 102 will be embraced human life. Embrace your own life. Do not reject. Do not look down. Do not underestimate. Your life is precious. Human life is precious.

[0:26:30.0] Extremely precious. Buddhist traditions will tell you you have eighteen different qualities. Alright eighteen different qualities. I’m not going to count what those eighteen different are. So but if you’re interested or by the way those of you who are if really interested what we are talking here looks like you’re coming here week after week so you must be quite interested. If you’re interested if you want the benefit out of this you have to read some readings do. Mean it’s not like college course. You have to read from this page to this page on this period, no. But I can recommend, actually I have to ask Aura to recom- to give few titles and authors and to recommend for the reading for those people who are coming here regularly. Audience: (Inaudible) [0:27:33.8] Rimpoche: Oh by Geshe Tharchen, right? I think that’s what Geshe Tharchen’s. Audience: (Inaudible) [0:27:46.7] Rimpoche: What? Audience: Commentary by Pabongka Rimpoche? Translated by Geshe Tharchen? Rimpoche: Tharchen. Audience: Tharchen. Rimpoche: Yeah that’s a Geshe Tharchen.

So that is one very good one to read and then we also have our own, don’t we have our own? Yeah, Three Principle of the Path, yeah. And that one, and also then there’s a little book these are actually it’s not book, all my things are not book. I don’t have single book out. So but they’re only with internal circulations we have quite a lot of them only for I’m using because I always think I have nothing to say. So whatever they get it they transcribed and mostly done by the Dutch people. They collected them and so they they they all the Dutch people who doesn’t speak engish they did all this work. (Laughing) and and there’s a Tuesday evening and, isn’t there something called Tuesday evening Audience: (Inaudible) [0:28:54.1] Rimpoche: Oh I see merged in there. Oh I didn’t know. I’m sorry. So and also there’s a there’s a very nice book a by one one of the Geshe called Geshe Rabtens. Essential, is it? Essential Nectar.

And that if you’re interested these things are will be very useful. These can bring, they’ll coordinate if you read the correct books everything wherever it is talking it will come to single point. The point on which you have you’re working on that they will add up on that. They will builds up. Every time when you read you get different informations. This is this is true to the Tibetan Buddhist things. If you you know normal things you read once, you read twice, they don’t want to read anymore. But then these things if you read different times you get different messages. Different meanings and different points you get something very helpful. So that’s what I like to mention to you. But the step number two here, 102, is now embracing the human life, and the life what we have. I do know I’m very much aware of it, lot of people have difficulties within the life. A lot of people think I have done something wrong, I am bad, I have, I blow it. All this type of thing people will think a lot. Lot of people to think. But it is never. You never blowed anything. Life is extremely important, precious and capable. The reason why precious is not not it’s not very simply we’re saying life is precious and normal thing. Yeah we all know that. But here when we are saying life is precious with this life is unlike any other life.

I’m coming with the background of reincarnation so this life is unlike any other life. Life who are capable of giving you a total enlightenment and total freedom from all suffering and obstacles once for all. And that’s why we say the Tibetan tradition tells you this life is so important and so precious. That is the reason. It is capable of delivering anything you want to. Material spiritual or even otherwise. Good or bad whatever it is it is capable of delivering this is this life. Compare with other lives. Compare it. Compare with your pet cat. Or or your pet dog. And everybody would like to say oh my cat is very intelligent. Everybody will say my dog’s extremely intelligent, right? I mean true. It may be. It is. But it’s not intelligent as you are. Otherwise they should be able to talk to you. But they you may say they talk to me they’ll say meow meow, right? But but is a limitations. They have those limitations. Limitations. You may be able to understand few words what they say. Say what they wanted. But beyond that they cannot communicate. The capability of the communiction is not there. That’s just- that’s nobody’s fault that’s because happens to be cat, that’s all. That’s what it is.

[0:32:53.1] So that’s the difference between the life what we have and the cats have. And the dogs, and the horses and so and forth. No matter how intelligent it might be. The cockroach too, right? So this is what it is. That is the reason. The bottom line here is this life is different than any other life, even the samsaric gods according to Buddhism. Samsaric gods. They are small g gods. Not the big G God, small g gods. Samsaric gods are full of pleasure, full of joy, full of magical power. Wonderful. We may call them angels or whatever but however their life is not capable of delivering whatever it’s capable of delivering in the human life because for them it is extremely difficult to develop compassion because they don’t have physical suffering. So they don’t know what is suffering is. So therefore they have difficult to develop compassion. So our life is very balanced life. We know we know the samsara’s delights and we know the samsara’s misery and we can develop compassion as matter of fact most of the people in the west are very compassionate person. I always say that. Very compassionate person. Wonderful being in the deep down. I do not know outside. But deep down it is wonderful being, compassionate one. We all have that.

