Archive Result

11

0Sound file 19960407GRJHNL8VMT3619871116GR&RTMN2_01

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche & Robert Thurman

Location Jewel Heart Netherlands??

Topic Tibet Mystic NationLojong

Transcriber Vickii Cahill

Date July 31, 2022

(DT) That may be stupid talk. Stupid, the way of putting it, but if you really think that, and no one’s going to choose go out and get killed. (DT) There may be some crazy people who do that too. But that’s crazy, right? (DT) So, it shows you the value. (DT) Sometimes in our life, we don’t recognize. (DT) Anyway. That shows the value of life. (DT) So, if so, one must appreciate life. (DT) And rejoice. (DT) When I say one must appreciate life, rejoice, I don’t mean you just say, “yeah, yeah. I agree.” No. I don’t mean that. I mean, you think. You meditate. You make yourself accept that. (DT) And if you do that, when you have difficulties in your life, there is a source of joy. (DT) It’s not, “Well, it’s difficult. No doubt. But I’m still alive.” It’s not that. It’s more than that. The life that capable of delivering material or spiritual achievement, I’m still there. (DT) Kadampa teachers used to say. Kadampa teachers used to say, “If I live. If I have a life continuously living for the next two, three months, I must achieve that I will not fall into the lower realms.” (DT)

0:03:11.2 “If I have a life to continuously live for the next two, three years, I will have permanent joy state.” Meaning, that I will be immuned to falling into the lower realms. I’ll be immuned to be, to be from the sufferings. I’ll be free of sufferings. That’s what they mean. (DT) So. So, that’s why embracing the life will also cut down our laziness. (DT) It also help us to choose the priority in our life. (DT) The priority in our life is extremely important. (DT) And if we don’t think. If we don’t prioritize. What am I saying? If we do not prioritize. What is it?

Translator: Put priorities

GR: Huh?

Translator: If we don’t put priorities.

GR: Yeah. Prioritize. Isn’t it? If we don’t make the priorities in our life. Ok. That’s easier for me. If we don’t make priorities in our life, then the day comes. Day goes. Night comes. Night goes. (DT) Life as usual. (DT) Asleep as usual. Business as usual. And that doesn’t change our life. (DT) That doesn’t help us to take advantage of important-ness of this life. (DT) So, it is so important to make proper. What is it? Isn’t it prioritization? Isn’t it prioritization? Proper. Making proper priority in life, in other words. (DT)

0:06:09.3 Why? We’re living in 1990’s (DT) We cannot think like seventeenth and eighteen hundreds. (DT) We have to pay our bills. (DT) We have to make our living. (DT) At the same time. At the same time, we also builds up our spiritual development. (DT) And have to go to together. (DT) This is extremely important. (DT) And do not make any extreme. Extreme of ignoring this material life completely. And extreme of ignoring the spiritual life completely is loser. We’re losing. (DT) So, it is, it is very important to bring them together. (DT) Dutch people are more lucky than anybody else, so far, we know. (DT) Because your, because your government will pay you if you’re not working. (DT) But I hope you’ll continue. (DT) You never know. (DT) In this. You know, in this. In this 1990’s. You never know. (DT) But whatever it might be. It might be. If the individual is not capable of making your material life. The chances are that you are not going to be capable of making your spiritual life either. (DT) Do you understand what I mean? Yeah. (DT)

0:09:04.0 Those who made through spiritual development, all of them are capable of making material life too. (DT) Including Milarepa. (DT) Though he cut all his things out and put on his fingers. But. Still, he’s capable. (laughs) (DT) The point is, the needs of today for ourself is both. (DT) Material and spiritual. (DT) The Tibetans are very proud. The earlier Tibetans, you know. When we are young, those who are sixties, when I was ten, fifteen, twenty, about that time. Those who are older in sixties, in that. They’re very proud. They’re very proud of. What do they call it? Combination of material. Combination of politics and religion. (DT) And for years, I thought, what does that mean, politics and religion combination. Oh, they’re so proud of it. What it is. So, sort of didn’t really, didn’t really think much. I thought, “Oh, maybe the Dalai Lama is lama and also religious leader and also the, and also the political leader.” So, I thought. So, I thought it is combination, because one leader who had the politics and religion together. So, I thought that must be the combination of politics and religions. (DT) And there are also books written that, combination of politics and religion comes from.

