Archive Result

Talk 2 of 9

19970220GRBHFP:

Began 2.22.07 finish 3.3.07

Karma topics

Okay as I have been talking to you this is actually a comprehensive practice of Tibetan Buddhism and it has all complete steps that people do expect to follow any one of you here not familiar with the Tibetan Buddhism at all would you raise your hand that meaning you are completely new here today I can see two three four while I’m not going to count you though I saw your hand half way through but so you are familiar so that hand is not going to be counted so about four so I’m not going to take much time to explain to you but basically what I would like to say is Tibetan Buddhism is nothing than that of Buddha’s personal experience of how he had overcome difficulties and how did he get liberated himself and that sharing of that is the real essence of Tibetan or any other Buddhism that’s really what it is and particularly the difference between Tibetan Buddhism and General Buddhism is Tibetan Buddhism is known as a Vajrayana Buddhism in which you have a lot of additional techniques I’m sure if you are new here tonight it will be difficult for you to understand what I’m talking about that is the common experience I learned because I’ve got a very heavy accent and so if you have difficulties just raise your hand and I will try to repeat and so Tibetan Buddhism carries the Vajrayana flavor so what does that mean the Vajrayana normally we talk about it a lot quick path and this and that and basically the Vajrayana really do they share a lot of methods of transforming negativities such as anger or attachment and transforming them into into paths and so that’s why Vajrayana has a lot of special flavor than that of normal usual Buddhism in general so I do not know whatever I am talking to you (crown laughs) somehow got lost in between anyway So what does the Buddhism really give you is delivering yourself from the ordinary usual every day life understanding or not understanding with all the anger with all the attachment with all the hatred with all the jealousy and the ignorance from there how you’re bringing yourself to a total enlightenment level which means free of all those neuroses that we have mentioned and that is what Buddhism is all about I think that at least a little and easier to understand

So what does these little pieces of paper in here what does they do is they give you a comprehensive at least complete every path everything what you can meditate everything what you can think what you can understand think meditate and experience so that is the whole stage they brought in and that’s why that’s what I mean comprehensive it will give you a complete path how to go from here to enlightenment level what are involved how do you meditate on what and why that’s what I’m trying to say it is comprehensive earlier I hope that is clear now right If I just said it was comprehensive and just left it there you don’t want to think what it is so anyway that’s that so out of this we been talking for a while and I don’t even know why I stopped does anybody have any idea? You do all right.

Audience: I believe you were talking about karma

Rimpoche: that’s a number of people that told me that (crowd laughs) but I’m trying to fit myself within the structure. Okay (he speaks in Tibetan) so probably what that means is we are on the third and fourth verse right? I must remember that that is quick to (stock?) for the (spirit?) understanding that this most certainly is true right so in order to go in that I have to be in between in the middle of this and after that all the good and evil deeds trail after one like the shadow trails the body I think we are at that level it’s your own karma that’s gone to the place so which means we already talk about that we already talk about what happens so that means must be the last time right? Okay so now the question really remains before even we talk about good and bad deeds this follows so the question really remains is there such a thing called reincarnation is it true is there reincarnation now this is a problem for me I would definitely say yes there is a reincarnation otherwise I’ll be out of job (crowd laughs) you know the title that I get called Rimpoche which is means reincarnated lama so if I don’t accept the reincarnation I can’t be a reincarnated lama therefore I lose my title so I must defend my title okay so for me yes but do I have any scientific proof certainly not I don’t do I even remember my previous life which is supposed to be a reincarnated lama right no not that I know so then you may raise a question how did he get selected as a reincarnated lama probably I have been lucky (crowd laughs) so somebody who was kind enough to try to recognize and put a seal on that which means guaranteeing that this fellow is so-and-so whatever it is so probably that’s how I got lucky myself so do I remember anything No I don’t I used to remember, I don’t remember that either (crowd laughs) but simply I was told as a child normally children do remember many children do recollect their previous thoughts a number of times until they become like seven or eight a lot of child doesn’t have to be reincarnated lama everybody do collect a lot of thoughts and do remember a lot of them and there’s a lot of incidents and there’s a lot of stories and you can even I am sure you have encounter with somebody who remembers certain things and not necessarily they remember this is here at this time not that clear things like you know oh yeah I’ve seen this before somewhere why did I see I have been in that situation this is the exactly this person was sitting there that person was there you are sitting there we are talking this where did I see it and then what happened thereafter you can blank, blank, blank what I did do it blank then all sort of things like that and these things are very common I rather request you were wait for a little while so again we can come back otherwise I will get lost thank you.

