Archive Result

Soundfile 19970412GRNYC3P1

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location New York City

Topic Three Principles

Transcriber Glenn Powers

Date 2020-11-12

I’m sure many of you were look at that chair. Allen is no longer sitting there. That is the reality. So, such a reality is in our nature, within everyone one of us is a subject for that. No one is really immune. We all going to go. No matter when. What we all going to go in that direction. So, impermanent expressed through the way of separation and dying. It’s a very vivid example of nature of impermanent within our life. Everyone one of us will try to live and we plan our life as though we are going to live another two thousand years. Nobody thinks that way, but we plan that way. Everybody do. Perhaps that might have been one of our problem. 0:02:02.7

Our problem is that we will never think that this life can end any moment, anywhere. We never consider that. Might not be good idea, either, to keep on thinking, “I am going to live next minute? Will I be able to go to bed tonight? Or, if I go to bed tonight, will I be able to wake up tomorrow? Or, I am going to be dead in the bed in which I went to bed?” So, if you keep on thinking that, it might not be a great idea at all, I don’t know. But, for your spiritual practice, it’s a very good idea. It’s a very good idea. It is remind you that the attractions that we do for our material life, to our material success, everything, whatever we do, you know we always look for some kind of success whether it is business or whether it is presentation or performance or whatever it might be. Everybody is looking for something called success. 0:03:58.7

[..] Of course, it’s very important to have that driving force of driving yourself towards the success and to this and that, without which you probably don’t make it anway. If your half hearted, you’re not going to make it, your not going to be success. That’s for sure. However, from the spiritual point of view and totally driving toward what we call it success is perhaps yuppie style. Though, they all want it. They all have interest in the spiritual path. That some how or another it is secondary important than that of, “Hey...” Secondary important than of that of the first thing. [..] 0:05:28.3

Mostly, to the people today, what is the problem? People have great interest in the spiritual path, great interest to develop, great interest to be very successful in the spiritual path. However, we are working with half hearted. Everyone of us, including myself, whether we are facing this way or that way, if you look to ourself, everything, whatever we do, if we watch very carefully, we are always half hearted. We never totally there. Never totally there. Everybody would like to claim that I’m there. Whatever I do, I do very solidly, wonderful and total dedicated and blah blah blah. But, if you really look, we always half hearted. Always half hearted. We cannot let go certain attachment to materialistic or whatever. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or wonderful or fantastic. Attachment is such a funny. The monkey has very strong attachment to the tip of their tail. What is the tip of a monkey’s tail? It is nothing. But, there is very strong attachment for that. So does the dogs have very strong attachment to their tail. What is a dog’s tail? Nothing. And so do we do. We have attachment for no reason. Nothing. Can be anything. Can be anything. Some little funny thing in your closet, whatever it may be. So, we have very strong attachment and to let it go, that will be extremely difficult. Extremely difficult. Plus, we have those fantasies. The fantasies of building our life in certain way, fantasy of becoming this and that and this and that. These are our problems. So, what is the passing away of Allen, who is not here today, what this tell us is don’t fool yourself. Don’t be fooled. [..] Don’t be fooled by holding on the fantasies. Because, the way people go and we all go one day or another. The fantasy will remain in your closet. 0:08:51.7

So, we really have to recognize that. If we are for spiritual path. Half hearted will never get anywhere. Traditional Tibetan masters will tell you, if there are two prong on one needle, you can never stitch. Because, one goes through this way, one goes through that way. It’ll stuck. You don’t stitch. Right? Two pronged needle. So, if half hearted... one needle has two tips. It’s not going to be useful. What you going to do? You can’t stitch anything, one goes this way, the other is stuck there. So, the needle is not going to go through. So, you cannot lead the thread. So, you not going to go through, you cannot be help anybody else. You going to be stuck there. [..] So, that is the example. So, the fantasies that we have, the attachment that we have for our fantasy is the other prong. It holds you back. One mind of making yourself working hard and going through, that will help you push through. But the fantasies, we have attachment, that will hold you back. That’s that. 0:10:30.0

So, if you really wanted spiritual development, if you really want to work through spiritually, if you really wanted to go at the time you are going to go, at the time you needed to go, you go nicely, with dignity and die with success and achieve enlightenment on the other side. Or, obtain enlightenment through the bardo stage. All this, if you wanted, we have to have single pointed attention, single pointed interest, and single pointed dedication. Are you with me? [..] So, if you don’t have that, that is the problem number one we face in our spiritual path. 0:11:55.1

Then, number two... if you take care of number one, your definitely going to take care of number two. However, we must also say it. So, the number two problem will be the priorities that we choose, priorities in our life. Right? The priorities what we choose. That is another problem. What we choose our priorities, you know? Every person in this room or anywhere in the United States who would like to dedicate themself and practice might not have the total opportunity to do so. But, number of people have the opportunity. However, they cannot make best use of it. Anyway, the choosing of the priority, of course lot of people has to choose priority, your job, your responsibility, paying your bills. There’s no question. You have to choose that. Some people are lucky enough, don’t have to do that. These people are fortunate enough to make the right priority for yourself. You do have better opportunity that the others. The majority of the people has to select their responsibility, their job, paying their bills, responsibility to children, responsibility whatever, all your responsibilities. You have to have that. Then, the second to that, next to that, has to be your spiritual goal. That’s just because it is for you. Not for anybody. It’s not for me. Not for organizations, dharma centers, monasteries, not for for the teachers, nothing. It is for yourself. It is only for you and yourself. So, you should choose at least whatever the extra time available, at least it should be the second most important, if not the first one, second most important thing in your life. If you really look carefully, life is short, it may be sweet or may be sour. But, it is short, for sure. [..] 0:16:07.2