0:12:04.6 They’re talk lot after Fifth Dalai Lama. (DT) So, I sort of thought, “Oh, maybe that’s what it is.” (DT) But how stupid I have been. That doesn’t mean at all. (DT) It means combining spiritual and material life together by each and every individual. That’s what they’re talking about it. I didn’t get it. (DT) That’s what the, that’s what the spiritual life that Avalokiteshvara supposed to have shown and lead for the Tibetan people. (DT) So, that. That’s. That’s the key. (DT) So, meaning combine your spiritual and your material life together. (DT) And way and how you to do that together is, to have a good and strong and compassionate motivation. (DT) And a firm commitment of your responsibility. (DT) And putting your best. Putting your best. (DT) For your material work as it is. (DT) And have the compassion motivation influence. (DT) Yet the compassion should not make you weak in your material work. (DT)

0:14:59.8 And many people do make the compassionate makes weak in their daily job. (DT) So that’s, I think we call that, idiot compassion. (DT) So, because. Because, “Oh, I’m a spiritual practitioner. I can’t do that. I shouldn’t do that. I shouldn’t do that and this and that.” We do. But it’s not. We have to do what we have to do. (DT) You know what Fifth Dalai Lama said? Fifth Dalai Lama said, 0:15:53.9 (Tibetan…) He says, “why you have to beat up somebody or kill somebody, one shouldn’t have weakness.” (DT) So, it’s really meaning, when you really combine them together, sometimes the idiot compassion will make you weak. (DT) Why it’s called idiot compassion? Because you don’t get the bigger picture. (DT) The bigger picture is your responsibility for your own work. (DT) Because number of people depends on your work. (DT) So, that’s. That’s the why. (DT) So, combine them together. Combine them together. Spiritual through a very strong compassionate motivation. (DT) And the material work, as usual, whatever needs to be done. (DT) And at the end of the day, whatever you’ve been able to do great way, rejoicing. (DT) And whatever you have negative problems. (DT) Be able to purify. (DT)

0:17:59.5 So, the motivation, early morning and dedication and purification in the evening. Sandwiching that whatever; twenty-four hours, or sixteen hours, or eight hours whatever it is. Sandwiching in between. (DT) Is the beginning of moving together. (DT) So, this life is capable of doing that. (DT) So, life is important. (DT) It’s not forever. (DT) It is impermanent. (DT) I think that’s about it here. But and then the. From tomorrow we will also have to have a little practice of this. And this has its own little practice. And so, I will try to, at the end of every session, I will try to lead the practice. (DT) Because we have to bring to the level of the refuge and then we’ll begin to practice. So today, might not be able to do it. So, from tomorrow onwards, I will lead the practice. Maybe every session we’ll have to have little short practice of this. This is how this Eight Verses of Langri Tangpa been taught in that way. (DT) What we do, is we should do true to the tradition, yet very adaptable in our daily life. (DT)

0:21:00.4 So, at the end of five days, we hope that you get quite a strong idea about this training of the mind and short little practice of developing compassion. (DT) And I hope Alfred will be able to talk tonight. Couldn’t. I have to be excused myself tonight. But I’ll be here tomorrow continuously. (DT) And I’m not going to give you opportunity to ask questions today because we’ll have a few days together, so you’ll have a lot of time to ask questions later. Ok? (DT) Like talking. If you think it back. Each one of them. I have provided material for you to think. (DT) If you want it call think. That’s your material to think. But if you want to call meditation, that’s material for meditation. Why? It is continuation of lineage. And it is coming through the tradition and particularly coming through the Buddha through unbroken lineage to my late masters. (DT) So it will bound to make difference in your life. (DT) So, if you want to sit with cross-legged and put your hands together, do it. (DT) But the main thing is the mind. (DT) Mind. That is the main thing. (DT) Ok? Thank you.