So that is what happens so then there are other people who talk to you and who remembers meeting with the other persons and the conversation is what they had what they talked about it what they decided what they could not reach a decision and they pick up at that level where the conversation was started out and that sort of things have also been encountered with the people who have an experience not me people who had that sort of experience and many of the incarnate Lamas they’re supposed to remember their previous lives and they do recognize things that belong to you now for example when they select incarnate Lamas before somebody guaranteed and put their seal they think it is right because they do also go through a lot of tests and one of the tests is they will bring a lot of beautiful things like little drums that you can play with it or the bell that you can ring or the mala are you familiar with those bells and malas and all this a lot of you might not be so the mala is like a rosary like that type of thing that is called the mala right rosary and then bells that you ring or people will bring that to you and make sure and some of them are very fancy ones even more fancier than that original one or sometimes might not be that fancy you know they put them and then the little kid selects to see which ones he use so you go through like that a lot of times and you keep on picking out the right thing and so things like that as a child what you could have done. I’m going to share with you one little secret that I’ve kept which is not very nice anyway so I’m going to share that with you so what happens is when I was young they put me in the candidate of the Panchen Lama the Panchen Lama who died in China like two or three years more like seven or eight years ago you know that Panchen Lama so I was the candidate on that and I vaguely remember Tashi? Rimpo is make a huge institution ( ?) The Tibet’s number two person is the Panchen Lama so all of them came and see me I vaguely remember and then they show those beautiful things and I was told I selected quite okay but like seven or eight items are okay and when you get the ninth and tenth is where the mala business came in and when the mala business came in and they show the mala business