If you look in the life, it is really short. Even it is seventy, eighty or ninety, it’s short. Even it’s one hundred, it’s short. I’m talking to you with background of reincarnation. Life goes on, it will continue. The individual will continue. You may not remember. You may not recognize. You may not be able to communicate. But, life goes on. Definitely. Normally, I will not say that sort of thing, I simply make a little gentle approach and little discreet. Normally, I try to do that. By looking at that chair today, I have to say it. There is definitely future life, don’t ever think of doubting even. 0:17:34.6

When we are driving up there today, in Chinatown, there’s little street, Elliot tried to park there. So, the sign says, “Don’t even think of parking here.” [..] Don’t even think of doubting. Don’t even think of doubting whether there is future life or not. If you tell me, “Prove it,” I can’t. I don’t have scientific proof to show you the past life and the future life, no. I wish Allen could come back and tell you, “Hey, I found future life.” We will looking forward that. It’ll be great. Unfortunately, when he comes back he will come back in different form, we don’t recognize. So, that’s what it is. That is the beauty of reincarnation. Beauty of reincarnation. Beauty of reincarnation. So, it’s there. So, the life, when you talk about our life, don’t think from the birth to death. That’s not it. That is one section of it. It is one chapter out of total book. It is almost one sentence out of your total book. Life is much more than that. Much more than that. So, there is a past life. There is a future life. If there is not a past life, we will not be here today. Because, we are continuation. We are continuation. We have no problem to trace the continuation of our life up to the baby born. Right? If you trace back, we are the continuation of yesterday, the day before, the week before, month before, the year before. We are the continuation of that sweet, little six years old child. That is the continuation of that beautiful, young baby. That beautiful young baby is the continuation of a person in a mother’s womb and so and forth. But, we have a problem to trace beyond that. Because, our capacity of seeing beyond that, either through spiritually or even scientifically or anything is limited. This is our limitation. That’s why we don’t see beyond that. But, when we don’t see, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Really. Believe it. When we don’t see, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. So, it is there. So, when we have the continuation of previous life, we are bound to havethe continuation of the future life, too. Definitely. Life? Yes. One life ends at the time of the death. Death is nothing but that of separation. It is separation. Separation of everything. Separation of person. Separation of friends. Separation of identity. Separation of body and mind. That is death. We call it death, because our capacity to identify certain individuals beings through a certain identity, whether it’s face or body or sound or whatever, smell or whatever. That is our capacity of identifying the individuals, recognizing, identifying and that has been changed. That has been separated when you die. That’s what it is. 0:23:10.7

So, the individual continue. No matter whatever may be, individual continue. Even in the normal American understanding, you don’t think, most people, you don’t think, most intelligent people do not totally think when you die you finished. Do you? Somehow, there is some kind of thing, unclear thing left over there. Right? It is right. There is something left over there that continues. Unfortunately, process of dying is such a thing that reduces all your memory totally and that’s why certain points when you go and visit people in the hospital, they don’t recognize you. They don’t remember their name. All this. The doctors always ask you, “What’s your name?” If you operated or something, they just try to check your memory intact or not. They will just say, “What’s your name?” Right? So, what’s happened is the dying process is such a thing, it reduces your memory. It ease up your memory. Meaning, you don’t remember. When you don’t remember, you don’t know. Really, true. When you don’t remember, you don’t know. That’s truth. People like to say, “I do know. But, I don’t remember.” True reality is when you really forgot, completely, then you don’t know. You have to learn it again. So, the dying process is such a thing, they reduces all our gross memories completely. We have a very, very subtle thing. The subtle, I don’t know whether it’s energy or not, I do not like to use such terminology without knowing whether it is energy... whether mind is really energy, I don’t think it is really energy. So, it’s some kind of very subtle consciousness, I even can’t use word “mind.” Because, it’s slightly different than “mind” what we refer normally. So, it is subtle consciousness. That is continuation of ourself. 0:26:10.4

So, what happens is, our total gross level fully developed, fully grown up, fully built up, [..] if you look at the human beings from the childhood, it goes up, up, up, builds up everything, the physical level builds up to the age of twenty-five, then begin to turn down. Twenty-five at the peak level, then begin to turn down. As well as our mind level, mental level, it goes up to fifty or something, then begin to go down. That is sort of fully growing that goes up fully. What you call it? [..] Fully developed and then started going down, reducing the power of whether it is physical or mental. You look at some old people, he’s old, he doesn’t remember. We say that. Even in front of that person, right? So, we say that. So, that is really how it works. So, it reduces the power of the mind and reduces the power of the body. It is a reduction. It reduces to a very, very subtle level. Then, it retakes again. So, actually, the reincarnation is nothing than that of coming down to the subtle level of the mind and body development and at the end of that mind and body development, reduction, it’s separation will come. Separates the body, the base, and mind, the tenet. The body the apartment, the mind the tenet, goes out. The contract is finished. That is very subtle level and we call that death. Then the mind takes, again, another connection, whatever the physical shape it might be. That physical shape may be a beautiful one or with horns and tails, who knows. But, somehow, some connection you take. That begins to grow and builds the life. That’s what call it life after life, reincarnation, everything. To some people, you do remember what had happened before. Some people, person like me, don’t remember a thing. I don’t remember what happened yesterday or day before. Really, true. Sometimes, you don’t even remember an hour ago what happened. So, when you don’t remember that, hoping to remember past life is long shot. That doesn’t mean it’s not there. That doesn’t mean it’s not there. Really, true. We don’t remember many things in time what we did and it took place. It is definitely been part of our life. You may not recall. As Ronald Reagan says, “I don’t recall...” Remember? Maybe it’s true. (laughter) If you have Alzheimer's, you don’t remember. It’s true. You don’t recall. That doesn’t mean he did not become a President. Right? That does not mean he does not know Col. North. 0:30:40.2

