Archive Result

Soundfile 19960307GRBH3P

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Bloomfield Hills

Topic Three Principles of the Path

Transcriber Jill Neuwirth

Date 1/04/2020

(Inaudible)…Good evening, I’m sorry we’re slightly late today. Feel like attempted to throw, do you have any question that so far we’ve been talking lot but that might not be fair for if there’s anybody new. So basically, I should go and speak little bit. What we’ve been doing here, is sort of essential Tibetan Buddhism what we call it technically Three Principles of the Path. And Three Principles are the three most important points in one’s journey towards total enlightenment. Point number one is the, point number one is determination to free our self from the sufferings and problems that we face. Step two, or point number two, is- there’s a lot of chairs of you come in, there’s chairs available. Point number two is the love compassion, and point number three is the application of wisdom to every point. So, so far what we’re touching is we’re still at point number one. Point number one basically saying the freedom. Freedom why do we need freedom from suffering. Probably doesn’t take much time. Or reasons to convince because everybody knows that is a problem.

[0:02:10.5 ] And point number- on in that, we say if so, how? And what are the obstacles of a having a strong, determined mind seeking freedom. The obstacle is, is attachment to the samsara’s delights. And we introduce the problem, and a now it’s a left for the individuals to figure out whether the problem is a real problem to the individual or it is just a rhetoric. And according to the Buddha it is a problem because number of times we’ll say let it go. All the time. We always say let it go, but we always have difficulty of knowing what let go and how and why. So this is the, this is the struggle. The samsara’s delights will hold us back. And I’m not sure whether I did share with this group the story of one of my teacher called Gompo(?) [0:03:43.4] Rimpoche. Did I share that on the first day? You don’t- everybody’s shaking head but I keep on know on side of my mind says I did. So anyway, one of my great masters, late master he is a great practitioner and wonderful person, but way and way he behaves in his normal life is, he just, he doesn’t behave like a big incarnate lama or a big great teacher except very last part of his life, very, very last part of his life, like maybe two, three years out of 62 years he did that.

[0:04:44.9 ] Otherwise, since 1959 he’s been, been a sort of working as though he’s been, he is the house number fifteen’s father. That is Tibetan children’s orphanage children’s house that group and each house they numbered and they have parents each, so he is the father of house number fifteen. So he had very selected small number but very solid group of students. And many of them are formal, Tibetan, the Dalai Lama government officials and two of them he been following him for like twenty over years and they moved to place where he was living. And then suddenly, somehow they decided at the time when these people, these two disciples who following him, should die and how and all this. And in India those days to get across from the, from the center India to end of northern India’s very difficult to get even train ticket. You have to keep on bribing the conductors and everything even then you can’t get very easily. So the bookings are normally done like three, four months ahead so, so what happened is they these two separately have an attendant they brought northern Indian native sort of Nepalian Kokali(?) [0:06:34.8] type of people they have brought there as attendant.

[0:06:39.8 ] So when they decided when they supposed to die, so they after that they don’t need the attendant anymore because the master going to die so what will the attendant do, right? So what they did is they paid attendant all the time up to there and they sort of give them enough days to settle everything down and then they leave. So they have even bought the train ticket and everything for the attendant. And one of them died as scheduled with no difficulties. The other one didn’t die. He is waiting for the news is saying so-and-so is dead and so please pray. That’s what he’s waiting for. And he keep on waiting and the day, you know, waiting, no news is coming. And after little while he got little, sort of little nervous and anxious and he started going to his house. And there he sees a lot of people standing there and he said, what happened? He said, well he got sick this morning but, but then they took him to the American hospital. So the guy is the person is moved to the American hospital so he didn’t die.

[0:07:53.4 ] So he supposed to die that day, and between two of them only knows nobody else knows. So then he has to go there by hook or crook. So he said he has to go. So he went to the American hospital and they will not allow him or anything. So he said, I have to see him I don’t know how he manage it but this guy is in intensive care unit. So he went in there and saw it. And he said what happened? He said, he said, I don’t know what happened it’s sort of all this symptoms of death stages are coming to me and all of suddenly it started reversing it. And then he said what happened? He said I don’t know. They each other look at each other so I don’t know, I don’t know. And he was looking around then he suddenly noticed he’s wearing a brand new shirt. And then sort of become a little suspicious and he said, said, oh, you got new shirt. What is this? He said, isn’t that nice? You know. And he said so-and-so give me like a two days ago or something, so I thought I’ll wear it today.

[0:09:03.8 ] So, so then he, Rimpoche says, you must give me the shirt, I want it. And he’s hesitating for a little while. Hesitated for a little and then after little while, and then finally he, alright, he said, you must give me, insist. So then he give. He took it out and give it and then he tear it that shirt off. Then he died. (Audience laughs) So, it is simple little, simple little attachment to a shirt could hold it even in that type of people of dying. I didn’t tell you that story before? I don’t know where I told somewhere. Within last two, three weeks anyway, so. Along with that, and then this is the this what happened in India in a nineteen hundred and 60s. And with my own, one of my teachers. This incident is what happened. Earlier, there was another interesting story corresponds with this. In the Amdo area land that is the, the Qinghai province what the Chinese call now. Incidentally, there’s a very bad news in that area now but I’ll come back to that because- Qinghai province and there was a great monasteries seat for the spiritual development in this areas and Mongol areas set for the centuries, they’re great monasteries. And one of the monastery, the old monk, one old monk who also have very strong attachment to tea butter. Tea buttered. Do you understand? Tea butter. Lot of new terminologies I’m introducing.