0:23:54.6 Alfred: Topics he has, he was being teaching today. So, maybe we just start with some wishes or remarks or whatever. What, something which comes up in your mind. Still remember what he was talking about?

Audience: Can you explain? In the beginning he started with the points, A; preparation or preliminaries, actual and conclusion. 0:24:31.3 (?) All those key points are (?) points. Preliminaries

Alfred: He just started with the preliminary. So, the whole teaching, Tibetan system. They have they always mention all the major outlines. So, for example they say, this has three parts. The whole book. Which is; preliminaries, main part and conclusion. So, now we’re going to start with the preparation. So.

Audience: Update for me at the end. If we can start with only the point one, but also points two and three.

Alfred: So, the preparation consists of five, six basic parts. So, that is first dealing with the teacher. Having right attitude towards the teacher. And so forth. Then the second is embracing life or recognizing one’s precious human existence. And then it goes on with death, impermanence and so another couple of topics we come. And that make up the preliminaries. And then the main part, that is dealing with lojong, the actual lojong topics, and then there comes a conclusion part which gives kind of advices and things. How you can really make this practice work. What you should not forget and so forth. So, here’s started with the preparations. And they are actually very close, even identical with the lam rim topics which we know from the lam rim class.

Audience 2: I’ve also going to question about the

Alfred: Outlines.

Audience 2: Outlines

Alfred: Structure

Audience 2: Yeah. The structure. The preliminary. Now I ask first is the purification

Alfred: Yeah

Audience 2: Yeah? And then second is the altar.

Alfred: Yeah

Audience 2: That is the preliminary

Alfred: I think that was within the purifications.

Audience 2: That was within.

Alfred: So. Things have to be pure and clean. And also the altar should be nice clean place where you sit and meditate and all these things.

Audience 2: And then second, 0:27:01.2 (?) the of the mind. The true devotion is the basis for all development

0:27:07.7 Alfred: Right.

Audience 2: That’s the second

Alfred: As I understood. I mean he hasn’t completely mentioned, this is point one, this is point two. So, what I could guess out of that what he was saying. It looks like that was first point and proper devotion was the second point.

Audience 2: Yes. And then the first point of the proper devotion, that is the guru. And second point is the life .The you call it.

Alfred: That is the third point

Audience 2: Precious human life

Alfred: That is the third point.

Audience 2: That’s the third point.

Alfred: That’s a new topic.

Audience 2: That’s a new topic

Alfred: So, this purification. That is in usual lam rim, it is not mentioned in that way. It’s a kind of a preparatory step, but it’s not counted as one of the real topics. So, the first real topic that is the proper devotion to the teacher. Second topic is embracing one’s life. Or precious human life, sometimes read in the books.

Audience 3: You talk about 0:28:21.3 sin (?). Rimpoche. (indistinguishable) First point is purification. Second point is action. And third point is conclusion.

Alfred: that was the major outline of the teaching

Audience 3: Yes. The major outline.

Alfred: Right

Audience 3: And for me, also the 0:28:44.2 goodness (?) of, guru devotion and precious human life is all part of the purification

Alfred: Preparation

Audience 3: Of the preparation. Yes. Yes

Alfred: Uh huh. Yeah.

Audience 3: And I think (Dutch)

Audience 4: I suggest we ask Rimpoche tomorrow morning, what formal outlines there are. Which point he is. I will put it on the board.

Alfred: Yeah

Audience 4: because you have one way of explaining. I was counting another way. But that doesn’t matter.

Alfred: I will be

Audience 4: If he goes on, it might be easier to have the

Alfred: How did you count?

Audience 4: I counted I was thinking of at least cleaning, the purification, cleaning one’s mind by was one. Second cleaning out the altar, third making offerings, fourth is probably look within your mind and the fourth consists of lam rim.