So, that’s what it is. So, when we don’t know, when we don’t remember, that doesn’t mean it’s not there, it’s not happening. When we don’t see, doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. We have a great mind. Particularly, you people have such brilliant mind, all of you are educated and wonderful and all this thing, brilliant people. However, there are a lot of things a brilliant person doesn’t know. Even your own life. That’s what it is. So, I just want to remind you, thinking of those lines is our obstacle. Therefore, once you are clear on that, the choosing of the priority is another problem for us. Since we have half minded, somehow I know there is a future life, somehow I knew it’s there for me. But, I’m not convinced completely. I have not seen it. So, therefore, I cannot afford to spend the precious time that I have on that. That is very logical thing for lot of people. That very mind will cost you tremendously later. 0:32:44.2

I like to share a little thing with you. I know Allen for eight years. Since I met him, for about a year or so, maybe little two years, he used to say always he’s worried about death and dying. All the time. Philip recalls. But, he used to say, “I’m afraid of dying. All my life, for sixty years, I’ve been practicing. But, I’m still afraid of dying.” But, two years or so, he’s no longer afraid. He was prepared. I‘d like to share that with you. And, why? Because he worked. He put efforts in it. If you could do that, there’ll be time for all of us, but we don’t have to worry about dying.

It’s not the death itself that we have to worry about. Death is natural process. It goes, it comes. It’s like a clock. It clicks. tock, tock, tock, tock. When the time goes, when the process is over, you get out of it. No question. You don’t have to worry about, you’re not going to sunk and stuck there for sure. Really. It’s for sure. It’s going to come out of it. But, when you come out of it, what kind? How you look like? And, what you are. Then, it is a completely new dressing you had. You got a new dress, completely. This new dress and how it’s going to look like. What is all about it? Is it going to be comfortable? Miserable? Or nice, wonderful? Or terrible? That is the one what we worry about it. That’s unknown. Death is not unknown. Death is definitely known for us. It is nothing but that of black period. Those of you who have gone through anesthesia, you know it. Death will be very similar to that. And, those of us who went to sleep every night, we know it. Death is like that. There is no mystery on that. It is absolutely clear. When the time goes, if you are sleeping six hours, you go to sleep and six hours later, no matter whatever happened, you wake up. Right? We do that. That is same time process. I don’t mean six hours. Same thing, time process it goes through. That darkness, it goes. The darkness, after the darkness, you have to follow light. There’s no way... this is absolutely clear. But, fear of unknown is not what happens. The day after, what happens? How am I going to look? Every individual will have a different day after. You be different. Just like us here, how many people are here? 50, 60? each one of us look different, right? Though each one of us nose this way, eye that way, but we look different, each one of us. Right? Each and every one of us look different. Right? Just like that, in the future, when you come out of death, they’ll be different. Some are look like human being, some are look like hungry ghost, some are look like a yak. A yak on the Tibetan plateau. Some are look like the llama, with the double “l.” Yeah. So, that is the unknown. That was the people’s fear. We’re afraid. We don’t know what we’re afraid of it. Because, we’ve been through that a number of times. And, very few times it happens to be good. So, the natural fear within us, naturally we carry. That is the fear we have. Our live’s been dominated by fear. Don’t you notice that? Do I have to point it out to you? You don’t. You know it. Each and everyone of you. Look at your life. And, there is fear. The fear dominates your life. Is there anyone who is not dominated by fear, raise your hand. I’ll be very happy to talk with you. Is there anyone of you? 0:38:43.1

You’re crazy. Forget it. Russel is start raising his hand. You’re a little crazy right now. I will discard your hand. So, as my, too. I’ll discard mine, too. Really, true. You’re just now, what twenty? [..] 22? The more you go, you will learn it. Wait till you become forty or fifty. You remember that time. We’ll be gone. But, you’ll remember that time. You will learn, you will get good of that fear. Don’t worry about it. Don’t raise your hand too early. That’s what’s going to happen. Anyway... 0:39:35.5