[0:11:11.7 ] That’s means Tibetan teas are mixed with the butter and salt and they shake so that’s- and what they do is sometimes they separate those butter out of tea and then make a butter separately after using out of tea. That’s called tea butter. So lot of monks used to do that in old times. And that’s little sort of little business, or pocket money, or whatever they do, you know. They sell it to the villagers and all sorts of things they do. So anyway, this guy has very strong attachment to tea butter. (Speaks to audience about seating) [0:11:49.9] So the monk was very sick, old monk. And he can’t even go to the most of those monastery meetings, but whenever they’re serving big tea because there’s opportunity to save the tea butter. So he must go. And even though he can’t walk, he gets two other young monks to help him and literally drag him there, and put it there and get his tea. So everybody’s saying terrible things about this guy and you know saying, you know, an old monk can’t even let go his attachment to the tea butter and this and that.

[0:12:49.7 ] And that moment, the great, one of the greatest living teacher at that time is called Ku(?) [0:12:57.0] This is 1700, 1700s. Ku (?) [0:13:01.6] is so famous and so well known it’s very hard to see by people, and all that sort of very well-respected and give like teachings where there’s tens and tens of thousands of people attending all the time. But very famous at that time. So the Ku(?) heard story, so he said, I must go and see him, and I must push him out. And his attendants and group and monastery officials are totally against him, that you are such a state people you cannot go and see that monk. And he said no, no, no I must go so he insisted, went. And then he this old monk was told Ku(?) coming to see you. He said why? You know, why me, you know? Anyway, going to let him come sort of thing. Sometimes old monks do that. Let him come. The Ku(?) come in and says, hi Geshe-la, how are you doing? He said fine, well, can be better, but not so bad. So what’s going on, I heard you constantly goes for the tea meetings and collect tea. He said yes, the butter is really good. (Audience laughs) And this and that.

[0:14:20.3 ] And then he said Ku(?) replied, he said, I heard in one of the pure lands called Tushita pure land has a tremendous amount of tea butter. Really? (Laughter) And he said yeah. Guy’s a little suspicious but then Ku(?) such a well-known person making that statement, he cannot just simply dismiss. He wanted make sure, are you really sure? He said positive. I read somewhere and I heard, and this and that. Maybe you’re right. Okay. Well, then I think about that. So two, three days later he died and went to Tushita to get a better butter tea. So, so this is the how attachment can hold individual back and that’s why I said the samsara’s delights is our obstacle. The attachment to the samsara’s delights to is our obstacle. If, if that can hold you forever in healthy way, why not? We all do that. But it’s not going to help. So when the time comes, you should let it go, should be able to let it go. That’s the, that’s the point. I meant the reason why I’m telling you this, is introducing the obstacle of seeking a total freedomship is the attachment to the samsara’s delights. Is that clear now? I hope there’s no difficulties. Because I taught that last couple of Tuesdays already, so don’t want to spend too much time on that.

[0:16:12.1] So and way and how we can overcome that is the main point here. Even within the point number one. You can tell this is no good, but that’s not going to help us that much. It will build understanding but understanding alone cannot push us. So how do you do? So we meditate, right? So I told you the meditation 101, remember? Did we go through the meditation 102 too? Yes? Yes. What is meditation 102? Huh? What was it? Audience: (Inaudible) [0:16:59.0] Rimpoche: Anybody? Audience: The value of human life? Rimpoche: Anybody? Huh? Audience: The value of human life? Rimpoche: I’m sorry, who’s saying? You. What did you say? Audience: The value of human life. Rimpoche: Value of human life, there you go. So you’re right. That’s what I even told you to use for whole week, right? Good. Thank you. So the meditations are, actually, it is the meditation is the key which you apply to our mind to get on the point.

[0:17:31.8 ] Normally in the west, lot of people will accept the meditation as some kind of mental relaxation. Number of people do that. That is a tiny little, very small, very, very small purpose of meditation. Mental relaxation is important, no doubt. However, that doesn’t serve that much purpose. (Speaks to audience about seating) [0:17:56.3] But the meditation is to convince or give training to your mind to recognize your problem as a problem. Acknowledge- oh thank you, thank you. Acknowledge the problem as a problem and deal with it to make it overcome. How, that’s what’s the real purpose of the meditation. So the number one, recognition of the problem, the number two, how do we handle that problem? So just simply sitting there and telling me it is problem, it is problem, it’s a problem, that’s not going to help. Or you say, I can’t help it, I can’t help it, I can’t help it, I can’t help it, nor that’s going to help. So what do you do? So you have to convince your own mind through a meditative state. And that’s why when you go deep in the Tibetan Buddhism they will tell you two kinds of meditations. Concentrated meditation and analytical meditation.

[0:19:16.6 ] One meditation will analyze the situation and gain understanding and find profound point. Once you have that, then the concentrated meditation will come and concentrate on it. So by doing so it becomes a part of your life, rather than it sort of applied on it or it’s try to be forced in it or something, it’s becomes part of life. That is basically how the Tibetan Buddhism functions. A, recognize problem, B, find the solution, C, get acquainted with this, and then make it part of your life and part of your daily chore. That’s the really how it is become a practice. So that it’s really not so much how you shut everything out, and sit down, and burn incense, and lamp, and staring at it. It’s not so much as emphasized. But what is emphasized is main reasoning within yourself, convincing yourself and, and there’s a chair here, Sandy. There two of them here. And so, so this is the most important point we do.