[0:34:47.7] That’s why the life is precious. It is extremely important. Buddhist 102 will tell you embrace life. Do not reject. Do not under, under, what you call it? Do not look down. There’s nothing wrong. You know Allen Ginsberg always sings incidentally Allen Ginsberg always says you know, what he said- it’s never too late, never too late to be meditate. So that’s what he says. As it’s never too late. Nothing is too late. Never. Nobody had been sort of blow it anything. You know what earlier Tibetan masters used to say? If I have a life to live next few months I will make sure that my next immediate future life is a perfect one. If I have a few more years to live I will make sure that my the ignorance been cut and total freedomship has been and total freedom been maintained. Obtained. Is it? Yeah. Obtained. Yeah. That’s what they used to say. And that is the way it is. So it is never too late. That’s what Allen says, that’s true. It’s never too late. Nothing is too late. Never too late. No matter whatever it may be. It is never too late it is the opportunities right here and you can do it and you have the capabilities. No matter whether you are great intelligence or brilliant being or you may be stupid. Both of them have total opportunity and total capabilities they can do it.

Buddhism is such a thing if you can make it it’s a great philosophical detailed and wonderful thing make the individual very very easy way to develop one way they can do the another way they can do simple little solid little practice which you can hold on you don’t have to go much detail here and there you can hold on together you make it. Whether you come through this vast way or the little short narrow passageway whatever you come ultimately you get to freedomship. So what does that make difference. So there total opportunity available t everybody as long as you have the capability of communication. If you have lack of communication then it’s difficult. Difficult but as long as we have the capability of communication then it is not a difficult. That’s not right. It is difficult but but but everybody has the opportunity. So the so the life is extremely important and lot of people think I have a I have missed opportunity, I blow it, I’m a terrible. And all this. These are totally not true. And a lot of people will have a big guilt feelings I did this, I did this, I did this all sorts of hundred different things comes up on your head and say oh I’m a terrible being I did this I did this I did this. Which will be, which will all will have it.

[0:38:39.0] Because our mind is such a thing whether we physically acted or not, mind will do all sorts of things. We murder million different people and we have done through the mind lot of those things. And when you come up this and you keep on thinking I’m a terrible, I’m a miserable, I’m bad. No it’s not true. Even you did it. Even you have done it. Even you literally did it physically did it, even then it’s not terrible. It’s bad, no doubt. But not end of the world at all. I must share one story what we call it Angulimala story. During the Buddha’s lifetime what happened is- okay this, this story will serve two purposes. One purpose the spiritual path has to be correct one otherwise what consequences you get. Another one, another story will tell- this story will serve another purpose, no matter how terrible it had been even then one thing correct. So this will serve two purposes so I’m going to share the story with you. During the Buddha’s life, Buddha life, Buddha’s lifetime and there was a a gentleman who wanted to, or seeker who wanted to be liberated. And going around and had a terrible bad spiritual guide, guidance given, guide.

And that guide, or the teacher told him if you can kill one thousand human beings in week and cut each one of the person you kill cut their thumbs or whatever, their finger and said put a thread through and wear it as a rosary and come back to me within the week with a thousand fingers. And I will liberate you like this. So the guy worked very hard, carried a huge knife and chop everybody down that he can get a hold of it. Nine hundred and ninety-nine human beings slaughtered. And he couldn’t get the last one, everybody run away. (Audience laughing) This is two thousand five hundred years ago don’t think where the police is, okay. There’s no 911, okay, so. Even you shouted 911 nobody will come. So that’s what it is. So what happened is, what happened is, nine hundred ninety-nine. And couldn’t get the last one because everybody run away from him. Only who is worried about him is his own mother. His own mother from a distance tried to pop up little bit, scared, and running back. Pop up and running back looking for opportunity to be able to help that guy. Because it happens to be her own children. That’s the one of the reasons why Buddha said when you developed compassion look everybody as mother beings. And don’t look as your own mother because you’re going to get more upset than that going to be develop now. But if you been mother yourself and how much you care to your children. Look from that window. Then you appreciate.

[0:42:23.1] Look at this guy the story what I’m telling you. Look at that mother. With this guy with the huge knife on the shoulder running around and everybody’s run away the mother try to pop up from some corner somewhere ready to run away. Pop up ready to run away. And he also had a hesitation to chop his own mother. And he was hoping for the second person and but if he can’t get it if he’s running out his time then he will then he will chop down the mother, too. So about this time Buddha suddenly appeared there. Comes up. He was hoping for the third person, Buddha comes up. Buddha comes up and he was very happy now I don’t have to run after my mother I can chop this guy here. So he started running, chasing Buddha and Buddha started walking very slowly. But he could never catch him up. Never catch him up no matter how much he’s running, Buddha going slowly. So but he could never catch up. So then he after little while he started saying hey, wait! Hey, wait! And Buddha said I’ve been waiting for long time, here you come faster.