Each and everyone of us having that fear, many of you people know what you are afraid of, but many don’t know what you are afraid of it. It is the imprint of having that problem life and life, so many times. That process called death goes through that and then the next identity happens to be difficult one. That fear builds up. It is not so simple to remove from us. It’s not so easy... you can talk to the person and calm down the person from freaking out. But, you can not eliminate fear totally from anybody. That’s the reason why. A number of lives, we have that thing done. That’s the reason why. If anybody tells me it’s not the reason, I’ll be happy to challenge and defend my statement. Really true. That’s what it is. So, that’s why people have so much... many people have so many fear. Then, it goes to little tiny fear that maybe ghosts come out of your closet or somebody may come out of your bed, these things are different. Basically, the strong fear which dominates our life is coming from there. And, it is nice to know where it’s coming from. Nice to know it is part of life, part and parcel of life. Why we have that fear? Because we have so many things, so many difficulties in that process. That’s why people are afraid of dying. That’s why people afraid of separation. That’s why even people are afraid of even changes. Any change in our life, we feel uncomfortable, because we are unsure. We have the fear. So, this is bigger that way, smaller this way. That’s how fear dominates our life. 0:42:03.6

How do you handle that? How do you handle that? Understanding. Understanding where the fear is coming, why, what makes you afraid and knowing... Now, I’m going to give you Buddhist propaganda... knowing buddha, dharma and sangha have the power to protect you. That’s Buddhist propaganda. But, you cannot say it is not true. Because, you do’t have proof either. True. So, rely on buddha, dharma and sangha. Taking refuge. Things like that will give you protection. Are they going to eliminate your fear? No. It’s going to give you something to hold on, something to hang on, something to hold on. What’s really going to eliminate fear? You work within yourself. You make sure that you have reduced your neurosis. You make sure that you have reduced your anger. You make sure you have reduced your attachment. You make sure you have reduced your hatred. That doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy life. That doesn’t mean you cannot have fun in life. That doesn’t mean that. You can have all the fun you wanted to, in your life, whatever you can get it. But, the trick is not to have attachment. Not to caught under their clutch. So, you can enjoy everything from everywhere, anything. Whatever it might be, from food to sex. Whatever. You can enjoy anything you want to, as long as you are not caught in the attachment. 0:44:45.0

Last Monday, when we were at the Shambhala center, doing that funeral service for Allen, I was reading that little, detailed purification service, which I don’t read normally, I do the shorter one. I did little detailed one. When you look at that detailed one, I was reading that through and saying and meditating, it says, “Here is the beautiful body. You will take the body and enjoy it.” And then says... when you write in English you have this double line draw, marking important, underlining saying, “Use this body, have no attachment. Use this food, have no attachment. Enjoy this music, have no attachment. Enjoy this feeling, touch, have no attachment.” That struck me. Not only once, but every single point, they tell you, use this body, use this beautiful body, have no attachment. Enjoy this beautiful music and sound, have no attachment. Use this wonderful touch, feeling, enjoy that, have no attachment. That is the total trick, how the spiritual practitioners do. 0:46:45.5

We talk about crazy wisdom, do’t we? Have you heard about crazy wisdom? Crazy wisdom doesn’t mean you don’t have rules and regulations. The crazy wisdom means no attachment. No delusions. That is crazy wisdom. I don’t know why I’m talking to you that today. Cut that out. I’d like to come back.

So, coming back, the death. We are talking the death. The death is unavoidable. I do see your hand, I’ll let you ask question. You keep on raising your hand, like boiling water, bubbling up there. Okay, go ahead, but only two of you. One question each, otherwise I won’t be able to talk what I’m supposed to talk.

Audience: I’m wondering about attachment. Can you elaborate on that?

Rimpoche: Attachment, anything sticky stuff that you will experience or you are experiencing that is attachment. [..] When you have nice young freinds, easy to talk. Anything you experience sticky stuff. Okay? That’s called attachment. Okay, what is your question? 0:48:27.6

Audience: That was it.

Rimpoche: That’s it. Alright. Okay. Actually, it is good question. Really. It is very easy for me to say, “sticky stuff,” and put it out. What does that sticky stuff do to us? How do we know it is sticky stuff? These are very important question, you have to think. What does sticky stuff do to us? It’s ”my” and my alone and no one can have it. It is mine, under my control. It’s under my thumb. Are you with me? First, in the beginning, it was nice, beautiful, wonderful and then it becomes more and more sticky. Who’s going to be under control? You going to be under my control or I’m going to be under your control. You are mine and no one can have it. You are under my control. You belong to me. You do exactly I tells you to do. All this will comes up. That is the real face of ugly attachment. Beginning, it’s nice. Because, it’s very similar to love, pure love. The difference between love and attachment, the love will wish you really be happy, you really be wonderful and whatever you wanted, the way you wanted and should be happy, should be good. That’s the love. The attachment will be no, you should be exactly the picture what I have you. You should be exactly look like this, you should be dressed like this, you should wearing like this, you should exactly... fit in the script exactly where I want it. That is the extreme part of the attachment and the extreme part of the love. Then, in the middle, there’s a gray land. So, the gray land... you know attachment cashes out of love and become the glue of the samsara. Because, people enjoy, people like it, people love it ‘till you see the ugly face. That’s not necessarily between the lovers, but it is also between children and parents, between families, between everybody. And, we are born a number of times through that. So, we have fear. So, we come out with door, we pull, we push, we do all this. That’s because of that. This may be my privilege, by not remaining a monk. So, we can talk to you in that way. If you are a monk, with a monk dress, you have to be holy person, you can’t talk nearby. 0:52:11.0