[0:20:58.2 ] So here also how to convince yourself, how to present these points to our self is the problem, the solution, and then recognition of the problem as a problem, and adopting the solution as a solution. Then comes the obstacles will come. Yeah, that may be true, but why should I do it? Or that may be true, I like to do it, but not now. I will do it later. Later. So then the meditation 202 comes. This is the right time to do it now. And as a matter of fact, you have to do it, if you want to it’s better to do it now. That’s no such a thing you have to, right? Nobody can say anybody to have to. There no such a thing called have to. But it is better to do it now because tomorrow never comes. It never comes. When you get to tomorrow, the tomorrow’s again the next day. It’s not going to be today, it’s tomorrow. It’ll never be here, right? So tomorrow never comes. And at the same time, we have the opportunity. Not the opportunity because Tibetan Buddhism’s here, but it is opportunity because of we have precious human life.

[0:22:34.7 ] The precious life. Life which is so important. And you can- why it’s important? Because we can make a difference. Whatever you want to. Whatever spiritual development, material development, or monetary development, or scientific development, whatever you want to, this life is capable of delivering. Agree or disagree? If you disagree, I will say I understand it’s human being, nothing else. Yeah, it is. It is. So this life, unless you’re crazy, or unless you’re sort of cuckoo something you cannot do anything, then that’s different. Basically, the human life what we have, what we have is capable of delivering anything you want to. You can do it. There’s nothing which you cannot do it. It’s a matter whether you decide, whether you focus, or not. That is totally it depends. Otherwise, everything you can do it. That is the human life quality. Each and every one of us has. Every- each and every body has that quality. But we may deny to our self, underestimating our quality, which always the one of the problem we always do that.

[0:24:11.7 ] We always say I’m incapable of doing it. I’m too old, I’m too sick, I’m too forgetful, I blow it. I this, I that, I this, and I that. That is totally underestimating our self. I give you the other day, the example of I remember that I did it. Example of the Angulimala the, the guy who cutting the thumb and all this, I remember that I did it. So, so even that person could do it. And why not you and me? You can definitely do it. So that life is precious, so to accept that life as a precious, we need to spend time with our self. And either you argue with yourself, or engage dialogue with yourself, or suggest with yourself, or whatever you may do it, and this is absolutely necessary to do it. To recognize your own life value. Value in that life what we have. We don’t have to look outside for a multimillion dollar. We do have more important than a multimillion dollar within us. Accept it. Adopt it. Acknowledge. It is extremely important. I told you like a childish story, I also told you. If someone says, alright I’ll give you a multimillion dollar, let me cut your head off. Who’s going to agree? So that will tell you how much real value in there, it’s more than that.

[0:26:18.9 ] We don’t think you don’t recognize. And if you think from the other angle, from those, from the other lifes, other than human beings, the animal point of view. You may say my pet dog is extremely intelligent, or my cat is extremely intelligent and this and that. But they’re not more intelligent than you are. Would you accept that? So what made the difference? The human life what we have. That made difference. If you look from that angle, you’ll see it. Our mind is such a tricky mind, it will simply not accept if you try to force it. If you’re not simply buy if you try to sell it, so what you do is you have to go right, left, right, left, from all the angles and tell the mind, thinks it is really true. And that is the, that is the one of the main reason you, you, you meditate. You meditate, it is actually analytical meditation is actually looking in this true reality, analyzing it, and make yourself understand and accept the reality and the truth. Are you with me? All of you. I’m happy with that. The sounds very funny you don’t expect to hear out of meditation cause such a way, right? That not done in this country. Not so many times.

[0:28:04.5 ] So, so I mean, whenever I first came in the country we said meditation, lot of people knows meditation. And then immediately try to sit down with the cross leg and put different hand gestures and you know all this sort of thing. That’s one nice way of doing it, no doubt. But that’s not enough. This is the, this is when you’re using the meditation as a tool to develop your mind. Mental development is the spiritual development. I’m try to tell you that, right? Why it is spiritual development? Again, because the mental development’s the only way to bring the individual to that higher level up to clear the obstacles. To, to overcome the difficulties. To overcome the blocks. It’s only the mind can do, not physical. Physically you cannot do. If you go on punching on that, it won’t help much anyway. So that’s, that’s why it’s between, when you divided mind and physical and mental, so the mental has to do that. The mental brings the mind up. Right? So why I’m still talking on that level, that’s not right. So I should move.

[0:29:25.7 ] So that’s why meditation 102 I suggest to look in that, in that life very carefully and no matter, you know, people do make mistake. But doesn’t mean we have blow it. Or we’re stuck, and we are hopeless and helpless. It’s never true. One thousand human beings been killed by one person in one week. When that person can make it, why not you and me? We’re not that bad, are we? Huh? Thank you. At least there’s somebody shaking head. (Laughter) Thank you. Really, we’re not that bad. So we can definitely make it. And so no matter whoever says what, whoever thinks what, there is no such a thing called I’m hopelessly, helplessly, stuck here. I don’t buy that statement from anybody. Whoever tries to tell- people who feel about that. I’m not denying that. You feel about, but you’re feeling wrong. You’re not have, you’re not have explored enough. There’s many other ways of exploring. There’s always a way out. The Buddha’s message to the, to us is hey, there’s a way out. I’m out here. Just follow me you get out. Right? So if one person can go out, and followed by many lineage masters followed that, why not, why, why, what’s wrong with us? Nothing. So that’s the main point.