the mala to me a number of things of course I started picking up the fancy mala we all like that (he laughs) which is not happens to be the real one and even afterwards I even told them there is a gold mala bring me that and they went back and looked there was no gold mala at all so that’s what made be disqualified and flying out of this (he laughs) out of the candidate list so things like that so I am just sharing it with you so that people do have some memories yet you can go wrong and they will not stick to one or two items pick it up probably give you ten twelve fifteen items so when you don’t make mistakes on that constantly so then you get a better chance so things like that which indicates the little boy has some memories of the previous. I also read in an Indian newspaper and that’s about fifteen years back an Indian girl was born in the village very close to where the Dalai Lama sits today it’s called Dharamsala and below that there is a village called Conrah? which is actually the home of the famous Indian Conrah? paintings coming earlier there was a great painter there so in that there’s a little girl who has actually been killed not very little she was in eighth class in school she was killed when she was crossing a road and nobody knew who did it and all this and what happens is she took rebirth in another village and she remembers everything everything and she refused to accept her parents as her parents and she would not call the momma the momma or call the father the Papa she would not! and when they say I am your momma she would say you are not my momma my mom is somewhere else and that girl insisted she has to go home and she keeps on insisting and after a little while parents give up and they say okay lets go where do you want to go, and she said this village that village and they took a bus and they came to the village and then in the middle of the town they got off the bus and the parents had no idea where she was going so this is the village now you want to go here is that right and she said yeah now word you want to go she said follow me and she walked through the main street and walked into some kind of side little street came down a little hill a hilly area and there’s a little bridge going across to go to the other side of the hilly area and so she said I was knocked down on this bridge and the parents had no idea and then so now where you going and she says home down there they took her down to a little yellow building down there and she walks in and she said Is momma home and the parents are not home at that time but there’s a grandmother there and the grandmother said who’re you and so she said I am so-and-so the previous girls name and she got a shock and couldn’t believe it and she said I brought these people here and she brings them in she saw the photograph and said this is my momma this is my papa, blah blah blah blah blah all of this and then she said I was knocked down on that bridge by a bus driver named so-and-so (he laughs) and then finally the parents came and when she sees them from a distance she says oh this is momma and this is papa and she started crying and they got together and then she’s asking where’s my bangles and Mama said oh yeah I kept your bangles and she brought them in a little bundle and she went through each and every bangle and then she said one bangle is missing in the mother started crying and she said that is the gold bangle I had to sell it and all this and then she even remembered the class fellows and even the things she wrote on the book the exercise book how much it is where the teacher is all of it absolutely clear she remembers that I read that in the paper but then the Dalai Lama actually went there and try to see it and I don’t know what happened I know he went there but I don’t know what happened there afterwards so things like that happens so the memories sometimes the children have it whether you recognize or don’t recognize I don’t know so therefore completely denying there is no such a thing called reincarnation is maybe a little too strong statement but at the same time there is a reincarnation we don’t have any sort of really scientific proof what Buddhism did Buddhism did what the Buddha kept on telling people there is a reincarnation there are countless number of lives you go on taking rebirth one after another and not necessarily if you are a human being is not necessarily you will be reborn as a human being you can be born as anything anywhere else that is what was Buddha kept on sharing with us so is there a scientific proof I don’t know probably not but common sense will tell you there is reincarnation so what I learned is I never raise a question whether there is a reincarnation or not taking for granted is like in the West you don’t think about reincarnation at all you take it for granted the life is from the birth to death and end of it likewise I’ve been brought up with the idea of reincarnation and there is nobody who doesn’t think there isn’t reincarnation so that was the way I was I don’t know fortunately or unfortunately brought up and that’s what it is and if you look in the Buddha’s teaching and everywhere you see the talk of reincarnation all the time so now the question becomes how do you get how do you reincarnate what it is how do you do you really leap from here go there over there and how is it and that is a big question sometimes we are very happy to accept the reincarnation really eager to accept the reincarnation more eager than what is really demands because we really want to be you know it’s almost like we left here and we go somewhere else change and come back and you know when the first time I came to America we started talking about reincarnation and a lot of people are very happy to accept willing to accept happy to accept it was a big shock for me-how come why why they’re accepting the reincarnation straightaway? I thought this was so wonderful but later I learned it’s not wonderful actually people have desire of not letting our life go we would like to continue. the idea of continuing. continuously living. hanging on. keeping our things together. we don’t want to change we would like to continue that is keeping the reincarnation becomes a very good cocoon in which you can really get in and be comfortable to remain continuously does that make sense to you? right? Hmmm? and that’s what it is so it was comfortable result of not letting it go okay so for those I have terrible news (crowd laughs) coming from the background of reincarnation the news here is this (he laughs) I don’t really think we bring on the one hand I said the memory and this and that but basically I really don’t think we bring total of our ideas thoughts memories and recognitions and everything we don’t bring them together we do not! we have a very very subtle not even energy, very subtle sort of mind subtle thing extremely subtle thing which probably has no capability of recognizing or anything and that continues that travels from the previous life to this life and how do we know? we know this when we die we forget everything even before we die we forget a lot of things when you go and see a dying person people normally talk about he still recognizes his mother he doesn’t recognize any more he does not hear or he forgets you know this sort of thing we seeing it even our life living and during our lifetime even our memories are starting to losing we don’t recognize people we don’t remember their name it’s actually slipped away and getting out of our mind we are losing that is the clear sign how this mental and physical process is going through and that’s where when you really come at the time of actual death it will become extremely subtle and very subtle mind mind is incapable of recognizing remembering anything it is extremely subtle mind that’s why you have this blackness or darkness or you know this is the reason why you are disconnecting with every single thing that you see hear and touch and hold disconnecting that so you are already disconnecting that on top of that you’re going through the process of separating the body from the mind are you with me?