That’s how they begin to talk to each other. They break the broke the ice in that way. The conversation was begin with that. When the communication took place then they can exchange ideas and finally Buddha been able to show the light to him telling him whatever he’s doing is wrong. A totally wrong and be able to convinced him and he give up his knife. And he give up his knife and Buddha brought him to his place ordained him and become one of the arhats. Be able to do it. So then Buddha said no matter how much the cloud may come under the sun there will be day the sun will shine. Did you get it? See that’s why all these negativities that we have it is like a cloud. It will temporarily block the sunshine but it goes. In Michigan it moves very fast. The weather you know I’m talking about it. Well look at it even today alone there there was there was a snow flurry, the sunshine there is there is gray usual weather and there’s all these things, three four times how many six seven times it changed today alone. So that’s exactly how Michigander’s negative emotions function the same way. It is nothing permanent. It is impermanent. It moves.

[0:45:28.6] So it’s never damages the original it is never because we remain a wonderful nature. The nature which will be able to become total enlightenment. That is the wonderful nature we have. That’s why we say, the Buddhism says the human life, your life is extremely precious, important. And it is wonderful. Even somebody who had done killing nine hundred ninety-nine beings week week and we haven’t done anything, right? So even that person could become arhat level. Can go beyond samsara. Why not us? The earlier example the during the Buddha’s life what had happened is the our inspiration and role model. This is how this tradition works. So that’s why I share that story with you. No matter how terrible we think we have done but we haven’t killed nine hundred ninety-nine human beings. So we will definitely make it. Never doubt about that. And never doubt about that and making sort of putting trust toyourself that we can do it. And we have ways and means of doing it. And we have capability of be able to function it, be able to do this be able to achieve that will be Buddhist 102. Okay? 101 the other day, 102 here.

[0:47:22.4] So with this would like to talk little bit here and there little bit. And no matter people think you know I have done something bad and lotof people would like to be guilt- feel guilty about it. A lot of people would like to misuse guilt feeling and play with that and do with this, you know all sorts of people dodevel- try to develop guilt make make you feel guilty about it. and in my personal case I always says I am non-believer of guilt. I don’t believe in that. I certainly do believe in the regret. We did something, we must regret. But there’s no such a thing called we can do nothing, I’m stuck here. Not. Definitely not. The negativities are impermanent. Impermanent. Our selves are impermanent. If we are permanent our actions will be permanent. No doubt about it, we’re stuck there. (Audio cuts) [0:48:36.5]

[0:48:36.5] … like a cloud. Cloud. And specially the Michigan cloud. It ove very fast. So it is impermanent. So therefor, nothing is a stuck. Nothing, there’s nothing such called cannot help it. Helpless, hopeless, I’m stuck with that. It’s never exist. Never. So that is one thing I would like to make very clear. Oh I do have time. That’s not bad. So, then the second line it says how our lifespan is not fixed. That is one thing. The life is wonderful, it is beautiful, it is no doubt. But it’s not permanent. It’s impermanent. I’m already talking about that. The one of the biggest example of impermanent is the death. Is death We all die no matter how young and beautiful youthful you people may be, how no you know whatever it may be there will be time everybody will die. The traditional teachings will tell you the hundred years from now on, from now, there may be somebody may tell story that we all get together here for six weeks and did this and that. And sort of thing. Somebody may have. Somebody may write down, somebody may, maybe everybody maybe forgotten whatever it is. Perhaps none of us are, not perhaps, most probably none of us will be here. Hundred years from now on.

So we all we all will go. And the people have no difficult to accept that. Yeah, we’re all going to die. Yeah, yeah we’re all going to die. We do accept that. And that is not a problem. The problem is, when. That is the problem. We will accept yes we’re going to die, but not now. Years away down the somewhere you know. Maybe hundred years, maybe two hundred years. And in our with your our own intellectual capacity we will say well, not that far but not for a while. But but whatever it is when the day comes when the day comes near, when the day comes near, we always like to have extension. That’s what we do. So, so the when is a problem. And then basically we’ll say, I’m young, I’m healthy, I had my checked up with the doctors yesterday and they give me clean sheet. Right? So you think well I’m going to be for a while. Incidentally I saw a movie last night. I didn’t sleep last night got a cold, terrible cold I’m sorry but I didn’t sleep last night and I keep on watching movie at night. So three in the morning or four in the morning there was a movie going on there some kind of doctor who set up a big hospital and and where he saying people don’t die and this and that and all sorts of things and there’s a vegetarian doctor they call it. A vegetarian food and all this sort of thing all sorts of big thing there.