Alfred: Yeah.

Audience 4: But that may not be like that. It’s

Alfred: Yeah. Because he didn’t mention

Audience 4: No. So, I suggest we ask him. Might be easier to

Audience 5: And everything is part of the three. Of the four

0:30:05.6 Audience 4: Yah. Let’s say

Alfred: I mean in order, in order to break this lojong we have to have a certain preparation. So, we have to have a certain, knowledge and even development, one could say. So, the preparatory steps, they build up that basis on which we can start with lojong. Because lojong is concerned with getting rid of your self-cherishing attitude and being devoted for other’s welfare. So, in order to really go into that, I have to be. I have to have solved my basic problem. In the sense that I have to have made the development of wanting to get rid of the suffering. Otherwise, I cannot imagine or really understand that somebody else would like to have that. You know? So. And unless I comprehend my suffering and see that I’m caught in cyclic existence and so forth and that it’s good to get rid of it. Unless I have understood that I cannot wish that somebody else gets out of samsara and cyclic existence. So, in order to develop bodhicitta I need those pre-requisites. These preparatory steps. So, therefore, as a preparatory for lojong practice, I have to climb through those steps up to the point where I wish for liberation. And then lojong comes and parallel the training in bodhicitta. So, therefore that is common as a preparatory. In the some other, lojong texts that’s briefly mentioned. But when you get the commentary, then you go step by step through this preparatory steps in which we will do that. Then we have to wait a little bit until we reach to the actual practice.

Audience : (Dutch)

Alfred: Any other confusions or points?

Audience: the name of the composer because I didn’t get it.

Alfred: I was. In the morning when we haven’t been told about the lineage.

0:33:01.0 The lineage of the thought transformation actually goes back to Shantideva. So, Shantideva exposed that exchange stage. And as daily life practice, he expounded mind transformation. So, exactly the specified the; all those teachings go back to the roots of Buddha Shakyamuni, and he told the mind transformation teachings to Manjushri, which kept it and later on he expounded that to Nagarjuna and to Shantideva. So, when Shantideva gave those teachings, he referred to a word which Nagarjuna once was saying. Which indicated that it’s within the lineage and it’s based on proper teaching. And then he gave the teachings on the mind training and through Serlingpa was living in Malaysia, it came to Atisha. So, Atisha brought those lineages together with three other mind training lineages. He brought that to Tibet. But the seven points, they come through the lineage through Serlingpa. So, then Atisha gave it on to Dromtonpa and the Kadam Geshes. And then it came to Geshe Langri Tangpa. And he gave it on to Geshe Sharawa and Geshe Chekawa. So, since we have this major thought transformation text, which are the Eight Verses and the Seven Points. So, the Eight Verses are based on Langri Tangpa and two generations later, Geshe Chekawa wrote a text on the Seven Points. So that is how the lineage came in brief.

Audience: Shantideva. He got it from Nagarjuna?

Alfred: He received it through Manjushri. That is the universal wisdom of the Buddha’s .

Audience: So, there was no living teaching brought in

Alfred: Not immediately

Audience: Not by then.

Alfred: Right. Yeah. So, he was the first who brought it actually up. But as they explained it was already also before during the time of Buddha Shakyamuni, but Buddha Shakyamuni told that to Manjushri. That means Buddha’s universal wisdom which later on came through that way again. Through Shantideva to us. It’s a little complicated with these lineages. But there’s one strong intention within the Buddhism that they always try to show that it’s coming through a proper lineage and that it’s based on Buddha’s teachings.

0:36:02.4 So, therefore also Shantideva, when he was telling that, he had to refer to a previous recognized master, who was definitely qualified teacher and he had to show that Nagarjuna referred to those types of teachings in order to show that it is authentic Buddhist teaching. That’s why this comes in. Other things? Maybe not so technical stuff. Any ideas which came up in your mind?

Audience : More or less, please. I don’t know if this, Marion is example of the late, what we are talking about.