To me the body is nothing than that of my identity and my base and my apartment rented of course (crowd laughs) are you with me? so when this apartment which I rented can no longer be serviceable to me there’s no hot water or there’s no heat there’s no roof you know all this and then what do you do you move out so that’s it so actually this physical body identity what we have is like a rented apartment the consciousness within my body which is remaining in there is than me who’s living in the apartment and when I can no longer function in that apartment I must go so when my consciousness can no longer function with this body something happens something is broke here you know something the blood doesn’t circulate or the air doesn’t move or you know whatever so when it becomes unserviceable then it separates then the separation itself is the death death means the body mind connection whatever we have is losing that and a changing of the identity the identity in which we identify on the basis of our faith sound or character or smell whatever so on that we are changing that we have to change that the change is impermanent and as it grows impermanent we call it death why because for this person who’s dying no longer you connect no longer you see those people you see everyday even if you see them you don’t recognize even if you recognize they don’t see you even if they see you they don’t recognize you you know it’s a big change it’s an identity change are you with me? That’s what it is okay so how do you change the identity? Did somebody make your new identity ready for you? To just get in there no no sometimes those FBI and all this they will ship the agent to somewhere else and give them a new identity and I don’t think it’s like that so what’s happening is the moment we are disconnecting our relationship between the body and the consciousness so your consciousness is thrown into some kind of a huge almost like a cyclone or huge hurricane so you are like that you’re caught in that it’s just like a little off feather of a bird or a leaf of a tree caught in the middle of a hurricane and you have no idea where it’s going to carry you have no idea where it’s going to be dropped right? That is exactly what happens to us according to the Buddha now from here I have to beg because I’ve never experienced but I’m going to base it on the experiences of the Buddha I might have experienced it we all might have experienced in but we don’t remember we don’t recall right? So that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen and when that happens the question comes where is it going to be landed? where is it going to be landed? actually when you’re caught in that hurricane type of state we call that a Bardo if you’re familiar with that with that terminology it’s called Bardo meaning the stage in between the stage in between death and rebirth is called the Bardo the stage in between we are in that level it is like this basically but then the different people have some people have a very pleasant and wonderful experience some people have a terrible experience and some people have a so-so not that great but not that terrible you know so the majority of the people go in there as a matter of fact I edited a couple of those stories actually they call that biographies of people who return from death and I’ve added a couple of them in Bardo fifteen years back in India so one of them I just remember in one of those stories called (Dela Karma Onzing?) in that story I remember reading through and its sort of you die and then you’re disconnected with your body and then you started moving very easily and then you no longer have any pain you can get up and walk easily you can get very fast and all this but the person doesn’t even know what’s going on and they begin to certainly look around and you see your own dead body lying over there and you begin to get a shock and see what’s happening anyway so to cut all this long story short at the end this fellow is lined up in some kind of as they describe it some kind of mountaintop where everybody is lined up and it looks like you’re waiting for your judgment or a sort of judgment they’re all waiting in their while waiting in there and certainly some kind of powerful sound came a powerful mantra of sound Om Mani Peme Hum some huge they said like a thundering type of sound came so everybody in waiting line has to turn around and there is some great lama who has died and he was passing through so he got the overriding priority so he doesn’t have to wait on line he has an overriding priority and that goes and then he passes through and then they go and turn again and then suddenly another huge noise coming crying and screaming yelling and all sorts of things and some kind of political leader who happens to be a terrible person who died is also going through with an overriding priority for quickly for punishment again with an overriding priority so the overriding priority is given both to the great one as well as a terrible one so normally if people go in the normal line it’s better (crowd laughs) so the overriding priority might not be that great so that sort of thing that story I sort of remember and certainly when he gets to on his level and the way he told this story after he revived after the shock or the death or whatever it is so the story that he reaffirmed now you can very simply explain is a television no it’s a computer monitor and at that time keeps on taking a pane it looks like a mirror that type of thing you see a reflection in there and you look in there and they tell you what you did and they can reveal so they took pains to explain in the fourteenth century to hear that story however today we can simply say it’s a monitor right a monitor right? So you can begin simply click on and then it opens up and shows you everything and so whatever you did the good ones the bad ones and everything so that sort are reminding people so whatever we did good or bad whether somebody else see it or somebody else liked it or somebody else hated it doesn’t matter whether if somebody see it or not but what does matter is I am responsible to my own deeds and that makes us responsible to ourselves whether we did something good or bad whether somebody else knows it or doesn’t know it doesn’t matter we are responsible because that monitor will show at the end of the day. it’s recorded in there. we don’t carry with us but it’s there. so that makes us that is basically what Karma is all about it. Karma means nothing but cause and effects what causes is the effect you get what truly cause-and-effect is what I am responsible and what I am not responsible. what did I do will that makes a difference to me that is exactly what karma is all about. Are you with me?