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And then, on top of that, you have responsibility. On top of that, you have obligations. That makes you suffer more. Then, it becomes pressure. I want to do that, but I can’t do it. I want to go here, but I can’t go. I wanted to do this, but I can’t do it. All of this. Because, pressure, obligations, and then clinging on. All of them there. That is the attachment. Pure love truly wishes you to be happy. Whatever it might be. Wish you happy. We said here, “May all sentient beings be happy and cause of happiness.” Right? We say that. That is expression of true love. The happy... happiness is way and how you wanted to be, is your happiness. If you force the hippies to become a yuppie, it’s not going to be happiness for them. Nor, you force the yuppies to become hippies, it’s not going to be happiness for them. Let yuppies be yuppy and let hippies be hippy, then they’ll be happy. Really true, that is what it is. [..] (Audience: We need a new t-shirt, it’s a good logo.) Alright. You make one, okay? “Let hippies be hippy and yuppies be yuppy.” At the back you say, “Then you’ll be happy.” (laughter) Really true. 0:54:43.9

The happiness is something that you measure within your mind, within the physical comfort and all this you measure and certain state and certain level is labeled as happiness. Anyway, that’s none of my business, anyway. Let’s go back. 0:55:20.9

Do you have happiness in the death? Yes, you do. This is also what I’d like to bring it in. You do have happiness in death. Do we all experience that happiness while we are experiencing death? Not necessarily. That’s what we’re working for. That’s what we’re looking for. How you can cash out the happiness out of death? Because, death is such a stage, stage in which you have completely withdrawn, it is completely quietest, most quiet. [..] Completely quietness from the body point of view, from the mind point of view, from the environmental point of view, the most quietest place you can ever find is dying stage, in death. That’s why we shout, “Can you hear me? Can you understand?” We shout that because we are not sure how much deep they have gone. It is gone quietness, quietest ever possible. You have not extended yourself in that future live’s noise, you withdraw from the noise of this life. You will retreat yourself, the most quietest place of both body and the mind. That quietness, within such a pleasure, within the quietness, we experience. If you get out of Manhattan and go the Vermont or something, how much you enjoy? This is gross example. But, here you’re finding the most quietest of all. The mind is a very quiet place. The body is an absolute quiet place. Okay? Not only that, it is a huge openness, quiet yet open, tremendous openness. It is like looking over the space. Don’t make mistake. It’s not behind the Hale-Bopp. [..] The spaceship waiting out there, that’s not the one. That space is within yourself. You do’t go. It’s within yourself, within your consciousness. That voidness within you, within your consciousness. That voidness has a tremendous joy as well. The Buddhist traditions will tell you, “great bliss.” Bliss or no bliss, there is a tremendous amount of joy there. Are you with me? Good. That’s one part of it. 0:59:27.0

In that quietness, if some unwanted disturbance comes up, you have both possibility of good and bad. I must also talk to you the bad side of it, too. If I don’t, I’ll be failure. So, I would like to talk to you the bad part of it. That is, within that quietness, any other little noise will come, it will be terrifying, threatening one. Terrifying and threatening, terrible one. It intensifies so much. I’m sure many of you have experienced if you been little high through whatever, marijuana, let it be, [..] then if you listen to the noise, how clear it is. If you look at the colors, how bright it is. Intensifies, right? 1:01:07.2

I had an experience once, marijuana I took once, but I threw it up. Never tried again. But, you know that thing called bung? What is that? Hashish? [..] I have a friend, Indian business person. In Dehli, one early morning... you know that old Tibetan doctor, did he come here? Dr. Tinzin Chodak, 1:01:42.3 the old doctor, the famous doctor, I don’t think he came here. He was supposed to be coming to New York, he didn’t come, he went to Cleveland, right? So, he was sick for a few days, stuck in Paris, then went to Cleveland. Anyway, Dr. Tinzin Chodak is Dali Lama’s personal physician. One of the greatest Tibetan doctor ever existed, today, living. He and me, together, this Indian fellow is giving us breakfast in Delhi. At the end of the breakfast, he said, “Ah... I have this prossad.” Prossad means the blessing, something coming out of temple. So, you normally do not refuse the prossad. If you do, it will be insult to their faith. So, you sit there. And, there was an Indian minister on the breakfast, too. The moment he said, “prossad,” he said, “Look, I have next appointment, I got to go.” He jump out and ran away. They tried to catch him by hand, but he run away. Then, they give me this little sweets, Indian sweets. And then this business man told another his friend, “Don’t give too much to this doctor because he has to see patients today.” So, I didn’t know whatever it is. After half an hour, everything is absolutely clear. Everything’s clear. The people who are talking in the next room sounded like talking inside my ear. That’s exaggerated, right? So, in that quietness, any noise that come, it be like one thousand times more exaggerated than that what you hear. So, it’ll be terrifying and threatening, if it’s terrible one. Wind blowing will be intensified, like 100,000 times inside. Cracking walls will be intensified that much. Burning wood by fire will be intensified that much. So, that’s why state of bardo is called “narrow passage.” So, whenever we pray, we pray, “I may be laid in the narrow passage of bardo, I may be liberated.” That’s the reason why. There is the other bad side, too. There’s good side, quiet, wonderful, blissful, joyful. If it becomes terrible, it becomes unimaginably terrifying. Because, it intensifies. Are you with me? So, what great teachers will do, great teachers will tell you, “Don’t worry. Even you have a terrifying, burning, completely, whole universe is burning or terrifying storm of water that is washing the whole universe down or you may feel that wind that blowing total universe, reducing into some kind of piece of bird feathers or something, burning the whole universe, reducing into ashes. You may have that sort of feelings. But, most important thing is you remember this is your delusion. It is not happening. It is not reality. It is your delusion. You have to remember that.” 1:06:18.9

Audience: Both for the terrifying things and the blissful things, right?