[0:31:19.1] The second point, I said tomorrow never comes, we have to do now is because it is impermanent. The life is impermanent, the value what we have is impermanent. What I’m going to tell you, whether you believe it or not, from the background of the reincarnation. If I don’t I’ll lose my title. (Audience laughs) Then I lose my job. That’s joke. (Laughter) Right? So anyway, from the reincarnation point of view, really truly we call it, we call it future life. Consider it’s very important. More important than the present life. At least the Tibetan Buddhist point of view, we do that. We’ve been doing that for thousand years and we still hold that. And we also look future life as something way down, the way down somewhere there, you know. No matter even I’m becoming 80 if I still live, I’ll say way down there somewhere. So that’s what it is. That’s how we, we perceive that. But the truth is, between the future life, so-called future life, and this life, there’s no big gap. Nothing. Not really a big gap. It’s not you don’t have to cross ocean. You don’t have to cross the mountain. You don’t need airplane to fly around. You don’t need a boat. You don’t need passport. You don’t need visa. You don’t. You know what is in between these two? A tiny little air. Air that what we breathe in and out. That’s it. If the air goes out doesn’t come back, we breathe out and cannot breathe back, or breathe back big and full out. That’s it. Nothing else in between. No mountains, no walls, nothing.

[0:33:47.5 ] Now I remember the other day I told you funny story incomplete of a movie and doctor jumping out and having heart attack right? So because that’s, that’s, that, that’s what it is. So only that. There’s nothing else. So we call it future life. Somewhere very distance. But when it comes, it’s there, right there. Only a subtle air that we breathe in and out. That is the only standing. Nothing else. So that’s why impermanent is important in our life to know. And one of the best tools to cut our laziness. Right? Laziness. So that’s why life’s important, precious, but it’s not permanent. A gentleman just before starting when went and have that mess making tea which have poured over and picking up and told me I introduced vocabulary here called bardo. And he told me I better explain it. Whether it is the French movie or what is it. (Audience laughs) And bardo is in-between state. State in between the death and rebirth. It’s called bardo, official bardo. Anyway. So what happened is- should I talk about bardo? I don’t think so. There’s no reason why I have to talk bardo here. So I rather talk- so what the Tibetans do believe, or the Tibetan Buddhism tells us, and went through with this is rebirth, life, death, bardo, rebirth. That is the circle. That is the circle continue that’s called samsara, circle continuing.

[0:36:25.1 ] So that circle has delights and that circle has misery. Heavy misery, some delights. Those little delights in that samsara gives you attachment, and those miseries give us the anger. Right? So that’s the point. And I lost my, oh I may have it here. No I don’t. That little text thing I have. Anyway I, I never know English in that properly but in the Tibetan- thank you. I’m not sure whether I can get on the print or not, but in Tibetan it says, by looking here I never remember the Tibetan anyway. Tan je (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:37:35.2] So what best method for us not to have attachment to the samsara’s delight is the importantness of the life and impermanence of it and difficult to find if you want it, such a the people will say, oh what, I blow it this time, I will try better next time. That is our normal, another bad habit. We say, well I blow it I try again the next time better. Next time, next time. They will do that. Again, next time never come. So it’s very hard to find. We say, this life I did this and this and blow it, but I’m going to get my next life. And I’m going to do it better, if there is reincarnation I should have next life, and then I’ll do it better next time, right? Right? People say that.

[0:38:46.7 ] But one thing we forget is what’s going to be our next life. That is not certain at all. There are number of people in, in many places believe that we are higher soul, or higher consciousness, so therefore we’re bound to go better and never go back. That’s not true according to Buddha, it’s not true. Not at all. It is, it is totally depends on our self whether we’re going up or down because that’s what Buddha call it natural law. The karmic, the karma. It is applicable to everybody. Everybody. It’s no one is above the natural law. Everybody is within that natural law. That is the what Buddha says. So the karma, the principle of the karma is I am responsible for my own deeds. That is the principle of the karma. Karma is Sanskrit name but I’m sure lot of people know. It is in the dictionary, even in Oxford dictionary. Comes out as karma. So I think they say in cause and effects or something like that. So anyway, the karma is the real governing force within the individual. Everything what we did, how I become responsible for myself, whenever I did good thing I had, I leave an imprint of good on my consciousness.

[0:40:48.6 ] Since I’m supposed to be Buddhist, so I have to say consciousness rather than soul or something. Yeah I leave imprint on my consciousness. A good imprint. If I do something bad I leave bad imprint on my consciousness. Imprint. Something like IOU note, I sign it. Note, note, what is it? Note, notarized. Notarized. Yeah, that’s what it is. It is sort of like that. And so according to the karmic system, whatever it might be, you know wherever it might be connected so that’s going to be our future life. So len den (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:41:36.6] So by thinking, understanding, and looking in that very carefully, and meditating, and not only we have, we will return the attachment of the samsara’s delight, but also the attachment of the future life. So the you know Buddha goes to so much so, one shouldn’t have attachment within the life but also should not have attachment in future lifes also. So the any attachment is not good. Any desire is not necessarily, every desire is not necessarily bad, but attachment is bad. Because attachment holds us back.