And and finally he had a son terrible son is always angry against him and all this finally the son put a fire to his total hospital and everything is gone wrong. But at the end he be able to build up the hospital again and at the end he said I am still verystrong and wonderful thing and I do know now that I’m not going to die forever. So he going to jump in the water and by the by the time he was jumping suddenly ooo went and he had a heart attack and died when he jump in. (Laughter) So that’s why it’s that’s why I brought that up reason so even the Doctor Kellogg himself, that’s what, Kellogg corn flakes that Kellogg there. And the- the son is try to make corn flakes and making use of the doctor’s name. Couldn’t make it in the movie. Anyway so the Kellogg. And while he jump and at the time the moment he jump had heart attack and went down and then sort of started floating up you know. (Laughs) So that’s what it is.

[0:53:40.6] So no matter how much time we keep on saying that not, not now. Not now. Not now. But it comes. That is, that is the unfortunate part of it. Unfortunate part of it and that comes. And that you never know when it’s going to come. We normally say the older people will go first, younger ones will stay behind and enjoy the life. But it’s a never certain. How many grandparents attend the funeral of their great-grandchildren? Always. Many times. So there is no certainty. This is one of our biggest fallback. And we may think, ha, Buddhism Buddha two thousand five hundred years ago there is no scientific medical development so that’s what they’re talking about it. Now we have great scientific development and so we’ll be alright. Some people may think that way. But it’s not. When the complications rise no doctor can do nothing. No scientist can do anything. Nothing. Buddha himself made a statement saying that when the time comes the medicine Buddha becomes the doctor, the powerful Vajrapani becomes the protector, and Buddha himself is becomes the nurse or helper or whatever, ever, even then when the time comes they have to go. If something is right, something else goes wrong.

So this is our karma. That’s called karma. This is our drawback. This is our biggest example of impermanent. And this is the there total conclusion the great grand total comes out of the treasury department. That is the total they do. So when is that going to happened? So we never know. Never know. Please think about that which never know. So where the op- the reason why we brought that up not to get frightened not to get not to get nervous, not to get anxiety, but the reason why you bring that up- the reason why you meditate on this so you will not waste time. You will not make the wrong choice of your priority. That is the simple reason. Simple reason. Everybody has to work. You have to earn your living you have pay your bill. No problem with that. But the problem what we have is in after next immediately or maybe even priority to our job and paying bills what we take is the the other wasting period. The period that we waste. We make gossips, we go do all sorts of things. Everybody says I’ll have no time. But everybody have time to gossip.

[0:57:17.4] Everybody have time to do something else unproductive, right? Everybody does that. Everybody. So that is the wrong priority. That’s the reason why the impermanent has been introduced at that level. At the gross level of impermanent. Actually the death itself how people die, what happens, what does death mean? How do you die? What happens, how you feel, where do you go thereafter? What happens to the individual? Are you disappearing totally or you’re still functioning? Do you understand what’s going on with you? So these are the main points they will introduce here. The purpose of introducing these right over here, first life is precious and important, second there’s no time. Did you get it? The reason why, why Buddha choose to put there is to inspire our self and not to waste time. The wasting time is the biggest problem. The laziness what we have is the biggest problem. The tremendous problem. What laziness is we have two kinds of laziness. Eastern laziness and Western laziness. It’s a different. True.

The Eastern laziness is Eastern people like me my laziness will be if I can sit down somewhere I can’t get up. I’ll be relaxed there whatever I’m doing I enjoy doing that whether I’m reading a book, or talking to somebody, or watching a television or whatever. Or thinking something or whatever I’m doing I will not get up if I’m comfortable. That is Eastern laziness. Which you don’t have that problem. Your problem is you have to make yourself absolutely busy for nothing. That is your Western laziness. And what you’re supposed to do you won’t do it, you don’t put your time in there make yourself absolutely busy take a more commitment on it what you’re supposed to do, you don’t do it. And on the in the excuse you takes to avoid what you’re supposed to do you pick up so many assignment, do volunteer job here and there and do all sorts of things run around drive a hundred miles a day. Whatever you do you know you have to do all this and that’s the Western laziness.

That is the two different laziness you have. It makes, I mean it takes hardship to make me move. And it’s will not take hardship for you people to move, you move. It will take hardship for you to sit down got to hold down you know. That is the problem. So what happened is in that process what you’re losing is the time and the opportunity. The laziness fills up the time and opportunity. So the opportunity is great over here. The time is a limited and if you don’t take and then if it’s too late then it’s too late. Once it’s too late it’s too late for probably hundreds of eons. And that’s why it is so important. It is so important that’s why this impermanent has been introduced here. So whatever you wanted to do it. You do it today. You do it now. I told you the other day, I remember very clearly it’s here. I said tomorrow never comes.