Audience: It’s very important. (Dutch)

Audience: (Dutch) But before that.

Audience: Yeah

Audience: (Dutch)

0:39:07.5 Audience: Maybe (?) explain a little bit why it’s so emphasized that’s it is proper thatlineage. Why is that with these teachings?

Audience: (Dutch)

Alfred: I think it has two reasons. One reason is that the teaching remains pure and pure, clean. So, whenever somebody comes up. I mean, one of the things. when Rimpoche, when we talk about doing meditation classes or whatsoever. I mean, he always say. I mean, say only, I may talk only about that what is pure Buddha’s teaching. So, only what you have heard from your masters and which is proper teaching. So, don’t make up anything yourself. So, in that way, there’s a strong intention to keep the teaching clean and pure. And in order to, when you show the lineage, where it comes from, you prove the authenticity of the teaching. So, you show that’s not something that I made up, but it was taught by him or him. So, often you give quotations and you say, Rimpoche so and so told this. That or the Fifth Dalai Lama mentioned this and that. And so, you support whatever you tell in order to show that it’s a pure Buddha’s teaching. Because if not, you make something up and it doesn’t work anymore after a generation or two. So, it. So, because of that the lineage is shown. And one tries to trace it back. Another point, where I think why it’s helpful for us to see that it comes from proper lineage is that it conveys a kind of trust. So, if we know that this method was practiced since a thousand years by all the great masters. And they have developed through that. So, why should not I be able also to develop on that. So, when we see that it’s an authentic teaching, it helps use to gain trust and confidence and use the method. So. Yeah so. That’s what I think why the stress on the pure proper lineage is important. And another thing that’s comes on top of it. Rimpoche also, quite often said that it’s a little bit more mystic. Not so easy to comprehend that the power from the lineage stands behind you.

0:42:09.9 So, there are things like many Tibetans do. I mean. Actually, all which I know, all the great masters that live, that they give a kind oral transmission. So, they pass on a teaching in the unbroken lineage. They even read the Tibetan text and they just sit there and listen. And sometimes for a Western mind it makes not very much sense. But then when you ask, they really like to do that, and they think it’s important. And the argument they give that is in order to have the whole force and support from the lineage behind you. So, unbroken lineage must have also a certain power which is first maybe difficult to perceive or to know. So, this support of the lineage, if it’s unbroken, it’s much more powerful. Even initiations, they say that when the lineage is broken the power is not. I mean, it loses a kind of power. But if it’s an unbroken lineage, and then it’s much more effective.

Audience: 0:43:28.8 (check!)So, that means that the, stand corrected, that it means on the Western level, we are used to try (?) to criticize all the methods to make it working you have to have a certain faith in it.

Alfred: That’s one point

Audience: The first power that we have not criticized through the whole thing. I mean it is criticized and it’s proved.

Alfred: Yeah.

Audience: I mean, it’s one of the common level develop that is certain trust we have. It makes easier.

Alfred: Yeah. Any teaching usually starts with showing the origin of the teaching in order to have trust and confidence that it’s real proper teaching which is approved by all the great masters. And it has worked with them, so it will also work with us.

Audience: And all they. And they all stress it on living masters, that they have lived and it’s never said, like, 0:44:38.6 “I’ve received from them and ????” So, the lineage is also a safeguard from the kind of teachings like I received from somewhere. It’s not that.

Alfred: I mean, there are small, small variations in that sometimes there are brief (?) great masters.

0:45:07.7 And sometimes they come up with something which was maybe not very known to now or which might have been new. But also, in order to take that as a good teaching, it must be based on the common Buddhist scriptures. So, it cannot be in contradiction with the Buddhist teaching in general. And it has been. Has to be approved by the yogis. So, that means there must be yogis who applied that method and whatsoever. And it proved to work some and solidly and there was a third point. Which I forgot. Do you know?

Audience: No

Alfred: So, there are three points.