[0:42:29.3 ] So I’m try to see what they do here. Well, it is right here, anyway. If you’re looking in that thing. Ten je ne (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:42:53.1] So then what are you hoping out of that? What are you hoping out of this? And what we try to do is we want different attitude. The right now what do we have, our attitude right this moment, what do we have? We also wanted the better one and what we call it better. It might not necessarily be better, you know. So, so basically, basically if we think you know what, what is a pleasure for us? Basically, what is comfort for us? I believe it differs from person to person. Really. It differs. Basically, normal poor people like us, maybe not all of you, but many of us we think if you are wealthy, oh yeah little better comfort and wonderful life and so and forth. That is one of the tendency that we will look in that manner. But if you are wealthy one, you don’t have that. You have a major, bigger problem and you will probably looking for something else.

[0:44:23.5 ] There’s an interesting- the Tibetan old teachers are funny. They give you very funny examples. There was two travelers. One is little well-to-do and one is poor. In Tibet, earlier. There’s no hotel, no motel, no wheels are moving. You know you have to think Tibet’s in that way. I’m talking about hundreds of years ago, right? So what happened is one of them are wealthy, one has horse to ride. And the poor one has to walk. And they’re going together all the time. So then the poor one’s looking to the wealthy one, how lucky he is. He doesn’t have to walk, the horse carries him, and this and that. And they are- (Audio cuts) [0:45:11.9] –rusty one because they are spoiled person anyway. So, and then, and then you have no alternative except riding on the horse. And when you have to ride on the horse is so cold. It’ll be, it’ll be, it’ll be you know a freezing your, you know, it freezing cold. That’s what it is. So the, so the walking person will be saying how lucky this person is, she can go on ride and nothing have to do. The riding person thinks how lucky this person is, he always have to, he don’t have to be cold that much and this and that, good exercise and so and forth, but he can’t walk. Because he’s spoiled. So the same thing if you, if we think anything in the wealthy or whatever anything or knowledgeable or brilliant or anything and each and every person in that level when that comes there’s additional problem they face. All the time. That is the how life works.

[0:46:16.9 ] So it’s not in a problem-free. But so we project something is free of problem because we are run out of examples. We have not really, truly seen according to the Buddha the true joy. We have not really experienced true love. We have not experienced true atmosphere. The real, true, great atmosphere. We have never experienced. Therefore, all our fantasies or our, all our everything is somehow within the limited framework of our mind so there always have a faulty examples because we really don’t know what true liberation really is. Are you with me? You have a problem with that? I don’t think so. I don’t really think so because this shows our limitation. Our limitation. So our limited, we have not really seen the true joy. When you don’t know the true joy, then everything different you think it’s a great. Right? Sometimes even the sufferings are considered a pleasure. Don’t let me explain that. You know, we know, you know better than I do. They’re really true. So that’s what people do, right? So because it feels different because it’s gives you some sensational feeling, so you think it is joy though it is more suffering. That is because our limitation on the true, the our limitation on the perception of true joy. So that is the, problem after that.

[0:48:22.6 ] So when you’re looking at the free, free, freedom and we’re totally looking free of all negative sufferings and cause of negative suffering, which is negative emotions. What makes us suffer? The negative emotions. The sufferings what we have right now after negative emotions, keep long face, shut your door, don’t want to talk about it, is very limited result. But that give you more, much more, long term terrible result constantly because that is our real problem. Our real problem coming from there. Life after life, these negative emotions make a terrible imprint on our consciousness and that’s what we share. Even though as a human being we have wonderful nature within us but we cannot share that with other, we give the cold shoulder to the other because of that reason. And because of that reason, we have a very strong addiction to the negative emotions as well. We have a strong addiction to anger, attachment, hatred, jealousy. All this. We don’t have to learn.

[0:50:00.5 ] I told you the other day, you don’t have to go to school how to get angry, how to get jealous, how to be attached. But we have to take efforts and pain how to develop love, how to develop compassion, how not to get angry, how not to be jealous. We need efforts to put in that. That because of bad addiction. And if you are very jealous person, jealousy person? Jealous? Huh? Audience: Jealous. Rimpoche: Jealous person, you don’t have to say I’m bad. Everybody is. Who is not? Raise your hand. (Audience laughs) Nobody. (Laughs) See? That’s what it is. So each and every one of us have that common problem. It’s common problem. Some are little more pervasive. Some are little more out there. Outbursting. But each and every one of us have that. So this is our goal now. The goal is to remove those. Make our self free of that. Get it now? Now I’m going to wind up this principle number one because I’m supposed to finish in six weeks and how many weeks have gone now? Huh? Audience: Four. Rimpoche: Four already gone, so I better wind up. So, excuse me. (Coughs) Can we shut this off for a minute? (Coughing)