Rimpoche: The blissful thing is reality. Everybody don’t get it. Those who are getting it, you going to go perfectly well. It is reality. The terrifying things, as soon as you recognize, you recognize it is no longer true. It is delusion. It is not true. The moment you recognize, it stops. Because, it is the consequences of negative karma.

Last year, not this death and dying conference, what they had recently, but year before that. After the death and dying conference, one lady came up and talked to me and say, “I was enjoying imagining my death. But, after reading the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, they destroyed all my hope and I am very angry now.” That’s what she told me. But, that’s reality. Both possibilities are there. It’s also good to know that. Good to know that. When you come across in that manner, then it is the trick to stop that is to recognize your delusion. It is the karmic consequences of your negative karma manifesting. It’s not true. It’s delusion. Okay? Will you remember that? 1:08:19.5

So, now we don’t have to depend on that, on that thoughts. Why? Because we can make difference to our life. While we are human being, while we are in this capacity of human capacity, with human mind, this is now easy. This is not an easy, the human brain. It’s not the brain, it’s the consciousness. In the West, we call it “brain,” in the East, we call it human mind. That is not easy. This is fantastic, this has tremendous capacity. Capacity to understand. Capacity to digest. Capacity to manifest. The difference between the human beings and animals, because of this. Right or wrong? So, we call one “animal” and we call other one “human being.” I’m sure some animal lovers be not very happy, when I say “animal.” But, don’t worry about it. I’m not looking down on animals. But, really, the difference is this, makes difference. So, this, we have to make use of it. Make use of it.

How we have to make use it, to understand, to understand what can you do. If you have all the time in your hand, what can you do? If you don’t have much time in your hand, what can you do? If you have half time for long time, what can you do? The majority of the people have half the time for long time. Right? The minority of the people will have whole time. So, Buddha provides everything for everybody. Believe me. Buddhism is such a thing, there is tremendous in there. Really. You just read the Lama Chopa that we say here. Just read. How wonderful it is. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. When the day, when Allen was dying, I been saying the Lama Chopa very slowly at his bedside and meditating and going very slowly, it might took me about four hours to say the Lama Chopa. But, more slowly you say, the more you think, how much in there? Every time, when I read the Lama Chopa, I get amazing myself. I even give teachings on Lama Chopa for the last three winter retreats. [..] Even now, I might have listened a number of times, right? Said hundreds of times. I try to say everyday. Unfortunately, I don’t think, I just say blah, blah, blah... My commitment’s over, the words over. But, when you sit down and started saying slowly and concentrating and try in incorporate mind of the dying people, within that, when you going slowly, gee, it’s fantastic. Really.

At the beginning level, you have that great openness. [Tibetan] 1:12:55.5 You, yourself, turning into the lama yidam, radiating light from your body. And radiating all the ten directions. And then, blessing all beings and all environments and turning them into the pure lands. That, itself, is unimaginable. Alone. Fantastic on that. Then, taking refuge. Then, generating a bodhimind. Light radiating from your body and going down, closing the door, emptying the hell realm, emptying the hungry ghost, emptying the animal realm and closing them down, shutting them down, lock them up, make them unable to reopen and all of them is a joy. And then, you generate the field of merit, thinking their qualities, admiration of nirvana and looking at the faults of the samsara and admiration of the nirvana. There’s no question, what would you like to choose? No question. Then, going down and single pointedly praying to the guru who is inseparable that of yidam and Buddha Vajradharma and all this. Then, going down and whole lamrim stage.

Then, coming in the middle of that coming that give and take, tonglen in there. Tonglen, not in the simple just give it and take it, the tonglen builds up on the seven stages. It’s not simply my breating out, I’m giving all my virtues, taking in, I’m taking all the problems. It’s not that. It’s building up such a way that you’ll have joy to do that. It builds up tremendously in that. Then goes down, you have the six paramitas. The generousity, the morality, patience, and all this. Then, finally comes down to the all the Vajrayana practice of transformation of the death into the dharmakaya. Transformation of the bardo in sambokaya. Transformation of the birth into nirmanakaya. And finally, even though it’s not enough, then finally it comes into the mahamudra stage of merging your consciousness and that of the consciousness of the guru buddha. It is fantastic. Really. The more you look at it, you appreciate much more of it. I’ve been doing that for my sixty years. But, when you do it more, there’s much more appreciation in there. It’s fantastic, really.

Even we have such a thing in our hand, right in front of us, it’s provided like a ready-made TV diner, with full edition. Really, it’s there. But yet, we have problem of taking it. Who’s fault is it? Is it fault of enlightened beings to provide you guide? Or, is it our own fault? To me, the answer is absolutely clear. It’s our fault, because of our fantasies that we cannot let it go, that fantasy. Or, doubt. Fantasy and doubt. Doubt, it is true, the blind faith is absolutely no good. You do need intelligence faith. But, doubting everything, every single thing, you can doubt, you can check, you can cross check, and after a little while, when you are satisfied, it is making difference to you, making better for you, you got to take it. If you keep on doubting, thinking that I’ve been careful, through the whole life, you going to doubt. And then, you will die with doubt. What is the use? Where’s that going to lead you? So, doubt is definitely needed. Check is needed. Once you convinced, you got to follow it. If you keep on doubting everything, then you be nowhere.