Audience: But I think the one that we see and that’s 0:45:59.7 , which also had a very high development and checked and masters know. Not something mystical like, in those days we can have. No, it’s already settled. Set in. And then something like that (??)

Alfred: No. Happens also these things. But it’s quite rare and it has really to come from authorities.

Audience: ???

Alfred: Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know that from other Buddhist traditions. But they put a lot of importance on showing the lineages. What else?

Audience: Rimpoche talked about the elements and the purification of the elements. Can you elaborate on that purification of the elements, what he means by.

Alfred: What exactly did he mention?

Audience: He mentioned that purifying the environment was very important. And that is a big connection between oneself and the environment. As an example the earth. And then he said that purifying the elements is very important.

Alfred: I mean. I don’t recall things about purifying. The only thing where you purify an element. That’s like lapis lazuli in your hand. What is that, in the Ganden Lha Gyema.

0:48:00.1 at the beginning of the. That’s purification of the ground. So that would be the earth element. But the air, and the other elements. I don’t recall anything that it gets purified.

Audience: (Dutch)

Alfred: Since such a retreat should not be just in order to get information. But we should also want to try to work at least a little bit of experience. And, yeah, something on that inside or realization little out of that retreat. It’s good to also meditate on those topics. Rimpoche emphasizes on this that we should also think. So, thinking meditating, that’s the. Yeah, that’s important thing. So, when we have got the information then we should try to penetrate those information to turn it around, to prove it, and to support those ideas by our own experience in order to see that there is truth in it. And then trying to integrate that into our usual way of thinking. And that way we’re going to make development. And we change our habitual way of acting and thinking. So, yeah. So, maybe the next half hour we should spend on getting a bit into a topic. Yeah?

Audience: I have one question

Alfred: Yeah.

Audience: Rimpoche talked in the last part about material and spiritual development.

Alfred: Yes

Audience: In that way talked about the political and spiritual leadership of the Dalai Lama. And I don’t know if I understood this very well. I understood that the political and spiritual leadership of the Dalai Lama is an example of the combination of material and spiritual development and bodhimind. Is that correct?

0:51:12.3 Alfred: He came up with the statement and idea that we should not neglect the material part and should not neglect the spiritual path. So, he says, should be a combination. It should have kind of a balance.

Audience: Uh huh.

Alfred: And this, he also supported by what even the Fifth Dalai Lama was telling or that it appeared even at the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, where he said that, political leadership and spiritual leadership should go together. So, he mentioned that, when he heard that first, he just thought that worldly and spiritual power was in the hands of one person. And didn’t look at it on the deeper level. And looked at our situation when we see there, then that means as the Dalai Lama at that time was engaged in political business and in spiritual business and equally did both in a perfect manner and the Fifth Dalai Lama was the greatest Dalai Lama and he had strong political power. Was the time of the Potala was built. And he also has written texts. So, he was a brilliant scholar and very highly recognized spiritual leader. So, he showed in his person that it’s possible. And that it can be done; that one can go on both. Together. So, when we put that into our situation. We are engaged in daily life. We have to support, maybe family. We have to support ourselves. Have to be in a shop and a business whatsoever. And we try to make spiritual development. So, in the same way as for the old days. He says, for us now, that really means that we should go together with both. We should try to put our skills also in the worldly business. But with the right motivation. And if we. Let’s say, if we do a good business and maybe have a little company, we support others. So, if we go on in business like attitudes, it’s not just for us. So, if the motivation is proper, it’s completely right. But it should be balanced with the spiritual path. So, we should not just go on business and neglect spiritual side. But also, not the other way around.

0:54:00.4 We should not hide and go and leave every worldly things behind. But those two things can go together. And that’s what he wanted to. This idea, he wanted to. Right.

Audience: I missed it.