[0:51:57.5] Okay, thank you. So, so now, second freedom meaning, seeking the cause of the freedom. Seeking the cause of freedom meaning freeing yourself from the cause of pain which is bottom line the negative emotions. How would you going to get that? How? This is the main question. How you going to be not to be angry, not to be jealous, how you going to go about it? Do you go to church and temples pray for it? You could. Nothing wrong with that. You can do that too. Will that deliver? I’m not sure. But you could do it, it can help. Nothing wrong with that. What else do you do? You have to work with it. You, unless you work, the temples can help. Prayer can help. But we need to put our own efforts because we are responsible for our self, not the temple. If the temple is responsible we can get angry on temple and shout it. But that won’t help, right? That won’t help. So we have to do it our self. The question is how. How? How? How? How? How? Going to tell don’t get angry, don’t get angry, don’t be angry. Anger’s bad, bad, bad, bad. Will that do? Why not? Why that do not do? Because they’re not going to help. Right? (Laughing)

[0:54:11.6 ] If you look back this word we have covered, tan ger ne (Quotes in Tibetan) [0:54:15.5] So what happened is, when you’re recognizing the impermanent, when you recognize the value of the life, and when you recognize it’s difficult to find, and on the point of difficult to find, I should give you one more example. If I don’t I’ll be failure. When I said the life what we have is you can get next time same thing, it’s very hard to get it. Buddha gives one example. One very funny, funny, funny examples they have. They said there’s a tort- blind tortoise. Huh? Audience: Tortoise. Rimpoche: Tortoise. Blind tortoise. Comes up once every five hundred years, pops up once in ocean, in the middle of the ocean. And they said there’s a yoke, you know yoke, that it’s yoke, right? Yoke. The hole round sitting by air all the time the tort- tortoise hope to get their neck in that. So pops up every five hundred years. So is there chance of getting caught in there? Moving yoke in the sea and a blind turtle coming up every five hundred years? (Laughing) So that’s what’s Buddha’s example of hoping to get life again. The because that life, this life what we have is that much value in there.

[0:55:52.2] So, so that’s what, that’s what the funny example I like to share with you because this is brief introduction, not a detail, that’s why I just throw a little bit here and there. So knowing the value, difficult to find, and embracing life will cut down the attachment. Will automatically working against attachment. When this mind capabilities builds up the attachment the attachment weakens down. That’s how- because now I said how do you do it and each one of you said how? But we’ve been talking for you for the last four days, I’m not going to say four weeks, four days been talking to you this. And that’s exactly how balancing the attachment is because of these points. I’m not here to lecturing you, say life is important precious, embrace, and this and that. I’m not lecturing you. I’m simply sharing what the Buddha experiences and also adding one more word that’s how Buddha cut down on attachment by building those mind way of functioning. When these thing comes up, that thing goes down. It’s like seesaw the children play, right? When they go heavy on one side, it pops up the same way. These positive emotions comes and heavy and becoming part of life, the negative emotions of death are without realizing, gradually losing their ground. Please remember that. If you try to search something else, some kind of antidote, aspirin type of thing you’re not going to get it because there isn’t any. Okay?

[0:58:15.1 ] It is gradual process therefore spiritual development is definitely gradual process. Builds up. Day by day like drop of bucket. A drop of water in the bucket. When it’s fills up day by day, there’s has to be day the buckets gets fills up. That’s how you build up. You cannot, there’s no instant enlightenment. Anybody try to tell you there’s instant enlightenment, run away. There isn’t. Buddha never experienced, nobody. Nobody. There are great many stories of mahasiddhas and this and that, and crazy wisdom, and this and that. That are when they’re build up the ground completely, when the last minute breakthrough comes, they did like this and then we looks, ah, it’s so easy. But it’s not. It’s builds all the ground completely. You don’t know the story behind that, how much they worked, how much they build, how much efforts they have put in. Right? Like that, that’s exactly, that’s, there’s no instant enlightenment. No instant spiritual development, nothing. Really truly, no. So it’s gradual process. Gradually builds up.

[0:59:46.2 ] One important thing, any one of those negative emotions when you are within that, to be able to recognize, to acknowledge. It is very important point. Acknowledging it. Because most of them are survive under a denial. Denial is a shelter for negative emotions. How many of us say I am not angry, but blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. How many times we have heard? Right? So this is the clear sign they remain under denial. I’m try to remember one word I’m not remembering. There’s a metaphor for fear is a poisonous snake. There’s a word for that I don’t- do you remember, Aura? Out of those eight fears out of Tara. I don’t remember the word. Anyway. So all of them, you know breathe under some kind of shelter. Even the snake, the poisonous snake will hide somewhere, they don’t come out openly. They will strike you from the, from the sort of shelter. I don’t remember the words exactly I wish I could. And each one of them have their own way of denying, den- using the denial is each, and each and every emotions are differ. The anger will differ from the fear. The fear will differ from the jealousy. Jealousy differs from the attachment. And all of those have different way of using the denial. Though we keep on saying, I’m not angry, I’m not attached, I’m not afraid, I’m this, and you keep on saying it, but how the emotions pop up. They have a different way of denying that.

[1:02:29.0] So each- no matter however the way they show us, but our way is recognizing, recognition. The recognition will reduce the power almost 50% if you really recognize these huge, negative emotions that sort of completely overpowering individual gigantic mountain falling on us. When you recognize this is a attachment, this is a anger. This gigantic mountain becomes light. It’s become weak. And if you keep on doing that, it will become small, weak, small, terrible one. And then you can, you can block them very easily. It’s no longer the overwhelming one. It will be another person, another being, another consciousness, another mental faculty, another, another, emotion. So you can say, why you are coming here? Get out of it. Don’t come here. You can do that. Not only you can do that, after little while they will not only overpower you they will come and ring the bell at the door or knock your door. And you say, hey how are you? Well I haven’t seen you for a while, you want to come and in and have cup of tea and sit down and chit chat? You could do that. That is all we’re capable of doing. That’s what I mean, there’s no such a thing we cannot do it. We can do all of them.