Sometimes people in the West particularly who have some idea and not a complete idea they would like to say it is Karma so therefore I can do nothing how many of you think that way? would you like to raise your hand? nobody and that’s good how come? normally a lot of people think it’s my Karma so I can do nothing that is not true that’s not true why? because Karma is a dependent arising Karma depends on its condition are you with me? When the condition really is right karma clicks to the right point and then we experience when the conditions are not right karma cannot click on that because the conditions are not right writing of the Karma depends on the conditions who creates the conditions me each one of us I create my conditions to writing my good or bad karma are you with me? And that is the second point for which we make ourselves responsible to our own deeds whether anybody has seen it or not seen it or like it or dislike it it doesn’t matter I am responsible for my deeds if I have been good if I have been kind if I have been generous if I have been patient if I’ve been diligent if I’ve been meditating if I have wisdom then that it makes me good because that’s my positive karma and that will create conditions to a positive karma to arise. If I have not been concentrating if I’ve not been thinking if I’ve not been diligent if I’ve not been generous if I have not been moral if I have been immoral if I have not been patient if I’ve been angry if I’ve been lazy and not diligent and then that creates negative karma for me and it also clicks to the negative conditions providing negative conditions and clicks negative karma and then all your negative whatever it is comes out of the computer monitor so what happens when the individual actually the projection of the judgment (blank spot in tape) to get the message across what’s really happening is what am I going to be the next the choice will be right in front of me the new identities that we are going to take it. It will lay right in front of you do you have the choice to pick up which I’m going to do unfortunately we don’t that is where the differences is the spiritually developed person and the not developed person the difference the lines are drawn there can you choose or you don’t have any control do you have that clicking mouse in your own hand or someone else holding it that’s the difference are you with me? Okay that’s the difference so what do we do as a spiritual practitioner we try to keep that in your own hand we don’t let it be in somebody else’s control earlier Tibetan teachers used to say (he speaks Tibetan) so meaning you know there’s an old-style Tibetan those yaks on the mountains you know and what they do is they make a hole in the nose and they tie the yak somewhere so the yak cannot run away you know what I mean? And when they yak wants go to the east if the Yak want to go to the east you sit there and hold them and pull to the West and the yak has to go to the west because it’s painful right? So earlier teachers would say if you are a good spiritual practitioner keep this rope on your nose keep it on your own horn don’t anybody have it get the message ( he speaks Tibetan) that is how if you wanted to be good spiritual practitioners that is what you do if you are not if you have this to somebody else’s than they can pull you here or there and you don’t have freedom okay? And the freedom today what you wanted to do is freedom for you in the future where you’re going to click do understand what I’m talking about? Did you get it? When you die which monitor on what which window you going to use your mouse click and that freedom is the freedom today what you do is that freedom in the future that is Karma.