Kabje Ling Rimpoche, the senior tutor to Dali Lama, was my late master. Used to tell me [Tibetan] 1:18:24.0 you know a little bit of eighteen different things, you’re not perfect for any single one. That’s what he told me. Then, oh yeah, he told me I should go and learn the Tibetan medicine and astrology and then he said you completed those eighteen different things, qualities. (laughter) Good for nothing. But, knows eighteen different things. That will happen. So, there’s no use. Means you know everything, little bit here and there, but nothing’s perfect. The teachers will tell you that all the time. Anyway. Even you good. Actually, he told be to go and learn Tibetan medicine and astrology. So then he said, you’re eighteen chapters completed. So, anyway... 1:19:28.3

So, that’s the point. So, right now, we don’t have to depend on bringing mind, saying that obtaining yourself this is delusion, this is delusion. Nor, you depend on some lama who will come and say prayers or some priest to do whatever. What do they do? [..] (Audience: Pray) Last prayer or whatever. Don’t have to depend on that. Because, you can make a difference to yourself. Why? Because, you are responsible to yourself. This is Buddhist principle. You are responsible to yourself. No one can do or undo for you. You are responsible. No question. You are responsible. If you do something bad and if you don’t purify, you suffer. Whether you’re in life or death. Doesn’t matter. You suffer. We all do. If we do something good, we will enjoy, whether you’re alive or dead. That’s what it ment. We are responsible to ourself. Whatever the life we have, today, whatever the condition we have today, rich or poor, brilliant or stupid, famous or unknown, whatever it may be, it is our own deed, nobody made us. Nobody made us. If your are beautiful or ugly, you have nice voice or terrible voice, like mine, we are responsible to ourself. I did it. It is my responsibility. And that is principle. That’s why I can make difference to my life and I can make difference to my future life, because I am responsible. Not you. Not you. I am. If I think good, I’ll be good. If I think bad, I’ll be bad. That is my responsibility. No one can change. No one can interfere. Nothing. That’s why i can make a difference to my future life right now. I can overcome the fear of dying. I can make it to myself. I can train myself through the dying stages and try to make a difference to me when my death comes to me. That’s me. Each one of us, we are capable. We are capable because we have this human brain. Because we are not crazy completely, slightly yes. Completely, we are not crazy. That’s why we can make a difference. 1:23:51.8

What hold us back? What is holding us back? The laziness. The laziness the one who is holding us back. Laziness manifests in the form of busyness. You know what I mean? I have to go here, I have to do this, I have to go this, I have that appointment, have have to go here, I have to work this, I have to do this, I have to do this... If you can, you going to hold the sun as long as you can hold it. Even then, it’s not going to be enough. Right? That’s what we do. That’s our laziness. It is the Western laziness. Not the Eastern laziness. Eastern laziness, for me, I need a nice cup of tea, soft, nice little corner where I can sit comfortably, read a book or watch television. That’s my laziness. But, the Western laziness is lot of deadlines, I have to go here, go there, that appointment, this appointment, catch this... all this. Many people are genuinely, you got to do it, your job demand. May people will just make up. Just make up yourself busy to do that. Put up this, put up this and call everybody, say can you see me, can you meet me, blah, blah, blah... Alright, let me look in... Next week I am busy, blah, blah, blah... Then I have two minutes here. I have half an hour here, why don’t you come and see me? Why don’t we meet here? That’s how me make ourselves busy. That’s our laziness manifest in that form. That’s why I call it busy-lazy. What does busy-lazy will do? Busy-lazy will pull you out to do something what you really need to do. Even, whether it is... even it is materialistic or spiritualistic, we’ll just pull out of it. Laziness disturbs both spiritual as well as normal, material work, both the laziness will take over. They will pull you out of that. 1:26:28.9

We have a friend, I’ve seen this, really very strange, that person is working for a PhD thesis, the person never wrote the thesis. Person made herself absolutely busy, volunteered here, there, here, there. Any single point you can volunteer at all, everywhere: human rights, environment, this thing and that thing, including Jewel Heart. Everywhere you can volunteer, if there’s room, person volunteers that. So, simply try to avoid, they don’t have to write the thesis. Make yourself busy, that is the laziness takes over. This is a very vivid example I had for the last couple, four, five years. I saw that. That gives me a very good lesson how the Western laziness keeps the people away from the things what you really good for you to do. Keeps away from that. In order to justify to yourself, then you volunteer to worthy cause. Like Human Rights Watch or environmental thing, I’m not saying they’re not good. But, person is supposed to write a thesis and never sit down. Because, they go to all these different offices everyday, make yourself available, commit yourself in, take responsibilities on, and then you never write the thesis. Then, time goes and then you rush back, try to do something and then it doesn’t work. That’s exactly how we do. How we withdraw ourself from material work, from spiritual work. So, must make sure that laziness doesn’t take over us. 1:29:05.2

And how to do it and what to do it, what makes difference to your life? What better than three principles of path, you can have it. Tell me, three principles of the path, what better can you have it? Three principles of the path. That makes difference to you. That’s what it is. I think we are talking here three principles, right? We are not talking the lamrim. [..] Namely, the principle one, seeking freedom and I think we are stuck there still. [..] Principle two is love and compassion. Are we on principle two? (Audience: We are on principle two.) Okay, can you read it what verse we are on? Do I have to stop here? [..] Let’s take 5, 10 minutes break... [..] 1:30:48.2 [break in audio]