[1:04:16.5 ] It’s a matter you have to first make up your mind, second work with this, third, concentrate and be regular. Extremely important. If you are not very regular, if you are not, if don’t have the discipline, you can do nothing. You, you do few days here, ah, nice, I’ll do it. And then, then forget two years and then, ah. It’s not going to do anything good. Alright, not going to get anywhere. So be regular. Doesn’t have to be long time. Five, ten minutes, fifteen, twenty minutes. Whatever you could. Even you don’t have that much time. Even you’re taking shower. When you’re taking hot shower, think about it. That’s how you devote time. It’s a very important. Okay, I guess that’s it. I’m run out of fuel. I have nothing more to, I’m not going to touch the, touch the love and compassion today. I’m going to do that love compassion next week. Hopefully. I’m very much tempted to bring that eight emotions and maybe do it here. If I do that then I’m going to do the love compassion week after that. So probably I’ll do that. Sort of there might not be eight, but there a couple of them, so may not to be able to do all eight negative emotions, but we’ll do few of them.

[1:06:15.5 ] So that’s basically that much and, and now the point number three, rather the meditation point where we like to get 103 is a arriving at decision to overcoming the negative emotions. Whatever it may takes. Way and how you do is whatever we taught earlier, we discussed earlier. We go over that. Over that. Analyze, think, recognize, and try to- these are the your spiritual forces. And then force what you’re going to challenge is the negative emotions. It is sort of battle, the battle between negative and positive emotions. On the ground of my consciousness. At a- that’s, that is the spiritual struggle. Everybody go through it. Like it or not. So that exactly what it is. And I’m going to end here, and before I conclude here I have to share with you a some that news that I heard yesterday. Actually, I didn’t get it till very late last night. It is terrible snowfall in certain part of Tibet. Particularly northern part. And there’s probably whatever I’ve been hearing on the computer, the, on the email, internet they’re mentioning saying that looks almost certain huge chunk of areas completely, nothing left, and saying that all animals died and all people might have died completely and, and they don’t know exactly what’s happening.

[1:08:52.0 ] It is a huge amount of snowfall they said it is the Chinese somewhere from Beijing comes out and relay from London and saying that it almost looks like total population wiped out. And they don’t know exactly and it’s Tibet is very huge area but very little population. And they say it’s about 200-300 has been snow blind and be able to move for another area. And they think all the rest is probably being wiped out. And so it is very disturbing so, I thought about it and two thing we can do, spiritually we can pray and do dedicate our positive karmas to that and another thing is we can also try to help whatever the materially we can help so, I’m sort of- I haven’t talked to anybody in the Jewel Heart but I’m thinking of sort of hopefully be able to set up some kind of, of helping hands within the Jewel Heart and I probably hope if I can get two or three volunteers who can really focus on that and try to organize something within the Jewel Heart and then will be contacting the other peoples. And so I’m sort of requesting those of you who are compassionate one, who had a very strong compassion, and who also have time to do something could you be kind enough for volunteer about three to four people. And then we try to work out how can we do, what can we help and how can we do. And one thing the Jewel Heart is a non-profit organization so anybody who received any donation on that will be tax deductible and there’s always way to put the money through a, an international agencies which reach to the people.

[1:11:25.2 ] So that’s what I thought I’ll make a request. And then other, announcement? Audience: Attachment and commitment or attachment versus, dedicating one’s (Inaudible) [1:11:44.4] Rimpoche: Commitment, attachment, ethics, they’re related and they’re all different to me. Vows, commitments, ethics virtually have nothing to do with attachment. Pure love, yes. It is very hard to make distinction between love and attachment. That is a problem. And that is big problem. I don’t think we can talk in short period. Love and attachment, the difference between these two is as subtle as human hair. That’s what earlier Tibetan teachers said. As subtle as a human hair. So it goes this way or that way, it becomes huge gray place. And then that’s where people get mixed up, always difficulties. And basically, basically the love and compassion I have to talk. So I will talk. I did mention the other day too, love and compassion is one mind with two different aspects. The attachment is totally different aspects. Attachment really doesn’t have much a good in it. Attachment is something which very sticky stuff. And very belonging, control issue, you know all this, right? So all of them are part of attachment.

[1:13:45.0 ] What we normally have a problem are because of attachment, not because of love. The pure love is wishing to be happy, and joy, and dedicating yourself to build that joy, for that happiness is act of love. Truly. With the true love nobody will say I like to control you. With true love nobody will say, you should do way I wanted you to do. Right? There may be, there may be thinking of oh this is best way I know so I have to bring you in that way. This goes between children and the parents, between husband and the wife, companionship, friends, everybody. Companies, everything. And the moment it’s becomes the control issue, who controls what, it is becoming attachment, sticky. It is remain pure wishing to be happy and joy, if you can live in that love, great. But then attachment will not let you, until you challenge the attachment. I’m sorry. I’ll cut here. There’s a lot to say on that but, I hope we’ll deal with that when you deal with love. But thank you for raising the question. Thank you. Sir?