Alfred: and I mean, that is a thing which is really worthwhile to think through. And also see that. See for oneself, how can we do that. How can we manage and handle. In what way can we also bring good motivation into our daily life situations. Especially lojong starts to. Yeah, to give us hints and means, how we can mix that and bring that together. Still more questions? So, then maybe we look a big closer to precious human life. So, Rimpoche said that recognizing that our life is very precious, or that there was one point. I just remember. Where he said that even spiritual practitioners which are on the path, since a longer time. Sometimes they don’t have any more proper intention. So, they lose a kind of joy or something like that, he said. And then he said, “And why is that? Because they have not really comprehended what it means to have a precious human life.” So, even if we practice dharma since long time, we can get deeper and deeper realizations on that point of precious human life. Especially in times where we lose motivation and a 0:56:23.2 real quick/quit(?) on the dharma .That can be something which lifts us and gives us new support and energy to make use of our precious opportunity. So, to reflect on that and bring that back to our mind. Yeah. As I said, even for old practitioners, that can give complete new perspectives. So, why? Why is it that our life is so precious?

0:57:05.5 I guess most of you have already joined some lam rim classes and there was precious human life, I guess. Why do we consider the life as something special?

Audience: It seems that karma. 0:57:37.3 And by (??) feeling as possible it is quite a rarity (???)

Alfred: Yeah. One of the very important things is to realize that such an existence as we have right now have all the prerequisites and the conditions that fast successful spiritual development is possible. So, we do have all the necessary conditions provided in order to make a fast inner progress. Not just any kind of little progress. But on this basis of our life now, we can completely eliminate all suffering forever. That we can achieve on this basis which we have right now. Not only that, it seems that we can achieve Buddhahood. So, we cannot just fulfil our own purpose but also the purpose of all others. And the least , what they say, we can at least get a better future life. So, this is the, this is the statement. Now, we have to look at that and prove and see and find it. Get a grip on that if that is really true. So, then there are mentioned. They mention eight freedoms and ten endowments which are different conditions which we have to check for ourselves, if we do have those conditions provided on us. For example, we have a sane mind. We have enough intelligence to deal with the dharma, comprehend it. How many people do have that? In our society, the level of intelligence is quite big. But look at many other countries. Look at many other countries. How many human existences, now we’re just talking about human existence. Other existence in verse. So, a human existence which has a lot of suffering and problems, let’s say in Turkey or in Yugoslavia or whatsoever. I mean, there’s so much suffering and problems around, even if they have the intelligence, there’s so much misery, that nobody comes to think and study and practicing dharma.

1:00:08.5 Or, I mean, having a healthy, a healthy body. I mean, not being crippled or mentally handicapped. Or how many people have contact with the dharma. Maybe there are a lot which are intelligent enough and they don’t have real problems outside, but they just do not have come in contact with Buddhist teachings. So, we live in a country where there are all the teachings around. And not just that the teachings around, we have come in contact with it. But many people could go to the library and get contact or wherever. Or go to a teaching. But they don’t have interest. But we have trust in the dharma. So, all those conditions, if just one is missing, we not going to do any Buddhist practice. So, all those conditions for us they came together. So, we are in touch with the dharma. We are in contact with the proper teacher. The Buddha’s teachings are still available. We are intelligent enough. We have the interest. We have even started to come to the place. So, all those conditions. We have to see how rare that is. That those all come together. So, that’s a real great proper precious opportunity which is very, very rare. And we have to think of that, and try to compare, maybe with other people. Other classmates. Or somebody at our workplace. And see that they have most of the conditions, but one is missing. And just one is enough in order to make no spiritual journey. So, to comprehend that we do have all those conditions. That gives us a feeling of something very precious. So, that means comprehending our precious human life. Maybe we do meditation on that. And just think and reflect on that. Try to compare and get a sense of this rarity and preciousness. And really also get the sense of feeling that this conditions are all there in order to really go on. We do have the inner wish. We do have the motivation of wanting to make inner progress. And all the conditions are right. So, please try to reflect around those thoughts. And get maybe a bit more the feeling and get a bit more convinced and sense that preciousness.

1:03:01.5 (Bell rings) Recollect just the reasons which I have given. And try to see if they are true for you and your life.