So when you have those choice of a variety of different identities valuable in front of you some may have some horns like a yak with all the hairs or Buffalo some may look like a dog some may look like a cat some may look like a snake or a cockroach for that matter so which one you go to get it? So that’s the choice what I’m talking about so fortunately we happen to have the right identity and each one of those identities has its own little package and limitations and capabilities that is stick with it and when we get a human identity we get human capabilities the capacity to think talk communicate express when you get the dog’s identity we get the dog’s capacity you can say something but never know whether the other person is going to understand what you are saying keep on barking right keep on saying Bow wow wow. So the limitations comes with it intelligence capability if get the cat’s identity you can only say meow and that’s it no matter how much you think your cat is very intelligent everybody thinks my cat is extremely intelligent but nobody asked that person is your cat more intelligent than you are? they may say almost (crowd laughs) if you’re a kind person but we know it’s a limitation and when Buddha tells you the human life is so precious and so important and this is to be embraced rather than rejected or look down upon that is the point where the Buddha is comparing with other lives that we have other lives we see them now we see the fish I say fish because I had a fish dinner at home so that’s what it is so all these identities are there and it has its own little package with it just now I said I had a fish dinner? So we eat each other right (he speaks Tibetan again) one of the sufferings of the animals kingdom or the animal realm face is the one eats the other (he speaks Tibetan again) so these sort of sufferings is there circle continuously even the human beings we don’t each other but we harm each other we try to destroy each other although we say we like to help each other but you try to be mean to each other this is a basic human problem in one hand on the other hand there’s a nice wonderful kind compassionate mind within us we always go as long as there is no threat to ourselves than we been nice person we don’t mind to be nice to somebody who doesn’t threaten you right? As long as there is a threat you have to be protecting yourself immediately returning into Porcupine that little animal with all these things around returning to that because we perceive it as a threat at challenge why do we do that? Am I right or wrong? Think within your own person you don’t have to tell think your own personal experience for the last five years what did you do and think everything whatever you, you see that is that your basic character no it’s your habitual pattern and it’s your addiction the basic inside you have the kindness and wonderful nature in there because when you see no threat you are a very nice person you are kind you go out of your way to help as long as you see the threat you are porcupine. So that is how we get and the question really rises why? Why? And that is for you to find out why we do that why? If anyone tells you to do that No nobody has to tell you we knew it we are experts we are very well experienced experts.

Because we been doing that for so many life after life we don’t have to teach the kids how to be mean if you have little children say two or three years old and it sees another little baby drawing the attention of the parents from you to somewhere else you don’t have to tell the other kid and they will automatically act you know that dislike throwing temper tantrums all of them you don’t have to teach them and that is one of the signals there is reincarnation we are so used to it we don’t have to teach the parents try to hide Playboy magazine or something from your kids right? You remove them you don’t let them see certain channels but to your surprise they know more than you do right? All of them are the signals that we had previous exposure experience and perfection and expertness on it and that previous is previous life I’m not trying to prove reincarnation here don’t misunderstand but that is how it happens according to Buddha that is how we carry our karma with us that is how we connect with our karma one terrible thing with the karma is we are very comfortable whenever we are used to it so if you are used to it good positive karma we feel comfortable with that and we will continue but if you are used to it with negative karma so we can feel comfortable with that we like to repeat that’s a terrible thing if you are killing and if you are used to it killing insects or whatever keep on killing then you feel comfortable with it you like to do it continuously do it and that’s karma can you change it sure every single darn thing whatever we comes up in our thoughts ideas actions we can change each and every one of them why because they are impermanent because it is impermanent it changes our thoughts our habit our way of functioning our way of proceeding with our life everything we change its changing even our patience change remember how many times this (prize?) went big and small Do you remember that right so even that changes our look I’m sure I don’t look like this when I was thirteen or fourteen changes everything changes so everything is impermanent and that is one of the biggest Buddha’s discovery everything is impermanent including our mind our habitual patterns everything so we change changing from negative way into positive way is your spiritual work if you started looking for something beyond that you’re not going to find it you may find something to do sit down and cross your legs or what ever put your hands together and close your eyes and you can do something like that but what does that make difference to you it doesn’t making a difference to you is changing that way of functioning to a positive way so that you click to the positive karma you make your positive karma richer more stronger more powerful that is the spiritual practice is all about that. That is the message I brought I’m bringing it from Tibet where I was born in that old Shangri-La type of Tibet not the new modern Chinese Communist controlled city the old Shangri-La type of thing with that spiritual practice where there sort of a lot of people in the world looks that as a spiritual home so that is the point the point what you bringing is making difference to you by making a difference to yourself by way of making a different thinking functioning acting why people meditate why do people meditate meditating people because you are training your mind you are training your mind in a positive manner you are training your mind to be able to function as a mind rather than those popping up continuous thoughts you meditate because you want help yourself by way of bringing positive karma to you that’s it I have nothing more to say I am finished. Sir okay now I let you...