[1:15:31.0 ] Audience: Can you explain about the meditation 101? I wasn’t here for that. Rimpoche: There’s tape available. Audience: Okay. Rimpoche: Thank you. Audience: Also would you say that Buddhism is not therapeutic in nature? Rimpoche: I don’t know. I’m not a therapist, so I don’t know. Basically all religions, not only Buddhism, but all religion, the purpose of the religion is to remove suffering from the people. To help build them a strong against suffering, overcoming the negativities. So whether it is therapy, or whatever it is. Audience: (Inaudible) [1:16:30.4] maybe it’s the ultimate psychotherapy. Rimpoche: Thank you. I don’t know, maybe it is, I don’t know. It may be ultimate therapy, I don’t really know. Must be. Sir? Audience: On the subject of karma. Rimpoche: Yes. Audience: You mentioned vows and commitments that type of thing and negative emotions. Is that the only aspects that will introduce a negative karma, or is it along the lines of just any action like, let’s say running a red light and that’s wrong, but is it wrong in developing, will it develop karmically negative emotions that would come with that?

[1:17:08.1 ] Rimpoche: From, for a blanket statement, all wrongdoings are negative karma. But question of what’s wrong and what is right is a big issue. No one can really make that judgment and Buddha himself said, do not make such a judgment by saying wrong and right. Said, Buddha said, except you’re Buddha like me, don’t do it. At the truth is, it is very difficult to say the right and wrong because people like to interpret anything for anywhere, we all do that all the time. Right? We write a beautiful constitution and then we interpret. We make amendments, right? And we interpret. And then that’s how we go. That’s how we judge right or wrong. Whether that’s right or wrong way of judging. Probably wrong way of judging. Basically, bottom line is harming others. Physical, mental, emotional harming other beings are negative. Therefore, it is safer to say these are wrong. But then the harming is again direct and indirect and all this, you go in that there’s again countless, right?

[1:18:55.2 ] So but somehow, you know the Tibetan Buddhism almost in east, all east religions will give you some kind of ten negatives they point it out, like killing a human being, stealing, and a black lie, not the used car seller’s lie, but you know real, big, deep, black lie you know. And then, sexual miscontact and that is another question how, what is, what do you mean by sexual miscontact. And all these are, are and this are the bodily. And the be mean and all this sort of thing. There ten of them very similar to ten commandment in the west. Very, very similar to that is also eastern religions will basically give as an example. But then the sexual miscontact way and how you look here and, not you look here, way and how people, lot of people will say and the what real sexual miscontact is two different thing. And that’s what it is. So, I mean there’s no question when this, you know like rape, et cetera, et cetera definitely the sexual miscontact. From my point of view, from the eastern Buddhist point of view but then if you are you are sexual preference is not an issue. It’s a funny you know so it is very hard to say so basically, sort of we don’t care whether, whether you are whatever your social, sexual preference may be, doesn’t matter. But if you’re harming somebody through that, then it is sexual miscontact.

[1:21:06.9] Since I mentioned the sexual miscontact I had to clarify a little bit, so I’m sorry. This is some subject I try to avoid, but I brought up. Okay. Sir? Audience: If I may, in the context when you were talking about the situation in Tibet, you mentioned two ways of dealing with it. One was to take an active participatory role and donate money, but you also mentioned prayer. In the context of Tibetan Buddhism, to whom or to what does one pray? Rimpoche: Oh! That’s a tremendous, that is huge area. Lot. You know what the prayer does? You are responsible to your own deeds. But whether you’re going to connect you with your positive karma, or with your negative karma, it depends on the condition. And prayers, and miracles, and divine interventions, and all of them will help to contact to build the right atmosphere, positive atmosphere, positive conditions bring together. So we also have room for everything. Room for miracles happens. Room for divine intervention, I’m using normal Christian language. Divine intervention. A room for miracles to take place. Everything it’s there because you are responsible for your own deeds. If you are not, you cannot. There’s nothing. Somebody else has to make decision and pass judgment and go bung, bung, bung, bung. So no divine intervention, no miracle, nothing is go bung, bung, bung, bung. It’s not bung, bung, bung, bung, so therefore depends on the conditions, and terms, and karmic cause, and condition.

[1:23:20.1 ] For example I did have a karmic cause to catch cold. But if I kept myself warm all the time I would not have got the cold. Though I have a karma to get cold, but if I don’t provide the condition, I could not get cold. I have the karma and I expose myself out in the air or whatever it is, and the conditions are right, karma rises, I got cold and I was sick. So therefore people die under snow, but if we strongly pray and the dedication, the power of the pray, the karmic, can make the one of the positive karmas to connect there’s room. That’s tremendous in there. So it’s not black and white, if this, you can’t have that. It’s not. Because it is the individual responsibility. Audience: Thank you. Rimpoche: Yes? This is going to be the last question, okay? Thank you. Audience: (Inaudible) [1:24:47.5] …I understood what he was asking was, you’re putting out this positive energy you direct it to Buddha? Rimpoche: No. Audience: Do you direct it to the universe? Where- Rimpoche: Direct it to the people who died and animals that died. We can apply to the Buddha, buddhas, and enlightened beings. Use your compassion and use your power to help them. And we can give our positive karma towards that. So there’s a, there’s a room for them to move, there’s room for us to push, there’s a room for all of us to play in there. And this goes with every individual, with everybody within family, within the outside circle, knowing everything for everywhere, every occasion there’s room. Thank you.