We really discuss here very long time about the first principle. Why did we spend so much time on the first principle? Simply, the first principle is very much relevant to our life and our today’s need. That’s the reason why we spend so much time on that. In our life, if we are not occupied by the laziness, then we are occupied by the busyness, which is free of laziness. So, working, whatever, responsibility, job, material commitment, you name it. But, what we total neglect, the last thing what we needed to pick up is our spiritual work and development. And that also, among the spiritual works, things will really benefit you. Such as seeking freedom, is the last in the lane of our attention. The last in the lane. Even normal spiritual path, like whatever it might be, going to temple or burning incense, or burning a candle light or walking over charcoal, burning charcoal or some of that sort. You know, which have the label of the spirituality, yet it is very simple and rather too simple and too easy. It doesn’t make much difference to you. We give attention to them before such a solid path. It’s not your fault. Because, it is the familiar in the country, in the culture. It is familiar. [..] Even among the Tibetans, Tibet, I’m talking about the good, old Tibet. I’m not talking about the Tibet today, whether it is in India or Tibet. I’m talking about good, old Tibet, that existed before 50’s. Even in that Tibet, the solid spiritual workings is very rare. People who go through the temple and burning incense and burning a butter lamp and doing prostrations, zillions. The country is full of it.

But, somebody who is really doing solid work is very rare. For this, I would like to draw your attention to, if you’re reading the Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, in that it mentions one of the earlier Kadampa lamas, after Atisha, going round, see a number of Atisha’s disciples are doing something. He asked, “What are you doing?” He said, “I’m making mandala offering.” He said, “That’s good, but I wish you could do some solid dharma practice.” Then, some people are going, doing the circumambulation of stupas. They said, “Oh! It’s great. But, I wish you could do good dharma practice.” Some people are working, being very generous and giving feast here and there. One of them said, “That’s great, but wish you could do little dharma practice.” Dismissing almost all things that we normally consider as perfect spiritual work. Dismissing them and telling them, “I wish you could do a little dharma practice.” The same thing Atisha did. Somebody asked Atisha, “Should I do a little circumabluation? Or, should I build a stupa? Or, should I build an image? Or, should I make a big butter lamp burning to all different monasteries or what should I do?” Atisha says, “All good idea, I wish you could do some dharma practice.” So, the earlier lamas, earlier spiritual masters doing that is telling us something. Telling us something. What really spiritual practice make difference to your life is that spiritual practice make difference to your mind. When I say, “to your mind,” how your mind maintains, how you approach to the world, how you react when somebody “boos” you, how you react when somebody says, “I love you.” All of those. And, how you react, somebody tried to kill you. And, how you react, somebody say you are wonderful. Genuinely, artificially we can do that. We can do artificially, we can show different face. Somebody going to tell you, “Kill me. Oh, okay. That’s fine. Kill me.” You know you’re not being killed, so you can be cool. It’s a little hard, somebody says you’re wonderful, I love you, maybe you get a little bit, even though you pretend nothing happened. But, you may little bit. Artificially, we can do that. That’s not the point. Point is, where you heard these word, when you hear this word, how your mind react within you. You be the judge for you. You don’t have to announce that to anybody. You just be judge yourself. 1:39:08.1

Even a doctor tells you, like in Allen’s case, if the doctor tells you, you got a terminal, unoperable liver cancer and you’re going to have one to four months life. If the doctor tells you, how am I going to react? Think that. When Allen told me, he got that news, it is very hard for me to accept, but for Allen, it’s fine. He’s still making jokes. Making official report and then making jokes. He said, “Boy, I’m amazed how calm I was.” That’s what it is. So, each one of us will think, if I get that message, meaning me, yourself, how we react? And that’s how it makes difference to your life. You don’t have to announce. In public, we can put all sort of face, pretend to be not bothered. But, privately, you be boiling. That’s what is making difference to your life. Any practice makes difference to your life in that manner, it is the real spiritual practice. 1:41:16.2

So, that’s what it ment, do something. Do something that make difference. These three principle path will make difference to you. That, I can guarantee you. And, many people do. Made difference to many people, within my short teaching period in United States for eight years, made a lot of difference to a lot of people. That’s my personal experience. It will make a difference to you, if you take seriously. If you take casually, it will make casual difference to you. If you take it, “Aaah...,” it will make “Annn..” difference to you. That’s exactly how it works. That’s true. That’s true. It’s not... you know, you may think there’s something hidden, very secret, some kind of teaching comes and “boom” and hit you on your head and then makes “zoom” different now. It never happens. It’s never going to happen. It is this. This is the path through which the Buddha went through and made different. All the bodhisattvas are either went or going through, made difference. It is the great traditions of all the different traditions, all their great masters went through this. They may not call it three principle path. But, whatever label they put it, essence of this, they went through, made difference.

Number one, the principle one itself is seeking freedom. Right? Who in the hell, anyone enlightened or liberated could never took interest for liberation. Is there anybody? Can anybody get liberated who did not took interest for liberating yourself? Not possible. Right? When there’s no cause, how can there be result? Not possible. So, each and everybody, whether it’s Eastern tradition or Judea-Christian, Western tradition, you may not name it, but if you’re fully liberated, that person had interest. [end of audio]