Audience: I know you touched on this question further through your talk but listening to your statements that you don’t remember any of your past lives in the sense if this reincarnation exists how do you know you don’t remember is there a possibility that certain thoughts you have are remembering but you don’t know that they are.

Rimpoche: I’m saying I don’t remember because I don’t remember that I am remembering (he lasts)

Audience: that is exactly the question so the question is the answer too I guess.

Rimpoche: Maybe I’m talking about that nothing secret or nothing mystical about it because I just don’t remember that I was remembering anything that’s it.

Audience: But then again you can be then given to the idea that possibility you are remembering but you don’t know that you are is that a possibility.

Rimpoche: that’s also a possibility that I did remember but I don’t remember that I remembered that’s also possible sure. Tom?

Audience: I know in some other religions they believe in ancestor worship and a while back I heard this interview with this Indian musician who took some lessons from his dead father who was a master musician and I was wondering when someone goes completely through Bardo and they are reincarnated is there any place or space where their personality still resides where we can like access them?

Rimpoche: good question yes and no yes in the sense there are two possibilities that ancestor who took a rebirth but did not take a rebirth as a human being or as an animal or insect or something else who took a rebirth in the spirit form becoming like a ghost or something which you can access because there’s a tremendous connection between the formless ghost and the human being with a form we have that and that is also possible another possibility that the individual whoever that father or whoever may be died and took rebirth and go somewhere else and yet they are hundreds of simultaneous born spirit meaning when you took birth along with you one human being have a lot of spirit come around with that taking rebirth with you and they don’t die when you die they continue I have this answer because I did ask one of my late masters who actually came to America a couple of times called Song? Rimpoche with his little mustache here looks like a wise Chinese old guy with the mustache there so I asked Song? Rimpoche what is this spirit talking in all this and that are these people lying or what is it he says oh no no no certainly they’re not lying and they are really connecting with some beings talking to them and I said is this the real person who died in that house before he said no certainty because there are hundreds of what you call simultaneously born spirit ghost type of thing who knows all of your secrets completely which nobody else knows except you they also have the information because they’re formless with them and your identity has been used by them in the formless form and functioning with your name with your own thing so these people these spirits these beings not these people these beings doesn’t die when you die some of them live for hundreds of years they still continue so these beings are not necessarily that human being who died but having the same identity and functioning so both of those are possibilities so we cannot say what is right or wrong that is what he told me.1248 CCC

Audience: Is your karma your thoughts or your actions or both?

Rimpoche it is an imprint it is like an I owe you note, you write I owe you note and nobody will chase you got when you don’t pay your next bill then they will chase you just like that neither thought nor action it is something that gets you holds you or gets you or gives you pleasure or harm or misery whatever. It lies down at the sleeping level and when the conditions are right it pops up that’s what it is so.

Audience: you said that we can take any form and in next incarnation is there any reason or explanation for the type of form we take is there a hierarchy or a randomness?