1:07:48.0 And when you see all the good conditions in which you are in. And then check if one of them would be missing, could you still practice successfully, dharma?

1:10:45.5 And now, compare yourself with other human beings. How rare is this coming together of all these opportunities? Compare also with animals, ghosts, hell-beings, whatsoever. Get a sense of that gravity of having such a precious human life.

1:14:32.3 And now see what you can achieve on the basis of such a precious opportunity. See that you can make inner progress. That you can learn to cope better with your problems. That you can eliminate your problems. That you can gain a better future rebirth. That you can even stop all of your suffering or even gain Buddhahood in order to be of best service for other sentient beings. See, check and prove for yourself that aim.

1:18:21.6 And now watch if those thoughts bring up any conclusions. Or any kind of consequences which feel urge towards. And maybe you’d like to end with a kind of resolve.

1:20:51.7 (bell) Did thinking and reflecting help you to get a bit more of the feeling than just when you hear the words? Maybe the coming days, maybe there is some space in between where there can be meditations where the topics can be a little bit felt in that manner. Then I think we can stop if there are no more other things

Audience: I have some commercials. (Dutch)

1:22:37.6 GR: To talk, rather to share the thoughts of Langri Tangpa in Eight Verses. Basically, we have a preliminary, actual and conclusion. And out of the preliminaries, and we have covered yesterday, creation of the environment, leading an object of refuge, making offerings, and foundation of perfections. Or Foundation of all qualities within the individual is guru devotional practice. And embracing the human life. And important-ness. We have covered that much. And what do we did not cover is the difficulty to find and the impermanent.

1:23:56.8 (DT) 1:25:07.6 So. So, not going to repeat what we talked of yesterday. (DT) Now, let’s see. The difficulty to find. (DT) The normal teachings, they will tell you three ways of thinking. The difficulty to find this. (DT) The causal difficulty. (DT) And example. (DT) And quality itself. (DT) So, let’s talk about the three things together. (DT) When an individual is trying to training one’s mind. (DT) Basically, anything that good in our life is not that easy to come by. (DT) And it is expensive. (DT) And it is difficult to sustain. (DT) So, likewise the human quality, human quality.

1:27:01.8 It is fantastic quality. So it doesn’t come out without any cause. It take a lot of things (DT) I’m talking from the point of. I’m talking from the point of human life itself. How does. I mean it takes a lot of time. A lot of energy. A lot of time and lot of cause to become a human being. Otherwise, every single sentient being would have been human being, you know? There won’t be any dogs or cats, or the cockroaches left. Because I’m talking from the background of reincarnation, because that’s where I’ve been trained. And that’s what my belief and that’s where I’m from. (DT) So, (DT) So, everybody’s not human being. (DT) There’s a lot of other living beings around. (DT) So, why we are human being? (DT) because it happens to have created enough karma, or enough positive karma. Yeah. (DT) So, when we talk about the karma. We’re talking beyond our normal human sense can understand. (DT) So, we rely on the enlightened beings and what they see and what they say. (DT) So, what they. What they see and what they say. We rely on Buddha, as a Buddhist and as my background rely on Buddha.

1:30:00.6 (DT) So, what Buddha says is what makes it’s good human life to get? (DT) To have a perfect morality is the fundamental base. (DT) And on top of that, number of different things. Number of different positive karmas to make that human life as perfect. (DT) So, when you look in ourselves, we will know how much perfect morality we have. (DT) So, that is. That is known to us. (DT) And so we can judge from there. (DT) As much as seed we sow down on the ground and we can expect the yields in the autumn. And similarly, here. It is very similar to it. And we cannot expect something which we did not put down, you know. So, we don’t expect to grow some kind of miracle-grow of put down chili and try to hope it will. It will turn out to be sweet fruit or something. Doesn’t work. We know that very well. (DT) So, the same way. Same way. (DT) So, to become human being again, we need perfect morality. (DT) It’s difficult to find again. (DT) Buddha gives example, as the.