Rimpoche: I’m glad you asked that question a lot of people think as a human being we are always going better and better and higher and higher according to the Buddha it’s not true you go up or down both like our emotions we go higher up or down our rebirths will alter the day

audience: do we have any choice?

Rimpoche: we are working for it we are working for it true that is the spiritual practice you try to gain control by yourself. Actually every human being every being is reincarnated there is not a single being not a person being which is not reincarnated but why the Tibetans make a big deal with the reincarnated person it supposed to have reincarnated by you own choice whether that’s true or not but that’s what it’s supposed to be so if you gain choice by you if you can make the choice at that moment by you then you have gained control then you have gained control over your life right now we can shape the future but when the time comes it is not on our hands we are not on the driver’s seat you know what I mean? Yeah

audience: can a group of people or a nation have a karma?

Rimpoche: sure there is a karma called collective karma we share together every experience that we experience good bad everything we share together is collective karma and the good life what we have in America today is the collective karma of American citizens plus visitors who are experiencing their combined collective karma with the karmic called the Holocaust and that sort of miserable thing together is also a collective karma that doesn’t mean I’m trying to let the Hitler go out of the hook but it is a collective karmic result too. Hitler did it and he became the instrument and he did it and the collective karma experience people who are involved in that and also created another karma to do the same thing for themselves in the future as well. Yeah?

Audience: I have a friend who is very close to death is there anything that I can do for that person?

Rimpoche: yes you can help the person to die in smooth peace and free of anger or attachment whatever you can contribute and that will be a great help I tell you why if the person dies in the peaceful nature without much anxiety or suffering or fear in that possibility of that moment you know when you actually die you have no memory you have nothing you go into the dark period. And when you wake up from that period the possibility of that smoothness will click to another good smoothness the roughness will bring the rough life and the smoothness will bring a smooth life and that you can do if the person is a believer of any religious tradition try to remember the names of those founders or the teachers or whatever or bring love and compassion. And that will be a direct help and that’s really a direct contribution and if you can’t anyway I forget okay.

Audience: after the point a person actually dies that you speak of and begins the transition or whatever the terminology would be to reincarnate is there a particular period of time that is involved does the time vary and are you in contact with other spirits or entities or persons?.

Rimpoche: the transition period is a minimum period of a moment like a second to a maximum period of forty nine days according to Buddha don’t ask me why why (he laughs) it can be like this moment or it can be a maximum up to forty nine days.

Audience: During that time would you be able to be in contact with others?

Rimpoche: you do, you do. probably I will try to talk next week because this Bardo business is a lot of experience it is totally life of its own it has its own little contact with your fellow Bardowas as well as all sorts of things it is a whole melodrama of total life by itself. Okay so I would like to stop here and since we don’t have any prayers to say or anything but we would like to give a little bit of dedication why? Because the dedication makes yourself to get the key to the car you know I mean? You can become a driver you can sit on the drivers seat so the dedication and prayer I’m sure you all know the difference but what I know I would like to share with you the dedication here means if you have something to dedicate then it is become the dedication if you don’t have anything to dedicate you simply wish that it will happen then it becomes prayer am I wrong? Yeah so let’s do what I call dedication so the positive karma that we created by you people coming here and sitting and talking about Dharma and about life and about making a difference to our life by our self and that is one of the positive karma according to the Buddha so this is positive karma so you use this positive karma to dedicate that we bring our total enlightenment to all sentient beings our dedicating from the bottom of our heart all this positive karma this and all other positive karmas to dedicate to bring total enlightenment to all beings so that means earmarking the positive karma we have you earmark for that purpose and one of the characteristics of karma is definite so when you earmark it’ll work for that and that’s all about dedication whether you do nice sitting and thinking with the breath in and out and going everywhere or you simply make up your mind to use your positive karma for that purpose I am sort of easy happy go lucky like to do that quick messages okay? Thank you